national league baseball

By BERNIE LINCICOME
Scripps Howard News Service
Wednesday, May 09, 2007

A baseball manager once responded to a poll asking him to list his team broken down by race.

None, he answered. More of his team was broken down by alcohol.

The point is, you see what you want to in these polls, endless as they are, concluding what they do.

Here's another. While it is still permitted to dislike Barry Bonds, your reasons are no longer your own. A poll has been taken to determine what they are.

If at any time you feel like booing him or ignoring him or cheering him, understand that research has determined why you are doing what you are doing.

Your response to Bonds is determined by your race, and by his, more than by anything he might have done or yet might do.

Bonds is unloved more by white people than by black people says the poll, conducted by ABC-ESPN, which is, of course, the last word as well as a whole bunch of letters in the alphabet.

More than half of all baseball fans do not want Bonds to break Henry Aaron's home run record, but many more whites are against it.

While the conclusion is not exactly a shocker, it does assign motives carelessly and supports sympathy for Bonds, who has taken a very long time earning his disfavor.

Bonds has wasted a whole lot of energy and years building his image as a self-absorbed jerk just to have it dismissed as a racial consideration.

To think that Bonds could have spent his career being pleasant and agreeable _ as, oh, Tony Gwynn was or as Alex Rodriguez is _ and still have his legacy defined by race is as silly as it is beside the point.

Surely there will be, or maybe there already has been, a poll examining how many golf fans do not want Tiger Woods to break Jack Nicklaus' major championships record.

I would think this would be divided more by age than by race _ and there is some of that with Bonds, too _ those of Nicklaus' generation wanting to hang on to some standard of their youth and resenting Woods, if at all, for being younger and better.

But the truth is that Woods will be hailed and adored even more so than now the closer he gets. This is because people like him for no other reason than he has given us no reason not to.

The same is true of the search for the next Michael Jordan, ongoing as it has been since Jordan's first retirement. It will matter not the race of the replacement _ odds on to be LeBron James at this moment _ but his deportment and behavior.

What might be more enlightening about Bonds' challenge to Aaron than whether it can be viewed through a lens of race is the lack of fascination with it, much less than when Aaron was after Babe Ruth and racial concerns existed.

Aaron is a man of quiet dignity and pride, and his indication that he will not take part in however loud the carnival gets are reasons that remain his own.

The commissioner, Bud Selig, might not be present for the big moment, either, just as Bowie Kuhn was not there for Aaron. Such a significant moment in baseball should have less dithering.

Bonds is almost into single digits behind Aaron, and the countdown is nearly indiscernible. I suppose that someone will let us know when it happens.

At his current rate, a home run every three or so games, Bonds would pass Aaron sometime in mid-June, and chances are the big hit could come in either Boston or Milwaukee.

Now, Milwaukee has its own obvious irony, but Boston, too, has a late little twist. Curt Schilling, the Red Sox pitcher and persistent magpie, declared on a Boston radio show that Bonds had admitted everything he has been accused of and some things he has not.

While none of it is has been admitted by Bonds and likely has less to do with Schilling being white than being an airhead, maybe some of the natural drama that is missing would get a boost should No. 756 come off Schilling.

Here's the short version. We want our heroes to be heroic, not sulky or phony or chemically enhanced.

It is up to us to whom we give our affection. And not up to some poll to tell us why we do it.

By SCOTT OSTLER
San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, May 07, 2007

The kid didn't throw a perfect game, so he fell short of the expectations.

San Francisco Giants fans are realistic: They were willing to settle for a garden-variety no-hitter.

All Tim Lincecum got was a no-decision Sunday in his major-league debut. But let's see the Giants' front office even think about sending The Future back to the past, a.k.a. Class AAA Fresno.

Tim and the fans have bonded with Super Glue, and the fans aren't going to let the kid get sent back to the bush leagues until you pry the autograph pens out of their cold, dead hands.

"He's got a great gift," general manager Brian Sabean said before the game, referring to Lincecum's right arm.

And you don't give your fans a gift, then tell 'em you're sending it back to Fresno.

The fans gave Lincecum an ovation when his name was announced with the starting lineup, and they gave him a standing ovation when he was pulled with one out in the fifth inning.

How do you not like a young man who looks like Billy the Kid's kid brother, throws 100 miles (not kilometers) per hour, and strikes out three batters in his first inning of major-league work?

The fans fell in love. Lincecum had 'em at called "strike one" on leadoff batter Jimmy Rollins, a 97-mph heater on the outside corner.

The fans love him because he represents hope, youth and fire, three elements that the Giants and their fans can use more of.

Sending him back to Fresno after another start or two, unless he gets rocked silly, will be as messy as trying to shove the toothpaste back into the tube.

When was the last time a Giants debuting rookie lit up the place like Lincecum? Some say Will Clark carried a similar buzz. I'm thinking you have to go back further, to May of 1951, when the Giants (then in New York) called up Willie Mays.

The call-up stats have similar dazzle. Mays was hitting .477 in 35 games at AAA. Lincecum was 4-0 with an 0.29 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Mays started 0-for-12. Lincecum started no-decision, giving up two two-run homers and striking out five before he hit his 100-pitch limit.

If he didn't quite live up to his legend, he didn't hurt it much, either.

He's a slip of a lad with freaky mechanics and scary command. He can walk on his hands, do back flips, and he never ices his arm after he throws, which is almost as rare in the big leagues as pitching without pants.

Pitcher's got a rubber arm.

"The day after he pitches, he'll play catch with anyone, long-toss," Sabean said.

So maybe the Giants can give him his second start tonight against the Mets?

Everyone didn't go ga-ga over Lincecum. When the Giants had their PA announcer announce during Friday and Saturday's games that Lincecum would be starting Sunday, one Giants player (not Barry Bonds, but that's the only hint I'll give you) groused that it was wrong to use the phenom to goose attendance.

And it did goose attendance, though the house wasn't full Sunday. But the real reason the Giants promoted Lincecum was that, a) they needed a starter to replace the injured Russ Ortiz, and b) it was getting almost embarrassing to keep Lincecum in the minors.

The Giants were keeping close tabs on Lincecum, of course. Sabean, a pretty low-key guy, said when he would talk to the Fresno folks after a Lincecum start, "The comments were uncharacteristic."

The kid's not normal.

He is human. Though he hit 100 mph on the stadium radar gun at least three times, the gun is at least 2 mph faster than ESPN's gun. The Giants like to save money, but you shouldn't buy radar guns from guys on street corners.

It will be interesting to see what Lincecum does next time he pitches, if the Giants decide to start the varsity lineup behind him.

There are probably solid reasons the Giants featured a split-squad-type lineup Sunday, but if I'm debuting my rookie phenom pitcher, I want to back him with my best lineup.

Like, for starters, Bonds, he of the .347 batting average and 10 homers. Bonds and manager Bruce Bochy decided it would be better for Bonds to play Saturday and sit Sunday, so the lineup backing The Kid featured a total of 10 home runs this year, and it delivered zero homers Sunday.

If you worry about rushing a kid to the big leagues for fear of damaging his psyche, it seems like you should back him with the "A" team, but that's life.

Lincecum will get at least one more start.

"We were all excited to see him, and we like what we saw," Bochy said.

Bochy also said, "He's got a chance to be real special, and we knew it, and that's why he's here."

And Sabean said before the debut, "You'd like to think he's up here for good, but we'll just have to see."

By LONNIE WHEELER
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 07, 2007

So you're a manager. The Cincinnati Reds' manager. What do you do? What can you do?

Your starting pitcher has worked seven manly innings and leads, say, 3-1. He assures you he can go on. They all assure you they can go on. But the pitch counter reads 119, and 39 of them came in the seventh, when the other guys loaded the bases and scored their only run and got in some good licks besides.

It's an obvious bullpen situation, but the thing is, yours, of late, has held together like an episode of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Eighth innings have looked like Freddie Krueger movies.

So when the question was posed Sunday to Jerry Narron _ "The way your bullpen has struggled lately, does it make you rethink your usual strategy, make you maybe leave guys in longer than you would otherwise?" _ the Reds' skipper took a deep breath, paused a moment, tilted his head back and then brought it down again with a wry smile and a resounding, "Yes!

"I'm going to be honest with you. That's something I've got to be very, very careful of, trying not to overextend a starter."

