Third baseman Aaron Boone rested Thursday night and must wait until Reds team physician Dr. Tim Kremchek examines the results of his magnetic resonance imaging examination to learn when he will play again.

        Boone suffered a mild hyperextension of his left knee Wednesday when he tried to avoid a second-inning collision with shortstop Barry Larkin.

        “I was just running over to catch the ball and Lark called me off,” Boone said, recounting the soft, looping liner hit by St.Louis pitcher Pat Hentgen. “I was pretty close to (Larkin). When I went to stop suddenly, it kind of buckled.”

        Though players from both teams have complained about Busch Stadium's relatively soft infield dirt, Boone said that didn't contribute to his mishap.

        Assistant trainer Mark Mann said Boone's injury is unrelated to the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent Dec.8.

        COX'S REGRET: Atlanta manager Bobby Cox, who will direct the NL All-Star team and helped select the squad's pitchers and reserves, said Cincinnati's Danny Graves and Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim, the pair of relief aces, “were the two guys I felt bad for” who were left off.

        “We gave him an awful lot of consideration,” Cox said of Graves on a nationwide conference call.

        Because each team must be represented by at least one player, Cox was asked if the presence of elected starters Larkin and Griffey essentially filled Cincinnati's quota and hurt Graves. “Not really at all,” Cox said.

        Said Graves, upon hearing Cox's comments: “It doesn't change anything. But it was nice to know I was considered.”

        ETC.: Reds right fielder Dante Bichette left Thursday's game in the second inning after suffering a bruised left shin when he was hit by a Rick Ankiel pitch. X-rays of Bichette's shin were negative. Michael Tucker replaced him in the lineup.

        • St. Louis first baseman Mark McGwire left the game after three innings with irritation in his right knee. He drove in a first-inning run with a single to left field before he departed.

        • Responding to ever-present rumors, Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone told reporters covering the team that though he had spoken recently to Bowden, they did not discuss a trade involving Larkin.

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