SAN FRANCISCO -- In one corner of the Pirates' clubhouse yesterday, Jason Bay was being asked by a reporter about being in the midst of perhaps one of the great offensive seasons in franchise history.

In the opposite corner, a team official was punching his way through a stack of All-Star ballots, taking care to remove any hanging chads by Bay's name.

	MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT Saturday's results INDIANAPOLIS (34-27) won at Louisville, 4-2. LHP C.J. Nitkowski (2-0, 1.40) pitched three scoreless innings and allowed three hits. RHP Jonah Bayliss (2.33) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for his ninth save. LF Raul Gonzalez (.298) went 3 for 3 with a triple. ALTOONA (36-24) won at New Hampshire, 7-3. LHP Shane Youman (3-2, 1.84) allowed two runs in five innings. RF Ray Sadler (.258) went 3 for 5 with his sixth home run, a three-run shot. LYNCHBURG (30-32) beat Salem, 2-0. RHP Kip Wells (1-0, 0.00) pitched six scoreless innings in a rehabilitation start. SS Brian Bixler (.323) went 1 for 2 with two walks and an RBI. C Neil Walker (.283) went 1 for 4. HICKORY (28-32) lost to West Virginia, 5-3. RHP Kyle Pearson (3-2, 4.60) allowed three runs in five innings. CF Andrew McCutchen (.280) went 1 for 4 with two runs and a walk. C Steve Lerud (.251) had his 17th and 18th passed balls.

The events were not unrelated.

"We want Jason to start in the All-Star Game," said Jim Trdinich, head of media relations and the one working on the ballots. "He certainly deserves it, and we're hoping everyone does all they can to make it happen."

Bay is a cinch to be selected for the game, July 11 at PNC Park, but he is a long shot to start, even though his numbers are among the best in baseball.

The most recent fan voting had him ninth with 255,226 votes, well out of the top three in which he would need to finish. At the top were the Atlanta Braves' Andruw Jones (582,749), the New York Mets' Carlos Beltran (499,693) and the Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. (479,963).

In addition to clicking and punching Bay's name in cyberspace and on paper, the Pirates have taken unprecedented steps to get out the vote. They are pushing the matter on broadcasts, in press releases, through corporate partners and even outside the country. The team has asked the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to help Bay gather support in his home and native land.

No member of the Pirates has been voted to start since Andy Van Slyke in 1993.

Manager Jim Tracy sounded yesterday as if he, too, were joining the cause.

Asked about Bay's trip, on which he has reached base 18 of 27 times with two home runs, Tracy replied: "Yeah, he's pretty good, isn't he?"

He paused and added, "We're to the point in time where the recognition that he's getting should go beyond Pittsburgh itself. He's becoming a very identifiable player in our league, in San Francisco and St. Louis and Houston and Chicago and everywhere. He's an All-Star. In any city."

Bay is aware of the movement.

"It's flattering, and it obviously has to do with performing," he said. "Nobody wants to be voted in just on popularity. You want to get in because you deserve it. It's nice that everybody's pulling for me, and I can say it would be an honor to be part of that game in my home park."

Long-ball long shot

Bay's 19 home runs have him on pace for 49, which would rank third on the Pirates' all-time list. Ralph Kiner had 54 in 1949 and 51 two years earlier for the two highest totals. Willie Stargell's high of 48 came for 1971 championship team.

Bay's prediction for his shot at matching either man?

"No chance."

Wells sharp in Lynchburg

Kip Wells pitched six scoreless innings and allowed only three hits last night for Class A Lynchburg in his first minor-league rehabilitation start. The Hillcats went on to blank visiting Salem, 2-0.

Working with catcher Neil Walker, the Pirates' top hitting prospect, Wells struck out five, walked two and hit two batters.

His next start will come Thursday for Class AA Altoona.

Schmidt still rising

Jason Schmidt, San Francisco's starter in the finale today, has won six in a row with a 1.31 ERA, and he is coming off a 16-strikeout gem Wednesday against Florida.

He is 73-30 since the Pirates dealt him to San Francisco after going 44-47 in Pittsburgh, but third baseman Joe Randa, Schmidt's teammate on that Freak Show outfit in 1997, expresses no surprise.

"I saw then that he'd be doing these things right now," Randa said. "With his upbringing in the Atlanta organization and how highly touted he was, he believed in himself. Back in '97, there were a lot of guys in that rotation like that ... Jon Lieber ... Esteban Loaiza ... kind of feeling their way through. But you could see in Jason's eyes that he was a confident person."

Buried treasure

Third baseman Freddy Sanchez was ejected in the second inning by home-plate umpire Rick Reed because he turned around to say, "That's brutal," after a called third strike.

Randa today will begin a two-game rehabilitation stint with Class AAA Indianapolis. He is scheduled to play all nine innings each day, then get evaluated for a possible return to Pittsburgh.

Barry Bonds sat out a fourth consecutive game because of a strained muscle in his left side, and he is considered unlikely to play today.