A couple hours later, it came up just that way, more or less, in the sixth inning. Bronson Arroyo had held the Colorado Rockies hitless through three innings and scoreless through five, by which time the Reds led 5-0; but in the sixth the plot picked up. So did Arroyo's pitch count. His 48th of the inning, and 121st of the afternoon, was ball four to Brad Hawpe, loading the bases. The Rockies had already scored twice.

And here came Narron, knowing full well that, largely because of the bullpen, Arroyo had already been deprived this year of winning a game in which he gave up two runs, and deprived of winning another when he gave up two runs, and deprived of winning another when he gave up just one. All told, he had registered but a single victory in spite of a 2.73 earned run average.

But it's a long season, and 121 is a lot of pitches, and 48 in an inning suggests to a manager that your guy isn't going so well. So Narron trudged out to the mound like he had thumbtacks in his socks, and he took the ball from his tiring starter, and then he gave it to Kirk Saarloos. And Saarloos _ here we go again _ promptly walked in a run.

After that, all was uncommonly well, owing largely to the amazing, miraculous, super-spectacular Josh Hamilton, who probably should be the object of today's column except that he could be the object of every day's column. Hamilton added to the Cincinnati lead with his second home run of the day, and preserved it with a fabulous catch and an even better throw. He's the kind of guy who makes a bullpen better, to say nothing of a team. And a sport.

Anyway, Saarloos got out of the sixth and fared well in the seventh. He's not bad, actually. Unfortunately, that sort of makes him the exception in the Reds' pen.

Brought over from Oakland in January, Saarloos is one of four current Cincinnati relievers whom general manager Wayne Krivsky has acquired in his less than two years here. The others are Victor Santos, Mike Stanton and Jon Coutlangus.

Then there's the 18 who aren't here. You want the whole list? In no particular order, it's Mike Burns, Joe Mays, Chris Hammond, Eddie Guardado, Ryan Franklin, Jake Robbins, Rheal Cormier, Ricky Stone, Esteban Yan, Jason Johnson, Bill Bray, Gary Majewski, Scott Schoeneweis, Sun-woo Kim, Jared Burton, Kerry Ligtenberg, Dustin Hermanson and I'm counting Marcus McBeth, who's at Class AAA Louisville after being picked up recently in a trade for Chris Denorfia but might be good enough to make it up here before the summer's out.

See, this bullpen thing has been a problem since before Krivsky took the job, and he knows it, and he's done all he can think to do, including trading everyday starters Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns for Bray and Majewski, more or less. If he had Kearns and Lopez back and there were a couple young, good-looking, major-league relievers who could be had for them, he'd probably do it again.

As it stands, meanwhile, the bullpen is bound to be better if/when Guardado is fully recovered from his elbow surgery and Bray's finger heals up and Majewski returns to the pitcher he was in Washington. It's bound to be better, also, for one ironclad, unassailable reason: It can't possibly be as bad as the last few weeks have suggested.

It wasn't that bad Sunday, when Stanton and Weathers made it through the eighth and ninth relatively uneventfully and the Reds broke their four-game losing streak. Nor was it that bad at the season's beginning, when it started off with 14-plus scoreless and pretty provocative innings. Oh, those halcyon days of last month ...

"Every guy in the bullpen is very capable of getting outs," Narron continued. "They showed that early. When you run out 14 straight scoreless innings, you know it's out there."

By TRACY RINGOLSBY
Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, May 04, 2007

New York Yankees manager Joe Torre and owner George Steinbrenner have been good for each other.

Torre has provided Steinbrenner some long-term stability, serving as the manager of a franchise that has made 11 consecutive postseason appearances with Torre, won six American League pennants and four championships. And he has done it without trying to tear down The Boss, as Steinbrenner is known.

He has kept the disagreements behind closed doors, unlike predecessors who looked for public sympathy when they felt threatened by Steinbrenner.

In turn, Torre has become a very rich man, setting salary records for a manager while working for Steinbrenner, and he can thank Steinbrenner for being referred to as a future Hall of Fame manager.

Remember, when he was hired, Torre was a run-of-the- mill manager who had been fired by the Mets, Braves and Cardinals. Media and fans were so aghast at the hiring that he was referred to as "An Ordinary Joe."

