AROUND THE MAJORS : McGwire Watches Wistfully as A’s Stay Competitive

The Oakland Athletics are heading down the stretch run right in the middle of the AL wild-card race. The only race Mark McGwire is in right now, is with Sammy Sosa for the home run title.

When the Athletics dealt McGwire to St. Louis for three young pitchers on July 31, 1997, it was a signal they were rebuilding and they wanted McGwire to have a chance to play for a winner again.

But once again the Cardinals are playing out the string with the only excitement being the performance of young players such as Rick Ankiel and McGwire’s chase of 70. McGwire can only watch wistfully what’s going on in Oakland.

The A’s still haven’t opened their wallets--their $22.8 million payroll on opening day was less than half of what St. Louis was paying and fifth lowest in the majors. But they were only two games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race heading into last weekend with a two-game showdown coming next week in Oakland.

“I’m so happy for them,” McGwire said. “I watch the scoreboards every day. It’s great to see. I talk to Jason [Giambi] regularly and he said everybody is all excited to go to park every day. I’m happy for the city.”

It was the A’s who were supposed to be happy about McGwire’s success. Here is what Big Mac said at the time of the trade two years ago: “If I have a chance to help somebody go to the playoffs and World Series, I want to do that now. Oakland is rebuilding and I don’t know how much longer it’s going to take them.”

It took all of about two years--with some help from McGwire. T.J. Mathews, one of the players acquired for McGwire, has been Oakland’s most reliable reliever and the A’s sent another of the pitchers--Blake Stein--to Kansas City for Kevin Appier.

But it’s the lessons McGwire passed on to players like Giambi that is having the most effect.

“He took me under his wing when I first got up here,” said Giambi, who is hitting .314 with 25 homers and 99 RBIs. “He taught me about the game, not so much the physical but the mental part of the game, things like that. He’s a man who hit .201 one year, hit 49 and as a rookie and has now hit 70. He’s got a lot to teach. ... He’s been a huge influence on my career.”

The 35-year-old McGwire is now left to wonder if his only taste of postseason is behind him. He went to the playoffs in four of his first six years in Oakland, including playing in three World Series and winning it all in 1989.

“Not every great player has played on championship team,” he said. “I was spoiled at young age. I wish I could get spoiled at my age now or in the years ahead. I appreciated it back then, but I’d appreciate more now.”

TUTORING SLUGGERS: When Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa hit yet another home run, Milwaukee manager Jim Lefebvre feels a twinge of pride. He once tutored both players.

“Mark has a little man’s swing, short and compact but with the strength of Hercules. Sammy has more of a Willie Mays, athletic type swing. They’re both great hitters,” Lefebvre said.

Lefebvre was a hitting coach for the Oakland A’s in 1997, when McGwire hit 49 home runs as a rookie. He was also Sosa’s hitting coach and manager for the Chicago Cubs.

“I don’t think anybody expected anybody to hit 70 home runs,” Lefebvre said. “Sixty-two was the magic number for years. But the thing about Mark when he came up is that there was no doubt he would someday challenge the record.”

NOT QUITE OUT OF SIGHT: Fans haven’t seen the last of Richie Garcia, one of the 22 umps who was let go. Garcia is the first-base umpire in “For Love of the Game,” the new Kevin Costner movie out this month.

Umpires’ union president Jerry Crawford is the first-base ump, and Rick Reed in behind the plate. The three were put up at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel for a month after last year’s World Series while the movie was shot at Yankee Stadium.

AWARDING EXCELLENCE: With four weeks left in the season, the postseason awards are shaping up. Some have already been decided, like the AL Cy Young to Pedro Martinez.

But both MVP races and the NL Cy Young will be decided in the weeks ahead. Here’s how those three races shape up:

AL MVP: It’s a lock to come from a division winner. The question is which one. Cleveland’s Manny Ramirez has been an RBI machine with 137. But the Indians have scored even when he’s not in the lineup. New York’s Derek Jeter has slipped in recent weeks and needs a strong finish to merit serious contention. Or there’s Texas’ Rafael Palmeiro, who is in striking distance of becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 32 years. As a DH, he probably needs to win it to be the MVP.

NL MVP: If 70 homers weren’t enough to win the MVP for Mark McGwire last season, why should Sammy Sosa have a chance this year for the last-place Cubs. The Mets have three candidates in Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo and Robin Ventura, while Arizona has Matt Williams. But the winner should be Houston’s Jeff Bagwell, who has carried the injury-ravaged team and leads the league in on-base percentage and is fifth in slugging.

NL Cy Young: Houston’s Mike Hampton and Jose Lima have the wins, but Arizona’s Randy Johnson has been the most dominating. Just imagine what his record would be like with some run support. Not that 14-9 with a 2.47 ERA and 315 strikeouts is too shabby.

ANOTHER BAD BREAK: Hal Morris is taking it philosophically. Given what he’s been through, what else can he do?

The Cincinnati Reds first baseman broke a bone in his right hand Aug. 26 when he swung, stumbled and fell as he left the batter’s box. It became the latest entry on his personal list of odd injuries.

He was disabled in 1992 when he pulled a hamstring while stretching in the on-deck circle, and again that year when he was hit by a pitch from Charlie Leibrandt and broke his right hand.

He separated his shoulder when he charged Jose Mesa after the Indians reliever threw a pitch behind his head during a spring training game in 1993. Three years later, he was on deck when Eric Davis’ bat broke and the barrel hit him on the elbow, cracking a bone.

“It’s crazy,” Morris said. “I get the crazy things. What are you going to do?”

PLENTY OF PELOTA: Look for an hour-long TV special “Beisbol: The Latin Dream” that will be airing during the next month in most of the country.

Pedro Martinez, Orlando Cepeda, Fernando Tatis and Jose Lima are featured, and there’s a segment on the 1-year-old triplets of Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez.

The show is hosted by former major leaguer Jose Tolentino, the analyst on the Anaheim Angels’ Spanish radio network. It will air between Sept. 13 and Oct. 17 on over-the-air stations in 15 of the top 20 TV markets in the United States, and is expected to reach about 80 percent of Hispanic households.

While most of the players chose to spoke English, top Yankees prospect Alfonso Soriano was interviewed in Spanish, and subtitles are provided.

“It’s my hope it will serve as a pilot for a weekly, half-hour series next year,” said executive producer Ed Randall, longtime host of the syndicated “Talking Baseball” show.