DaytonDailyNews.com

PHILADELPHIA — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn is mystified and angry.

While a modest Ken Griffey Jr. considers his pursuit of 600 home runs over-hyped, Dunn insists it is under-hyped.

"I have more than 250 home runs and I'm not even halfway to Griffey," said Dunn of his teammate. "I don't get it, don't get why people aren't stoked about it. I can't find a word for it, how bad it is.

"I don't know if people get spoiled. The thing is, you'll never hear controversy about him. None. Nothing. Ever. Not anything. I feel bad, man, because that's something I might not see again in my lifetime. I might have a chance to see it, but you never know.

"Six-hundred home runs? That's special."

Dunn was told that Griffey isn't a self-promoter and doesn't direct attention his way, but Dunn said, "He has to reach a point where he says, 'What else do I have to do?' Good Lord. That's how I feel about it. It is going to be awesome, and I can't wait."

Added Dunn, "Not only does he have a lot of home runs, but that's a lot of games he has played (2,432) and that's a lot of hits (2,610) he has."

Dunn, as were most of the Reds, was stunned that only 35,942 were in Great American Ball Park on Sunday when Griffey had a chance to hit No. 600.

It's official: Bailey

As expected, the Reds made it official Monday that Homer Bailey will start Thursday against the Phillies, but Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker didn't give him a resounding endorsement.

Asked why it is Bailey, Baker said, "I don't know that it is his time. Sometimes it is just necessity. Sometimes it is who is on the roster or who we can put on the roster. So far, so good in calling up young guys."

Baker said he has received conflicting reports on Bailey's progress.

"Some reports have been excellent and some reports have been similar to what he struggled with before, and that's consistency," said Baker.

"He's still very young, only 22 years old. His college class is just getting drafted in three days, and they're going to 'A' ball at best. So he is four years ahead of his graduating class."

One, two, three

Baker's three reasons why more home runs are hit these days:

No. 1: "Newer, smaller ballparks. I can remember the old San Diego park and the Houston (Astrodome), where you had to almost hit the ball down the line to get home runs. They were huge.

No. 2: "Modern medicine. You hurt your shoulder or something, they can take it out of here and put it over there, and you are as good as new. Before, if you hurt something, you were almost done."

No. 3: "The no-knockdown rule helps quite a bit, helps a lot. Back in the day, if you didn't get knocked down, you got upset because then you thought they thought you couldn't hit."

Quote of the day

Baker on rookie Jay Bruce living up to all the hype: "Most of the time, you shouldn't have to live up to hype. I don't read or listen to it. I just put him in the lineup and let him play. If he does something right, I say, 'Good job,' and if does something wrong that he should learn from, I explain it to him."

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