CINCINNATI REDS The end of the Larkin era?

It's not clear whether the 39-year-old will retire.
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Barry Larkin's 18-year tenure as Cincinnati Reds shortstop appears to be over.
Reds officials have all but decided not to offer the team captain and 11-time All-Star a player contract for 2004, according to multiple sources with ties to the organization, all who spoke on the condition of anonymity. That could change if owner Carl Lindner orders that Larkin be re-signed, but one source said Lindner has left the final decision to chief operating officer John Allen.
Reached by telephone at his Cincinnati office this week, Allen declined to comment on the Larkin issue. But two sources close to Allen say Allen has no intention of re-signing Larkin. Moreover, Allen and then-general manager Jim Bowden reportedly were opposed to re-signing Larkin when Lindner gave Larkin a three-year, $27 million extension on July 23, 2000.
Kept in limbo
The Reds currently don't have a general manager, a position Allen hopes to fill within the next few weeks. Larkin, who has been kept in limbo on the issue of a new contract, has publicly expressed his frustration at not knowing whom to contact in his effort to negotiate a new contract or inquire as to his future with the organization.
Larkin's current contract will expire when the season ends Sept. 28, and Larkin could be given a formal sendoff before that afternoon's game against Montreal at Great American Ball Park.
Since signing the last contract, Larkin has been on the disabled list five times. He also missed the final month of 2000 and played through six different injuries in 2002. Larkin currently is on the DL for the third time this season and hasn't played since suffering a sprained left ring finger Aug. 22 at Houston.
There is still hope Larkin could play again this year, but the Reds have only nine games left. Larkin, 39, isn't with the club on its current and final road trip, which ends Sunday in Philadelphia.
Looking ahead
It's not clear whether Larkin will retire or attempt to find another team to play for next year. A Cincinnati native, Larkin has spent his entire professional career in the Reds' organization since being drafted in the first round (fourth overall) out of the University of Michigan in 1985. One source said that if Larkin doesn't wish to continue playing, the Reds likely will offer him some kind of job, possibly as a spring-training instructor and/or front office consultant.
For most of his career, Larkin has been one of the National League's elite players. He captured the Most Valuable Player award in 1995, batting .319 with 15 home runs, 66 RBI and a career-high 51 stolen bases and leading the Reds to the Central division title, their last playoff appearance. He batted .300 or better nine times, including a stretch of five consecutive seasons from 1989-93.
Larkin presently is hitting .282, but has driven in just 18 runs this season. He missed almost four weeks in April and May with a strained left calf and another three weeks in May and June with a strained right calf. The endless injuries that have plagued Larkin in recent years, most of which have been lower-body related, are almost certainly the result of his having played the first 15 seasons of his career primarily on artificial turf. Larkin campaigned openly for the turf at Cinergy Field to be replaced with real grass, even offering to pay for it himself at one point.
Fan favorite
Larkin signed several contracts during the early years of his career that were below market value, an indication of the loyalty he had to his hometown team. But as he played the final season of his previous contract in 2000, negotiations on a new deal became contentious, and Bowden agreed in principle on a trade that would have sent Larkin to the New York Mets for outfielder prospect Alex Escobar and at least one other minor-leaguer. But Larkin used his rights under MLB's basic agreement with its players to refuse that trade.
The next day, Lindner attended a game at Cinergy Field, at which he was bombarded with fan sentiment in favor of re-signing Larkin. That night, the Reds called a press conference to announce Larkin's new deal. The contract included an annual salary of $9 million, with $3 million ($9 million of the $27 million total) deferred, at 4 percent interest, to a 16-year period beginning in 2004.