Ed Wade tried to do the right thing. In the late summer and fall, not much means more for a contending baseball team than a quality bullpen.

That's what the Philadelphia Phillies had in mind when they used their bargaining chips to import Turk Wendell and Dennis Cook from the New York Mets. There was no way to know that the trade that sent young lefty Bruce Chen to New York would force Wade to watch Wendell and lefty Rheal Cormier give up game-losing home runs three games in a row. As they say around the batting cage, that's baseball.

	Steve Karsay has allowed just five earned runs in 17 appearances since joining the Braves.

But give the Phillies credit for adding proven relievers. Ditto the Dodgers, Giants, Astros, Cubs and Red Sox. Don't forget the Yankees and Braves who beat the crowds by bringing home Jay Witasick, Mark Wohlers, Steve Karsay and Steve Reed in some early shopping.

Ugueth Urbina, acquired last week from Montreal, should pay dividends this week when Boston visits Oakland for a series with wild-card implications. John Rocker and Twins newcomer Todd Jones will be tested when the Indians visit Minnesota in a three-game series beginning Tuesday between the American League Central frontrunners.

While home run hitters and starting pitchers bring fans to the gate all season, relievers sell tickets only in one month. That's October, when teams don't advance without them.

With that in mind, here's a look at the relative bullpen strength of contenders (for this exercise we're eliminating the one team that can coast, Seattle, and any team that is more than five games back in playoff races):

1. Yankees: With the celebrated starting rotation a not so shocking disappointment (not only is age an issue but Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, Orlando Hernandez and Andy Pettitte were an underwhelming 55-45 with a 4.08 ERA in 2000), Joe Torre turned to closer Mariano Rivera and set-up man Mike Stanton to keep the world champs from collapsing. The Yankees have missed Jeff Nelson all year, but the return of Ramiro Mendoza has helped keep the relief ERA at 3.23, which is second to Seattle in the AL.

2. Cubs: The F-Troop rocks. Flash Gordon, Kyle Farnsworth and Jeff Fassero have pitched with one- and two-run leads all season and rarely have cracked. There's some question whether they can keep it up for two more months, but they have two things in their favor -- the arrival of David Weathers from Milwaukee and starters who have kept the bullpen to 297 1/3 innings. By comparison, Houston relievers have already worked 345 innings.

3. Astros: Billy Wagner and Octavio Dotel can be just as nasty as Gordon and Farnsworth. Dotel has been a major surprise, compiling a 1.58 ERA over 37 relief appearances. He's used a 98-mph fastball to strike out 81 in 57 innings. The addition of Pittsburgh closer Mike Williams pushes veteran Mike Jackson and the underrated Nelson Cruz back to the middle innings, where they are extremely solid.

4. Red Sox: While Dan Duquette allowed Gordon and Fassero to walk, he shocked the world by exercising a $4.5-million option to hang onto Rod Beck. That's a big commitment for a set-up man -- especially a big set-up man -- but Beck, Rich Garces and Rolando Arrojo came up huge when closer Derek Lowe struggled early in the season. Now, not only is Lowe back to form but also Duquette has added Urbina. Former first-round pick Casey Fossum is getting a look in the ongoing search for left-handed relief.

5. Braves: Forget clubhouse presence. GM John Schuerholz made a smart baseball move when he made that 2-for-1 John Rocker deal with Cleveland. Steve Karsay and Steve Reed are consummate pros who eat innings and seldom beat themselves. Nobody in the current group of relievers has more than five saves this season, but manager Bobby Cox knows how to win with a committee approach. Maybe John Smoltz will develop into the closer down the stretch. Durability figures to be a problem for Smoltz, but he's got a 1.08 ERA in eight relief appearances.

6. Dodgers: What a marvelous overhaul by Dave Wallace and Dan Evans. The shift of Terry Adams into the starting rotation helped keep Los Angeles in contention, but put a major strain on relievers Matt Herges and Giovanni Carrara. Veterans Terry Mulholland and Mike Trombley were added along with starter James Baldwin in moves before the trade deadline. They give manager Jim Tracy a much better chance to get a lead to Jeff Shaw, who has converted 33 of 38 save opportunities. Don't underestimate the addition of Mulholland, who brings as much grit and versatility as any pitcher in the game.

7. Giants: Robb Nen has been his usual self and set-up man Felix Rodriguez has been invaluable. Yet manager Dusty Baker has still had trouble getting leads to Nen. The addition of Jason Christiansen and Wayne Gomes should help.

