Before he sat down to dinner Friday night, Jim Bowden transacted enough business to deserve a volume discount. In 11 separate roster moves involving 13 different players, the Reds' general manager reinforced his reputation as baseball's most hyperactive honcho.

        He reinstated three players from the disabled list, promoted three players from Louisville, optioned two, traded one, acquired two, designated two for assignment, returning Deion Sanders to the contractual tyranny of the Washington Redskins.

Adam Dunn (6-6, 250) hits with power, hits for average and steals bases. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        Sources close to the situation said Bowden was close to a deal that would have sent his plate of fried shrimp to Boston for a lobster to be named later. But he was too hungry to keep haggling. He put down his telephone, picked up his fork and chewed on the one move he hadn't made.

        “I almost brought Adam Dunn up last night,” Bowden said. “I almost did it again today. You ought to go and see him (in Louisville), but you had better go soon. He may be up by Monday.”

        Aaron Boone, Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Larkin returned to the lineup Friday night after weeks of inactivity, but Bowden remains concerned about run production. As Dunn continues to pulverize Triple-A pitching — he has 25 minor-league home runs so far this season — Bowden continues to contemplate promoting him from Louisville straight into the Reds starting lineup.

Total chaos

        Surely, more changes can be expected in the wake of Frenetic Friday. Bowden has neither the patience nor the ballclub to be satisfied with the status quo. The itch in his trigger finger is both involuntary and incessant. Friday's activity raised the Reds' roster moves to 56 for the season.

        “Barry (Larkin) called me before I came down to give me a heads-up,” Aaron Boone said. “He said, "We've had a little overhaul today.' I know who's here and who's not, but I don't think I know all the transactions.”

        Friday's housecleaning fell on the 24th anniversary of the most convulsive day in Reds history — June 15, 1977. It was then that Bob Howsam made five separate trading deadline deals in an effort to revitalize the Big Red Machine. The Reds acquired Tom Seaver that night, but they still failed to catch the Dodgers.

Big deficit

        Similarly, nothing that happened Friday should be of any immediate concern to the Cubs. The Reds will be better so long as Griffey's hamstrings hold up, but Friday's 8-4 loss to Colorado left them 14 1/2 games out of first place.

        Though they are not technically eliminated from the pennant race, Friday's moves indicate a focus on a more distant future. In trading starting pitcher Rob Bell to the Texas Rangers for a pair of minor-league prospects, Bowden decided it was better to stockpile young talent than to foster the fantasy of a serious stretch run.

        Quality pitching is scarce. Young starters are precious. But Bell did nothing with the Reds that indicated an elite arm. He was 0-5 with an earned-run average of 5.48. If Bell had been a great pitching prospect, the Reds never would have acquired him from Atlanta.

        If Dunn is as close as Bowden contends, the Reds should be able to replace Bell with a comparable pitcher by dealing one of their spare outfielders — probably Dmitri Young; possibly Alex Ochoa.

        With Bowden in charge, the smart money says something happens soon.

        E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.

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