When the Reds traded their most accomplished arm Wednesday, they declared this campaign a lost cause and McKeon an innocent bystander. You don't trade your best pitcher when you're looking for a scapegoat, and you shouldn't fire your manager after you've dealt away his ace.

        Given Neagle's impending free agency, the looming trading deadline and the fallow state of the Cincinnati farm system, the move makes a lot of long-term sense.

        Short-term, however, it helps only McKeon. It says the chain of command has little faith in the team on the field and that the problem is not leadership but talent. Though this is disconcerting for the players, the fans and the scalpers, it shifts blame from the manager to the front office.

Bowden needs a clear plan
        If the Reds unravel without Neagle, McKeon has a built-in alibi. If the Reds rally, he becomes a genius. If you can't manage a juggernaut, the best job in baseball is running a team with no expectations.

        Even if the Reds should tread water through September, letting McKeon finish the season serves a purpose: delaying the decision on his successor. Some club executives fear the fallout if the job is not offered to Ken Griffey Sr., and the double standard that might develop if he were in charge. Others wonder if Senior might be just the guy to get Ken Griffey Jr. to run out ground balls. The only consensus is that the safest course is the status quo: more of McKeon.

        For Jim Bowden, the Neagle deal should mean a looser budget and a tighter focus. The Reds' general manager created a contender last year out of the unproven and the unwanted, but he can't continue to count on career years from career journeymen. He should stop sending mixed signals and start pursuing a more coherent strategy.

        If Bowden's top priority is 2003, then the Reds should start spending more on discovering third-world pitchers and less on signing second-rate free agents. They should commit themselves to (young) player development and stop indulging long-shot luminaries such as Deion Sanders and Mark Wohlers. They should act the part of a resourceful small-market club.

        They should come to terms with Barry Larkin or come to terms with losing him.

Larkin probably gone
        What the Neagle deal means to Larkin depends on your vantage point. If the Reds are determined to sign their All-Star shortstop, dumping Neagle's salary leaves them more dollars to get it done. If trading Neagle signals a shift in emphasis from the here-and-now to the if-and-when, signing Larkin may be an extravagance.

        Normally, a team building for a distant future would not want to be saddled with an expensive, 36-year-old middle infielder of dubious drawing power. Historically, this expensive, 36-year-old middle infielder has reacted to the trading of high-profile teammates with diatribes designed to get himself traded.

        That Larkin's remarks have been more measured this time might indicate he is closing in on a new deal. Yet given the multimillion-dollar negotiating gap, it probably means he already is resigned to leaving town.

        When a team throws in the towel in midseason, housecleaning usually follows. What that probably means is a new shortstop at Cinergy Field.

        Tim Sullivan welcomes your e-mail at tsullivan@enquirer.com.

Reds 9, Rockies 2 Box, runs SULLIVAN: Reprieve for McKeon Henson insists he's made no decision Dessens gets lesson on beanball Neagle happy to join Yankees

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