The 2000 season remains keenly important to the Reds. It's just that current events make it seem less so.

        Right now, anything Cincinnati does on the field serves as a backdrop to the Barry Larkin trade saga. But the New York Mets' pursuit of the Reds' leader didn't obscure the impact of their 5-4 loss Friday night to the Arizona Diamondbacks before 46,101 at Cinergy Field.

        Cincinnati (48-48) fell to .500 for the fourth time in its last 11 games. Yet the Reds continue to believe they can leap back into postseason contention, although they are seven games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central and five games behind wild-card leader San Francisco.

        “Just one good, solid hot streak and it's a race,” right fielder Dante Bichette said.

        But among the media and much of the public, that has been lost in the Larkin drama. “Larkin is a Red,” read one banner in the stands. “Our ship will sink without the captain,” read another.

        The Reds insist their attention hasn't been diverted.

        “If it's going to distract anybody, it's going to distract Lark,”said Reds right-hander Steve Parris, who yielded Arizona's first four runs in six innings. “But I can't speak for him. Every night, this team tries to win.”

        Reds manager Jack McKeon sounded a trifle impatient when the Larkin issue was raised. “The only thing that affects (the club's focus) is you (reporters),” McKeon said. “You guys keep bringing it to our attention.”

        But, McKeon said, “It does have a cloud over your head

        when you mention not just Barry's name, but seven or eight other guys.” Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Harnisch, Scott Williamson, Dmitri Young, Eddie Taubensee, Parris and Bichette all have been mentioned in trade rumors.

        Anybody paying attention to the game witnessed a rarity. The NL West-leading Diamondbacks (56-41) wasted leadoff triples in the sixth and seventh innings before breaking a 4-4 tie in the eighth.

        “It always seems when you lose all those golden opportunities to score, they come back to haunt you,” McKeon said. “But this time they didn't. I thought they had messed up there.”

        Scott Sullivan (1-4) walked Danny Bautista on four pitches leading off the eighth but appeared bound to escape when .195-hitting pitcher Brian Anderson, who was pinch-hitting, forced Bautista at second base with a sacri fice-bunt attempt. Tony Womack then forced out Anderson with a grounder before Jay Bell's single prolonged the inning.

        Playing the percentages with left-handed batter Luis Gonzalez due up, the Reds replaced Sullivan with lefty Dennys Reyes. Gonzalez, however, was 2-for-2 lifetime against Reyes and was batting a respectable .274 against lefties. After Reyes fell behind 3-0, Gonzalez drove a 3-1 pitch on a bounce over the center-field wall for a ground-rule double, scoring Womack.

        The Reds roused themselves with two outs in the ninth as Larkin drew a four-pitch walk from Arizona reliever Matt Mantei. Up came Griffey as the potential winning run, but he swung and missed ferociously at three pitches, giving Mantei his sixth save.

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