Griffey headed back to Seattle on 1-year deal

[caff]

It would be nice if he could finish with 700

 

[BaSICCally]

Damn 20 years later. I still remember how pissed I was when he left to go to Cincinnati.

But yeah that would be cool if he finishes with 700 then goes into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mariner jersey.

 

[TRAJIK1]

Ken Griffey watch continues with no sign of Junior at Braves camp

7 hours ago

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Long after the Braves had called it a day, a gleaming black luxury SUV pulled into the parking lot beyond the right-field wall at Atlanta's spring training stadium.

It might be? It could be? No, it wasn't Ken Griffey Jr.

The SUV came and went. There was no sign of Junior on Wednesday, even though everyone seemed to think the fifth greatest home run hitter in baseball history would be in camp as the Braves held their first full-squad workout of the spring.

Griffey was apparently in seclusion, trying to decide if he wanted to play for the Braves - a longtime dream, by all accounts - or return to Seattle to finish his illustrious career with the team that gave him his start.

Though a couple of media reports Tuesday said Atlanta was his choice, he had not signed with anyone more than 24 hours later.

His agent, Brian Goldberg, did not return several messages sent to his cell phone Wednesday after saying a day earlier that Griffey had not decided where he wants to play in 2009.

All the Braves and Mariners could do was wait.

"It's one of those things where he's contemplating his decision," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "We'll see what he decides."

Around the batting cage, there was all sorts of speculation about Griffey's motives.

Was he legitimately torn about which offer to take?

Was he trying to save face with the Mariners because the reports he was going to Atlanta broke before he could talk with his former team?

Was he upset with the Braves, believing they leaked the news?

"From every indication we have, he'll be making his decision pretty shortly," Wren said. "When he does, we'll know."

The Braves still seemed confident that Griffey would be joining them in the next day or two, especially third baseman Chipper Jones.

The National League batting champ has made several calls to his fellow slugger, lobbying him on the benefits of playing in Atlanta.

"Ken is excited about some of the moves that were made in the off-season," Jones said. "He thinks, as do the rest of us in this clubhouse, that we're going to be a little better than people think.

"And he's excited about it."

The drawn-out negotiations have become something of a cruel running joke around the Mariners camp in suburban Phoenix, with constant, almost mocking questions of: "Anything new on Griffey?"

Seattle executives had heard nothing from Griffey or his agent. Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik would only say through a team spokesman: "There's nothing new to report from Peoria."

Zduriencik was trying to come up with a backup plan in case Griffey signs with the Braves, talking to the agent for free agent outfielder Garret Anderson.

Without Griffey, the Mariners also held their first full-squad workout.

Rookie manager Don Wakamatsu called it "a big day for us" - part introduction and part getting started on a new philosophy for a team that has an entirely new coaching staff and an overhauled roster.

"We are not thinking about who we are going to acquire or not acquire," Wakamatsu said. "I'm going to focus on today and tomorrow - and that's all I'm going to look at."

Braves manager Bobby Cox would love to plug Griffey and his 611 career homers into the lineup, even though he's coming off a mediocre season and, at age 39, is clearly past his prime.

Splitting time between Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox, Junior hit .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs last year.

But Griffey underwent surgery on an ailing left knee after the season, and the Braves are convinced he'll be closer to the form he showed in 2007, when he had 30 homers and 93 RBIs.

"We think he's got some playing left in him," Cox said. "We're looking for a stronger bat, and he's just the guy to supply that."

Even an over-the-hill Griffey would be an improvement on the production Atlanta got from its outfield in 2008.

With right fielder Jeff Francoeur having a miserable season and no-one locking down the jobs in centre and left, the Braves got only 27 homers from those three positions - worst in the majors.

Wren and Cox met with Griffey on Monday, and it wouldn't take long for Junior to get to Atlanta's camp.

He lives within a half-hour drive of the Disney World complex, part of the geographic advantage that works in the Braves' favour.

Griffey wants to remain close to his wife and children, and the Braves are the obvious option both during spring training and once the season begins.

Flights between Orlando and Atlanta take about an hour; the flying distance between Orlando and Seattle is about six hours.

"My impressions are all very positive," Wren said. "We had a very positive meeting with him. We went away from that with the idea he would consider us when he makes his decision."

But the Braves learned a valuable lesson during the off-season: Never count on a player signing until he actually writes his name on the dotted line.

