SARASOTA, Fla. - Edwin Encarnacion was back in the lineup Tuesday, March 31, his sore shoulder quieted down and his arm able to make throws - good and bad.
He didn't make any of the Reds' four errors in a 6-3 loss to the New York Yankees, but he was 0-for-3 at the plate. Shortstop Alex Gonzalez was not in the lineup. He was playing shortstop in a minor-league game for the second straight day and was 3-for-7, batting leadoff in seven straight innings.
Asked if he would play Opening Day, Gonzalez said, "I can play now. My hamstring feels good. I'll just work out (today), then play Thursday either against the Pirates or in a minor-league game, but I'm playing nine innings."
Said manager Dusty Baker, "We're playing Alex in minor-league games 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 played the field. He went 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.
Harang on trading block?
Rather than make the 2 ?-hour one-way ride to Kissimmee today, Aaron Harang will do his pitching against a minor-league team on the back fields in Sarasota.
And scouts will be watching.
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are interested in him and they'd like to trade outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. for him.
Matthews makes more money than Harang, but Gary "Sarge" Matthews Sr. is one of Baker's closest friends.
Browning's ordeal
The Reds had no official comment on the arrest Friday in Sarasota of Class AA Carolina pitching coach Tom Browning. He was picked up Friday 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 behind bars.
World-famous crew
There are a few chuckles every day when the public-address announcer says in the fifth inning of every game, "Now on the field, the world-famous Ed Smith Stadium grounds crew."
Baker says it isn't far from the truth.
"The grounds crew here is one of the best I've ever seen," he said. "The field is rarely hard and rarely too soft, which is equally bad. All the fields are in great shape. This could be a big-league crew here to me. Somebody could take this crew to the big leagues.
"It's more than about the field being pretty," he added. "It's how you cut the grass, how you drag it, how you water it, how you rake it."
Play FOX Fantasy Baseball today
