There was plenty of pinstripe envy in the Reds clubhouse before Saturday's game when word circulated of the three-team trade in which the Yankees acquired Detroit ace Jeff Weaver.

        It's the kind of trade the Reds aren't allowed to make for budgetary reasons.

        “I know what the rules are,” Reds manager Bob Boone said. “It's like the kid that sees his rich buddy get every gift at Christmastime. It doesn't change your life or how you live it. (But) you get a little envious sometimes.”

        Boone and Reds general manager Jim Bowden both expressed this thought: At least Weaver didn't go to St. Louis. The same was recited about the Bartolo Colon-to-Montreal trade a week earlier.

        Yet the fact the small-market Expos acquired a No. 1 starter, and the fact the Yankees gave up only Ted Lilly and two minor-leaguers to get Weaver, made several Reds wistful that they couldn't have swung one of those deals.

        “If we can get a few more million (dollars in the budget), maybe we could be able to get a guy like that,” first baseman Sean Casey said of Colon and Weaver.

        Said reliever Scott Williamson: “Every arm could help. I'm sure (Bowden) could swing a deal like those . . . if he's allowed to.”

        Bowden said he is trying to add pitching without increasing the payroll.

        “In the past, we've been able to trade for guys like David Wells, Denny Neagle, Dave Burba, Juan Guzman,” Bowden said. “We're going to still try to do it again. The only difference is there's certain guys we can't get because of contract terms.”

        It remains to be seen if Reds CEO Carl Lindner will raise the team's $43 million payroll before the July 31 trading deadline.

        “Who cares what the parameters are, whether our payroll goes up or down?” Bowden said. “All we're trying to do is win baseball games with whatever we have to work with.”

        The Reds probably won't ante up for a No. 1 starter. But another starter, period, could help. In 1999, the Reds acquired the durable Guzman, who went 6-3 with a 3.03 ERA to help in the near-miss postseason drive.

        “That boosted a lot of us,” reliever Danny Graves said of the Guzman trade. “It made us feel we were really going for it.”

Reds 6, Brewers 4 Reds box, runs Reds Q&A The pride of Newberry DAUGHERTY: A strike for 'rights' is wrong Choosing stars no highlight for Brenly Cloudy forecast for Bud Bowl A fast but tenuous start Midseason report Cinergy Moment No. 20 - July 1, 1973 Down on the farm Graves 'Lucky' Griffey's return may come in 2 weeks Reds chatter Relief tempers envy of Yankees' Weaver trade Memories of an American original No funeral services for Kid Bats 3, Clippers 1 John Fay's power rankings AL roundup NL roundup Notes from Saturday's games

Caught between a rock and a hard place
Five Questions with Brad Friedel
Met's anyone's tournament
Nalbandian's Centre Court debut will be final vs. Hewitt
Serena shows no mercy in victory over Venus
Da Matta fights off Tracy challenge to win pole
Green gets ride with Gary Keller Racing
Jarrett maneuver causes 14-car wreck
Montoya takes pole for British GP
Rookie Scheckter takes pole for Ameristar 200
Waltrip a winner - and happy this time
Allenby pulls away
Sorenstam takes two-stroke lead into the final round
E Dubai wins Suburban Handicap
Mr. John wins $400,000 Cornhusker
Armstrong takes prologue to open Tour de France
Mighty Ducks acquire Sykora
Police say Iverson being investigated
Coming up this week
GROESCHEN: Prep Insider

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