M's leave Griffey door open -- a crack
PEORIA, Ariz. -- If it was a move now considered to be good for the Mariners, it wasn't a good move for Ken Griffey Jr.
There's no longer a leather lounge chair in the Mariners clubhouse. There's no more skipping batting practice or team stretching sessions. There's no place for a one-man show, not on a Mariners team built to be 25 players of equal value. [Seattle P-I]
Would I bring him back? YES! But with a few changes. No leather chair, no missed BP, no missed stretches. Ken, would be just one of the players, a special player...paid a special salary. But no team-breaking perks, and no expected leadership role (something he just could not and did not want to handle). Put him in Left Field, and we would have one of, if not the best outfields in Baseball.
Seattle has enjoyed watching A-Rod and Griff suffer in their new homes. They tore the heart out of baseball in Seattle. Of course there is nothing that a 116 win season won't erase. Both did this city wrong and both got their just rewards. Randy Johnson on the other hand was a joy to watch last season, we thrilled with his every win against the hated Yankees. He was our favorite son, and made us all proud.
It tells you the difference between being screwed by the franchise, or screwing the franchise. I don't blame A-Rod or Junior for the decisions they made, just the way they went about it...I wonder if you really can ever return home?
One irony of bringing him back is that with him going into Left Field, an old problem could be resolved, or his career finished. When Junior left town there had been only a couple Right Fielders ['Bone' for most of that time], but 58 in Left Field. So, does Junior solve that problem or become the latest to fall to the "Curse of the Mariner Left Field"?...mj
8:10:05 AM
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