Freel Dirty Shirt

I saw the Reds are doing some promotions this year called "Freel Dirty Shirt" where they give out replica Freel jerseys with dirt stains on them.

But I really just wanted to pass on this good Freel article.

Freel Can't Back Off Dangerous, All-out Style
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Mar 28, 2:32 PM (ET)

By JOE KAY

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -Ryan Freel gripped the padded arms of his folding chair and gently lowered himself into a sitting position, giving his achy back an easy descent. Scrapes the consistency of overripe strawberries adorned both forearms.

A day after his foolishly fantastic catch, his body was feeling it.

Only Freel would throw himself headlong into an outfield wall - OK, so the wall was padded - to make a catch in a meaningless spring training game, leaving him in need of ice, X-rays and something for that headache.

The outfielder's emergency-room-or-bust style has made him a fan favorite in Cincinnati. He had a career breakthrough this spring, when manager Jerry Narron decided that Freel would take over in center field for Ken Griffey Jr.

That's where he'll start the season opener on Monday - unless he runs into something else between now and then.

Don't rule it out.

"What's gotten me here is playing the game hard and doing everything I can to win a ballgame," he said Wednesday before going for precautionary X-rays on his ribs that were negative. "To tone it down for the longevity - that's something I can't do. I can't hold back. I just can't do that. If I'm going to get hurt, I'm going to get hurt."

On this day, the checklist of hurts is typically long. Sore ribs. Sore right shoulder blade. Sore back.

"Nothing I couldn't play with," said Freel, who got the day off anyway.

All the aches and scrapes came from one play that left everyone shaking their heads in wonder. Freel made a diving catch on the warning track during a 6-2 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, flinging himself headfirst into the base of the padded wall. He held onto the ball, but had to leave the game at the end of the inning because of back spasms.

"It shows how crazy he is," Reds pitcher Kyle Lohse said. "He's a gamer. He doesn't take a play off no matter what."

His manager wishes he would.

Narron has talked to Freel about easing up during spring training so he's completely healthy - if there is such a thing - for the season opener against the Cubs. He might as well talk to the outfield wall.

"I told him to try to play this game at about 80 percent, so maybe he was," Narron mused. "Maybe he really would have gotten hurt if he was playing 100 percent. Great play. He would have been all right if he didn't hit the wall."

He would have been all right if he hadn't made the dive in the first place. He knew he shouldn't do it, but his instincts took over.

"In the back of my mind, I think, 'Take it easy, try to get out of here in one piece,"' Freel said, sitting stiffly in his folding chair. "But then I seen an opportunity, and I really don't think about it when I'm running for the ball. It all just flies out the window. I don't know what I'm thinking about. I end up just trying to catch the ball."

His refusal to slow down has probably slowed his career. Freel has played all three outfield positions, second base, third base and shortstop. He has led the team in steals each of the last three seasons. During his career, he also has broken both thumbs, torn knee cartilage and missed time because of injuries to his shoulder, foot and hamstrings.

Appropriately, the Reds will honor Freel with a pair of "Ryan Freel Dirty Shirt" days this season, giving away jerseys that appear to have dirt stains down the front. The 31-year-old outfielder usually has dirt, grass or part of the warning track somewhere on his uniform.

"I was always dirty," Freel said, thinking back to his boyhood days. "My mom and dad just dropped me off at the field to play all day. I was a mess."

The Reds are hoping he can stay healthy enough to be their full-time center fielder. They moved Griffey to right field this spring, recognizing that Freel covers more ground. Griffey isn't happy about the switch, pointing out that it wasn't his idea.

"It feels a little awkward," Freel said. "Junior is not the type of guy to hold a grudge or be a jerk. This is my fifth year playing with him, and he's never been like that. But down deep, it does feel a little awkward to replace a player of that caliber. I'm still in awe. How many people get to replace a Hall of Fame player?"

Freel will get the chance, provided he doesn't get hurt.

"That's the way the game's supposed to be played," he said. "I've been a utility guy, scratched my way up through the minors. It seems like my career is now just getting started. I'm going to take full advantage of it."