ST. LOUIS — Pokey Reese and Deion Sanders, who batted 1-2 again Saturday in the Reds' 8-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, aren't exactly setting the table.

        Reese is 0-for-his-last-13. Sanders is 1-for-9 in the series.

        “We might do something different (today) with the left-hander (Mike Matthews) going,” Boone said. “But we really don't have a lot of alternatives.”

        SECOND THOUGHT: Boone has been accused of overmanaging quite a few times this year. He admits he was probably guilty of it Friday night in the Reds' 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

        “When I wake in the morning, I'm usually paranoid about what I did the night before,” Boone said.

        Saturday morning, he was thinking about the way he switched Bill Selby and Juan Castro from second to third, depending on the Cardinals batter, in the eighth inning.

        “I overreacted,” he said.

        He was trying to put Castro, the better fielder, where the ball was most likely to be hit.

        “It's not like Selby is chopped liver,” he said. “That wasn't the greatest move.”

        MORE CASTRO: Castro's glove is good enough to get him in almost any lineup in baseball. But he came into the year as a .206 career hitter. He's hitting .207 this year.

        “I keep telling him he's a good hitter,” Boone said. “I don't think he believes me.”

        Boone has made Castro a pet project. That's why he was so pleased with Castro's three-run, opposite-field homer Friday.

        “We worked two or three hours on Thursday,” Boone said. “He stayed with the program. I was probably happier with (the homer) than anyone.”

        Boone said if Castro hits .250, he'd be a regular.

        “Those 50 or 60 points keep him from being an everyday player,” Boone said. “... With his hand-eye coordination, he should be better.”

        GRAVES GOES LONG: Boone has begun to use closer Danny Graves for more than one inning on a regular basis. Graves' last four outings have been longer than one inning. He went an inning in 13 of his first 18 appearances.

        “If he's loaded up, if he's well-rested,” Boone said, “he can do that.”

        UP NEXT: Rob Bell (0-3, 5.16 ERA) starts today against St. Louis left-hander Mike Matthews (2-1, 2.51 ERA) at 8:07 p.m. in an ESPN game.

        With Harnisch due back soon, Bell could be on the bubble. The Reds are 0-6 in games he has started this year. He had one good start (eight innings, two runs on May 12 vs. Houston) since returning from Triple-A Louisville. Two of his other starts were shortened by rain.

        Monday against the Cubs, he went five innings, allowing four runs, all in the third inning.

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