Darryl Kile shut out the Reds for 6 2/3 innings. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        The quest to acquire pitching can't be called a race, because no finish line exists. But it is a pursuit, and certain factors allow clubs to gain advantages.

        It's like any other competition for talent in the major leagues. Except the basic laws of supply and demand intensify the struggle. Relatively few decent pitchers are avail able. And all 30 teams want them. “Including the Braves and Yankees,” said Reds general manager Jim Bowden, citing baseball's powerhouses.

        Swift. Rich. Aggressive. Creative. These traits describe an organization that successfully obtains quality pitching. Having a scouting department and farm sys tem that regularly harvests fresh crops of promising hurlers helps, too.

        The St. Louis Cardinals, who finish their three-game series against the Reds today at Cinergy Field, had all these factors on their side last offseason. They added starters Andy Benes, Pat Hentgen and Darryl Kile and relief ace Dave Veres to their staff, strengthening their position in the National League Central Division. They currently lead the second-place Reds by 4¹/₂ games.

        Reds backers frustrated with the stop-and-start pro gress of the team's pitching staff clamor for Bowden to get another starter. Surely, these fans believe, the GM who brought Ken Griffey Jr. to Cincinnati and engineered other remarkable deals can whip a 15-game winner from his sleeve. But Bowden, whose top priority each day is searching for pitching help, must operate within the limits of the Reds' $47 million payroll.

        The starting pitchers truly worth acquiring who have been dangled in trade proposals by their respective teams — such as San Diego's Sterling Hitchcock and Minnesota's Brad Radke — earn between $3 million and $7 million a year. Any deal involving a pitcher such as Radke, who can become a free agent after this season, becomes more complicated.

        “Economics,” Bowden said, “is the first thing.”

        The Cardinals cleared this hurdle after last season. St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty said the team's payroll was increased by about $10 million, bolstering his resources. Jocketty said the Cardinals examined the free-agent market, but decided against pursuing the Aaron Seles and Chuck Finleys due to excessive costs and uncertainty. “You never know when they're going to make up their minds,” Jocketty said.

        So the Cardinals resumed focusing on Hentgen and Kile, whom they tried to acquire during the '99 season. “Our approach was to be very aggressive and to work quickly, because we knew there were a number of teams looking for pitching and we wanted to be the first ones to get it,” Jocketty said.

        They achieved this goal less than a month after the World Series ended. On Nov. 11, St. Louis plucked Hentgen and left-hander Paul Spoljaric from Toronto for left-hander Lance Painter, catcher Alberto Castillo and minor-league pitcher Matt Dewitt. Five days later, Kile, Veres and right-hander Luther Hackman came from Colorado for right-handers Rick Croushore, Jose Jimenez and Manny Aybar (now with the Reds) and infielder Brent Butler.

        Simply throwing money at the situation wasn't enough. Reluctant to assume the $8 million Kile was owed for 2000 under his previous contract, St. Louis arranged to pay him a lower sum this year — $6 million, reportedly — and make up the difference in a buyout.

        When the Cardinals reacquired Benes by signing him as a free agent on Jan. 7, he agreed to take deferred payments that eased the team's financial obligation in the early stages of his three-year, $18 million deal.

        Also, it's significant that the Cardinals had to give up pitchers to get pitchers. “We kind of eroded our depth,” Jocketty said. But, he added, they had plenty of it in their organization. Rookie of the Year candidate Rick Ankiel, a left-hander who's starting today, was ready for the majors. Injured right-handers Alan Benes and Matt Morris are pitching in the minors and are expected to return to St. Louis later this season.

        In fact, the Cardinals were so deep in pitching that they managed to include right-hander Juan Acevedo as part of the trade with Milwaukee that brought second baseman Fernando Vina. Kent Bottenfield, an 18-game winner last year, was included in the March deal that made center fielder Jim Edmonds a Cardinal. Vina, hitting .323 through Saturday, and Edmonds, batting .400, have improved St. Louis' lineup substantially.

        Could the Cardinals have upgraded their pitching without yielding other pitchers? “Probably not,” Jocketty said.

        They were rewarded for nurturing pitchers in their minor-league system, even if they didn't keep them all.

        “If there's one area of the game that points out the importance of player development and scouting, it's pitching,” Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ed Wade said. “The level of competition for guys out there is so significant. There are so few quality pitchers available. It points back to the fact that you have to develop your own and keep them as long as you can.”

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