The Reds won't win the National League Central Division in the next four weeks. But that span could reveal whether the rest of the season will be worth watching.

        Cincinnati plays 22 of its next 25 games against division rivals, beginning with a four-game series against the Houston Astros that starts tonight at Cinergy Field. In that 25-game stretch, the fifth-place Reds (16-17) will face every Central opponent except Pittsburgh — the only club behind them in the division.

        The return of the imbalanced schedule heightens the importance of intradivision games. Instead of facing each Central rival 12 to 13 times, as they had done since 1996, the Reds will play 16 to 17 games apiece against Chicago, Houston, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and St.Louis.

        The more intradivision games there are, the more directly they'll affect the title race.

        “They're all important,” Reds manager Bob Boone said, referring to the 162-game schedule. “But I do think intradivision games are going to be crucially important. Whoever wins most of those is going to win (the division). It's going to be hard to win the thing if you don't have a positive record inside the division. That's why it's set up that way.”

        The Reds trail first-place Chicago by 4 1/2 games — a deficit that's easy to trim, considering they'll face the Cubs six times before May 30. The Reds also will confront St. Louis and Houston — which they trail by two and 1 1/2 games, respectively — seven and six times in this 25-game span.

        “You can make up a lot of ground,” said utilityman Donnie Sadler, formerly of the Boston Red Sox. “Or you can bury yourself.”

        Familiarity should breed competitiveness. As teams face each other more frequently, they'll become increasingly familiar with each others' tendencies. Thus, the outcome of games will depend less on scouting reports or strategy and more on sheer performance.

        “It's going to be talent,” Boone said. “And talent should prevail.”

        Some Reds resist placing too much emphasis on these games, considering teams haven't played even one-fourth of the schedule.

        “Obviously, you try to win them all or go 20-5 in those 25 games,” right-hander Pete Harnisch said. “But if you don't, it isn't the end of the world. It's still going to be barely June (at the end of that stretch).”

        Reds general manager Jim Bowden said baseball's playoff structure demands a patient, steady approach.

        “You're in two pennant races: one for the division and one for the wild card. Every game's important,” he said. “The 5-1 road trip was important; the 1-5 homestand was important.”

        Bowden also pointed out the apparent balance among the Central clubs: “We've played enough games to realize that the clubs are evenly matched. Every team in this division has a chance to win it. Every team has weaknesses. I think it's going to be a very fun summer of baseball with no favorites.”

        Already, the Reds have occupied all six places in the standings.

        “Unless we could run away with it, this is the way you want it. You hope it stays like this through the last month of the season,” reliever Danny Graves said. “That's what you play for, to have those pennant races at the end. If you have four or five teams in it, how exciting would that be?”

        Which gets back to the original point: Despite what the every-game-is-important theorists claim, intradivision games have something extra.

        “Your focus and concentration are going to be higher,” Sadler said. “You have to bring your "A' game to the park every night.”

        ETC: Deion Sanders, who misjudged a line drive in Wednesday's eighth inning and is batting .222, spent part of Thursday's off day working on his hitting and defense with bench coach Tim Foli at Cinergy Field.

        The Reds announced Jose Rijo threw 60 pitches in the Dominican Republic Wednesday, delaying today's scheduled throwing session at Cinergy Field until next week.

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