Dunn played ’05 with broken hand and other Dunn news…

From the Hal McCoy in today’s Hamilton Journal:

Cincinnati Reds slugger Adam Dunn hit 40 home runs last season. He drove in 101 runs, scored 107 runs and walked 114 times — all with a broken right hand.

It’s his football mentality.

Reds manager Jerry Narron let it slip Thursday at a Dayton Agonis Club meeting when somebody criticized Dunn.
“He broke his hand twice last year and wouldn’t let us X-ray it because he wanted to play,” Narron said.
When Dunn was asked about it, he uttered a profanity and said, “He isn’t supposed to be talking about that. It was not that big of a deal.”

What may be more concerning is that it’s still bothering him, at least as much as he’ll let it bother him.

Asked how long the hand hurt, Dunn said, “What time is it now?”
So it still hurts.
“Yeah, I had it checked this week, and the doctor said I should put a splint on it, but the heck with that,” said the man who takes over first base for the Cincinnati Reds this year.
Dunn, a former scholarship quarterback at the University of Texas before he was the Reds’ No. 2 draft choice in 1998, believes a little ol’ hairline fracture shouldn’t stop a 6-foot-6, 275-pound Texan.
And it didn’t.
“In May in Houston, I was diving back into third base on a pickoff play, and Morgan Ensberg stepped on the hand,” he said. Dunn played on.
“Later in the year, some home game, and I don’t remember who, I was hit on the hand, same exact spot,” he said. “I remember how I used to make fun of Aaron Boone for getting hit on the hands all the time and asking him, ‘How does that happen? How can you get hit on the hand? Can’t you get out of the way?’ Now I know.”

On Dunn and a long term contract and the new ownership:

Asked if the Reds had talked to him about signing a multiyear contract, he said, “That is a big no. Not a word. I’ve heard rumors, but nothing official.”
Now that the team is under new ownership and a new general manager is coming aboard, Dunn hopes that changes.
“I’ve heard great stuff about the new owner (Bob Castellini),” he said. “He showed this team a lot by stepping right in and firing Dan O’Brien. I love that he wasn’t afraid to do something. I hear he is a guy who will hang around the clubhouse, and I love that.
“Too many owners you feel like they’re the Pope and that you have to take off your shoes in their presence. But I heard Castellini is a regular dude and I look forward to meeting him,” he added.

Let’s hope that Castellini’s first priority (maybe second after hiring a GM) is getting Dunn locked up to a long term deal. It would do a lot toward actually SHOWING fans that he means business.