The Mets were once the favorite -- until two tentative deals with them were apparently squelched by the commissioner's office. But now they appear to have been passed by Texas, Seattle and Cincinnati. And the Braves are believed to have increased their level of interest in the wake of Paul Byrd's latest elbow flareup.

One observer at Tuesday's workout said Reynolds threw 110 pitches, and his fastball topped out at 87 mph. He also threw his splitter, changeup and cutter with reasonably good command.

He'll make just the $300,000 minimum this year, since the Astros already are on the hook to pay him $1 million. But the team that winds up signing him will probably be the club that presents the best option-buyout package for next year (including escalator clauses based on this year's performance).

Hot-Team Rumblings

"If you go back to 1996-97, the nucleus of that team went through six years together," says Giants assistant GM Ned Colletti. "Those guys played their butts off for six years. In six years, they played 11 games that didn't mean something. And we couldn't have done that without every one of them. We started with a bunch of good players who raised their game and became great players -- Jeff Kent, Rich Aurilia, J.T. Snow. Even Barry Bonds became a better player.

"But because that team had to play its butts off every day, there was no time for that group to get refreshed. So it might have been time for a change. In some ways, we were forced to do what we did this winter. But it might be the best thing for everybody. It's tough, because you tend to fall in love with your players, and you can convince yourselves to go with the guys you've got. But that's not always the best thing."

Just the mere fact that two-thirds of their outfield (Reggie Sanders, Kenny Lofton) was last seen starting for the Giants in the World Series gives the club a different "presence," says Brian Giles. "And people feed off that."

"You've got new faces to look up to as leaders now," Giles says, "instead of Jason Kendall and myself and Kevin Young, year-in, year-out."

Sanders, Lofton and Randall Simon also give them a much deeper lineup: "We've got more guys throughout our lineup who can drive a run in," says Giles, the hitter who figures to benefit most from that depth. "There's not just one or two or three of us."

But the biggest problem last year was starting pitching. Now Kris Benson has shown signs of true acehood. Josh Fogg and Kip Wells won 12 games apiece last year. And at least Jeff Suppan and Jeff D'Amico, the fourth and fifth starters, "are guys who have a track record," Giles says.

"We may not have five dominating starters," says manager Lloyd McClendon. "But this game is about matchups every day -- is my pitcher better than your pitcher. And there are a lot of days I like my chances."

Runelvys Hernandez "has No. 1 starter stuff," says one NL executive. "He's got terrific poise, a lot of intangibles and above-average stuff across the board."

And now that Jeremy Affeldt has cured his blister problems, his stuff is so ferocious that "on a contender, he's a 15-to-18-game winner," says the same exec. "All he needs is experience -- and some pickle brine."

Miscellaneous Rumblings

Bobby Howry: "Not the same guy he was a few years ago. He's a middle guy now -- tops."

Just let him play

Rollins The Phillies got mildly panicky this spring over Jimmy Rollins' .206 batting average. But people outside the organization look at Rollins and see a guy who is only 24, who can run, who plays the heck out of shortstop and whose main "fault" is simply being asked to be something he's not -- a prototype leadoff man. "He's always been one of my favorites," says one veteran scout. "I love the way he approaches the game, the way he prepares for a game and how much he loves to play. I just think sometimes, when expectations are as high as they are for that entire club, people can expect too much too quick. "Look around. There are almost no prototype leadoff hitters anymore. If they're looking for one, hey, Rickey (Henderson) is still out of work. I just know I'd take my chances with Jimmy Rollins any day. Just pencil him in and let him play. You don't have to reinvent the wheel with that guy."

Mike Timlin: "His stuff is fine. But you still don't want him in there at the end of the game. He gets excited. Then he elevates the ball and makes mistakes."

Alan Embree: "Boy, his stuff just is not like it was last year. His fastball is 3 or 4 miles an hour softer. And he doesn't make left-handers give at all. He comes right over the top with his fastball. And he throws like one breaking ball every 25 pitches."

Ramiro Mendoza: "He's not the same guy, either. He used to pitch at 89-93 (mph). Now he's more like 87-90."

Chad Fox: "He still has great stuff. But he's coming off an injury. So he needs to be eased in."

Brandon Lyon: "He's got the best stuff out there. But he's a guy they claimed on waivers. So that tells you you need to go slow with him, too, until you see what you've got over time."

"Am I missing something?" asks one NL executive. "Why would they want to trade this guy? He's one of the best hitters I saw all spring. I know he might not be as selective as they'd like. But you can teach a guy to be selective. You can't teach a guy to hit the ball as hard as this guy does. He can flat-out hit."

He was also flat-out leading the league in RBI after the first week, following a spring in which he was able to block out all the trade rumors and hit .448.

"I'll tell you what," says his manager, Grady Little. "Somebody with a little less character might not have been able to do that. But this guy is a hell of a kid. And as a hitter, he gets better and better."

"I've gone back and forth on him a lot," says one scout of Almonte. "But it's amazing how much he emulates Jeter -- his mannerisms, the way he carries himself. Even though he's bigger physically, he's even got the same gait. But Jeter is so quick and instinctive. This kid is long in everything he does. I've seen him get caught on in-between hops. His footwork can get tangled on him. He won't be as consistent as they'd like him to be. But I'll say this: He's as good as they'd get if they tried to trade for somebody. Nobody wants to do them any favors."

	Graves

"It's really fun watching those two guys," says one scout. "And it's really difficult watching the other guys on that team."

"What the A's did against him was wait him out," says one AL scout. "That slider he throws isn't a strike very often. So if you swing at it, either you won't hit it or it's an easy out. So their philosophy was: Don't swing at that pitch. Be patient until you can get a fastball in your zone. And that worked."

So he wound up trying to rush back in spring training and wasn't quite ready by Opening Day. But he's expected back in the next few weeks -- with left-hander Jason Christiansen (out all last year after Tommy John surgery) not many weeks behind.

In the meantime, the current bullpen went into Tuesday night with a 2.01 ERA (0.50 if you subtract Felix Rodriguez). So Nen's trip to the DL could actually be a blessing in disguise for a team on which almost everything has gone right so far.

	Blalock

"Every hit he got was in the same spot," says one scout. "Waist high. Middle of the plate. I'm anxious to see what happens when he's not getting all fastballs and hanging sliders right down the middle."

The same scout says of struggling rookie Mark Teixeira (0 for his first 15): "He's where Blalock was last year. He hit a lot of fastballs in spring training. Now he's getting all the slop, and he's not handling it. He really ought to be back in Triple-A. He's not ready yet."

"That Gonzalez," says Braves manager Bobby Cox, "is playing his tail off right now."

And an NL scout says: "He's made some mechanical changes in his swing that have totally changed him. He's really shortened up his stroke. And he's much stronger looking. I wouldn't be shocked if he hits some home runs in bunches this year. I've really been impressed with how he's gone about his business."

"He was just flat missing high fastballs," says one scout. "I don't know whether he was getting crossed up or what. But he wasn't moving too hot back there."

	Wagner

A's pitching coach Rick Peterson shortened Lilly's stride this spring. This resulted in an excellent spring for Lilly, followed by a great opening start (7 1/3 IP, three hits allowed) last Friday against the Angels.

Wagner spent the spring working a sharp breaking ball into his repertoire because he felt he needed another pitch. And the results have been scary (12 IP, 6 H, 1 BB, 20 K in spring training -- and a 0.00 ERA after four regular-season outings). Add a breaking ball that good to Wagner's supersonic fastball, and he's Randy Johnson -- "except a foot shorter," chuckled one NL scout.