Griffey glares at Marlins after blasting his 492nd homer

[RedFanAlways1966]

I really like Griffey, believe me. I just don't like the stare thing. There is no need for it. Mckeon is trying to WIN... not make Junior look bad. He walks Casey to try to WIN... not make Junior look bad. So why does Junior not understand this and have to give Jack "the look"?

I admit that I do not like some of Griffey's "mental things". Letting radio-types upset him, staring at opposing managers b/c they have "the nerve" to walk the man before him. I just want Junior to play the game (like his father played it, no staring at other managers!). I do not need the "stare at the opposing manager".

I am sure that this whole thing is getting blown up. But there would not be 'a thing" if Junior had just run the bases and not stared at Jack.

Oh... and I know a lot about the game. Do not be shocked if a ball or two sails near Junior's body tonight. Do not be surprised. You stare at the opposing manager and that might happen. And I am sure some here will blame Jack McKeon for that... not Junior.

[creek14]

I like Jack. Liked him when he was the manager here. Liked him when he left. Liked him when he went to the Fish.

I like Jr. Liked him with the Mariners. Love him with the Reds.

The Look didn't bother me at all. And I bet it didn't bother Jack, either. If you can dish it (walk to get to a guy with over 490 HR's), then you better be able to take it (the look).

[zombie-a-go-go]

Do not be shocked if a ball or two sails near Junior's body tonight. Do not be surprised. You stare at the opposing manager and that might happen. And I am sure some here will blame Jack McKeon for that... not Junior.

That's because it wouldn't be Jr.'s fault. You (the Fish) can be the bigger man... my father taught that to me.

[EKURed]

I guarantee you one thing....if a ball sails towards Griffey's head, there will be 24 guys ready to work on the opposing pitcher...I promise you that. And, if you justify throwing at anyone's head, you have big time issues. You clarified yourself saying balls heading towards his body....well, you at first said his head. I can not defend anyone throwing at anyone's head...it's classless...and tasteless. And, for anyone to suggest that could not have played the game....

[Rocket_Fuel]

Okay... I am a huge Junior fan (please keep that in mind before reading on!).

Here's my take on the "stare thing"... it is not necessary. The point was made as soon as the ball went over the RF fence. The stare is not necessary. The only thing that would have been better is if Junior had not stared IMO. It makes me think of the old phrase "act like you've been there before". If I am the Marlins... the 1st time Junior bats tonight, I throw the 1st pitch near his head. Then I throw the 2nd pitch even closer to his head. You want to stare (glare?) at our manager, then get in the box and look out.

Let me get this straight, you claim to be a huge Junior fan but you want the Marlins to throw at his head for staring into the dugout? You're a Junior fan and you're encouraging other teams to go head hunting on him. I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're not as big a Junior fan as you claim. If a player stared down Miley in the dugout I would want the Reds to BEAT that team, I wouldn't want any of our pitchers to throw at another player's head. You call Junior's actions unprofessional and you respond to that with encouragign someone to throw at his head? I'm sorry that is stupid and idiotic. And if the Marlin pitchers are men and do throw at Griffey like you want them to then they better pitch to him as well and get ready to get lit up just like Josh Beckett did last night.

[MikeS21]

The irony of this whole episode is the impecable timing. Wasn't it just yesterday that the story came out about Griffey never "celebrating" hitting a HR? This may not have been a celebration per se, but it certainly was an "in your face" gesture. This has all the makings of a PR nightmare.

Only in Cincinnati ...

[WVRed]

Jr must be jealous that McKeon has one more WS ring than he does

I've gotta wonder how smart the stare was, two games left in the series, plus another series at Pro Player Stadium next week. I just hope Travis Phelps and Brad Penny dont go head-hunting.

