Ramirez, Griffey trades lead to costly decisions for ballclubs

The Los Angeles Dodgers aren't paying any of Manny Ramirez's $20 million salary, but they're spending nearly as much on one of the players forced to the bench by Ramirez's arrival. That's the reality of the playoff race after some of last week's more notable trades — big contracts don't guarantee you playing time. In Los Angeles, outfielder Andruw Jones is in the first year of a two-year, $36.2 million deal, but now he and his .161 batting average will get limited action. In Chicago, the White Sox will have at least a $12 million man on the bench for most games now that Ken Griffey is on the roster. "We'll run out an offense every day that doesn't have many weaknesses," said general manager Ken Williams, whose team leads the American League in home runs. Williams said he doesn't expect Griffey, 38, to play every day as... [read full story]