The Marlins were 10 games under .500 - last in the National League East with a 19-29 record - and manager Jack McKeon had been on the job less than two weeks.

"I remember it well," McKeon said last week in the visitor's dugout at Great American Ball Park. "We kind of got jump-started right here."

The Marlins swept the Reds during a three-game series May 23-25, 2003, in Cincinnati.

Jack McKeon, former Cincinnati Reds manager and current manager for the Florida Marlins, talks with Sean Casey before their game last Tuesday. (Jeff Swinger photo)

They followed that series - which featured wins by super-sub pitcher Tommy Phelps, Brad Penny and eventual National League Rookie of the Year Dontrelle Willis - with 69 more wins that landed them in the playoffs as the NL wild card.

Florida advanced to the World Series, where it beat the Yankees in six games, becoming the first team to do so after being 10 games under .500.

"We just started clicking," Marlins third baseman Mike Lowell said Wednesday. "There was a feeling where you knew things were flowing and going well.

"We went into games knowing we were going to win, we were going to get our hits, we were going to get a rally and we were going to get a pretty good pitching performance. It was a positive atmosphere."

LAUGH 'TIL IT HURTS: As he detailed his team's latest injuries last week, Cubs manager Dusty Baker began chuckling.

"It's not funny," he said. "But it's better than crying, I guess."

Pitcher Todd Wellemeyer and outfielder Tom Goodwin were placed on the disabled list Friday, bringing the number of Cubs on the DL to nine.

"Life's a test," Baker said. "I was taught in church that the Lord wouldn't put more on you than you can handle. But it's getting heavy."

SAY HEY: Hall of Famer Willie Mays received a Doctorate of Humane Letters during Yale University's commencement ceremony Monday.

University president Richard C. Levin introduced Mays, who later tossed his mortarboard into the crowd.

"You could hit, hit with power, run, field and throw with the best," Levin said. "You radiated enthusiasm - running so fast in pursuit of fly balls that your hat would fly off your head, swinging the bat so hard that you would almost fall to the ground when you missed.

"Three players have hit more home runs, but no one ever loved the game more. Your passion for baseball made you a joy to watch; your grace, power, and speed made you a pleasure to behold."

WHAT THEY CRAVED: When fog and thunderstorms grounded the Angels' plane for several hours early Monday in Detroit, the team's traveling secretary went to impressive lengths to feed the players.

Five to 10 minutes from the airport, Tom Taylor found a White Castle open at 3:45 a.m. He walked in and ordered eight 30-packs of White Castle burgers, 25 fries and 25 onion chips.

Taylor returned to the airport, and the team's darkened plane, with his super-sized order 25 to 30 minutes later.

"As I walked from the front of the plane to the back, heads started popping up once everyone began smelling the White Castles," Taylor said. "The flight attendants passed them out to everybody."

The Angels landed in Toronto at 6:30 a.m. Monday and lost to the Blue Jays 6-5 later that night.

ODDS AND ENDS: Mets pitcher Tom Glavine is 6-3. The left-hander has added 5 mph to his fastball from last season. . . . Needing a true leadoff hitter, the Cubs reportedly have had internal discussions about pursuing Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. The teams have yet to talk about the possibility. . . . The Diamondbacks had allowed 190 walks through their first 44 games, putting them on pace to walk 700. That would be 157 more than the 1999 team record, and no NL team since 1900 has finished with a winning record while allowing 700 or more walks in a season. . . . The Indians have the sixth pick in the upcoming amateur draft. Among the prospects they are most interested in is Vanderbilt pitcher Jeremy Sowers, the Reds' first-round pick in 2001.

LAST WORDS: Veteran relief pitcher Rod Beck, who left the Padres during spring training to deal with a personal issue, rejoined the Padres recently after pitching at extended spring training.

"When you're down there," he said, "you can throw a resin bag and guys will swing at it."

Hot corner

Talk about an eventful day. Rob Mackowiak probably slept well Friday night. Mackowiak, an infielder/outfielder for the Pirates, became a father for the first time.

Then he went out and played a doubleheader.

In the first game, Mackowiak hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Pirates a 9-5 win. In the nightcap, he hit a two-run, game-tying two-run homer in the ninth inning.

The Pirates won in 10 innings for the sweep.

"It's been an amazing day," Mackowiak said.

Not-so-hot corner

The Chicago Cubs, those lovable losers, are finding out life isn't so easy as a favorite, either.

In third place in the NL Central, the Cubs have half their team on the disabled list.

Friday they put outfielder Tom Goodwin and pitcher Tom Wellemeyer on the DL. They were the 10th and 11th players on the injured list, headed by slugger Sammy Sosa and pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

"When you get news like this, you tighten your belt and figure out another way," manager Dusty Baker said. "I'm just glad that we signed some of these extra guys that we signed."

