The Stars Won’t Be Quite as Bright for This Contest

An entire galaxy will be missing when they play the 71st All-Star game Tuesday night.

Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken and Greg Maddux were scratched Sunday because of injuries, joining the already deleted Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez. It’s also likely that New York Met catcher Mike Pizza will be unable to play because of the concussion he suffered when hit by a Roger Clemens pitch Saturday night.

Piazza had planned to travel to Atlanta today despite the condition, but was advised by doctors against it, according to baseball officials.

Without Piazza, McGwire, Bonds and Griffey, the middle of the National League lineup, considered one of the most powerful ever, will be wiped out.

“We were looking at who we could have had if everybody was healthy and it looked like it could have been one of the strongest All-Star lineups of all time,” said Atlanta’s Chipper Jones, who will start at third base for the NL team. “It’s disappointing.”

In Sunday’s developments:

* Griffey was scratched because of tendinitis in his right knee and replaced by Arizona Diamondback center fielder Steve Finley. Griffey said he will participate in today’s home run hitting contest but does not want to be in a situation where he has to run the bases or play the outfield.

“We’re in a pennant race and it’s about winning games,” Cincinnati Red General Manager Jim Bowden said of the decision to relieve the stress on his center fielder’s knee with three days of rest.

* Bonds, who was hoping to play in the same outfield with Griffey for the first time, conceded that a broken right thumb that has kept him out of the San Francisco Giant lineup for eight consecutive games will prevent him from playing Tuesday. Bonds, however, said he will honor the fans who voted him in by attending the game. Besides, he said, “it’s better than sitting at home and doing nothing.”

No replacement was named, and the NL might operate with 29 players rather than 30, a major league official said.

* Ripken’s string of 16 consecutive All-Star appearances will end because of the back injury that has put him on the disabled list and threatens his career. He was replaced by Toronto third baseman Tony Batista, while Ripken’s Oriole teammate, shortstop Mike Bordick, was named to replace Rodriguez, who suffered a concussion in Friday night’s game with the Dodgers but flew to Atlanta on Sunday to participate in the All-Star events.

* Maddux, the Atlanta ace, was replaced by Cincinnati relief pitcher Danny Graves after he was unable to start in Boston on Sunday because of a sore right shoulder. Maddux was hit in the shoulder by a line drive during batting practice Saturday.

McGwire, suffering from tendinitis in his left knee, had already been replaced by St. Louis teammate Edgar Renteria, while the American League had already compensated for the injury to Martinez (pulled rib cage muscle) by not including him on the nine-man All-Star pitching staff.

The AL anticipated the absence of Ramirez, voted in as a starter despite being on the Cleveland disabled list since May 30 with a pulled hamstring, by naming a 31-man roster rather than 30, which it becomes with Ramirez officially out.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.