"Thired baseman Scott Rolen thought he had gotten away with it. He slipped in the batting cage outside the Reds clubhouse.

"I snuck in," he said. "I went around the back door, nobody there. I had a bat I drug in with me. No batting gloves, nothing. I put the ball on the tee. And I hear: 'I thought we weren't going to do that!' (Dr. Tim) Kremchek of all people. I said, 'Jeez, I hadn't even swung yet. This place is bugged.'

"It was a covert operation. In the middle of a game, so one was around. Third inning, so guys weren't getting loose yet. I had it all set, except for the doctor walking in.

"I ended taking five unauthorized swings."

Other than playing catch, that's the extent of his baseball activity.

"I could probably go out and take groundballs," he said. "But that seems to come a little bit quicker than the other stuff."

Rolen is feeling better. He is eligible to come off the disabled list Friday. That won't happen. But the tightness in his neck and shoulder area has eased."