Reds on Cincinnati shooting: 'A terrible tragedy'

CINCINNATI -- Thursday morning's shooting that left four dead and two wounded in the heart of downtown Cincinnati hit several Reds players hard.
"It's just a terrible tragedy," catcher Tucker Barnhart said before Thursday's game vs. the Padres. "It really hits home."
Barnhart pointed out that players who get called up by the Reds often stay at the Westin Hotel, which overlooks Fountain Square from the south. The shootings took place in a bank-office building on the north side of the site that has served as the focal point for celebrating the Reds' past World Series wins.
"You think about everybody," Barnhart said. "You think about your teammates. This really is a small city in the grand scheme of things. You see people around all the time that you recognize. You just hope that none of the victims are people you've developed a relationship with. It's just a terrible, terrible tragedy."
The Reds issued this statement within hours of the shooting:
"The thoughts and prayers of our entire organization go out to the victims of today's tragedy, as well as their families and friends. We also thank the first responders of our great city, who put themselves in harm's way each and every day for the safety of all. At tonight's game, prior to the singing of our National Anthem, the team and our fans will come together and hold a moment of silence in honor of the victims."

Interim manager Jim Riggleman was concerned that people are becoming jaded to such events.
"It happens too much that you don't think about it as much as you should," Riggleman said. "It happened here, so you think about it more, but it's happened in so many other places that you're like, 'Well, here's another one.' It won't be the last one."
Garrett on the mend
Left-handed reliever Amir Garrett took another step toward being activated from the 10-day disabled list when he threw a bullpen session on Thursday. Garrett has been sidelined since Aug. 29 with a bone bruise in his left foot. He said it bothered him when he pushed off the mound.
"It feels a lot better now," Garrett said. "I'm hoping in the next few days I'll be out there."
Riggleman said the Reds hope to get Garrett back "early next week."
Gennett gets Thursday off
What Riggleman described as "tenderness" in second baseman Scooter Gennett's thigh kept the National League's leader in batting average, entering the night, out of Thursday's starting lineup.
"It flared up late in the game [Wednesday] night," Riggleman said. "Then with the late night getting in [from Pittsburgh], we decided that, if he's going to get a day, today was the day."
Gennett entered Thursday batting .320 and also leading the NL with 166 hits, 50 multi-hit games and 17 three-hit games.