Team officials thought they had locked up a deal to bring shortstop Rafael Furcal back to Atlanta, but he wound up re-signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was a contentious development that led the Braves to declare they would never again deal with any client represented by Furcal's agent.

"The decision has not been made yet," Wren said of Griffey. "We'll just wait for it to get resolved."

wish he would have ended up with us!

 

[GetSome406]

weak. the dude is washed up. yeah he was great for us back in the day, but that was forever ago, at least feels like forever ago. but in any case the point is that he cant field like he used to, basically a dh, thatll hit 240 and be no more productive than richie sexson

 

[Rossibreath]

thougjt it was a 2 year deal but anyway, washed up griffey is still better than richie sexons steroid pumped ass.

 

[LA Dodgers]

to compare him to richie sexton is uncalled for..........................i have no bone to pick in this but on the surface it appears to be a great (pr) move for Seattle and griffey when healthy is an offensive former gold glove outfielder...................they needed to pick up Ibanez lost prodection

 

[lenbiasyayo]

if i didnt gain 60 pounds since 6th grade i could still rock his jersey i gave to my mom

 

[Dugless206]

this is a no brainer for mariner brass, you get 200K+ more people at the gate this year easy and sell how many jerseys, more concessions, everything. they probably wont compete this year or the next few so why not bring back griffey on the fairwell tour like kareem or numerous other athletes?

im glad he's back. shit we might not have baseball in seattle if it aint for griffey. mariners could be the tampa bay rays before they were the tampa bay rays. i dont blame him for wanting to go to cinci and the way he was badmouthed out of town to me was weak. shit who has/had the 89 Upper Deck Griffey Rookie card? i got the 89 donrus rated rookie sign personally in the dugout when i was a kid. had the jerseys, the gradmas cookies set of cards from going to the games, everthing.

point is dude is the biggest sports god that will EVER come out of Seattle. unless some football star singlehandedly wins us the Superbowl nobody will ever mean to a sport in this city what he did for our baseball.

 

[rylor206]

I think you have to be a longtime mariner fan to understand how important this is to our city and fans. So what if he is old and his skills have deminished were not expected to compete this year anyways we have totally rebuilt this year and the Angels are looking real good. Even if he doesnt play that much it still means alot he will be a great leader in the clubhouse which will be very young. This is a dream come true IMO i am fuckin pumped.

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

weak. the dude is washed up. yeah he was great for us back in the day, but that was forever ago, at least feels like forever ago. but in any case the point is that he cant field like he used to, basically a dh, thatll hit 240 and be no more productive than richie sexson

Exactly.

this is a no brainer for mariner brass, you get 200K+ more people at the gate this year easy and sell how many jerseys, more concessions, everything. they probably wont compete this year or the next few so why not bring back griffey on the fairwell tour like kareem or numerous other athletes?

No offense, but...who gives a shit? Why would i care if sales boost or more people go to games? Yes, just what we need...more yuppie, fairweather fans that go to just eat sushi and have a 3 hour conversation about what dog to buy next or how much they tend to make at their jobs next year. Fuck those bandwagons faggots.

I care abotu WINNING and IMPROVING for the long run. Griffey takes up a spot where someone young can get real game oppurtunities.

point is dude is the biggest sports god that will EVER come out of Seattle. unless some football star singlehandedly wins us the Superbowl nobody will ever mean to a sport in this city what he did for our baseball.

What about Gary Payton? Edgar Martinez (who was with the M's with ENTIRE career)? Steve Largent? Cortez Kennedy?

And just for the record, Griffey's family is NOT in Cincy...they are in Florida. Ill let you ponder that one for a minute.

 

[GetSome406]

Exactly.



No offense, but...who gives a shit? Why would i care if sales boost or more people go to games? Yes, just what we need...more yuppie, fairweather fans that go to just eat sushi and have a 3 hour conversation about what dog to buy next or how much they tend to make at their jobs next year. Fuck those bandwagons faggots.

I care abotu WINNING and IMPROVING for the long run. Griffey takes up a spot where someone young can get real game oppurtunities.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah yeah exactly what safeco has become. eating sushi at a ballpark? please thats where u go to pay $10 a beer and $6 a dog what has happened to seattle? fuckin ichiro is a bitch, isnt a good teammate, doesnt attempt steals because he doesnt want to hurt his stats, doesn't like to put bunts down either...just a whiny bitch. my point is that seattle has let this franchise run itself into the ground the last few years, since 2001. noone wants to come play here, its rainy and cold, and the team sucks major balls. wish they could pull it together, time to sell the team, just to a new owner and stay in seattle, not jump ship like the sonics. haha.

