By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Reds' clubhouse after Tuesday's loss to the Colorado Rockies was as glum as it has been all year. And it had nothing to do with Cincinnati's 5-3 loss to the Rockies.

The players had seen the future of the franchise, and it was a very scary sight.

Scott Williamson, their closer, had been traded to Boston less than an hour before, for a couple of prospects and cold, hard cash.

While the Reds tried to spin the trade as helping the team "long term and short term," the players knew better. The Reds were dumping salary and doing so in a semi-desperation mode.

Don't think it's about the money? The Reds went to the Red Sox after the New York Yankees refused to give up pitching prospect Brandon Claussen and $2.5 million for Williamson.

The Reds were waving the white flag - not only for 2003, but for 2004 as well.

Possible new team slogan: The Drive for 2005. That sure will get fans signing up for season tickets next season.

Chief executive officer Carl Lindner is putting out the word that it's the limited partners - not him - who are keeping the purse strings tight. There's also talk that the limiteds might try to take over because they aren't happy with the way the club has been run.

That's pretty far removed from the players. They don't know board rooms; they know baseball. So they knew that despite the Reds' assurances otherwise, Williamson wasn't traded for baseball reasons.

Think about it: Williamson for a couple of minor-league pitchers who might help in two years. The operative word there is might.

Williamson is not the type of player most teams give up. He is 27 years old and throws 96 mph. His split-finger pitch isn't just unhittable, it's virtually uncatchable. He was making $1.6 million, barely over the major-league average.

He was due a big raise in 2004 because he'll be eligible for arbitration, but maybe that gets him to $3 million. Most teams would line up to pay $3 million to a guy with a career 2.93 ERA.

Phillip Dumatrait, the main player the Reds got from Boston in the deal, is 22. Williamson won the National League Rookie of the Year Award at 23.

Dumatrait could turn out to be a good pitcher. But the Reds' track record says to bet against it. The Reds have traded for 45 pitchers since 1997; four remain on the roster.

Williamson happened to be the player teams were willing to buy, but everyone on the Reds roster reportedly is for sale.

Want Aaron Boone? Make an offer and throw in some cash.

That's why the players were dazed and confused after Tuesday's game. The Williamson trade came the day after Reds general manager Jim Bowden and field manager Bob Boone were fired.

"A couple of weeks ago, we're 2 1/2 games out," one player said. "Now, we don't have a manager. We don't have a GM, and we're trading off players.

"What happened?"

What happened is the Reds fell out of the race by playing three weeks of very bad baseball. The powers that be knew they weren't going to sell many tickets.

Remember, the Reds have been trying to trade Gabe White ($3.3 million) and Scott Sullivan ($2.8 million) since spring training. Both are on the disabled list.

Williamson had enough value that the Red Sox were willing to kick in $1 million.

The Reds are in a classic Catch-22. The team isn't going to be as good next year. That means less revenue and less money for payroll. The cycle continues until you're the Detroit Tigers.

That was the reason for the glum clubhouse Tuesday night.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com