Griffey Headed To The…Mariners
So it appears that Ken Griffey Jr. is headed to the Seattle Mariners instead of the Atlanta Braves. This might not be too surprising since Jr. spent the first 11 years of his career as a Mariner, except that a story appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday saying that Griffey was on his way to becoming a Brave.
Making matters somewhat more complicated is the rumor that Griffey became angry when he learned of the AJC’s story on Tuesday, and consequently changed his mind about going to Atlanta.
A few quick reactions to this story:
(1) Right about now, I’d hate to be one of the Journal-Constitution writers who published Tuesday’s article.
(2) If Ken Griffey Jr. really changed his mind about where he was going to play based on his reactions to reading a newspaper article, he’s incredibly fickle. So fickle in fact, that I doubt that was the real reason for his decision.
(3) As I’ve written before, I’m a fan of Griffey, and I would’ve been incredibly disappointed about him changing his mind about being a Brave…if it was 2000. But it’s not, it’s 2009. In the eight seasons since 2000, Griffey’s numbers haven’t exactly been mind-boggling. Hampered by injuries, he’s averaged just under 100 hits a year with 22 home runs, 63 RBI, a .270 BA and a .500 SLG.
Those aren’t bad numbers, and they’re certainly better numbers than what we got from our outfielders last season, but at the same time they’re not exactly earth-shattering. So mark down my disappointment level as “mild.”
(4) Frank Wren, the Atlanta GM, must be getting tired of wiping egg off his face this offseason. First he gets completely punked by Rafael Furcal, then he risks death by mob violence when he basically writes off John Smoltz, and now this. I’m starting to get the feeling that his tenure as Braves’ GM won’t last as long as his predecessor’s.
Making matters somewhat more complicated is the rumor that Griffey became angry when he learned of the AJC’s story on Tuesday, and consequently changed his mind about going to Atlanta.
A few quick reactions to this story:
(1) Right about now, I’d hate to be one of the Journal-Constitution writers who published Tuesday’s article.
(2) If Ken Griffey Jr. really changed his mind about where he was going to play based on his reactions to reading a newspaper article, he’s incredibly fickle. So fickle in fact, that I doubt that was the real reason for his decision.
(3) As I’ve written before, I’m a fan of Griffey, and I would’ve been incredibly disappointed about him changing his mind about being a Brave…if it was 2000. But it’s not, it’s 2009. In the eight seasons since 2000, Griffey’s numbers haven’t exactly been mind-boggling. Hampered by injuries, he’s averaged just under 100 hits a year with 22 home runs, 63 RBI, a .270 BA and a .500 SLG.
Those aren’t bad numbers, and they’re certainly better numbers than what we got from our outfielders last season, but at the same time they’re not exactly earth-shattering. So mark down my disappointment level as “mild.”
(4) Frank Wren, the Atlanta GM, must be getting tired of wiping egg off his face this offseason. First he gets completely punked by Rafael Furcal, then he risks death by mob violence when he basically writes off John Smoltz, and now this. I’m starting to get the feeling that his tenure as Braves’ GM won’t last as long as his predecessor’s.
