Mediocrity Is Central to Teams in This Division

Voices from the wilderness that is the National League Central, where parity is spelled parody and a .500 record may produce a division title:

ST. LOUIS

“I refuse to believe that the division winner will not be over .500, but how can I figure out this division?” Manager Tony La Russa said. “I just don’t know.”

This much La Russa knows: His defending champion Cardinals scored two runs or fewer in 33 of 86 games in the first half and will probably be without the services of right fielder Brian Jordan the remainder of the season because of a herniated disk.

“I think we need another strong hitter in the lineup,” center fielder Ray Lankford said. “We’ve got to address that. We need another run producer in the lineup, and we need somebody who can come off the bench and hit the long ball.

“If we’re not going to do something, then we need to quit hollering, ‘What’s wrong with the team?’ How are you going to make it better if you don’t help to make it better?”

Mark McGwire would make it better, but the Cardinals, knowing McGwire would leave as a free agent when the season ends to start knocking on the door of the Angels, Dodgers and San Diego Padres, might not be able to satisfy the Oakland A’s.

The Cardinals had moved into the division lead shortly before the All-Star break but lost four in a row to the Pittsburgh Pirates as Ron Gant, the offensive threat who could fill that run-producer need, began to hear it from Busch Stadium boo birds.

He had 12 home runs and a .229 average, and there was not much sympathy from La Russa regarding the boos.

“This is the big leagues,” the manager said. “I have absolutely no problem with booing. Not to pick on Ron or anybody, but when you’re a free agent or whatever and you say, ‘I’m a key guy,’ and you get key money, that comes with key responsibility.”

HOUSTON

The Astros, under Terry Collins, were 47-42 at the break last year and in first place. They were one game back and 43-45 under Larry Dierker this year, but had a chance to correct that in a four-game series with the Pirates this weekend.

“I don’t think anybody thought this team was going to be the ’27 Yankees,” General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said. “We’ve taken two all-stars [Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio] and surrounded them with a bunch of average players. That being said, I think this team is clearly capable of playing much better than we have.

“We just don’t seem to have the consistency for nine innings that we need. We’re getting to the edge of the cup. We’ve got to start dropping the putts.”

The golf analogy seemed appropriate. Dierker scheduled an optional workout before the Pittsburgh opener and it was sparsely attended. Right fielder Derek Bell (.247) and third baseman Sean Berry (.227) are two players who might need to switch to titanium. They totaled 208 runs batted in last year but reached the break with 45.

Meanwhile, Bagwell and Biggio couldn’t help but notice that there were seven current or former Astros at the All-Star game.

In addition to pitcher Darryl Kile and themselves, there were former Astros Kenny Lofton, Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley and Curt Schilling.

“It would have been nice to see what would have happened if all these guys could have played together for a while,” Biggio said.

CINCINNATI

The Reds started the second half 10 games under .500 but only five out in this goofy division. Manager Ray Knight still has his job, and shortstop Barry Larkin and right fielder Reggie Sanders were expected to come off the disabled list this weekend.

Knight and pitcher Mike Morgan had a blistering exchange last week after Morgan, angry over being removed from a game July 4, remained in the clubhouse and refused to sit in the dugout for two games, but both have since apologized. Morgan could still be traded, but the Reds, believing they’re back in contention, are approaching the market with caution.

“We’ve been riddled and we’re full of bullet holes,” Knight said. “We’ve been hammered by injuries, and I’ve had to adjust. I’ve made out some lineup cards that look pretty ugly, and it has looked bleak at times, but I think we’re going to win. We are going to win.”

CHICAGO

The Cubs, despite that 0-14 start, despite that 37-50 record at the break that General Manager Ed Lynch summed up as awful, despite being 10th in the league in runs and ninth in hits, are much like the Reds: unsure of how far they should go and how much they should part with before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Almost half the pitching staff--including starters Terry Mulholland and Frank Castillo and relievers Bob Patterson, Turk Wendell and Kent Bottenfield--is probably available, but the Cubs won eight of 10 before the break and started the second half only 6 1/2 games back, with Lynch saying he would get a better read after opening with six in a row against St. Louis and Houston.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have started to get younger and continue to preach patience to their faithful.

Lynch cited the performance of young players like Kevin Orie, Kevin Foster, Doug Glanville, Terry Adams, Steve Trachsel and Jeremi Gonzalez and said that’s what “Cub fans can hang their hat on.”

PITTSBURGH

The low-budget Pirates can’t be swayed. They’re not going to mortgage the future to augment their surprising title run.

“We’re trying to build a team here,” Manager Gene Lamont said. “I don’t think we’re going to go out and trade our future away.”

Besides, in this division, the Pirates can win with what they’ve got.

“We’ve adjusted to the fact we can contend and play just as well as any of these teams,” reliever Marc Wilkins said. “We’re having fun.”