If a club could fire its owner … the Reds dumped their manager and G.M. less than two years ago. Carl Lindner hired such wonderful replacements that the team needs to do it all again

The Reds finished 76-86 last season, but as late as June 10, they led the National League Central. On that same date this season, they were last in the division, 15 games out of first--after increasing the payroll by $17 million.

It's a classic heads-will-roll scenario, and manager Dave Miley likely will be the first to go. He has been in a tenuous situation since team president John Allen paid the club a surprise visit in Denver in early June and announced to all who would listen, "This is not acceptable."

Miley, who has been the team's manager since July 28, 2003, will deserve his fate; he has lost the respect of his players. But the Reds can't pretend that replacing Miley, most likely with bench coach Jerry Narron, will salvage their season.

It's too far gone.

General manager Dan O'Brien deserves blame for one of the worst offseason reconstructions in recent memory. But even O'Brien is more of a symptom than the problem. The harsh reality: The Reds will remain doomed as long as Carl Lindner, 85, remains their owner.

It is Lindner who chose O'Brien after Allen recommended Twins assistant G.M. Wayne Krivsky and Lindner who chose Miley after O'Brien recommended Pirates farm director Brian Graham and Lindner who keeps the ineffectual Allen in power.

What exactly is the Reds' excuse? They opened a new ballpark in 2003. They play in a division of relatively modest spenders. Yet, they've fallen behind the two other perennially weak sisters of the Central, the Pirates and Brewers. For the third straight season, Cincinnati's pitching is the worst in the N.L. outside of Colorado.

O'Brien tried to fix his rotation by re-signing Paul Wilson, adding free agent Eric Milton and trading for Ramon Ortiz--they began the week a combined 5-16 with a 7.21 ERA while accounting for more than one-fifth of the Reds' $61.9 million payroll.

The bullpen additions, with the exception of lefty Kent Mercker, have been nearly as horrid. O'Brien also re-signed D'Angelo Jimenez for $2.87 million when he had Ryan Freel to play second base, then designated Jimenez for assignment on May 21, swallowing the rest of his salary.

And then there is Danny Graves.

Yes, he stunk. Yes, he flipped off a fan. But rather than getting nothing for Graves--and having to pay the balance of his $6.25 million contract after releasing him--the Reds should have tried to fix him. If successful, they could have rebuilt his value, then traded him for prospects.

The Jimenez and Graves moves were out of character for O'Brien, who usually is overly methodical, rarely rocking a boat that needs to be flipped over. The Reds need to find a taker for center fielder Ken Griffey, and they need to trade first baseman Sean Casey and/or left fielder Adam Dunn, acquiring low-cost talent however possible.

Righthanded pitcher Ryan Drese, cut loose by the Rangers last week, would have been a worthwhile risk, given the state of the Reds' pitching and weakness of their farm system. Instead, former Reds G.M. Jim Bowden claimed Drese for the Nationals.

Ah, the madcap Bowden. He hardly was perfect with the Reds, failing to develop pitching and embarrassing the club with some inappropriate conduct. But the team sure misses his energy. After the Nationals were swept in Cincinnati, Bowden made nine transactions in one day. The Nationals have climbed into first place, and though that might not last, Bowden will shake things up until the bitter end.

The Reds lead the league only in pettiness. Graves--active in the community, popular among his teammates--learned of his departure in a phone call from O'Brien. Miley removed Dunn's and Griffey's massage chairs from the clubhouse, then took down a Graves jersey that Dunn had hung in the reliever's honor.

This team needs a different type of housecleaning. Start at the top, work on down.

Playing the blame game

With perennial doormats such as the Tigers, Pirates and Brewers showing life, other longtime losers are running out of excuses.

Devil Rays. Stuart Sternberg, the team's new general partner, is expected to wrest control from owner Vince Naimoli after next season. The transition can't happen soon enough; the Rays are deep in young talent, but who would know it? Chuck LaMar, the only G.M. in the team's eight-year history, is forever spinning his wheels.

Royals. Owner David Glass isn't solely to blame. The Royals boast quality young arms, but G.M. Allard Baird received too little in several big trades, hampering the rebuilding process. Baird, one rival official says, surrounds himself with like-minded scouting types who are more adept at determining how players project rather than how they actually will perform. Hiring manager Buddy Bell could be a positive; Bell will be his own man, holding players more accountable than his predecessor, Tony Pena.

Rockies. Rival executives disparage G.M. Dan O'Dowd for constantly shifting plans, but the formula for winning at Coors Field remains elusive. The latest strategy is to rebuild with youth, and the Rockies' farm system is brimming with talented hitters. Sustaining a quality pitching staff will be more difficult. O'Dowd, in his sixth season as G.M., needs to start producing answers.