By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MIAMI - Paul O'Neill thinks Roger Clemens will get the itch to pitch again around May.

The last game O'Neill played was Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, which his New York Yankees lost to Arizona to deny O'Neill a sixth World Series ring.

O'Neill had a good Series in 2001 - he hit .333. One of the highlights was Yankees fans chanting "Paul-O-Neill, Paul-O-Neill" late in the game.

"You make up your mind before the season," O'Neill, a former Red, said of retirement. "... I was thankful I was able to finish that way."

He was only 38 then, and it was clear he could still play - he hit .267 with 21 home runs, 70 RBI and 22 steals in the regular season, despite missing 25 games.

Clemens, who intends to retire after the season, made the final scheduled start of his career for New York in the Yankees' 4-3 loss to Florida Wednesday. But O'Neill says walking away from the game isn't easy.

"The next summer, I thought about it - playing," he said. "But I had made up my mind. I'm sure next summer Roger will think about it."

O'Neill, who lives in Montgomery, does broadcasting on the YES network, and his daughter and two sons keep him busy.

"It's 24/7," he said of retirement. "It's not laid back at all."

REDS GM UPDATE: The Reds have completed the interview process in their general manager search. One of the finalists - Montreal GM Omar Minaya, Minnesota assistant GM Wayne Krivsky or Texas assistant GM Dan O'Brien - is likely to be named to the post Monday.

LINEUP SHAKEUP: New York manager Joe Torre shook up his lineup Thursday.

Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees' leadoff man/second baseman, was out of the lineup. Enrique Wilson played second and shortstop Derek Jeter hit leadoff, going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Jason Giambi was a late scratch because of a sore knee, and Nick Johnson started at first.

Johnson finished Game 5 2-for-4 with a run, and Giambi hit a pinch homer in the ninth inning.

Soriano was 3-for-18 with eight strikeouts in the first four games of the Series. He pinch hit for the Yankees Thursday and struck out, but stayed in to play right field.

Soriano took the benching well.

"I'm not happy with it," he said. "But I know I'm struggling."