It's a timing issue. Once he had surgery, he didn't gear up to be ready for Feb. 23 or even Spring Training. He was gearing up for Opening Day. Our hope, and I think everyone's hope, would be it he could have through Spring Training, and then a determination be made.

He believes he's going to be ready for the start of the season. That's what we're counting on.

Would they want Jeff Bagwell now making $17 million, or opt for access to $15 million? I can understand that. But he's under contract. Sometimes you have to live with it.

All Michelle wanted was to see for herself if she could do it or not. And when it became evident that was too much to ask, Michelle was the first to say she had too much respect for the Olympics and for this country to go out there when she knew she couldn't. Here, it's a different sport and a little different situation. But I think you could plug in the same kind of comments with Jeff -- if it comes to that.

I think the Reds are our most viable alternative. We've talked to some other clubs, but those have been contingent discussions.

If he's incapable of doing this, he's going to say so. He's said many times, he's not going to embarrass himself. He's a man of integrity. He cares about the team and cares about baseball.