If Torre survives the season, he will match Casey Stengel (1949-60) for the second-longest tenure in Yankees managerial history, trailing Joe McCarthy, who lasted 35 games into the 1946 season, his 16th.

Now comes the real challenge of Steinbrenner's loyalty. It's one thing the Yankees haven't won a championship since 2000 or even played in a World Series since 2003. But this year, the Yankees are fading into oblivion.

Just a week into the second month of the season, and postseason dreams become fainter by the day for a Yankees team that moved out of last place in the AL East on Thursday after sweeping a doubleheader against Texas.

New York (12-14) is 5-1/2games behind the Boston Red Sox, who won five of six from the Yankees the past two weekends.

Reason for concern? Only 17 of the 88 teams to advance to the postseason in the past 11 years had a losing record in April, and of the 62 teams in that stretch who had winning percentages below .400 also in April, only three rallied to play in October.

Little of the blame can honestly be placed on Torre. While Steinbrenner might feel he should have champagne and filets for a payroll close to $200 million, the bottom line appears to be that even money can't buy out bad luck.

How tough are things for the Yankees? Not only have four of the five members of their season-opening rotation been on the disabled list _ Jeff Karstens, Mike Mussina, Carl Pavano and Chien- Ming Wang _ but super prospect Phil Hughes, called up to fill a void, also is out for a month with an injury.

The five made two starts apiece before Mussina returned Thursday and are a combined 3-5, having allowed 32 earned runs in 49 2/3 innings.

OVERHEARD

_ The sale of the Tribune Co. to real estate magnate Sam Zell apparently stopped the Cubs from signing right-hander Carlos Zambrano to a five-year, $85 million extension. Word is, with the sale of Tribune, the Cubs were told to make no contract commitments until their ownership status is figured out. Zell is expected to deal the team.

_ Right-hander Tim Lincecum, the Giants' No. 1 draft pick out of Washington last year, could be called up and take Russ Ortiz's spot in the rotation. Lincecum is 4-0 with an 0.29 ERA for Class AAA Fresno.

_ Mets second baseman Jose Valentin has said surgery for a knee ligament problem that forced him on the disabled list will be a last resort. Wonder if the fact his option for 2008 becomes guaranteed if he has 400 plate appearances is a factor in that decision?

READERS' TURN

Bill Stahl writes: "When the national anthem is played at Coors Field, how come all of the Rockies' players and coaches stand at attention on the top dugout step, but when you look at the visiting team's dugout, there are rarely more individuals than a couple of coaches and ball boys there? Once the anthem ends, the visiting players all promptly emerge from the clubhouse ready to play ball."

Bill, it's a Rockies rule that manager Clint Hurdle has instituted, and that actually goes back to the original days with Don Baylor as a manager. The feeling is it is a sign of respect and a sign of unity to the team. As Baylor would say, "If the players can't take two minutes out of the day to line up together and show a common commitment, we've got a problem."

TWO CENTS' WORTH

Why is it Congress wants to know what baseball is going to do about drug problems and the media are taken to task for not doing a better job of uncovering the steroids issues? These are illegal activities. Shouldn't the question be about where law enforcement agencies were and why they allowed these activities to go on?

NUMBERS GAME

_ 21: Games postponed because of weather in April, the most in the opening month of the season since 24 games were postponed in 1997. Cleveland had a four-game series against Seattle postponed, then had to move a three-game series against the Angels to Milwaukee.

PASSING THROUGH

Ryan Langerhans was caught up in the midst of Oakland trying to find someone to play center field. He was acquired from Atlanta after the game Sunday, showed up to play two games for the Athletics, then was dealt to Washington for Chris Snelling.

The problems for the Athletics started in spring training, when center fielder Mark Kotsay was sidelined because of a herniated disk in his back. Six others were given starts in center field in the Athletics' first 32 games.

With that in mind, maybe it isn't surprising that a week ago, Oakland acquired center fielder Chris Denorfia from Cincinnati even though he is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery.

HE SAID IT

"People always say, 'A catcher can't do it, a catcher can't do it.' I don't know why they say that. As an everyday player, you should take pride in being ready to come out every day and have an opportunity to go out there."

_ A.J. Pierzynski, who has played in every White Sox game this season.

