Reds put Belisle on DL, call up Germano from Louis
The Cincinnati Reds put right-handed reliever Matt Belisle on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a strained lower back.
Belisle is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 appearances. He hadn't pitched since Saturday because of the sore back.
The Reds filled his spot in the bullpen by calling up right-hander Justin Germano from Triple-A Louisville. Germano was 3-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 10 starts at Louisville and was scheduled to start for the Bats on Tuesday night.
Instead, he flew to Chicago to join the Reds for their series against the Cubs.
Bengals Win Battle For Buck Eye Bragging Rights
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Disappointed by his poor performance in a tricky wind, Carson Palmer shook the Cleveland Browns' hands after the game and got a little uplifting advice from a quarterback who knows what it takes to go deep into the playoffs.
| It was over when ... |
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| Shayne Graham kicked a 37-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give the Bengals a 3-point win over the Browns. |
| Game ball goes to ... |
| Bengals' Rudi Johnson, who picked up the slack as Carson Palmer strugged throughout the game. Johnson ran for a season-high 169 yards on 30 carries and helped set up Graham's game-winning kick. |
| ESPN's take ... |
 Today we saw Rudi Johnson and T.J. Houshamandzeh step up and take over this game while Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson had bad games. That's the type of play you need from secondary players when the going gets tough . -- Eric Allen |
In Trent Dilfer's eyes, these Bengals have it.
The Bengals compensated for Palmer's rare off day Sunday, getting a season-high 169 yards from running back Rudi Johnson and Shayne Graham's 37-yard field goal on the final play for a 23-20 victory.
The Bengals (10-3) maintained their two-game lead over Pittsburgh in the AFC North and can clinch the title with a win next Sunday in Detroit. They've won 10 games for the first time since 1988, the last time they made it to the Super Bowl.
"I haven't had double-digit wins since my second year in college," 10th-year offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. "It feels good to get 10 wins. We still have to finish it off."
An offense that scored 117 points in the last three games with a high-tech, no-huddle offense ground one out the old-fashioned way -- a very handy thing for cold playoff games.
"It was a tough game offensively," said Palmer, who had season lows in completions and yards. "We didn't play well, I didn't play well. You're frustrated and you're disappointed.
"I talked to Trent Dilfer after the game and he said not every game is a blowout, not every game is pretty. On your way to the Super Bowl, you're going to run into a bunch of games like that, and the good teams win those games. We're a good team and we won this game."
Dilfer led Baltimore to a Super Bowl title in 2000, when Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was the Ravens' defensive coordinator. For the second consecutive game, Dilfer wound up the backup to rookie Charlie Frye, who put the Browns (4-9) in position for an intrastate upset.
They couldn't pull it off because they couldn't stop Johnson, who carried a season-high 30 times and averaged 5.6 yards per run. When he got to the stadium and saw the wind, he knew it could come down to a running back.
"It was that type of ballgame: AFC North, cold weather and a lot at stake," he said.
Chad Johnson had season lows with two catches for 22 yards, but drew interference and illegal contact penalties on cornerback Leigh Bodden during the Bengals' 43-yard drive to the winning kick. Palmer was 13-of-27 for 93 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a season-low passer rating of 53.5.
In only his second NFL start, Frye kept the Browns in the game. He had only one costly mistake: a pass intercepted by Deltha O'Neal, setting up Cincinnati's second touchdown.
Gusts turned the stadium into a wind tunnel, made the goalposts gyrate and provided another concern for the rookie. He handled it much better than the Bengals' Heisman Trophy passer from Southern California.
Frye grew up in northern Ohio and was a third-round draft pick out of Akron, which is a snowplow drive from Cleveland.
"He's very confident," said Steve Heiden, who caught a touchdown pass. "He's mature for his years. He's poised, he's confident. He was very good."
Wearing a glove on his passing hand to help him grip the ball, Frye was on the mark in a low-risk passing attack of short passes and rollouts to avoid the rush. He ran 3 yards on a rollout to score on the Browns' first possession, raising the ball triumphantly with his right arm as he crossed the goal line.
"I felt much more comfortable than last week," Frye said.
Frye's 2-yard touchdown pass to Heiden put the Browns up 14-7 and sent notice this was going to be a typical Browns-Bengals game, unpredictable and up for grabs. He finished 16-of-24 for 138 yards with a touchdown and his first interception as a starter.
Reds Part With "The Mayor" Sean Casey
PITTSBURGH -- The Cincinnati Reds finalized on Thursday the trade of first baseman Sean Casey to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-hander Dave Williams, a deal that addresses each team's biggest need.
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| Casey |
"Sean Casey has been an asset to this organization the last eight years, but if we're going to improve and have a chance in our division, it's going to be about pitching," Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said.
