As storybook marriages go, it's been closer so far to J. Lo and Cris Judd than Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. But it isn't time yet to file Junior Griffey and Cincinnati under Seemed Like a Great Idea at the Time.

It's still only Year 3 of the Junior Goes Home saga. And it's going to take more than a popping hamstring or two to send Griffey and the Reds to divorce court. Take our word for it. Take Jim Bowden's word for it.

Ironically, the Mariners pull into Cincinnati this week to remind Griffey again of what might have been. And back in Seattle, those stories continue to bounce around about Junior sending signals he'd like to head back to the great Northwest.

But let's get this straight one more time: Ken Griffey Jr. isn't going anywhere. Not to the Mariners. Not to the Yankees. Not to the Orioles.

Not now. Not next week. Not next month.

Not with his team tied for first place, even in a year in which Griffey has started only 15 of the Reds' first 67 games.

Not happening.

"We're not going to trade him," says Bowden, firmly. "It's just that simple. I won't even take the phone call if another team mentions his name. People just don't get it. We're not trading him.

"We traded for Junior because we want him to spend the rest of his career as a Cincinnati Red," the general manager says. "We traded for him because we want him to go into the Hall of Fame as a Red. We want to go to the postseason with him. We want to build our lineup around him. We built our our new stadium, which opens next year, with a short right-field porch, with him in mind.

"So we're not open to trading him. I hope people understand that. We all know we need starting pitching. But we're not going to trade our regular players to get that starting pitching."

Well, funny he should bring that up. For months now, the Reds' quest for starting pitching has been a worst-kept secret than the Paul McCartney wedding.

You'd have a hard time finding 10 people outside of Fountain Square who could even name their five starters. Yet the Reds' rotation has a lower ERA (4.29) than the A's (4.50) or Marlins (4.63) -- and it isn't much different higher than Seattle's (4.22), for that matter.

"Pitching is actually the reason we've been in first place," Bowden says. "We haven't hit. Barry (Larkin) hasn't hit. Todd (Walker) hasn't hit. Aaron (Boone) hasn't hit. We haven't had Junior. Half our lineup hasn't hit. Everybody says they love our lineup, but we've actually scored fewer runs than last year. The difference is, we've allowed a run less a game."

Still, Bowden continues to hunt. He's already become the latest GM to take his shot at reviving Bruce Chen. And he's not through. A survey of scouts, GMs and club officials indicates these are some of the pitchers expected to be on his shopping list: