Griffey Pays Debt With Pennies

CINCINNATI | Ken Griffey Jr. owed Cincinnati Reds teammate Josh Fogg $1,500, and paying by check just wouldn't do.

So when Fogg arrived in the Reds clubhouse Wednesday, he found his locker filled with 150,000 pennies - 60 boxes, each weighing 16 pounds and containing $25 worth of pennies.

"Basically, it's like having 60 bowling balls in your locker, only with no holes to pick them up with," Griffey said.

Neither player would say why Griffey owed Fogg the money. Griffey had threatened to pay it off in pennies, but Fogg didn't believe him.

"I'm going to take them out to the bullpen and count them," Fogg said. "I've got a lot of time on my hands out there."

Braves: Chipper Sits Out

PHILADELPHIA | Major league batting leader Chipper Jones was held out of the Atlanta Braves' starting lineup for Thursday's game at Philadelphia because of a sore groin.

Jones had two hits in the Braves' 8-6 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday, raising his average to .418. He winced in his final at-bat in the ninth inning and was to be replaced in Thursday's starting lineup by Omar Infante.

Jones has hit safely in 32 of 37 games this season and ranks second in the major leagues in on-base percentage (.479) and slugging percentage (.705).

He is the first qualifying hitter with a .400 average as late as May 14 since 1994, when the Yankees' Paul O'Neill was hitting .461 on that date and San Diego's Tony Gwynn was batting .419.