SARASOTA, Fla. - Kip Wells still doesn't want to talk about being the Pittsburgh Pirates' opening day starter, and it's not because manager Lloyd McClendon has yet to make the assignment official.

Wells wants to wait until he finally makes an effective spring start but, with less than two weeks of camp remaining, that's yet to happen.

The right-handed Wells pitched for the first time in 10 days Sunday and didn't have any more success than he did before his long break, allowing five runs in the first inning of a 5-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Wells was strong and effective after the first inning, striking out seven of the final 13 batters he saw over his 3 1-3 innings, but that hardly mattered after he put the Pirates in a five-run hole. He didn't have a built-in excuse for failure, either, as he did when he faced Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in his first two spring starts.

Sunday's start and his spring numbers (0-2, 12.60 ERA) illustrate why the 26-year-old Wells has equally excited and exasperated the Pirates in the two-plus seasons since they acquired him from the White Sox.

His 3.43 ERA and 22-23 record are acceptable considering that he has pitched for teams that were a combined 30 games under .500, and his 2.12 home ERA last season led all NL starters. His opponents' batting average of .233 was the 10th best among NL starters, and he has pitched nearly 200 innings each of the last two seasons.

Yet for every game he pitched well, there seems to be another in which he puts the Pirates behind from the start and they never catch up. One inning he is overpowering, almost unhittable; the next, he's like a batting practice pitcher, throwing one hittable fastball after another.

That's why 2004 is a potentially pivotal year for Wells, one that may determine whether he becomes a star-quality starting pitcher or just another journeyman who throws many innings but does so with uneven results.

"Kip's stuff has been exceptional," McClendon said Sunday. "The first inning he was awfully strong, but you have to remember he missed a start (because the Pirates were off Tuesday). He had a real good changeup and a pretty good slider, so they (his results) are no concern at all."

If there is a worry, it's that Wells returned to some bad old habits Sunday by trying to overpower hitters, rather than mixing in breaking balls and changeups with his fastballs.

"Whether I get behind in the count or guys are sitting on my fastball, I just have to know to take something more off my pitches and change speeds - and not continue to try to pound fastballs in there when they're sitting on it," Wells said. "I was a little fastball-happy. My changeup's really feeling good for me, and I struck a lot of guys out with it."

It was a familiar scenario for the Pirates, who are also trying to break hard-throwing left-hander Oliver Perez of the habit of leaning on his fastball when he gets into early-inning jams.

That's part of the reason why the Pirates' rotation remains unsettled with the April 5 opener against the Phillies only two weeks away. Wells has yet to make an effective start, Kris Benson is as unreliable as ever, Perez is in the developmental stage and Josh Fogg (1-1, 3.21 ERA), as usual, must have near-perfect control to be successful.

The most successful starters have been rookie John Van Benschoten (1-0, 0.82), who will start the season in Triple-A, and Ryan Vogelsong (0-0, 0.73 ERA), who is competing to be the No. 5 starter.

"For the last 4-5 days, I've been pleased with most of the pitching," McClendon said. "I think we're right on schedule."

Even if Kip Wells isn't.

"I guess I can take heart in the fact this all starts over in a couple of weeks," Wells said.