AROUND THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

ARIZONA took advantage of Boston giving up on often-injured RHP Brandon Lyon, who is healthy this year and has a 1.50 ERA in 13 games to show for it.

ATLANTA second baseman Kelly Johnson was signed as a shortstop, and converted to an outfielder. The Braves, however, didn't want to get caught up in arbitration with second baseman Marcus Giles so they did not tender him a contract, and decided to move Johnson to second during the spring. Johnson adapted well. Hitting leadoff he has a .323 average, leads the Braves with 26 runs and is second on the team with five home runs.

CHICAGO is once again without pitchers Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, but the Cubs do have a keeper in the rotation in lefty Rich Hill. Hill who was 6-9 in his big-league career coming into this season, is 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA. He has allowed 31 base runners and struck out 29 in 35 2/3 innings.

CINCINNATI took a gamble by drafting outfielder Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft. Hamilton hadn't played in four years because of off-field problems, but the move has paid off so far. He's hitting .264 with six home runs in 72 at-bats.

COLORADO thinks it found a sleeper in Alberto Arias, available but undrafted during the winter draft in December. In his seventh pro season, he finally made his big-league debut on Tuesday, allowing an infield single in 3 1/3 innings against San Francisco.

FLORIDA RHP Henry Owens stepped in and filled the closer role for the Marlins after Jorge Julio, acquired in late spring from Arizona, was a bust. Owens, whose big-league resume consisted of three appearances last July before being banished back to the minors by then-manager Joe Girardi, is 1-0 with three saves in three opportunities, three holds and a 2.30 ERA in 14 games.

HOUSTON traded away center fielder Willy Traveras with the idea that Chris Burke would take over in center field. That didn't work out, but Hunter Pence had an impressive spring, and was among the elite players at Class AAA this year, giving the Astros a viable option, which they used when they called him up this past weekend.

LOS ANGELES took a gamble on oft-injured former Colorado prospect Chin-hui Tsao, guaranteeing him only $100,000 when he signed in January. He's responded by allowing one hit in 10 2/3 scoreless innings.

MILWUAKEE knocked struggling RHP Derek Turnbow out of the closer role last year in favor of Francisco Cordero. Turnbow came back determined this year and has become an excellent compliment to Cordero, allowing three runs in 12 1/3 innings spread over 13 games. He has struck out 12 and given up seven hits.

NEW YORK RHP Joe Smith was the Mets third-round draft choice last June out of Wright State. He answered every challenge of the spring, and has been near perfect in the regular season, allowing seven hits in 14 1/3 scoreless innings in his first 16 big-league appearances.

PHIADELPHIA knew it needed a veteran presence to have any hope of making a postseason run, and so late last season GM Pat Gillick not only acquired lefty Jamey Moyer from Seattle, but signed him to a contract extension. In a season filled with disappointment, Moyer, at the age of 44, has provided hope. He is 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA.

PITTSBURGH LHP Tom Gorzeleanny went 2-5 in 211 big-league games last year, but this year opened the season 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA.

ST. LOUIS needed to fill four rotation voids with the free agent losses of Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver and Jason Marquis and an injury to Mark Mulder so it decided to give reliever Braden Looper a shot. He is 3-2, and his 2.84 is the only sub-5.65 ERA among Cardinals starters.

SAN DIEGO hit the jackpot in a non-descript trade that sent outfielder Ben Johnson and RHP Jon Adkins to the Mets in the winter for pitchers Heath Bell and Royce Ring. Bell has a 0.54 ERA in his first 12 appearances, and Ring called up on Monday to provide a lefty arm in the bullpen, is unscored upon in his first two appearances.

SAN FRANCISCO was trying to give away RHP Armando Benitez in the offseason. He struggled on the mound and fell out of favor with his teammates last season. This year, though, there are no complaints. He is 7-for-7 in save situations and unscored upon since April 10.

WASHINGTON RHP Jason Bergmann is 0-2, but the rest of his numbers provide hope that he can fill one of the voids in the Nationals rotation. He has a 2.79 ERA and while he has walked 16 batters he has struck out 20 in 29 innings.

