Somewhere in the Reds' offices there's a chart listing the players for the Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the order the Reds would take them in the event there's a dispersal draft. Reds executives can't talk about contraction, but you can bet your Pete Rose rookie card they're ready for it.

        The feeling inside the offices at Cinergy Field is that contraction is going to happen. Reports have the Expos and Twins being dissolved. Baseball could announce it officially as early as Tuesday. That's when the owners meet in Chicago. Twenty-three of the 30 owners would have to approve contraction for it to happen.

        Logic says teams would draft worst to first from the clubs that are disbanded. The Reds had the fifth-worst record in baseball, second-worst in the National League. The order probably would alternate between the leagues. But whatever the order, the Reds would get a nice pick.

        The Twins finished 85-77 with a payroll of $24 million, so they are stocked with good, cheap players. The Expos finished 68-94 with a payroll of $35 million. They have arguably the best player in the game: Vladimir Guerrero. The Marlins have the best young pitching around. Tampa Bay probably has the least young talent.

        But if there's contraction, the Reds will get one very good player who can help immediately, as well as some more young talent.

        The Reds have thorough reports on the four teams because they were looking at deals with them during the regular season. Remember, it's not only the major-league players who would be dispersed. The minor-league players could be as well. Montreal's system has cranked out stars for years.

        Because the Reds have been looking for young players constantly the past few years, they feel they're ahead of the curve.

        There are a lot of questions to answer before teams can decide on whom they'll pick. What happens to players with multiyear deals? Can you trade a pick? Will the 25- and 40-man rosters be expanded to allow the players to be put on?

        Whom the Reds take, like every decision they make, will be influenced by finances. They still aren't sure exactly what the payroll for 2002 will be. The guess is it will be in the $40 million to $45 million range.

        So if there is a dispersal draft, look for the Reds to go young, go cheap and go for pitching.

        NO JIMY: Jimy Williams, one of the people to whom the Reds talked about their coaching openings, is no longer a candidate. That's because he was named manager of the Houston Astros.

        The Reds did offer Williams a job.

        “We knew this could happen,” Reds general manager Jim Bowden said. “He's a great baseball man. If he hadn't gotten the Houston job, we wanted him to know we had a job for him.”

        SCOUTING EXPEDITION: Scouting director Kasey McKeon and Johnny Almaraz, his top assistant, will be heading to Venezuela next week. The Reds have a team down there.

        The process is the Reds sign young players, develop them to the point they're ready to play in the minors in the United States, then bring them here.

        Look for shortstop Ranier Olmedo to be the first to make it to the big club. He's 20 years old, but with a good year, he could get a September call-up.

        AFL UPDATE: Travis Dawkins continues to swing a hot bat in the Arizona Fall League. He's hitting .370 (fourth in the league) and has nine steals (tied for first in the league).

        Austin Kearns is hitting .357 with four homers and 27 RBI (second in the league).

        Catcher Corky Miller is hitting only .154.

        Ty Howington is 1-1 with a 4.57 ERA in five starts. David Gil is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA.

Dispersal draft could give Reds immediate help Reds Q&A with John Fay

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