Ken

Griffey Jr.

Griffey has suffered from dizziness the past few days.

“There’s no reason to believe he won’t be at or near 100 percent for spring training,” said O’Brien. He went on to add that he still considers Griffey to be his center fielder, even though there’s been a lot of talk about moving him to right. The Reds probably want to make sure Griffey is OK with the idea before they make it official.

''The prognosis is encouraging,’' manager Bob Boone said. ''Every day there’s progress. I think it will be shorter than longer.’' The Reds don’t want to set a return date, but the news is positive.

The Reds have yet to decide when Griffey will make his spring debut. He’ll probably do some DHing before heading out to center field.

''On his own, without us asking, Griffey is reporting with the pitchers and catchers,’' GM Dan O’Brien said. ''He says he feels fine and there are no residual affects from the surgery.’' Griffey is expected to be ready to play at the start of the exhibition schedule, but he’ll probably have a light workload in March, if only to lessen the chances that he’ll get hurt again.

There is still no targeted return date for Griffey, though he’s just over a month into his 6-10 week rehab program.

There’s still no return date for Griffey, though he should be back sometime in May.

''I feel good. I’ve just got to get my timing down,’' said Junior, who had two hits, two runs and one RBI in his first five at-bats since returning. Get him back in your lineup.

A surprising choice by the Reds, who also had Minnesota assistant GM Wayne Krivsky and Montreal GM Omar Minaya in for second interviews. O’Brien, 49, has been with the Rangers since October 1996. Before that, he spent 15 years with the Astros, rising to director of scouting and player development. The decision to hire O’Brien is believed to be good news for interim Dave Miley, who figures to be named the permanent manager. Since the Reds will have a payroll under $50 million in 2004 and already have $31 million committed to five players, O’Brien’s in for a tough winter.

If O’Brien is being honest, there’s probably no chance that Griffey will be traded prior to Opening Day. That doesn’t mean that something won’t happen during the season.