Reds' Ruhle diagnosed with cancer
03/02/2006
LAKELAND, Fla. -- When Reds pitching coach Vern Ruhle asked to address the clubhouse Thursday morning, it wasn't to talk about the first Grapefruit League game later that day or scheduling bullpen sessions for his pitchers.
Instead, Ruhle delivered sobering news that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer.
"He's upbeat and we're optimistic," Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said. "But it does hit you in the gut when you hear that word [cancer]."
The 55-year-old Ruhle declined to reveal the exact nature of the disease he was dealing with, but planned to continue performing his duties for the club.
"I'm going to focus totally on remission, as well as being a coach," Ruhle said. "But the remission part is going to be the priority."
Doctors discovered Ruhle's cancer after he took his annual physical as Spring Training opened two weeks ago. He missed the club's workout on Monday and received a confirmed diagnosis.
"I figured a coach missing a workout in Spring Training for a doctor's appointment, something's not good," manager Jerry Narron said. "When they had the physicals, right away the blood test came back and said there was something. We were all hoping that first test was wrong."
"Hopefully, it opens everybody's eyes," veteran reliever Chris Hammond said. "Did he feel any different? The older you get, you have to be careful. God doesn't guarantee us tomorrow."
Ruhle, who met the team in Lakeland just before Cincinnati played the Tigers, appeared to be in good spirits while discussing his condition with reporters after the game.
"There's more or less an understanding that there are medical advances and you deal with what the new information is," Ruhle said. "I'm fortunate that the timing of it was during Spring Training and they got the physicals and I got an early diagnosis. It allows me to go ahead and start treatment basically before symptoms [appear]. Everything is a positive mindset. It's something we can treat and put it in remission."
Ruhle never considered taking a leave of absence from coaching.
"No," he said. "It's what I do. It's where you're supposed to be, at Spring Training."
Ruhle, who keeps his offseason home near the Reds complex in Sarasota, will undergo his treatments in Florida.
"He'll be with us as much as he can this spring and go from there, basically," Narron said.
Bullpen coach Tom Hume will assume Ruhle's duties on days he is unable to get to the ballpark.
"Vern's the pitching coach," Krivsky made clear. "We're just going to have to play it by ear by how he feels and that type of thing. Everybody reacts to treatments differently. We'll have to wait and see and be guided by how he feels and what the doctors feel. The bottom line is, we're here to support Vern."
After he joined the Reds organization in 2004 as a pitching coach with rookie level Billings, Ruhle was promoted to Minor League pitching coordinator before the 2005 season. He became the big league pitching coach for the team when Don Gullett was dismissed in June along with manager Dave Miley.
Ruhle pitched for the Tigers, Astros, Indians and Angels from 1974-86 and was 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA. From 1997-2003, he was a pitching coach for the Astros, Phillies and Mets.
"I'll add one more person to my prayer list," Hammond said. "The only thing you can do for him is stay positive."
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
LAKELAND, Fla. -- When Reds pitching coach Vern Ruhle asked to address the clubhouse Thursday morning, it wasn't to talk about the first Grapefruit League game later that day or scheduling bullpen sessions for his pitchers.
Instead, Ruhle delivered sobering news that he had been diagnosed with a form of cancer.
"He's upbeat and we're optimistic," Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky said. "But it does hit you in the gut when you hear that word [cancer]."
The 55-year-old Ruhle declined to reveal the exact nature of the disease he was dealing with, but planned to continue performing his duties for the club.
"I'm going to focus totally on remission, as well as being a coach," Ruhle said. "But the remission part is going to be the priority."
Doctors discovered Ruhle's cancer after he took his annual physical as Spring Training opened two weeks ago. He missed the club's workout on Monday and received a confirmed diagnosis.
"I figured a coach missing a workout in Spring Training for a doctor's appointment, something's not good," manager Jerry Narron said. "When they had the physicals, right away the blood test came back and said there was something. We were all hoping that first test was wrong."
"Hopefully, it opens everybody's eyes," veteran reliever Chris Hammond said. "Did he feel any different? The older you get, you have to be careful. God doesn't guarantee us tomorrow."
Ruhle, who met the team in Lakeland just before Cincinnati played the Tigers, appeared to be in good spirits while discussing his condition with reporters after the game.
"There's more or less an understanding that there are medical advances and you deal with what the new information is," Ruhle said. "I'm fortunate that the timing of it was during Spring Training and they got the physicals and I got an early diagnosis. It allows me to go ahead and start treatment basically before symptoms [appear]. Everything is a positive mindset. It's something we can treat and put it in remission."
Ruhle never considered taking a leave of absence from coaching.
"No," he said. "It's what I do. It's where you're supposed to be, at Spring Training."
Ruhle, who keeps his offseason home near the Reds complex in Sarasota, will undergo his treatments in Florida.
"He'll be with us as much as he can this spring and go from there, basically," Narron said.
Bullpen coach Tom Hume will assume Ruhle's duties on days he is unable to get to the ballpark.
"Vern's the pitching coach," Krivsky made clear. "We're just going to have to play it by ear by how he feels and that type of thing. Everybody reacts to treatments differently. We'll have to wait and see and be guided by how he feels and what the doctors feel. The bottom line is, we're here to support Vern."
After he joined the Reds organization in 2004 as a pitching coach with rookie level Billings, Ruhle was promoted to Minor League pitching coordinator before the 2005 season. He became the big league pitching coach for the team when Don Gullett was dismissed in June along with manager Dave Miley.
Ruhle pitched for the Tigers, Astros, Indians and Angels from 1974-86 and was 67-88 with a 3.73 ERA. From 1997-2003, he was a pitching coach for the Astros, Phillies and Mets.
"I'll add one more person to my prayer list," Hammond said. "The only thing you can do for him is stay positive."
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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