It's good to know the Cincinnati Reds are playing well enough that their first-half MVP didn't need to start 27 of his team's previous 73 games. What a club this must be, how deep it is, when through Friday, its best player had only 21 more at-bats than Felipe Lopez.

Do you think if Jose Guillen is named tonight to the National League All-Star team, the manager might find a way to play him every day? You know, squeeze him in there a little more? After Friday's two-homer, three-hit day, Guillen was batting .358 with 17 home runs. Is there a chance he could be something greater than the man behind Door No. 4?

"Yeah, that's a good question," Bob Boone said, his condescension filling the dugout like July humidity. "You come up with an answer, let me know."

"Well, maybe you make him a first, second, or third outfielder," I suggested.

"Who are you taking out?"

"Strictly on numbers," I said, "just about anybody."

"This isn't a strictly-on-numbers game," Boone answered.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Saturday's game

Well, yeah, ultimately it pretty much is. If the manager doesn't put up enough good ones, he's fired. If a player doesn't put up enough good ones, he's released. I'd submit, respectfully, that it's strictly about numbers.

Jose Guillen's numbers are indisputable. Through Friday, he had 22 hits in his last 50 at-bats, with five homers and 12 RBI. Since April 24, he has hit .375. "Our first-half MVP," general manager Jim Bowden said. "Probably our most valuable player," Boone said.

Take a bow, Most Valuable Outfielder No. 4. When Austin Kearns is fully healed, Guillen apparently will return to playing four days a week, sometimes five. The Reds have Aaron, Mays and Clemente ahead of him. Who knew?

"I just want to play," Guillen said. "As long as they tell me the truth, I'm fine. Boone is the manager. Some strange stuff is going on in this clubhouse. But Boone is the boss."

Bowden said there is no pressure from above to play Adam Dunn and Kearns ahead of Guillen. Nor is there any to have Junior Griffey a daily fixture in center field. Bowden said the lineup is all Boone's.

The NL All-Star team should include either Guillen or Aaron Boone. Guillen might be the longer shot, given the number of quality outfielders he's competing against.

Strictly on the numbers, five should be locks: Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, Gary Sheffield, Barry Bonds and Preston Wilson. Luis Gonzalez (.319 average, 17 homers, 61 RBI) and Andruw Jones (.294, 22 and 60) have fatter stats than Guillen. None of those players is in a four-man outfield rotation. Maybe their teams just aren't as good as the one here.

"A good problem to have," Bob Boone decided. "It means my bench is strong every day." Yup. Imagine the strength of the Cardinals bench if Tony La Russa sat Edmonds and Pujols every day.

Boone likened Guillen to NBA Hall of Famer John Havlicek. "He was a sixth" man, said Boone.

Actually, Havlicek was the Boston Celtics' sixth man for the first six years of his 16-year career. By his ninth season, 1970, Havlicek led the NBA in minutes played. But hey, who's counting?

The Reds' best player doesn't have to play every day. Wow, what a team. Be grateful, Reds fans.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com