Given his recent spate of maneuvering, Reds' general manager Wayne Krivsky might soon earn for himself a similar moniker such as "The Man of a Thousand Trades."

Ever since he pulled up a chair as a Reds' exec, Krivsky has done enough wheelin' and dealin' to have made Monty Hall proud. Why, he's made more moves than a playboy at a singles bar. He's been busier then an action hero.

Put another way, Krivsky likes to make things happen!

You get the impression that the assertive G.M. is forever on the phone, always looking to barter with anyone willing to listen. Fine-tuning his roster seems to have become almost a daily obsession.

Needless to say, with Krivsky around, things have been far from dull in the Queen City! The offices at the Great American Ball Park have been hoppin'. Change has come fast and furious.

And with the way bodies have been going in and out of the Reds' clubhouse, you'd swear it was Ohio's version of Grand Central Station.

The question is what to make of all this flurry of activity?

Has Krivsky been like a mad scientist gone berserk in his laboratory or are these machinations the handiwork of an inspired visionary?

At this stage, who knows but the truth probably resides somewhere between those two extremes.

Maybe it all boils down to this simple fact. Krivsky is an aggressive sort who won't hesitate to shake things up if he believes his club requires change.

The 52-year-old ex-scout won't sit idly by if he sees a weakness that's undermining his team. Krivsky will attack it with a vengeance and if that means he might have to overpay to correct it, then so be it.

The guy has absolutely no fear of being second-guessed. Possible criticism doesn't deter him. When he makes up his mind about something, he proceeds full-bore and does what he's convinced is in the best interests of the franchise.

He's confident enough to take a stand and then let time determine whether he was sage or fool, smart or deluded.

It's not in his nature to remain pat or shy away from risk. Inaction is an anathema to him. He must always be moving toward something better, a tweak here or an addition there that hopefully will lift the Reds to a higher level.

So far, many of his deals have panned out in spectacular fashion. The acquisitions of  Bronson Arroyo, Brandon Phillips, Scott Hatteberg and Eddie Guardado have proven to be first-rate. In those instances, Krivsky truly hit the long ball.

But the jury is still very much out as to whether the trade that brought Gary Majewski, Bill Bray and Royce Clayton among others to Cincinnati was worth the heavy cost needed to swing the deal.

And though the Reds didn't give up a lot in return, does bringing aboard pitchers Rheal Cormier and Kyle Lohse make enough of a difference to put them over the top? Many insiders are highly skeptical of that being the case.

But one thing is for certain. The culture in the Reds' front office has been dramatically altered. Krivsky is proactive to the max while his predecessor Dan O'Brien was slow to act and loath to take a gamble.

And on those few occasions that O'Brien did go out on a limb, he went down swinging like he did when he dealt Sean Casey or Chris Reitsma. Ouch!

You may not always agree with decisions that Krivsky makes but you can't help but admire his willingness to pull the trigger. He's a doer and in a smaller market like Cincinnati, only a man of action can return the Reds to their former glory.

Krivsky's clearly got the guts to be something special. Only time will tell if his instincts and baseball acumen can match his audacity.

Another thing that has Reds' fans genuinely excited is that Krivsky's focus is every bit as much on the present as it is on the future.

That's the motivation behind almost all of his transacting. Keeping the Reds current and relevant is his number one goal.

If he can, Krivsky wants to succeed in the here and now. He exhibits a live-in-the-moment mentality which means he's not into sacrificing seasons. Rather, he's driven to make the most out of every opportunity.

To the Reds' G.M., getting it done right this minute is his top priority. Looking downroad has to take a back seat. Today is what matters most in Krivsky's scheme of things.

And that's why the Reds figure to be a factor as the 2006 campaign winds down. Krivsky has targeted this year and not some distant future as a time for Cincy to resurface as a legitimate postseason threat.

So has Krivsky made all the right moves? Certainly not but his batting average to date has been pretty darn good. He's guessed right a majority of the time.

What's more, with his myriad of deals, he's made the Reds a viable force in the National League once again. No longer a pushover, Cincinnati has the look of a team ready to contend.

And who knows? Maybe with a few more Krivsky moves, another Big Red Machine might someday appear.