Casey, a three-time All-Star and career .305 hitter who is among the most popular players on the Reds, batted .312 last year with nine homers and 58 RBI. A year earlier, he matched his career high of 99 RBI and hit 24 homers, one shy of his best.
The 31-year-old Casey was acquired by Cincinnati from Cleveland in March 1998 and has spent his entire major-league career with the Reds except for six games with the Indians in 1997. He is owed $8.5 million in the final year of his contract, and the Reds will send the Pirates $1 million to cover a portion of Casey's salary.
"We've been looking for a first baseman, and it seemed to be a good fit," Pirates general manager David Littlefield said. "He's been a productive player, and he will fit in well with our lineup."
The deal had been tentatively agreed to Tuesday, subject to physicals.
Having grown up in suburban Pittsburgh, Casey hit the first home run at PNC Park, an 8-2 Cincinnati win in April 2001. He went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, two-run double and five RBI in that game. He has 10 homers and 52 RBI in 99 career games against Pittsburgh.
"He's a local guy. There's a nice twist to that, too," Littlefield said. "He's a strong leader and a high character guy, and will be a good fit in our clubhouse with [manager] Jim Tracy."
Coincidentally, Casey's season ended because of a concussion that occurred in a Sept. 16 game in PNC Park. As third baseman Edwin Encarnacion's throw pulled Casey off the bag at first, Humberto Cota's left elbow accidentally struck Casey in the face. Casey lay motionless for about 10 minutes before being taken off the field on a stretcher.
First base was a problem area as the Pirates lost 95 games and general manager Dave Littlefield called it his chief priority before the winter meetings began. Daryle Ward (.260, 12 homers, 63 RBI) faded after a promising start, prompting the recall of 270-pound prospect Brad Eldred, who had 12 homers in 190 at-bats but struck out 77 times. He is expected to start the 2006 season in the minors.
Williams was 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 25 starts this year after not being assured of a spot in the rotation until the final week of spring training. He was drafted by the Pirates in 1998 and has a 17-26 record and 4.41 ERA in four major-league seasons, missing more than half of the 2002 season for shoulder surgery before spending the entire 2003 season in the minors.
"In our minds, he has the necessary profile to pitch in our ballpark," O'Brien said. "He's delighted to come to a team like ours that can score a lot of runs. He feels it's an opportunity for him to take a step forward in his career."
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is especially high on Williams, calling him one of the NL's best left-handed starters last season even though the 26-year-old has only 17 career victories.
Cincinnati is jammed in the outfield, with Ken Griffey Jr., Austin Kearns, Adam Dunn and Wily Mo Pena. By trading Casey, the Reds could move Dunn to first base.
Cincinnati also desperately needs pitching -- the Reds were 15th among the 16 NL teams last season with a 5.19 ERA, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies (5.54).
Williams was considered expendable by the Pirates because of their surplus of left-handers. They expect to start next season with four left-hander starters: 2005 rookies Zach Duke (8-2, 1.81 ERA) and Paul Maholm (3-1, 2.18 ERA), plus 2005 Opening Day starter Oliver Perez (7-5, 5.85 ERA) and veteran Mark Redman (5-15, 4.90). Also, left-hander Sean Burnett, a former first-round draft pick who won five in a row shortly after being called up in 2004, figures to return from elbow surgery early next season.
Casey, known as "The Mayor" in Cincinnati because of his outgoing personality and work in the community, had his jersey number retired by Upper St. Clair High School in suburban Pittsburgh several years ago. Williams' number was retired by the Pirates' Class A Williamsport farm club.
Reds Acquire '04 NL Champ Womack
DALLAS -- The New York Yankees traded Tony Womack to the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of 24-year-old prospects on Thursday, getting rid of the second baseman-turned-outfielder just one season after signing him.
New York received infielder Kevin Howard and outfielder Ben Himes in the trade, and will send $900,000 to the Reds to offset part of Womack's $2 million salary next season.
Womack hit .307 to help St. Louis win the NL pennant in 2004, then became a free agent and signed a $4 million, two-year contract with the Yankees.
He was their starting second baseman for the first month of the season, but lost his job when the Yankees brought up rookie Robinson Cano. Womack wound up playing just 24 games at second and was shifted to the outfield, where he appeared 40 times in left, 22 in center and four in right.
Womack wound up batting just .249 with 15 RBI and 27 steals. He didn't get an at-bat during New York's five-game loss to the Los Angeles Angels in the first round of the playoffs.
Howard hit .296 with 70 RBI for Double-A Chatanooga last season and led the Arizona Fall League with a .409 batting average. Himes had a combined .300 batting average for Class-A Sarasota and Dayton.