Sean Casey takes batting practice Sunday while Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin look on. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        ESPN's Peter Gammons said only 16 teams have real chances to make the postseason. But he said a couple others could join that group, and the Reds could be one of them.

        "If," Gammons said, "(Ken) Griffey and Adam Dunn hit 50 home runs apiece."

        For the record, though, the 50-50 talk on Griffey Jr. and Dunn had already started. Reds general manager Jim Bowden said last year that

        Dunn and Griffey each could reach 50 to 60 this season.

        Dunn hit 19 homers in only 244 at-bats last year -- 51 in 594 at-bats, if you include Double A and Triple A -- and Griffey twice hit 56 in Seattle.

        The Griffey-Dunn race for 50-50 begins today, the last Opening Day at Cinergy Field.

        Gone are the days when a manager could hide his phenom the way Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts did in the spring of 1956, when the writers asked him how his 20-year-old rookie, Frank Robinson, would do.

        Tebbetts predicted .260 and 15 homers, knowing full well Robby would top those. (He did: .290 and 38, tying the big-league rookie record.)

        Nowadays, hype is part of the game.

        Dunn, 22, realizes that.

        ''I guess you could call it 'good' pressure,'' he says. ''If people didn't think you could do it, they wouldn't be talking about it. But the easy part's done -- everyone talkin' about. Now I have to go out and get it done.''

        If Dunn and Griffey can challenge 50-50 -- heck, if Dunn can challenge 40 and Junior 50 -- the final season at Cinergy Field will be one for the record books. Only once in the stadium's history have two Reds hit 40-plus in the same season (Johnny Bench 45, Tony Perez 40, in 1970) and the first half of that season was played in Crosley Field.

        If this duo does indeed start knock-knock-knocking down Great American Ball Park's doors just beyond Cinergy Field's walls, somebody will have to come up with a nickname for them. Because, right now, Dunn & Griffey sounds like a place you'd go for a credit rating. McGwire and Canseco were the Bash Brothers, Mantle and Maris the M&M Boys, Ruth and Gehrig the heart of ''Murderers' Row.''

        It will become an issue if the pair is pushing 30 by August. And if they challenge 50-50, well, Cinergy Field won't need to be imploded. Junior & the babe will bring the house down.

Lights, hammy, action SULLIVAN: Opening Day Fellowship of the swing Last Cinergy opener hardly nostalgic moment Major-league milestone for the Ol' Left-hander New park on track for Opening Day 2003 Opening Day parade map Out of the park Reds outlook is bright Cubs vs. Reds preview Reds notebook NL Central Preview NL East Preview NL West Preview AL Central Preview AL East Preview AL West Preview Colon blanks Angels Hope springs eternal on opening day

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