NL NOTEBOOK: REDS IN MIDST OF MAKE-OR-BREAK TRIP.

Byline: TONY JACKSON Staff Writer

In Cincinnati, where dreams of a first postseason berth in more than a decade don't end with the wild card, the Reds are now well into their biggest test of the stretch run, a 10-game, 11-day West Coast swing that will bring them to Dodger Stadium beginning Monday.

First-year Reds owner Bob Castellini called it, ``the biggest (trip) around here in six or seven years,'' and he wasn't exaggerating.

The Reds entered their four-game weekend set at San Francisco with a one-game lead over San Diego for the National League wild card. But they also were closing in on slumping St. Louis for the NL Central lead. All season, the Reds have been one of baseball's Cinderella stories, but that would appear to be wearing off amid their sustained success. The club has been in first or second place for 126 consecutive days and has reached a stage where failing to make the playoffs would be considered a disappointment.

That alone is a telling illustration of just how far the organization has come in the six months since Castellini bought it from Carl Lindner, who at times during his six-year stewardship seemed emotionally detached from the club.

``We're past the point of people kind of doubting us,'' Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo said. ``Everyone knows we have a shot to make the playoffs. It's a matter of getting it done.''

As recently as a year ago, this was a moribund franchise, and its famously loyal fan base appeared to be turning its collective back. It didn't help that the Reds' next-door neighbors, the Bengals, became one of the NFL's feel-good stories last fall. They grabbed a lot of the local attention and forced the Reds off the front pages.

The Reds are back now. How long they manage to stay will depend in part on how well they perform on this trip.

``A make-or-break road trip?'' Reds catcher David Ross said. ``It has been a make-or-break season for us.''

Tough break: Former Dodgers reliever Danys Baez, who was traded to Atlanta in last month's Wilson Betemit deal, underwent an emergency appendectomy Wednesday night after giving up four runs in a blown save Tuesday.

The Braves' primary setup man, Baez had pitched well since the trade. Although he was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 11appearances, he had seven holds and no blown saves before Tuesday.

Family issues: San Diego second baseman Josh Barfield was stunned by news last Sunday that his father, former MLB outfielder Jesse Barfield, had been pushed down a flight of stairs by Josh's younger brother Jeremy, a ninth-round draft pick by the New York Mets two months ago.

Jesse Barfield suffered a head injury but was released from the hospital later that same day. Jeremy Barfield was arrested.

``It was a family matter that is being handled in-house,'' Josh Barfield told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Not happy: Arizona infielder Craig Counsell on the club's decision to trade Shawn Green to the Mets despite still being in contention in the NLWest: ``You can't say we are better without Shawn Green. In that sense, it is hard to understand.''

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