AROUND THE AMERICAN LEAGUE

BALTIMORE picked up RHP Chad Bradford, who had been released by the Red Sox and Mets the last two winters, and the sidearmer is once again in a groove In his first five games he had a 0.79 ERA.

BOSTON has gotten a lift from its other Japanese import, reliever Hideki Okajima, who had a 0.66 ERA in his first 13 appearances, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out 18 in 13 2/3 innings.

CHICAGO has given RHP David Aardsma a legitimate shot after he never got a real opportunity with the Cubs and Giants. Aardsma has repaid the confidence. In his first 11 games he was 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings.

CLEVELAND picked up outfielder Trot Nixon after Boston dumped him, and he has been a splendid extra outfielder, hitting .300.

DETROIT is finally seeing the ability that had LHP Bobby Seay selected in the first round of the 1997 draft by San Francisco. In his first seven innings with the Tigers he gave up three hits and two walks, providing a much-needed replacement for Jamey Walker, who went to Baltimore as a free agent in the winter.

KANSAS CITY made a wise selection by picking up RHP Joakim Soria for the $50,000 price at the winter draft. The Mexican native is 1-1 with three saves in his first 1-0 appearances.

LOS ANGELES had to find roster room for outfielder Reggie Willits, and while he may not be considered a regular he has played all three outfield positions, and is hitting .410, and filing in the last five games for Garrett Anderson (tightness right hip) he has gone 10-for-18.

MINNESOTA picked up RHP Matt Guerreir in a waiver claim from the White Sox four years ago. He is giving them a lift right now, having a 2.25 ERA in 11 games out of the bullpen.

NEW YORK picked up RHP Brian Bruney, released a year ago by Arizona, has been one of the few pitching bright spots for the Yankees. He had a 2.70 ERA his first 14 appearances, striking out 14 in 13 1/3 innings.

OAKLAND didn't panic. It ignored LHP Joe Kennedy's horrid spring (14.11 ERA), and decided to use him in assorted roles this season. So far, so good. He has a 2.86 ERA and is being put back into the rotation.

SEATTLE didn't hesitate challenging RHP Brandon Morrow, it's No. 1 pick last June out of the University of California. He's been put in the bullpen and responded by going 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA his first eight appearances. There are, however, warning signs. While he has struck out 12 in 11 1/3 innings he also has walked 11.

TAMPA BAY RHP Al Reyes missed all last year with reconstructive elbow surgery. Boston offered him a big-league contract in the offseason, but little hope of making the roster so he opted to return to the Devil Rays on a minor league deal. The 37-year-old has made good on the opportunity in Tampa, converting his first 10 save opportunities, and compiling a 1.29 ERA while allowing three walks and four hits in 13 innings.

TEXAS took a $500,000 gamble on the revival of designated hitter Sammy Sosa, who sat out last season. He's not the MVP candidate of his younger years but he is second on the team with seven home runs and 20 RBI.

TORONTO second baseman Aaron Hill was a first-round pick as a shortstop but struggled at the position. He's been comfortable at second and has given the Jays offense a lift, hitting .313 with six home runs and 21 RBI.

By LONNIE WHEELER
Scripps Howard News Service
Thursday, May 03, 2007

Let's take this in numerical order. In an Aug. 25 ceremony honoring Dave Concepcion, the Cincinnati Reds, at last, will retire No. 13. You know what comes after 13.

Actually, the subject has already been broached. At the board meetings of the Reds Hall of Fame _ which is currently featuring a fabulous first-floor display of Cincinnati's most famous, accomplished and disenfranchised ballplayer _ there has been informal discussion about adding 14 to the numbers that the organization has removed from circulation and memorialized on a stadium facade. The question is how far the club can go with this Pete Rose thing.

If it were entirely up to the Reds, Rose would be on the wall for sure, in the booth perhaps, in the clubhouse never, in the local Hall of Fame without a doubt. But the terms of his suspension, under which Major League Baseball has disowned him for the past 18 years, state that the all-time hits leader is not to be honored in a public way on the field of play. In other words, no ceremonies. No fanfare. No formal recognition of any sort.

Of course, there have been convenient exceptions. There was the celebration for the all-century team during the 1999 World Series, after which _ after the crowd has roared its affection for the alienated icon _ NBC's Jim Gray used his live microphone to badger Rose about betting on the game. During the 2002 World Series, there was also the occasion of MasterCard's Memorable Moments promotion, which recognized Rose's record-breaking single as No. 6 on the list.

