Reds general manager Jim Bowden doesn't think he can do anything to help the Reds' chances at this point. But he won't do anything to hurt them either.

        In the wake of the disastrous sweep in Milwaukee that left the Reds 6¹/₂ games behind the St.Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, Bowden remained hopeful.

        And he said the Reds won't start playing for next year — meaning no youth movement — until they are mathematically eliminated this year.

        “There are six weeks to go,” Bowden said. “We're 6¹/₂ games out. We've all seen six-game leads go in 10 days. The one thing we have going for us is we have the final three games of the year with the Cardinals. If we're within three going into that series and we sweep, we're in the postseason.”

        Bowden said, at this juncture, there is little a GM can do to help a team. He sought

        pitching at the non-waiver trading deadline, but it proved too expensive for the Reds. Clubs rarely will let players pass through waivers at this point, making deals virtually impossible.

        “It's really up to the players we have,” Bowden said. “They have to do it on the field.”

        The players agree.

        “We've got to get hot,” right fielder Dante Bichette said. “If we get on a roll and get a winning streak going, we've got a shot.”

        The Reds open a seven-game homestand with the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight (7:35). The Bucs are in for three games, followed by four with Philadelphia. The Pirates (49-70) have the second-worst record in the National League. The Phillies (50-69) have the third-worst.

        It looks like a great opportunity to pick up some ground. But the Brewers are only half a game better than the Phillies, and that's only because they swept the Reds.

        “We have tremendous parity this year,” Bowden said. “There are no teams out there that just roll over. They don't exist like they did in the past. Florida has a good club. Montreal has a good club.”

        Another point: The Reds and the Cardinals are playing the same teams the rest of August. The only difference is Philly plays four at Cincinnati and three in St. Louis.

        They play similar schedules in September as well. The differences: The Reds play at San Francisco for three, but the Cards play at San Diego for three; the Reds have seven games with Milwaukee, but the Cards have seven with the Chicago Cubs; and the Reds have a make-up game with Pittsburgh.

        “We can't be concerned with what the Cardinals are doing,” Bowden said. “This team hasn't been on a great roll. The bats haven't come alive.”

        In Milwaukee, the bats were all but dead. The Reds had one hit in 26 at-bats with runners in scoring position. They scored a total of five runs in the three games. Perhaps more telling is the fact they walked only five times in the three games against a team that was giving up about five walks a game.

        “None of their pitchers were overwhelming,” Reds manager Jack McKeon said. “A lot of times, we got ourselves out.”

        The Reds have had a lot of holes in the lineup recently. Leadoff man Chris Stynes has nine hits in his last 45 at-bats (.200). Pokey Reese has nine hits in his last 59 at-bats (.152). Jason LaRue is hitting .156 since he was called up.

        Those three are bunched together in the order. You often have innings with Reese, LaRue, the pitcher, then Stynes.

        Pitching, the major concern all year, has been good enough lately. The team ERA since the All-Star break is 3.55.

        If the pitchers can continue and the hitters start to deliver, there's a chance.

        “The talent is there,” Bowden said. “When you look at the lineup with Ken Griffey Jr., Dante Bichette, Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, Dmitri Young. ... This is not a .500 club. But there's still six weeks left.”

        Bowden points to the period from June5 to July5 when the Reds went from one game ahead in the Central to 10 games behind. His hope is the reverse happens.

        “A month from now, we may be looking at a whole different picture,” he said.

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