And the Cubs manager is very optimistic.

"In my heart," he said, "we're still going to win this thing because I'm glad we have the guys we have. Slowly but surely we're going to get well."

MLB power rankings

1. New York Yankees	Sheffield, Jeter are starting to hit
2. Boston Red Sox	Youkilis, Greek god of walks, living up to reputation
3. Cincinnati Reds	Hey, the pools are opening and they're in first place
4. Houston Astros	Will they recover from four-game sweep by Reds?
5. Philadelphia Phillies	Billy Wagner setback keeps bullpen a question
6. Anaheim Angels	New Yankees? Injuries hit, they sign Mondesi
7. San Diego Padres	Trevor Hoffman better than ever; 13-for-14 in saves
8. Oakland Athletics	Need to take advantage of Angels' injuries
9. Florida Marlins	Who you starin' at?
10. Chicago White Sox	Valentin at his whiffing best; 7 in a row last week
11. Chicago Cubs	Hawkins will be closing for Borowski soon
12. Atlanta Braves	As bad as it's been, they're right in the hunt
13. Minnesota Twins	Wunderkind Mauer 3-for-4 in first rehab game
14. St. Louis Cardinals	Have hands full fending off Brewers and Pirates
15. Texas Rangers	Park took his 5.80 ERA to the disabled list
16. Los Angeles Dodgers	Three-game sweep by Reds began 2-11 slide
17. Detroit Tigers	22-25; last year, 22-65
18. Baltimore Orioles	Swept back to back by Angels, Yankees
19. Milwaukee Brewers	Got to 3 games over .500 first time since June 2001
20. Pittsburgh Pirates	In sixth place in Central but at .500 Friday
21. Seattle Mariners	Olerud, Aurilia got locked in video room (Shrek 2?)
22. Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Won five in a row just when Lou was ready to blow
23. Cleveland Indians	No team has wasted more solid starting pitching
24. San Francisco Giants	Seven-game win streak got 'em back in West hunt
25. Colorado Rockies	Castilla loves the thin air, leads league in homers
26. Montreal Expos	Attendance would pick up if Selig moved 'em to NHL
27. Kansas City Royals	Northern Kentucky's Brandon Berger back in bigs
28. New York Mets	Still waiting for return of Jose Reyes
29. Toronto Blue Jays	Halladay starting to pitch like Cy Young self
30. Arizona D'backs	Big Unit fails to Vander Meer

Stat sheet

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera Friday became the 18th player to record 300 saves when he recorded his American League-leading 17th.

Rivera, known primarily for his postseason success, took the milestone in stride.

"I don't think it compares," said Rivera, who has 30 postseason saves, including nine in the World Series. "Don't get me wrong. It's something I appreciate, but it doesn't compare to those."

Rivera became the first Yankee to record 300 in his career and is the fourth pitcher to get 300 with one team, joining Trevor Hoffman (Padres), Dennis Eckersley (Athletics) and Jeff Montgomery (Royals).

All-time saves

1. Lee Smith	478
2. x-John Franco	424
3. Dennis Eckersley	390
4. Jeff Reardon	367
5. x-Trevor Hoffman	365
6. Randy Myers	347
7. Rollie Fingers	341
8. John Wetteland	330
9. x-Roberto Hernandez	320
10. Rick Aguilera	318
11. x-Robb Nen	314
12. Tom Henke	311
13. Rich Gossage	310
14. Jeff Montgomery	304
15. Doug Jones	303
16. Bruce Sutter	300
17. x-Mariano Rivera	300

x-active

Active leaders

Ken Griffey Jr. hit the 493rd home run of his career Friday. Here are the active leaders:

1. Barry Bonds	670
2. Sammy Sosa	549
3. Rafael Palmeiro	534
4. Ken Griffey Jr.	493
5. Fred McGriff	491
6. Juan Gonzalez	434
7. Frank Thomas	428
8. Jeff Bagwell	426
9. Jim Thome	392
10. Gary Sheffield	383
11. Mike Piazza	368
12. Manny Ramirez	359
13. Alex Rodriguez	356
14. Ellis Burks	352
15. Larry Walker	351

Highest ERAs

Here are the highest ERAs for active pitchers:

Jason Jennings, Col	8.05
Brian Anderson, KC	7.41
Ryan Vogelsong, Pit	7.07
Steve Sparks, Ari	6.65
Shawn Estes, Col	6.32
Derek Lowe, Bos	6.22

Line of the week

What was more surprising than the once inept Detroit Tigers bashing out 27 hits in Thursday's 17-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals? How about two of the players combining for 10 hits. More surprisingly, Carlos Pena and Omar Infante did that damage as the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters in the order:

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	Avg.
Pena	6	4	6	5	.236
Infante	4	2	4	2	.301

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Information from other news organizations and notes submitted by other baseball writers were used in this report.

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