ST. LOUIS -- The Cincinnati Reds didn't appear to miss Ken Griffey Jr. much when the center fielder was out of the lineup on Thursday at Chicago, an 8-3 Reds victory.
But the offense generated just four runs in the first two games in St. Louis. Aaron Harang's strong pitching performance led to a 1-0 win on Friday night, but the lineup couldn't overcome Dave Williams' struggles in Saturday's 9-3 loss.
"It would be nice to have Griff back in the lineup," Reds manager Jerry Narron said after Saturday's loss. "We'll see where that is day-to-day. I don't know if he'll be out there [Sunday] or not, but we definitely miss him."
Griffey was not in the lineup for Sunday afternoon's series finale, as he was still experiencing the stiffness behind his right knee that caused him to come out of Wednesday's game at Chicago.
"Some people think it's worse than we're letting on, and if it was worse than we're letting on, he wouldn't be here," Narron said on Sunday. "Seriously, it's day-to-day with him and we'll see what Dr. [Timothy] Kremchek says tomorrow when he sees him, why he's got that tightness."
Narron understands why Griffey is cautious. "If I'd gone through what he has with the surgery, if I felt tight, I would not want to take any chances," the manager said. "So I don't blame him. He's available to pinch-hit, he's just not available to run."
Ok, I call bullcrap. Narron is so full of it. If its not that serious, get his butt back out there. Otherwise, DL him and bring someone up that can help us. Its no knock on Griffey, just on management. I know he's had injuries, but come on.