But the Reds know better than to confuse those circumstances with theirs. Even when the commissioner's office approved the museum exhibit _ the team was confident that it would _ the consent was not without a caveat.

"Display of history is not a problem," said John Allen, the Reds' chief operating officer. "When I talked to the people at MLB, they said, 'That's fine, but you know the rules. If you've got him at the park, make sure it's not game day.'

"To the best of my understanding, you can't treat him on the field differently from any other fan. So any ceremonial thing you might want to do in that regard, you can't do. They would not allow it."

Consequently, the Reds have not entertained the kind of full-blown production that will attend Concepcion in late August. But they've pondered the alternatives, which might include a retirement of Rose's number without the accompanying hoopla. And by proceeding with the Hall of Fame exhibit, they've demonstrated a willingness to test the parameters of Rose's permanent suspension.

It may ultimately come down to their determination along those lines _ to how committed the club is toward honoring Rose in its own way. Bob Castellini's ownership of the franchise is still in its early stages, and he's in no position _ yet _ to put it on the line. On the other hand, Castellini is a Reds-loving, sleeve-rolled Cincinnatian in the Rose tradition. And he seems not lacking for chutzpah.

Even so, it's not quite as simple as that.

"I don't know how MLB would react to a request that the number actually appear on the stadium wall alongside the others," said Reds Hall of Fame director Greg Rhodes. "If you got to the point where they would say, 'Yes, you can retire his number,' you still have the issues of the on-field ceremony and where the number would be displayed."

The irony, of course, is that Rhodes was articulating these legitimate concerns while standing in 2,000 square feet of autographed Rose bats, baseballs and uniforms, among other precious items totaling about $1.5 million in appraised value. And all of that is perfectly cricket, according to the silly distinctions that the commissioner's office has set forth.

The obvious theme here is that the time has come for those distinctions to be brought into compliance with common sense. To start with, even Rose's loyal hard-liners would concur, for the most part, that Charlie Hustler has no business wearing a big-league uniform or working in a big-league ballpark, with access to players and managers. But why, within the stadium that sits on Pete Rose Way, should that preclude the acknowledgement of all that he did at the previous one?

Why must his misdeeds prohibit the formal validation of his singular career within an edifice that features, in addition to a Rose Garden and Pete's Pizzeria, prominent murals of the team that Rose personified? Why does his enduring punishment have to leave something conspicuously missing in a ballpark that's embellished by a 4192 Club _ that being the number, other than 14, that represents Rose's legacy _ not to mention a scoreboard image of the bat and ball that were involved in the 4,192nd hit?

The Baseball Hall of Fame is another matter. It was after Rose's ban that Cooperstown officials voted to disallow members of baseball's permanently ineligible list, the roster of which he alone comprised. If the ice were melted a bit, it's not inconceivable that the national shrine might go for a dip in the warming waters.

But like Rose's life and career, it all has to start in Cincinnati.

By KEVIN PEARSON
The Press-Enterprise
Thursday, May 03, 2007

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Grady Little said it's too early to put too much stock into some statistics. But when the bases are loaded, it's hard to deny that the Dodgers have struggled.

The club left the bases loaded in the eighth and ninth innings of Wednesday's win over Arizona, continuing a trend of struggling in that situation this season. The Dodgers are now 2 of 32 with the bases loaded, the only hits coming on a double by Olmedo Saenz and a grand slam by Russell Martin.

"It's one of those things where you might put more pressure on yourself to get something done and force the issue," outfielder Andre Ethier said. "We'll figure it out and get it done.

"Maybe we need a bases-clearing double to wipe off that stat. But you notice it and put it in the back of your memory bank, but you don't necessarily go up and say 'I'm going to be the guy to break us out of this.' "

The Dodgers left 10 men on base Wednesday and have stranded 47 runners in their past four games, though one of those was a 17-inning contest.

"Those are the types of stats you look at in September," Little said. "It will even itself out before it's all over."

Despite the bases loaded problems, the Dodgers rank sixth in the National League with 125 runs scored, though their .259 batting average puts them in a tie for eighth.