AROUND THE HORN: AMERICAN LEAGUE : BRACING FOR A WILD FINISH.

Byline: - Matt McHale

Reaching the wild card means finishing with the league's fourth-best record, not necessarily doing well in your own division. So it really doesn't matter that the Toronto Blue Jays are 1-8 against their wild card-rival Boston Red Sox or 0-6 against the East-leading New York Yankees.

They entered Saturday's game against Detroit a half-game ahead the Red Sox for the wild card and have become serious contenders due to an 18-7 July, which tied a club record for victories in the month.

Now, they have added first baseman David Segui in a trade from Seattle, but there is a chance the move could do more harm than good. Switch-hitting Carlos Delgado, who has 26 homers and 89 RBI, had played every inning of every game at first before the trade and wants to stay.

He and Shawn Green (30 HR, 86 RBI) have anchored the offense. Green extended his hitting streak Friday to 27 games with a home run and is batting .329. But Segui's .996 lifetime fielding percentage is second only to Steve Garvey. Team chemistry could play a factor in this race.

Shutting down

Frustrated by a right elbow injury that has ended his season, Red Sox closer Tom Gordon has joined a growing list of Boston players to question the medical treatment he has received from team doctor Arthur Pappas, who also is a limited partner with the club. Recently, Gordon said he spoke with renowned specialist James Andrews by phone and that Andrews believes a slight ligament tear in the pitcher's elbow has not healed. Gordon pointed out that the news was inconsistent was an assessment Pappas made earlier this month, when Gordon underwent a MRI to monitor the progress of his injury. In any case, Gordon will need surgery to correct the problem and will be out for the remainder of this season and, perhaps, part or all of next year. ``I think it's a conflict of interest,'' Gordon's agent, Rick Thurman, said of Pappas' dual roles. ``I think it's ridiculous.''

Juan gone?

AL MVP Juan Gonzalez is an angry young man. After refusing to play in the All-Star Game, Gonzalez has done some strange stuff, like beat up a water cooler after a frustrating at-bat. He also flung away his batting gloves in disgust one night after Ivan Rodriguez failed to score from second with one out on a bloop single to right. Rodriguez had to hold to see if it would be caught. Last Monday, the Rangers decided to wear their old 1989-93 uniforms for the Hall of Fame Game in honor of Nolan Ryan. But Gonzalez said his pants didn't fit so he refused to dress, even though he wasn't going to play anyway because of a jammed wrist. There are rumors he has marital problems with Latin singing star Olga Tanon. There is also speculation he is unhappy the Rangers have yet to offer him a contract beyond 2000.

Not Taylor made

Closer Billy Taylor was one of the reasons the A's have hung around in the West. He had 22 saves and a 2.41 ERA in the first half. Since the break, however, Taylor's game is a mess - 0-1 with three blown saves and a 17.36 ERA in six games. ``I feel good physically,'' Taylor said. ``I'm just in a slump. I had a great half-season, but now every bad pitch I make I get burned on. I'm not going to get my head down, though. I'm going to work through it.'' Oakland also is a little worried about slumping shortstop Miguel Tejada, who was batting .278 on June 23. Before hitting a home run Friday night, Tejada had just eight hits in his last 57 at-bats (.140) and three hits in 33 at-bats (.091) on the just-completed road trip.