By John Fay
Enquirer staff writer

ST. LOUIS - Part of the reason Barry Larkin is keeping his options open as far as retirement is that he knows he's the Reds' best choice at shortstop for 2004 and in all probability for 2005, as well.

Larkin had the Reds cancel Barry Larkin Day for Oct. 2 because he is unsure if he wants to retire.

If he does retire, which he says remains possible, or if he decides to play but signs with another club, who will be the Reds' shortstop for 2005?

"Can I say I don't know?" Reds general manager Dan O'Brien said. "You can't forecast that exactly at this time."

The Reds have two young shortstops at Triple-A - Felipe Lopez, 24, and Ray Olmedo, 23 - but neither has had much success in the big leagues.

Juan Castro, Larkin's primary backup this season, is also a free agent for '05. Castro, 32, could fill in as a stopgap. He is good enough defensively and has hit well this year - .290 going into Tuesday's game.

But long term, as O'Brien said, the Reds do not have a certain replacement.

"We could conceivably look on the free agent market," O'Brien said.

One other possibility is William Bergolla, 21, from Venezuela. Bergolla has hit throughout the minors (.291 average entering this year, .280 this year at Double-A Chattanooga).

"We moved him there as an experiment," O'Brien said. "Our minor-league people think he's capable of playing there. Our roving infield instructor, Freddie Benavides, was very impressed with him. (Bergolla's) one possibility."

WHAT ABOUT JUAN? Castro was happy to hear that Larkin is reconsidering retirement.

"He should play next year," Castro said. "He's playing like a 27-, 28-year-old kid this year."

Having Castro on the roster is key if Larkin does return.

One reason Larkin has stayed relatively healthy this year is that manager Dave Miley has spelled him regularly with Castro.

Larkin has played in 66 of the Reds' 83 games this year.

"It works out good," Castro said. "I can fill in for him, for other guys."

LOOK OUT: O'Brien was in Louisville Tuesday watching the Triple-A Bats game with Ottawa when he saw something he's never seen in baseball.

"Not only during the game but in the middle of play, the whole team ran off the field after lightning struck one of the light towers," O'Brien said. "The first one in the dugout was the (Ottawa) manager. He sprinted off."

The game was delayed in the first inning of the first game of a doubleheader.

"It was like a cannon went off," O'Brien said.

POSITIVE NOTE: The good thing that came out of the Reds' 4-1 loss Monday to the Cardinals was Ryan Wagner's performance.

"I was very happy with the way he threw the ball," Miley said. "He was on top of pitches, very composed, very relaxed out there."

Wagner worked two perfect innings, striking out one, in his first outing since returning from Triple-A Louisville.

"To do it against the Cardinals - one of the best teams in the majors - is a big confidence-builder for me," Wagner said.

THREE CHIPS REMOVED: Left-hander Mike Matthews had arthroscopic surgery to remove three bone chips from his left elbow in an hourlong procedure performed Tuesday by Dr. Tim Kremchek. Matthews will start rehab today. He'll begin throwing in two to three weeks. If all goes well, he'll throw off the mound by mid-August.

REGGIE TO SOX: Outfielder Reggie Taylor, released from the Reds last week, signed with the Chicago White Sox and was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

UP NEXT: The Reds wrap up the three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals at 8:05 p.m. today. Left-hander Jesus Sanchez (0-1, 12.46 ERA) faces right-hander Woody Williams (6-6, 4.18).

REDS FACT: Cincinnati led the major leagues with six pinch-hit home runs entering Tuesday.

Reds statistics

(Through Monday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.352	.402	287	55	101	26	1	15	54	23	21	1	0	4
Larkin	.295	.349	237	40	70	11	2	4	31	21	26	2	0	1
Castro	.290	.331	131	18	38	13	1	1	10	8	23	0	0	5
Hummel	.282	.321	78	9	22	4	0	1	7	4	11	1	0	3
Freel	.277	.380	260	32	72	9	5	1	15	35	43	14	5	7
Pena	.271	.315	140	13	38	3	1	7	23	8	46	3	0	2
Cruz	.267	.353	75	13	20	4	0	2	17	8	22	0	0	0
Dunn	.265	.411	275	54	73	14	0	24	51	65	103	2	0	2
Jimenez	.256	.360	277	39	71	13	2	6	26	45	45	8	6	4
Griffey	.244	.343	279	45	68	15	0	19	55	41	63	1	0	1
LaRue	.226	.318	195	23	44	12	0	7	27	15	55	0	2	7
Larson	.202	.296	94	10	19	6	0	2	11	11	27	1	0	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Valentin	.170	.221	112	11	19	5	0	3	10	8	17	0	0	3
Miller	.000	.348	15	1	0	0	0	0	1	6	6	0	0	0
Team Totals	.252	.338	2771	385	697	143	13	95	362	328	652	35	14	50

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
White	0	0	1.17	8	0	0	7.2	4	1	1	1	0	6
Graves	1	3	2.89	46	0	31	46.2	45	20	15	9	5	26
Jones	6	2	3.31	42	0	1	49.0	36	19	18	3	21	33
Wilson	8	2	3.63	16	16	0	101.2	106	44	41	12	33	69
Riedling	4	1	4.00	40	0	0	45.0	44	23	20	3	22	28
Harang	4	2	4.71	13	13	0	70.2	88	38	37	8	26	55
Lidle	6	6	4.84	18	18	0	115.1	121	63	62	14	28	71
Acevedo	4	7	5.34	16	16	0	92.2	102	56	55	20	21	71
Norton	1	2	5.73	35	0	0	33.0	36	24	21	3	19	22
Van Poppel	3	3	5.87	17	10	0	69.0	82	45	45	10	14	42
Wagner	2	1	5.94	19	0	0	16.2	26	13	11	3	11	10
Matthews	2	1	8.84	22	0	0	18.1	23	19	18	6	10	8
Sanchez	0	1	12.46	1	1	0	4.1	6	6	6	2	3	2
Team Totals	44	38	4.95	82	82	32	730.2	799	429	402	107	256	489

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com