I thought the part I bolded was interesting.
Narron keeping Opening Day lineup secret
Three-way battle at second base
BY JOHN FAY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
SARASOTA, Fla. - Reds manager Jerry Narron allowed that he does have an Opening Day lineup.
"I've got one," he said. "But I'm not going to give it to you."
The spot in question is second base. Narron on Tuesday gave essentially the same answer to a question about who would start at second that he gave six weeks ago when spring training opened.
"We're going to try to keep all three guys sharp," he said. "We're going to go with matchups and try to get the best nine guys out there."
The choices to play second are Tony Womack, Rich Aurilia and Ryan Freel.
"Rich is going to play a lot of second, first and some shortstop," Narron said. "Freel will play a lot of outfield and some second. Womack will play primarily second, but we'll use him as a pinch hitter, as a pinch runner."
Those three players give Narron flexibility, but three starting outfielders - Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Austin Kearns - figure to be out there nearly every day. The same is true of shortstop Felipe Lopez and third baseman Edwin Encarnacion.
NO CUTS: The roster remained at 36 Tuesday - 11 over the Opening Day limit.
Paul Wilson and Grant Balfour will start the season on the disabled list, so the Reds still have to cut nine players.
"We could get rid of guys," Narron said. "But we've got some games we're trying to play."
Narron said the Reds could wait until Sunday to make the final calls.
"I know that's not the greatest thing for the guys on the bubble," he said. "But it's part of the game. I went through that my whole career. I have a lot of empathy for those guys."
This is the time of year roster-tinkering deals get done.
Narron said the possibility of one trade is a reason the Reds might not have the roster set when they break camp.
"We might take an extra guy or two north, if there's a chance of a deal," he said.
But for the most part, the decisions have been made.
LaRUE UPDATE: Catcher Jason LaRue was getting around remarkably well Tuesday for someone less than 24 hours removed from knee surgery.
"It's going great," he said. "I've been doing range-of-motion stuff and icing. We'll try to do more tomorrow."
LaRue is still hopeful about being back in a week. He said his range of motion was better than it was before surgery.
"I don't have any pain," he said.
WILY MO SAYS HELLO: Wily Mo Peña was in the lineup for the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night against his old team.
"It's been good so far," he said. "I'm doing the best I can. They're going to give me an opportunity to play against lefties."
Peña came into Tuesday hitting .385 (5-for-13) with a homer and two RBI since the trade.
He started in right field Tuesday, but he has been told he'll play all three outfield positions.
EDWIN EMERGING: Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci tabbed Encarnacion as the National League "Breakout Player of Year" on SI.com.
Encarnacion certainly is having a breakout spring.
Going into Tuesday's game, Encarnacion had reached base in 19 of 20 games.
He was hitting .414 with six home runs, nine doubles and a major league-leading 20 RBI.
E-mail jfay@enquirer.com
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...603290368/1071
Originally Posted by Raisor
