What $68.9 million buys these days

The Reds payroll is 20th among the 30 teams in baseball. That from the USA Today data base. Don't know if they ran the list in the paper or not. The Reds would probably put the figure at $74 million. USAT lists Ken Griffey Jr. at $8.4 million. The Reds have listed him at $12.5 million for accounting purposes, even the though a lot of the money is deferred. The payroll is up significantly over last year when it was $60.9 million. But it's fifth in the NL Central. Here's how the rest of the division ranks: 8. Cubs $99.6 million; 11. Cardinals $90.3 million; 14. Astros $87.7 million; 19. Brewers $70.9 million; 26. Pirates $38.5 million. Yankees, of course, are No. 1 at $189.6 million, followed by the Red Sox $143 million. Seven teams are over $100 million.