Asked about side effects he might incur while undergoing treatment, Raines shot back, "Getting better."

And among the strong drugs he's taking to alleviate inflammation in his kidney - common with the chronic disease - one is a steroid. That prompted Raines to respond, "I'm gonna come back and hit 100 home runs next year."

Watch out, Mark McGwire.

Raines was putting on a good face Friday during an otherwise serious time. There is no cure for lupus, but it can be held in check.

"I think it's always a relief to find out what's wrong with you," he said. "I know I never felt like that before. I didn't feel like I was dying but I wanted to know what was wrong."

Dr. Elliott Schwartz described lupus as "a connective tissue disease" in which "the body almost becomes allergic to its own tissues and inflammation occurs." Schwartz said the condition is not easily recognized and is less common in men than women.

The 39-year-old Raines, one of baseball's top leadoff hitters and a premier base stealer for most of his 19-year career, went on the disabled list July 19 and didn't find out the definitive reason for sudden weight gain (15 pounds) and fatigue until recently getting the results from a July 23 kidney biopsy.

"When you're sick and you're a ballplayer, you always feel a pill is going to make you better," Raines said.

"But I think any time you get into a situation where it's maybe a life or death thing, you tend to think about it and wonder what you're going through.

"As baseball players, we kind of live a sheltered life, good, bad or ugly. I mean, you're on the top of the world," he added. "You feel like nothing can ever get to you. I think what I've gone through over the last three weeks, it's been pretty humbling, because I haven't been able to do the things I love to do, and that's play baseball."

Schwartz, a kidney disease specialist, became alarmed when inflammation increased by "25 percent in a very short time." Raines underwent four days of treatment at Summitt Hospital in Oakland, where he was given high doses of medications designed to relieve the swelling in his diseased organ.

"He has had extensive treatment with powerful immunosuppressants and he has responded very, very well," Schwartz said. "The fluid weight has all gone out of his body. His blood pressure, which was very high, has returned to normal."

While returning to all normal other activity, Raines cannot play baseball this season because he has at least one more session of treatments when the current one ends, and tests to pass afterward.

"But if everything goes optimally, we would hope that he could be ready for spring training in the year 2000," Schwartz said.

Raines was used sparingly after signing a free-agent contract last offseason to join the A's (135 at-bats spread over 58 games), but he'd like to extend his career long enough for son Tim Raines Jr. (Single-A / Baltimore) to reach the majors.

"I've been around 21 years," said Raines, who ranks first among active players in triples (112), second in stolen bases (807) and third in runs scored (1,548). "I still enjoy the game. I still enjoy being around my team. I still enjoy the competition. I feel like I can still play."

Raines' teammates, many honoring him by displaying his No. 30 on their caps the last two games, expect him to return.

"No doubt, Tim Raines can do whatever he wants," Mike Macfarlane said. "Thank God it sounds like everything is going to be OK. I'm just glad it was caught in time."

"I'm not going to doubt a guy who's been in the game (majors) for 19 years," Tony Phillips said. "If he chooses to do that (return), he'll pay the price to get the job done. He knows what sacrifices have to be made." <

This article appeared on page D - of the Examiner