8. Indians: Don't be deceived by the Indians' impressive 3.45 bullpen ERA. It was compiled with more than 116 innings by Paul Shuey, Karsay and Reed. GM John Hart traded Karsay and Reed to add Rocker, and now Shuey will be out until September, at least, with a strained elbow. While closer Bob Wickman and Rocker are a solid 1-2 combination, there's little margin for error. Ownership did not give Hart the resources he needed to add somebody like Urbina or Weathers. The Indians will regret that in September, especially if Shuey doesn't come back strong.

9. Diamondbacks: It's August and no one in Arizona's bullpen has hit double figures in saves. Bob Brenly's done good things to compensate for the loss of closer Matt Mantei but you wonder how Byung-Hyun Kim and rookie Bret Prinz will hold up down the stretch. GM Joe Garagiola wouldn't trade the seemingly expendable Erubiel Durazo to get Urbina or another proven reliever. The best thing about this group of relievers is that Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling keep them rested for days when the other starters work.

10. Athletics: Closer Jason Isringhausen is adequate but he doesn't scare opponents. Nor does anyone else in a bullpen that has already blown 20 saves. Lefty Mike Magnante's the old man in a group that includes Jeff Tam, Jim Mecir and Luis Vizcaino. The A's got within one win of eliminating the Yankees with the same basic group of relievers last season. This year, the question is whether they can get into the playoffs with them.

11. Twins: Closer LaTroy Hawkins is in uncharted territory. Todd Jones gives Tom Kelly another experienced option but Jones hasn't pitched in big games in September, either. Kelly has already tried 11 relievers in an ongoing attempt to get consistent work from the group headed by Hawkins and lefty Eddie Guardado. If anybody can win with such an indistinguished group, it's Kelly.

12. Phillies: With Atlanta picking up the pace, Larry Bowa's team will be playing for the wild card. The Phils are going to have a hard time hanging with Houston and the West runnersup unless the bullpen bounces back from the tone set by Wendell and Cormier at the trade deadline. Jose Mesa is having a solid season as the Phillies' closer (28-30 in save opportunities) but the other guys are a combined 4-for-24, with Cormier getting the last non-Mesa save on May 28.

Spotlight on: Vinny Castilla, 3B, Astros
With or without him, the Houston lineup is loaded. But Castilla is giving Larry Dierker one more potent bat to hit behind Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman and Moises Alou. The powerful third baseman is helping the Astros make a run at the Cubs in the NL Central.

	Vinny Castilla Third base Houston Astros Profile
	2001 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 72 14 50 33 0 .276

Cast aside by Tampa Bay, Castilla is hitting .276 with 14 homers and 50 RBI in 72 games since signing with Houston. He has eight homers and 29 RBI in 32 games since the end of June. Bagwell, in fact, was the only NL hitter with more RBI in July. The Astros went 17-11 and enter this week on a four-game winning streak that has cut their deficit in the Central from 4½ games to only 1½.

Credit aggressive work by GM Gerry Hunsicker for keeping Castilla away from the Cubs. Castilla was released by Tampa Bay only three days before Cubs third baseman Bill Mueller smashed his left knee against an advertising sign at Busch Stadium. Hunsicker initially downplayed the Astros' interest in Castilla, but signed him pronto after Mueller's injury created a need for the Cubs.

"Bill Mueller getting hurt didn't have anything to do with it," Hunsicker said. "We were always interested in Vinny. It was just a coincidence."

Castilla said Cubs GM Andy MacPhail asked him to try out. "I didn't understand that," Castilla said. "I think Don (Baylor) wanted me more than the general manager there wanted me. But these guys really came after me. They said they were going to give me a chance to play every day, so it was an easy decision."

Series to watch
Indians at Twins, Tuesday through Thursday
Ready or not, it's showdown time in the AL Central. The Twins definitely have to be wondering if they are ready, but the Indians aren't playing a whole lot better entering this three-game series at the Metrodome.

With All-Star shortstop Cristian Guzman missing and ace Brad Radke winless in his last five starts, Minnesota is floundering. The Twins are 8-16 since July 15, when they led the Central by five games. Cleveland overtook Minnesota on July 23 but the lead has changed hands three times since then, with the Twins currently holding a margin of one game.

