The harsh economic times are smothering the Reds and there will be no more significant additions to the team this year.

Swell. Rush to purchase those tickets now. Get excited about the Reds' caravan appearance Sunday at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Everybody wants to see a fifth-place team, and everybody wants to see a ninth-straight losing season.

Castellini says the team hasn't given up on this year, but they are building for the future. Same message, different voice. How long have Reds fans heard this? And how far away is the future?

What have they done to replace Adam Dunn's 40 home runs, 100 RBIs, 100 walks and 100 runs scored?

They've added catcher Ramon Hernandez, outfielder Wily Taveras and relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes. And, oh yeah, don't forget Jonny Gomes.

Who do you like in left field this year? Chris Dickerson? Jerry Hairston Jr? Gomes? He hit .182 with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 77 games last year and was left off Tampa Bay's postseason roster.

When Castellini took over the team before the 2006 season, he told the media he wanted to win and he wanted to return to the glory days of The Big Red Machine.

Now he blames the media for reporting his philosophy.

"We want to win," Castellini said. "That's our message. I said we want to win - but not overnight. You guys took that out of context."

Then why did he fire General Manager Dan O'Brien right away and why did he fire Wayne Krivsky so fast when Krivsky was successfully rebuilding the minors? And why did he say Krivsky was fired "because we just aren't going to lose anymore?"

Wanting to win and doing something to make it happen are two different things. And if you are out of money, you do what the Reds have done. Not much.

The payroll is close to $75 million, about what it was last year. And the vault is empty. After eight years of losing, it seems more losing is assured as the Reds continue to put the "less" in hopeless.

With the economy in the cesspool, entertainment dollars will become scarce.

Walt Jocketty, installed as GM early last season to work the magic he worked in St. Louis, needs a bigger wand to handle this one and probably is wondering what he got himself into. But his upper lip remains stiff.

"I don't think you can put a timetable on it," Jocketty said. "It takes time to build a competitive organization - a consistently competitive organization. We're really trying to develop our younger players and utilize the talent we have in the organization."

Those are fine words, but a little bit from the Land of Oz. An organization like the Reds can build a strong farm system and develop players. They keep those young players for three or fours years and just when they become solid stars, the Yankees or Red Sox or Mets or Dodgers swoop them away via free agency or the Reds can't afford to pay them and are forced to trade them.

Strap it on, Reds fan. Gonna be another lonnnnnnnnng year.