I Guess He's At Acceptance

Barry Larkin is close to joining the front office.

Bowden, general manager of the Washington Nationals - the former Montreal Expos - has expressed interest in hiring Larkin for a front-office job.

''What Barry communicated to me is that he would like to come to work with the Nationals,'' Bowden said. ''He would like to come and work because, in his words, of his relationship with me, Bob Boone and Jose Rijo.''

Boone, a former Reds manager, and Rijo, a former Reds pitcher, already are on board as special assistants to Bowden.

With the burgeoning collection of Reds, can Pete Rose be far behind?