I sorted through the e-mail in search of questions, not rants about payroll or lack thereof. Read on:

Q, from Tim: I love Jim Bowden's comments: "We'll get ripped for this one. In three years, (Elmer) Dessens will be 34 and (Felipe) Lopez 25, then the deal will look pretty good." First of all, if Lopez is any kind of ballplayer and progresses, it's likely the Reds will trade him for prospects and claim they cannot afford him. The real deal: Lopez was acquired to replace an aging Barry Larkin at shortstop at the expense of the Reds' best starting pitcher. Reds fans, along with others, want to win now. My question is, why do you have farm teams if you have to deal your talent away to replace every hole and lower your payroll?

A: Given the Reds' economic reality, the club needs to accumulate as much young talent as possible. The key, of course, is you have to be right about the young talent. If their talent develops, the Reds will win and theoretically draw enough fans to keep their players. It worked in Cleveland for a while.

Q, from Robert: Now that Greg Maddux has decided to accept arbitration and stay with Atlanta, giving the Braves six starters, should we raise the possibility of a Griffey for Kevin Millwood trade? The Braves are known to need additional offense, and Griffey, if he has a good year, is certainly capable of providing it. And the Reds could trade a $12 million per year salary for a $4 million per year salary. What do you think?

A: It's a moot point now that Milwood's a Phillie. But I don't think the Braves would have taken Griffey's salary. The trade of Millwood was to cut payroll.

From Jon in San Diego: There was a rumor about an Adam Dunn/Felipe Lopez trade to the Montreal Expos for one of their studs - Bartolo Colon, Javier Vasquez or Vladimir Guerrero. I know Guerrero would be expensive to keep in Cincinnati, but can you imagine? A healthy Ken Griffey Jr., Guerrero and Austin Kearns in the outfield. Is there any way this could happen?

A: If I had a buck for every e-mail I've gotten about that rumor, I could pay Vlad's salary. Bowden said the Reds never have discussed trading Dunn. What happened in this case is the Expos asked for Dunn, and the Reds said no. End of conversation, start of rumor. Dunn was drafted specifically to hit the ball over the short right-field wall at Great American Ball Park, which is a nice segue to the next question.

Q, from Ry in Columbia, S.C.: I keep hearing about Great American Ball Park's short right field. What are the dimensions on the Reds' new field?

A: It's 325 feet down the right-field line, 370 to right-center, 404 to dead center, 328 down the left-field line and 379 to left center.

Q, from Jim in Dayton: I just checked out MLB.com and saw Jimmy Anderson was released. Does Bowden have any interest in him? Every time I see him pitch, he looks good; I think he just played for a bad team in Pittsburgh. Plus, he had some minor health questions.

A: When you consider how well Anderson pitched against the Reds, I wouldn't be stunned if he were signed to a minor-league contract.

Q, from Michael: You wrote that after Ryan Dempster, Jimmy Haynes and Danny Graves, it is mainly a competition among Bruce Chen, Luke Hudson, Seth Etherton and "possibly Chris Reitsma for the fourth and fifth spots." Possibly? He of the 3.64 ERA last season and owner of the Reds' only complete-game shutout? Is there a reason why the Reds seem to have lost faith in Reitsma?

A: Reds manager Bob Boone says he likes Reitsma better in the bullpen. Reitsma was 4-10 with a 4.07 ERA as a starter and 2-2 with a 1.29 ERA as a reliever.

Q, from Bob in Holmdel, N.J.: Last season, Carlos Almanzar was pitching well in relief, and when he got his first start, he broke a finger trying to field a ball. His name hasn't been included in any speculation about the Reds' pitching for 2003. Is there a reason?

A: Almanzar also had elbow surgery. If he returns and throws 96 mph, he could be in the mix, especially if Scott Sullivan is traded.

Q, from Joe: Am I missing something, or was the Reds' payroll less than $60 million last season? Why do they need to get rid of players to meet next season's bigger budget?

A: Arbitration inflation. The Reds' payroll was $45 million last season. But players get more than a cost-of-living raise. Players such as Aaron Boone and Danny Graves will get raises in the millions.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com