Six Pack Abs

Kyle Lohse was the Cardinals starting pitcher, a former Red. His old friends roughed him up with five runs in the fifth inning, including a run scoring single by opposing pitcher Aaron Harang. Harang lost 25 pounds since he last faced the Cardinals.

Denis Reyes, who Jack McKeon called "Big Sweat", came by and said hello. Reyes is a big man with a pot belly and a physique that would never tip off that he is a professional athlete. Besides that he is missing a rib on one side. When he walks away from you it looks like he is leaning to his right.

When he was with the Reds at the end of one spring training, the players sign up to have their cars trucked back to Cincinnati. A list with the players names and make of cars are listed. One spring pitcher/jokester, Pete Harnisch wrote Reyes' name on the list and put down burro for his mode of transportation.

The writer of this blog went to the Orange Bowl game to watch the University of Cincinnati play on January 1st. On the flight to West Palm Beach, he couldn't get the seat belt around his ample hips and belly. That prompted him to drop close to 70 pounds since.

Jason LaRue the former Red catcher came up to him and said. "Dude you've gone from half barrel abs to six pack abs."

LaRue exaggerated some. It is more like 12 pack abs but a couple of rounds away from being six pack abs. The dude desires to be cut when his girlfriend comes to town.

It is rare that a baseball player will notice the physical appearance of another person. They are pretty narcissistic as a rule. And rarely one involving the shape of a writer, since they around hard bodies most of the time and consider that the norm.

LaRue himself has changed appearance from his clean cut Reds days. His hair is longer and he has more facial hair than he's ever had. He wore a bandana on his head and looks like he should be playing for the Pirates.