SARASOTA, Fla. -- Ken Griffey Jr. was out of the lineup but
in good spirits Tuesday, an indication his latest injury is nothing
to worry about.
The Cincinnati Reds outfielder strained his right calf while
running out a grounder Monday night, adding to his legacy of
getting hurt near opening day.
This time, it appears to be a minor setback.
Griffey's leg was much better Tuesday, when he missed a game
against Minnesota. The Reds planned to give him a couple of days to
recover fully.
"He looks a lot better today than he did yesterday," Dr.
Timothy Kremchek said. "Yesterday he had some soreness in the
calf. Today he has much less soreness and nice motion and good
strength.
"Of course, we're going to be more cautious than not, but we're
very optimistic."
Whenever Griffey gets hurt, the Reds flinch.
The 34-year-old outfielder is trying to break a streak of three
straight years with major injuries that scuttled a season from the
outset. He tore a hamstring in the final week of spring training
2001, tore a tendon in his knee during the first week of the 2002
season and dislocated his shoulder in the fifth game last season.
He returned from the shoulder injury and tore a tendon in his
knee, ending his season in July. He had surgery to repair the ankle
and tighten the shoulder.
Griffey has been able to run hard in spring training, showing
that the ankle is fine. He has struggled at the plate, hitting only
.158 with one homer, but had avoided injury until Monday night.
He slipped as he took off after hitting a soft grounder. He
didn't feel any pain at the time, but the calf started to tighten
when he played the field the next inning.
Griffey said the ground was damp around home plate, causing him
to slip on his first step. Several players have complained about
the soft field.
"It's been the same problem we've had as long as I've been
here," Griffey said Tuesday.
Griffey didn't want to talk about the severity of the injury,
referring questions to the medical staff. He said the calf was
getting better.
"It's loosening up," he said.
Manager Dave Miley is inclined to give Griffey a few days to let
it heal. The Reds open the season at home on Monday against the
Chicago Cubs.
"It's the old standby day-to-day, but I wouldn't see any reason
to push it," Miley said.
Reliever Todd Jones also got hurt Monday night, taking a liner
off his pitching arm. The ball struck muscle in the back of the
right arm, just above the elbow.
Jones, who was signed to a contract last week and is competing
for a setup job, will probably be sidelined for a few days.
"He's still got some swelling," Kremchek said. "Actually, you
can still see the marks from the stitches on the baseball. He got
whacked pretty good. I'm not real concerned about him having more
than a bruise right now."