Dunn's playing hurt
BY JOHN FAY |
JFAY@ENQUIRER.COM
MIAMI - Baseball has no rules requiring teams to reveal players' injuries, like the NFL.
The Reds went so far as to generalize - saying Ken Griffey Jr. had general soreness - when he was dealing with a sore left knee.
When asked to specify, Reds manager Dusty Baker said: "This ain't the NFL."
So if Adam Dunn's shoulder or elbow is hurting, you're not going to get it from the Reds, or Dunn.
• Photos: Griffey hits No. 600
• Box score: Reds 9, Marlins 4
• Griffey coverage in our special section: The Quest for 600
But it certainly looked that way Sunday. Dunn uncorked a lofty throw that came up well short of the plate in the second inning. Then he appeared to recoil a bit after throwing the ball in on Dan Uggla's double in the fifth.
So is his arm hurting?
"No, it's all right," he said.
Are you sure?
"It's good . . . It's really not that bad."
Dunn plays through pain routinely. His right knee bothered him for a couple of years before he had surgery late last season to clean it out and repair a torn meniscus.
Dunn played part of the 2005 season with a broken hand.
Dunn will never make excuses, but he did say this Monday:
"It wouldn't be a day without pain somewhere."
Dunn had a good arm when he was drafted. It has not been good in recent years. Runners have consistently challenged him this year.
Sunday, it looked as if it was a physical thing. If it was, Dunn obviously isn't going to say.
POLE ON HARANG: Pitching coach Dick Pole thinks Aaron Harang just needs to relax and be Aaron Harang.
"He's trying to be too perfect," Pole said. "He's good. As good as he is, he can try to do too much."
REHAB CITY: Both Jeff Keppinger (knee) and Norris Hopper (elbow) were scheduled to begin rehab assignments Monday with the Sarasota Reds before the game was rained out.
Keppinger was scheduled to be used at designated hitter. Hopper was to play the outfield.
That will begin their official rehab assignments. They are limited to 30 days.
Keppinger's is likely to be much shorter than that.
Hopper will need some extended time since he hasn't played all season.
"He's not the forgotten man," Baker said. "He did a good job here last year."
The Florida State League's all-star break begins Friday. Keppinger could be ready to be activated then.
PHILLIPS BREAKS OUT OF SMALL SLUMP: Brandon Phillips entered Monday 0-for-his-last-12.
He helped cure that with a 2-for-5 performance Monday night, which included his 12th home run of the season.
He'll probably get a day off when the Reds return home today.
"It's a hard to give him a day off against a left-hander," Baker said.
NUXIE TRIBUTE: The Reds will honor legendary player and announcer Joe Nuxhall tonight at Great American Ball Park as the Reds return home for a nine-game homestand.
The first 30,000 fans to enter the parks will be presented with bronze replicas of the Nuxhall statue that is on the Crosley Terrace.
At 5 p.m., the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County will rename the portion of Main Street in front of the Reds Hall Of Fame "Joe Nuxhall Way."
Today is 64th anniversary of Nuxhall's major league debut at age 15.
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Originally Posted by flyer85
