Talk about a parallel universe. The Cincinnati Reds won 10 straight and had 15 wins in 16 games before a pounding on Friday night, a hot streak that has pulled them off the floor in the National League Central and put them within range of legitimate wild-card contention.

Now, that organization is faced with the same decision that has been created by the Orioles' second-half resurgence.

Play 'em or trade 'em?

General manager Jim Bowden recently sent top closer Jeff Shaw to the Los Angeles Dodgers for first base prospect Paul Konerko, but the club has continued to climb in the standings even as several contenders continue to bid for top starter Pete Harnisch.

"They've got the sense they can win," manager Jack McKeon said recently. "They've done it so many times this past month, they know they can do it. They're not going to lay down and die."

Maybe not, but the club still faces the possibility of further deconstruction. Two veteran pitchers -- Shaw and starter Dave Burba -- already are gone, and Bowden appears more intent on building a Young Red Machine than playing out a questionable hand in the wild-card race.

The 15-1 run was the best by a Reds team since 1957, but the club still was eight games behind the San Francisco Giants in the wild-card hunt and the law of averages has to be lurking somewhere.

"This is a remarkable run," Bowden said. "I've never seen anything like this. This is a tremendous feat. It's also very characteristic of young players because they're so streaky. These young players haven't even come to their potential yet."

No doubt, Bowden would jump at the chance to pull off a few more deals that deepen the youthful nucleus of his club. He already has acquired top prospects Sean Casey and Konerko this year and figures to get good value for Harnisch or veteran shortstop Barry Larkin, or both.

No matter what happens, he's enjoying the behind-the-scenes machinations almost as much as his team's rush to respectability.

"It's going to be a fun couple of weeks," Bowden said. "Last year, we were forced to make deals to get the payroll down. This year, we're not forced to make a deal, so we're going to make the ones that we believe are good baseball trades, like the Konerko trade, the Sean Casey trade and the Dmitri Young trade."

Fenway crunch

The 1999 All-Star Game will be held at 34,000-seat Fenway Park, which is sure to create a huge ticket crunch and leave many faithful fans on the outside looking in.

"The good news for our most supportive fans is that we have the home run-hitting contest, which we'll be able to offer to our best customers," said Boston Red Sox GM Dan Duquette.

That's a fancy way of saying that there aren't going to be enough game tickets available to satisfy everybody on the club's partial and full-season ticket list. The Red Sox already have promised to reserve tickets for full-season plan holders who renew for 1999, but half-season plan holders may have to settle for the All-Star workout.

Maddux: No rear view

Atlanta Braves ace Greg Maddux looks like he's on the way to an unprecedented fifth Cy Young Award, but he continues to shy away from talk about his place in baseball history.

"I'm not history yet," he said last week. "I'm not past tense yet, so I don't think about it. It's not so much what I've accomplished, so much as what more can I do.

"I don't want to [review accomplishments] until I'm done. I'm aware I've had some pretty special years. I'm also aware it doesn't matter. It's not going to help me win my next game. I'm not concerned about where I'm heading at all. If you ask me what I'll be doing 10 years from now, I have no idea."

Griffey opens up

Seattle Mariners superstar Ken Griffey took a lot of heat during the All-Star break for his apparently sullen demeanor and initial refusal to take part in the much-anticipated home run derby at Coors Field.

He tried to explain himself Wednesday in a lengthy session with the media, during which he made it pretty clear that he has grown weary of dealing with media coverage of his day-to-day exploits.

"I'd rather talk about W's than home runs," he said. "Why do I have to answer personal questions? Why do I have to sit there and answer trick questions I first heard when I was 19 years old?"

The answer is simple enough, but a lot of high-profile players do not want to hear it.

Major League Baseball is a public relations-driven industry that trades heavily on the personalities of its star-quality players. Baseball teams -- and, for that matter, the companies that pay millions for his celebrity name recognition -- don't give Griffey and his fellow superstars all that money to hide in the training room.

