Talk about a top-heavy rotation. 
               The Rangers have exactly that 
               with righthanders Aaron Sele and Rick Helling. 
               Through Saturday, the duo
               is the winningest combination in the major
               leagues with 22 wins. That's one more than
               Atlanta's Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine and
               two more than New York's David Cone and
               David Wells. 

               The Rangers are 25-7 when those two take
               the mound and 21-27 when they don't.
               Baseball's first two 11-game winners have
               made the argument to be on the American
               League All-Star team. 

               Neither is overpowering but very effective.
               Pitching coach Dick Bosman thinks each can
               consistently register between six to eight
               strikeouts a start. Sele is off to the best start of
               his career and has had tremendous control of
               his curveball. He already had 92 strikeouts
               prior to Sunday's start in San Francisco. His
               career high was 137 in 1996. 

               Helling's curveball is different as it breaks
               harder. He only throws about 88 mph, but he
               can get away with living high in the strike zone
               because that curveball has worked so well. He
               has rebounded from a mediocre May and has
               been the hottest pitcher in June. Helling is 4-1
               with a 3.03 ERA. Earning his first chance to
               pitch in a starting rotation in his career, Helling
               has meant reliability. He's taken 13 of his first
               16 starts at least six innings and has never
               lasted less than five innings. 

               The two pitch on consecutive days and have
               lockers next to each other. They have talked
               about philosophy. Sele believes Helling has
               been a great influence on him to pitch
               aggressively in the count and is willing to throw
               his changeup a little more. 

               "The two of us seem to feed off each other,"
               Helling said. "Neither of us will give in during
               counts. We're just pitching with confidence." .
               . . 

               Scouting director Chuck McMichael has held
               two series of negotiations with the team's
               first-round pick, Northeastern University first
               baseman Carlos Pena, who was the 10th
               overall choice. McMichael is terming the talks
               positive. But when lefthander Ryan Mills -- the
               sixth overall pick taken by Minnesota --
               received a $2 million bonus last week, that got
               the Rangers' attention. 

               McMichael does not negotiate in the press,
               but it's fair to think the club must consider
               roughly a $1.5 million bonus for Pena.                                        
                 

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