 

[Rossibreath]

they wont contend & hell b dealt b4 the deadline again.

 

[Dugless206]

No offense, but...who gives a shit? Why would i care if sales boost or more people go to games? Yes, just what we need...more yuppie, fairweather fans that go to just eat sushi and have a 3 hour conversation about what dog to buy next or how much they tend to make at their jobs next year. Fuck those bandwagons faggots.

I care abotu WINNING and IMPROVING for the long run. Griffey takes up a spot where someone young can get real game oppurtunities.



What about Gary Payton? Edgar Martinez (who was with the M's with ENTIRE career)? Steve Largent? Cortez Kennedy?

And just for the record, Griffey's family is NOT in Cincy...they are in Florida. Ill let you ponder that one for a minute.

i understand what youre saying but to me its still exciting. and nobody including GP, Edgar, Largent or Tez did quite the same thing for our city that Griffey did. and i realize his family isnt in Cincy smartass but there were obvious reasons why he wanted to play for them when he left.

plus im just happy to have a few good things in seattle sports right now. Griffs back. The hawks franchised Leroy Hill. And the Dawgs are hopefully going to take out UCLA tonight and solidify their number one spot.

 

[GetSome406]

I think you have to be a longtime mariner fan to understand how important this is to our city and fans. So what if he is old and his skills have deminished were not expected to compete this year anyways we have totally rebuilt this year and the Angels are looking real good. Even if he doesnt play that much it still means alot he will be a great leader in the clubhouse which will be very young. This is a dream come true IMO i am fuckin pumped.

im a lifelong mariner fan, i grew up watching griffey play, i got his autograph at the Kingdome. i know what he was at one point, but isnt anymore and hasnt been for a long time. if we are in a rebuilding stage why spend the money on him for even a one year deal then? just seems like a stretch, i think at first he'll bring back some fans, but once they keep losing there wont be anymore out there than last year to watch griffey sit in a warm dugout on cold nights, and go 1-4 with 3ks on warm nights. the dude will play maybe half the games this year, probably less.

 

[Shaniac]

i think its great we got him back. put him as the DH. and who knows if he'll be productive or not. maybe comin back to where he got his fame will spark somethin in him. now we need Randy Johnson back, but A-Roid can stay in NY

 

[Fucky McFuckerson]

and i realize his family isnt in Cincy smartass but there were obvious reasons why he wanted to play for them when he left.
.

Like?

Ive heard rumors that he left becuase the dimensions of Safeco were gonna severaly stunt his HR chase...aint karma a bitch?

:ermm:

 

[rylor206]

im a lifelong mariner fan, i grew up watching griffey play, i got his autograph at the Kingdome. i know what he was at one point, but isnt anymore and hasnt been for a long time. if we are in a rebuilding stage why spend the money on him for even a one year deal then? just seems like a stretch, i think at first he'll bring back some fans, but once they keep losing there wont be anymore out there than last year to watch griffey sit in a warm dugout on cold nights, and go 1-4 with 3ks on warm nights. the dude will play maybe half the games this year, probably less.

Well for one thing we arent paying that much money for him if he hits 25-30 homeruns and 90 rbi's we got a pretty good deal. Of course i get your point he is old and not the same player but if he is just a DH he has a way better chance of staying healthy through out the year. Yes we are rebuilding and porbably wont even contend for 3 or 4 years so why not. As far as stealing time for a young player who gives a shit. Nobody develops a DH anyways. My point is its finally some good news and a feel good story for seattle and the mariners. If it doesnt work out oh well at least junior will retire as a Mariner.

 

[short]

if griffey wasnt injured for those 3 or 4 years he would easily have 700 homers closin on 800....hes one of the players who hit homeruns the natural way....i see him being good for 25 30 homers this year and maybe 75 rbi....if hes healthy and 100% those numbers would be 35 homers and 100rbi if not more....who knows what kind of year hell have....at least his return is a good thing for mariners fans

 

[LA Dodgers]

shit who has/had the 89 Upper Deck Griffey Rookie card? i got the 89 donrus rated rookie sign personally in the dugout when i was a kid.

i have his UD, Score UPDATE, Donruss "RR", Bowman (slightly larger than regular cards that year), and Topps

 

[xpanther206]

I'm for it.