Griffey is human, of course, and can be forgiven for getting tired of the repetitive nature of the media coverage, but bemoaning the attention paid to his assault on the single-season home run record is pointless and self-defeating. Doing so while trading on his fame in countless TV commercials and promotional ventures is even worse.

It's a little like going to a restaurant and berating the waiter for bringing exactly what you ordered.

In the line of fire

Houston Astros reliever Billy Wagner joined the list of pitchers who have been KO'd by comebackers this year, taking a shot off the side of his head in Wednesday's game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The liner off the bat of Kelly Stinnett left Wagner on the ground with blood coming out of his left ear, but he didn't lose consciousness and apparently will make a full recovery.

"It was an unfortunate thing," Stinnett said. "Hopefully, he's doing well. I was just hoping he'd get back up and throw a few more pitches. It's something unfortunate. It's just part of the game, like a pitcher hitting one of us."

Apparently, however, it has become a bigger part of the game as the delicate balance between offense and pitching has shifted toward the hitters.

Hershiser goes home

Giants right-hander Orel Hershiser pitched at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night for the first time since he left the club as a free agent to sign with the Cleveland Indians. And it went pretty well, despite some pre-game jitters.

Hershiser went to a 3-0 count on Dodgers leadoff man Wilton Guerrero in the first inning before steadying himself and working six solid innings to help the Giants end a five-game losing streak.

"I had to run up the tunnel before I went out there to collect myself," Hershiser said. "And then I threw three straight balls to the first hitter. It was all still there -- the mound, the past. I told myself, 'This is the future now.' "

Umpires strike out

Florida Marlins manager Jim Leyland was ejected Wednesday night against the Montreal Expos for arguing a call that even the umpires admitted was wrong.

Expos catcher Chris Widger should have been called out when he overran teammate Mark Grudzielanek on the bases in the fourth inning, but was allowed to remain on base even though Rule 7.08 clearly states otherwise.

"We missed the play. Bottom line. End of story," said veteran umpire Frank Pulli, who gave Leyland plenty of time to vent before ejecting him. "Now, if they want to give me the electric chair or the lethal injection, I'll take the lethal injection, but I don't want to get into it any more than that."

Montreal manager Felipe Alou probably should have been angry at the fundamental lapse by his catcher, but he played it for laughs.

"We're not used to having that many runners [on base]," he said.

R. Davis takes detour

Seattle's Russ Davis was named the best defensive third baseman in the minor leagues by Baseball America in 1993, but the Mariners have become so frustrated with his defensive inconsistency at the position that the club has moved him to the outfield.

And why not? Davis committed 17 errors in 117 games last year and was on pace to commit about 50 this year when manager Lou Piniella finally decided that he would be better off somewhere else.

"I love Russ, but his future is in left field with us," Piniella said. "It was mental, yes, but it was more than that and it was starting to affect him at the plate."

So, Lou, how do you explain the outstanding defensive scouting report five years ago?

"There must have been a lot of bad third basemen that year."

Renteria may stay put

Marlins shortstop Edgar Renteria has been a mainstay of the rumor mill during the first half of the season, but it seems unlikely that the club will trade him by the July 31 deadline to move players without waivers.

Renteria is not destined to become a free agent at the end of the year, so the only good reason to trade him would be to avoid giving him a big raise in arbitration during the off-season. The Marlins already have downsized considerably, so it would be foolhardy to let go of a front-line shortstop over a couple of million dollars.

They apparently realize that, and figure to keep him at least through next year.

Three-way deal killed

Detroit Tigers GM Randy Smith apparently has decided to pass on a proposed three-way deal that called for him to send prospects to the Reds and receive pitcher Joey Hamilton from the San Diego Padres. The Padres reportedly would have gotten Pete Harnisch -- who now may go to the Texas Rangers or Red Sox.

Smith said Tuesday that he would not meet the price set by Reds GM Jim Bowden, who is believed to be asking for two top prospects. The Tigers reportedly are willing to part with power prospect Juan Encarnacion, but won't do more than that.

"I'm not going to pay what they're asking me to pay," Smith said. "I choose not to overpay. I would say the chances of a deal are very slim."

Pub Date: 7/18/98