Cleveland could have taken charge by now, but has been held back by its lack of pitching depth. The collapse of veteran starter Dave Burba (1-3 with a 9.11 ERA in his last six starts) has contributed to the Indians going only 13-13 since the All-Star break.

Minnesota won with pitching and defense in the first half but hasn't been able to get that formula to work lately. Its starters have a 5.86 ERA during the 8-16 slide. They will be severely tested by the Indians, who since the break are averaging 5.6 runs per game. That includes their historic 15-14 win on Sunday against Seattle, a game in which they once trailed 12-0.

Cleveland has won five of seven against the Twins this year. The teams play 12 more times, including three more next week in Cleveland and six in the last 10 days of the season.

Tom Kelly once hoped Guzman would be back in time for the series, but that appears unlikely. Radke was scratched from a start on Wednesday because of a bruised thumb, which he suffered when he was smoked by a Raul Ibanez liner last Friday.

Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia faces Rick Reed, acquired last week from the Mets, in Tuesday night's series opener. Bartolo Colon goes against rookie Kyle Lohse Wednesday. The Indians are expected to activate lefty Chuck Finely to face Eric Milton on Thursday.

New face: Danny Wright, RHP, White Sox
Is there no end to the quality pitching in the White Sox's farm system? Wright, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Monday against Tampa Bay, has won both of his starts since replacing James Baldwin, who was traded to the Dodgers. He's the 10th different rookie to win a game for Jerry Manuel in the last two seasons.

Like Mark Buehrle and 6-foot-11 prospect Jon Rauch, Wright is another success story for Sox scouts. He was 2-15 in his last two seasons at the University of Arkansas yet was recommended so highly by agents Ken Stauffer and John Kazanas that he was selected in the second round of the '99 draft.

While Wright has never gotten as much attention as guys like Jon Garland, Kip Wells and Rauch, he was hardly a secret within the organization. Baseball America rated him with both the best velocity and breaking pitch (a knuckle-curve) in the Sox system entering this season. He backed that up by compiling a 2.82 ERA in 20 starts with Double-A Birmingham. He had a 3-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and held opponents to a .229 batting average.

Wright's first 10 pitches were balls on Monday. Yet he recovered to dominate the Devil Rays. It's doubtful he could have taken the no-hitter much deeper because Chris Gomez's seventh-inning double came on his 115th pitch. He walked seven, allowing his pitch count to climb.

"When he got behind in the count and then threw a breaking ball or changeup for a strike, that was impressive," Manuel said. "He didn't have to rely on a 94- to 95-mph fastball. That tells us that he has some other things in his arsenal that can be effective in order to win at the major-league level. It was a tough first inning to watch, but after that he was great."

Wright can't stop grinning. "Things have kind of worked out for me," he said. "I didn't throw the ball great my first (start against Kansas City) and got a win. Today I walked several guys. But it's good."

Team to watch: Reds
In the words of Dmitri Young, "Just call us The Young Lions because we're going to play like animals the rest of the way."

No longer is Cincinnati looking at the second 100-loss season in its long history. The Reds have won four consecutive series, including a seven-game winning streak at one point. They're 10-2 since July 23 and last week had a 5-1 record at Dodger Stadium and San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, where the first-place Cubs went 2-4.

"Our swagger is back," third baseman Aaron Boone said.

That may be a bit much for a team that's still 18 games under .500, but the Reds should be feeling good about themselves. Their turnaround started on the day when they acquired second baseman Todd Walker from Colorado to be their leadoff man and promoted top prospect Adam Dunn from Triple-A to hit behind him.

Walker had an 11-game hitting streak stopped Saturday. He's hit safely in 12 of 14 games with the Reds. Dunn hit .400 his first week with the club, but has cooled off since then. He's batting only .246 but has drawn 11 walks, giving him a .361 on-base percentage.

Ken Griffey Jr. appears to feeling better, too. He had his first infield hit of the season last Wednesday, when the Reds pounded out 20 hits in a 10-5 win over the Dodgers, and is 10-for-33 with four homers and six RBI in the last eight games.

"The team we're running out there now is very capable," Aaron Boone said. "We expect to win a lot of games in the final two months. We're a different team since we added Walker and Dunn. They have given us an added dimension."

The Reds have seven games remaining against both of the Central leaders, the Cubs and Astros. This week, they try to cool off San Francisco at Cinergy Field before hosting Colorado in a weekend series.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.