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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2009 > March > 31
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Keppinger traded for minor-leaguer
Jeff Keppinger played in a minor-league game Tuesday, then went back to his condo to pack because he had to be out on March 31.
Little did he know his next stop would be Kissimmee.
The Cincinnati Reds traded the utility infielder to the Houston Astros for a minor-league player to be named - and the naming must be by May 1.
“The Astros pursued this and at first we resisted,” said GM Walt Jocketty. “But now it appears Alex Gonzalez is going to be playing and the ways things are Keppinger would get little chance to play. This is a better deal for him, too.”
Keppinger’s departure leaves the door open for either Adam Rosales or Paul Janish to make the team and Jocketty said, “We feel comfortable and would be happy with either one. They’ve both had good springs and done well.”
Janish, a leather wizard, is not taking anything for granted and said, “I’ll continue to work hard and we’ll see what happens. I know one thing, we play Houston a lot so we’ll be seeing a lot of Kepp.”
Keppinger was humorous about his situation and said of his .140 batting average, “I was about to go in and ask them to release me. I didn’t know and I was just glad they didn’t release me. I was in my condo when I was called and told manager Dusty Baker and Walt wanted to talk to me. I had a few different things running through my head on the drive back.
“It’s good in that maybe I’ll get the opporunity to play,” Keppinger added. “Looking around here, didn’t look as if I was going to play much. It is the way my career has been. I can’t find a team that feels comfortable throwing me out there every day. I’m going to a team that needs somebody, so maybe it’s a good opportunity for me.”
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TweetArroyo: life with carpal tunnel syndrome
Neither Bronson Arroyo nor the Cincinnati Reds appear boot-shaking concerned about the report of Arroyo’s carpal tunnel syndrome in his right wrist.
And, no, it doesn’t come from his plunking of a guitar to do JTM commercials or any other strumming. “He assures us he is not playing the guitar,” said manager Dusty Baker. “I’m just glad it happened now and our medical staff got right on it. He is doing his bullpen work on schedule tomorrow.”
Arroyo has not been good in his last two starts, that included a beating he took from minor-leaguers two starts ago.
Arroyo himself says it is nothing new, that he had it bad in 2004, “And I didn’t miss a start in 2004 and I’m not going to miss one now.”
Arroyo’s Story:
“I had it all last year, too. Bad. But what are you going to do? It ain’t fun and it makes it harder to pitch, but that’s just the way it is. You find ways to make it work. I could feel it four months last year, yea.
“It happened in the middle of the ‘04 season and I didn’t know what it was. I had pain in my hand when I was writing and I didn’t understand. It feels weak, like it was falling asleep. Then it went away and I forgot about it. Then I pitched Game 3 (for Boston) of the ALDS against Anaheim and that night after we clinched I went home and it was back.
“I thought, ‘Damn it, it’s back.’ I told a friend I was worried about going up against the New York Yankees because it’s a strange feeling, I didn’t know what it was. I only pitched a couple of more times out of the pen that season and we won the Series.
“And there was nothing the next three seasons, never felt it at all, then last year it was back again and now it is with me for the last three weeks. They’ve given me some stuff to knock it out, so we’ll see. It isn’t like I can’t throw, but it’s like being a sprinter with a little swelling in your ankles. If you need something extra out of your body, it can affect you. So we’ll see if it calms down.”
Arroyo said he inquired last year about surgery and was told it isn’t a major deal, but backed off when he heard that in some cases it can leave numbness in the fingers, “So that’s why I’m leery. I can’t afford that. So as athletes we have to find out routines that work for us. I have to find a way to calm it down and then keep it calmed down.”
EDWIN ENCARNACION was back in the lineup at third base today, but shortstop Alex Gonzalez was to play seven innings in a minor league game.
“Edwin went 3 for 6 yesterday (in a minor-league game) and his arm is feeling good,” said Baker. “We’re playing Alex in a minor-league game, just in case he is not ready. If we have to put him on the DL we can only back date to the last Major League game he played. We’re trying to bring him along and it’s the second day in a row he will play the field. He’ll go seven innings today and hopefully he comes out of it and we go from there.
“We want Edwin to get a lot of at-bats so he doesn’t get off to a slow start like he has the last two yeas,” Baker added.
THE REDS HAVE no official comment on the arrest Friday in Sarasota of Class AA Carolina pitching coach Tom Browning. He was picked up on charges of failure to pay child support of $99,008.36.
Said the Reds, “It’s a personal matter and shall remain private.” It is unclear if Browning remains jailed, but he has not been in camp this week. It may be a personal and private matter to the Reds, but it is difficult to coach class AA pitchers from inside bars.
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