By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Jim Bowden (right), like Bob Boone, is in the last year of his contract. So the Reds might not want the GM deciding the manager's fate. (Enquirer file photo) | ZOOM |

HOUSTON - Ask Jim Bowden if Bob Boone's job as Reds manager is safe and Bowden says:

"Right now, we're concentrating on getting our players healthy and performing like they are capable of. We need Jason LaRue to get healthy. We need to get Junior (Griffey) healthy. We need to get Austin Kearns healthy. We need to get Sean Casey's groin healthy.

"Seven of our 11 pitchers have ERAs above their career ERA. We're trying to get our fielders fielding consistently like they have in the past."

That's neither a yes nor a no to the Boone question, but an explanation of why the Reds are 40-49 and playing their worst baseball of the season.

If injuries and off years are at the heart of the Reds' problems so far, will Boone be the manager until the end of the season?

"Bob's our manager," Bowden said. "I've never understood those questions."

The question comes up when a team is struggling because of an old baseball adage: You can't fire 25 players.

And Bowden has fired managers at midseason.

There was the infamous firing of Tony Perez in 1993 after the Reds' 20-24 start. And Bowden fired Ray Knight in 1997 when the club was 43-56.

The situation is different this time. Bowden is near the end of his contract and could be gone at the end of the season or sooner.

So it's unclear whether the Reds would let someone with such a tenuous status make such a big personnel decision. Bowden's boss, Reds chief operating officer John Allen, did not return a phone message Wednesday.

The Reds' problems, of course, run deeper than Boone. Bowden put together a club that was woefully lacking in starting pitching and has no leadoff hitter. Some of his early player decisions were disasters - such as Brandon Larson being given the third-base job, and Jimmy Anderson and Josias Manzanillo being awarded spots on the Opening Day pitching staff.

But Bowden put together a club with a budget of $60 million, as per orders from chief executive officer Carl Lindner. A third of that $60 million goes to Griffey and shortstop Barry Larkin - contracts that were Lindner's call.

So though it might not be Boone's fault the Reds are where they are, firing him might be the easiest move to make.

Boone is in the final year of his contract, so the Reds would have to eat very little of his salary. They could promote Dave Miley from Triple-A Louisville or bring in a front-office person, such as Tim Naehring or Ken Griffey Sr., to finish the year as manager.

But Bowden gave reasons why Boone shouldn't be fired: injuries and sub-par first halves by many players.

Larkin agrees.

"We haven't had a consistent lineup out there to assess things," Larkin said. "I don't think you can make a blanket statement to answer why all the things that have gone wrong went that way."

The Reds remain in the National League Central race. After their loss Wednesday, they are 6 1/2 games out of first place.

"That's unheard of with the way we've played," Bowden said. "We're closer to first than the Diamondbacks or the Phillies."

But the Reds' record is the fourth-worst in the NL. They are 9 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race and would have to pass three teams to win the NL Central.

A complete collapse before the All-Star break is a few losses away.

So the question remains: Does Boone take the fall for this?

The Reds have been plagued by injuries to key players. Griffey missed 5 1/2 weeks because of a dislocated shoulder, and Kearns hasn't been the same since injuring a shoulder May 21.

The Nos. 1 and 2 starters, Jimmy Haynes and Ryan Dempster, have spent time on the disabled list. Key relievers Gabe White, Kent Mercker and John Riedling also have been on the DL.

The starting pitching has been so bad that Boone went with a four-man rotation.

There also are reasons to make a change. The Reds have performed poorly in fundamentals all year. They lead the majors in errors and haven't executed well on sacrifices. And they've made more than their share of base-running blunders.

Part of that can be attributed to their youth, but the manager also shares at least part of the blame.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com