Junior joking is a good sign
Ken Griffey Jr. was kidding around - that's the first good sign the injury of his right foot may not be too serious - with teammate Sean Casey before Monday's game.
"Hey, I can out-run you, 'Case,' " Griffey chirped.
"You're playin' then?" Casey asked.
"No, I can run, but I can't stop," Griffey answered, grinning.
Which, in fact, is a pretty good description of the nature of the injury Griffey suffered in Sunday's game in Atlanta when he strained a tendon in his foot coming around second base.
Once Griffey gets going, he can run, but it's getting started and turning a corner - and, yes, stopping - that are the problems. No. 30 was out of the lineup Monday, and likely will be out of it again today, but maybe after that he can give it a try, said Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. That, though, is up to Reds management. It might wait until Friday, just to give Griffey two more games off and the regular off day Thursday.
These type injuries can be kind of touchy, Kremchek said. Nobody's going to run Griffey back out there unless they're sure.
But one thing is sure: There aren't many Griffey critics out there. Not given the year he's had following season-ending surgery on August 16, 2004, to repair a complete tear of his right hamstring. Kremchek re-attached the tendon to the bone with three screws.
All Griffey has done so far - including a slow April - is hit 35 home runs, knock in 92 runs and hit .301, to re-establish himself as one of the game's elite players. Monday's game was the first one he has missed this season because of injury.
Turns out Griffey must have had a premonition he was going to have a good year, despite the uncertainty of his surgery.
During spring training, Griffey made Kremchek promise him that if Griffey hit 50 home runs, the good doctor would shave his head right down to the skin and go with the bald head-and-sideburns look made famous by NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.
Kremchek thought it over a moment or two and then told Griffey, "OK, you're on."
It wasn't that Kremchek doubted that Griffey could hit 50, but rather that Kremchek probably figured that if Griffey did hit 50, why sweat the Shaq-look when you're the guy who gave Junior a chance to put himself back on the map?
Sure enough, Griffey telephoned Kremchek after Sunday's game. Everybody who saw Griffey come up lame Sunday feared the worst; Kremchek was among them.
"Admit it, you were afraid, weren't you, Doc?" Griffey asked Kremchek.
"Well, sure, it's always a concern when you've had that kind of surgery," Kremchek said.
"No," said Griffey, "not that. You were afraid you were going to be wearing those Shaq chops in the off-season."
CALL-UPS: The Reds recalled from Triple-A Louisville right-handed pitchers Allan Simpson and Joe Valentine and catcher Miguel Perez, and selected from Louisville the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Booker. Also spotted in the Reds clubhouse pre-game Monday was outfielder Chris Denorfia. He is being checked out medically; if he proves healthy, he could be called up, too.
'FREEL'-INGS: Ryan Freel (.282, 29 stolen bases) was activated, but it will probably be a couple of more days before he's in the lineup. He has missed 19 games since Aug. 16, when he went on the 15-day disabled list with torn cartilage in his right knee.
He's trying to become the first Red to steal 30-plus bases in consecutive seasons since Barry Larkin (51 in '95; 36 in '96).
OH, REALLY: Rich Aurilia pronounced himself fit before Monday's game. He had been battling a viral infection and had made just one plate appearance since last Wednesday, a pinch-hitting role in Sunday's game.
He was back in the No. 2 hole for Monday's game.
"I could deal with the fever and the chills at night, but the lack of energy was something I wasn't used to," he said.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
"Hey, I can out-run you, 'Case,' " Griffey chirped.
"You're playin' then?" Casey asked.
"No, I can run, but I can't stop," Griffey answered, grinning.
Which, in fact, is a pretty good description of the nature of the injury Griffey suffered in Sunday's game in Atlanta when he strained a tendon in his foot coming around second base.
Once Griffey gets going, he can run, but it's getting started and turning a corner - and, yes, stopping - that are the problems. No. 30 was out of the lineup Monday, and likely will be out of it again today, but maybe after that he can give it a try, said Reds medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek. That, though, is up to Reds management. It might wait until Friday, just to give Griffey two more games off and the regular off day Thursday.
These type injuries can be kind of touchy, Kremchek said. Nobody's going to run Griffey back out there unless they're sure.
But one thing is sure: There aren't many Griffey critics out there. Not given the year he's had following season-ending surgery on August 16, 2004, to repair a complete tear of his right hamstring. Kremchek re-attached the tendon to the bone with three screws.
All Griffey has done so far - including a slow April - is hit 35 home runs, knock in 92 runs and hit .301, to re-establish himself as one of the game's elite players. Monday's game was the first one he has missed this season because of injury.
Turns out Griffey must have had a premonition he was going to have a good year, despite the uncertainty of his surgery.
During spring training, Griffey made Kremchek promise him that if Griffey hit 50 home runs, the good doctor would shave his head right down to the skin and go with the bald head-and-sideburns look made famous by NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.
Kremchek thought it over a moment or two and then told Griffey, "OK, you're on."
It wasn't that Kremchek doubted that Griffey could hit 50, but rather that Kremchek probably figured that if Griffey did hit 50, why sweat the Shaq-look when you're the guy who gave Junior a chance to put himself back on the map?
Sure enough, Griffey telephoned Kremchek after Sunday's game. Everybody who saw Griffey come up lame Sunday feared the worst; Kremchek was among them.
"Admit it, you were afraid, weren't you, Doc?" Griffey asked Kremchek.
"Well, sure, it's always a concern when you've had that kind of surgery," Kremchek said.
"No," said Griffey, "not that. You were afraid you were going to be wearing those Shaq chops in the off-season."
CALL-UPS: The Reds recalled from Triple-A Louisville right-handed pitchers Allan Simpson and Joe Valentine and catcher Miguel Perez, and selected from Louisville the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Booker. Also spotted in the Reds clubhouse pre-game Monday was outfielder Chris Denorfia. He is being checked out medically; if he proves healthy, he could be called up, too.
'FREEL'-INGS: Ryan Freel (.282, 29 stolen bases) was activated, but it will probably be a couple of more days before he's in the lineup. He has missed 19 games since Aug. 16, when he went on the 15-day disabled list with torn cartilage in his right knee.
He's trying to become the first Red to steal 30-plus bases in consecutive seasons since Barry Larkin (51 in '95; 36 in '96).
OH, REALLY: Rich Aurilia pronounced himself fit before Monday's game. He had been battling a viral infection and had made just one plate appearance since last Wednesday, a pinch-hitting role in Sunday's game.
He was back in the No. 2 hole for Monday's game.
"I could deal with the fever and the chills at night, but the lack of energy was something I wasn't used to," he said.
Source: http://news.enquirer.com/
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