[Phhhl]

It's a mountain out of a molehill. The angry idiot was chattering about it on 1360 this morning too. If anger motivates Junior to hit as he has in the clutch during this streak, that's fine with me. Frankly, I like seeing him show a little emotion. I think the intentional walks are a microcosm of the fact that he has been challenged this year in general, and he is responding like the Hall of Famer he is. The batting average does not reflect the number of clutch hits he has had this month. With runners in scoring position he is hitting about .340. It may or may not have been the right move by Jack, but I don't doubt there was a little bit of one upsmanship on his part in the decision too. Jack was frustrated with the Junior trade when it went down and has made his opinion very clear ever since.

But, the message is becoming very clear with Junior right now. Don't try to play chicken with him when he's locked in and healthy.

[15fan]

Agree that it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

But I love it. I absofreakinglutely love it.

The great players & the great teams always seem to have a little bit of moxie. Chutzpah, even.

Junior & the Reds showed some last night.

[buckeyenut]

I was watching the game, all three kids asleep upstairs, my wife in on the computer. As soon as they IBBed Casey, I thought to myself, why would they do that? It has been done twice in the last couple of days and both times, they have been burnt, once by Jr and once by Kearns. I am sitting in my chair arguing with myself the logic, I mean Casey is leading the league in hitting and was on fire the night before (glad I picked that game to walk up to rather than last nights account of the weather), when Beckett threw that 96 mph heater up there and Jr turned on it. As soon as I saw that swing and contact, I jumped out of my chair and yelped like a squeeling pig, causing my wife to pee herself (metaphorically, of course) in the other room. That was the sweetest swing I have seen out of Jr in years, and I have not seen a ball laserbeamed like that in a long time. If he had gotten it up, it could have gone 500 ft.

I saw the glare but didn't anything of it until I heard it on the Angry Guys this morning. I don't understand the big deal. If I was a Hall of Famer, a sure fire first ballot type guy and you walked someone to pitch to me for the third time in 5 days? I would do more than glare, especially when it had backfired in their faces every single time. I would be shocked if it had anything to do with their prior relationship or anything else. It was a message, you walk someone to get to me, I will make you pay. Why are you questioning my manhood?

Now, as I alluded to earlier, I can completely understand the logic of the IBB in that situation. We are not talking a slow start for Jr. We are talking a guy who has not been productive in 3 years. A guy is widely viewed as over the hill and breaking down and just about done for. And a guy who does not have the season numbers (big picture) at this point to change that view. As a follower of the Reds, someone who has been watching Jr heat up, I just don't think I do it, having seen the results of the first two times it was done and the way Jr is swinging the bat. Trader Jack doesn't have the benefit of that.

But let's change the topic real quick. Just think about the piece of situational hitting by Jr in that situation. You have runners on first and second, so the pitcher does not want to walk you. They just IBBed the guy before so he needs to get one over to ensure he hasn't lost his control, which happens sometimes after an IBB. You as a pitcher lose the control and focus a little and throw 1 or 2 balls and all of the sudden, you are in a bad situation. Then, the guy on the mound is a young gun with an I am better than the world attitude (hard earned in the WS btw) and a 96 MPH heater. And he is staring in at me thinking I am washed up and over the hill. What do I do?

Here is what Jr did apparently. Throw everything else out of my mind and sit dead red, know full well it is coming and be ready to jump on it. I wished I had taped the game, just so I could go back and watch the minute or two leading up to that at bat, just to see Jr's eyes and body language as he went up to the plate. Seeing that picture perfect swing again would be nice too, but I have a hunch that you could all but read his mind by looking into his eyes before he stepped to the plate for that at bat.

Man, I get goosebumps just thinking about the whole exchange. Stuff like this is why baseball is the best sport in the entire world.

[EKURed]

This is ridiculous...absolutely ridiculous...

Junior can't win for losing. He is balling right now. How is it that baseball players are supposed to do and say nothing? It wasn't malice or anything....GET OVER IT!!!

[MWM]

If it would have been anyone other than Junior, the two angry guys would have been fine with it. I actually don't mind Skinner most of the time, but Tom Gamble is just another blowhard who mkaes little sense most of the time and feels like HAS to see the negative side of everything. He strikes me as not the brightest guy in the world, but not to "Wild Man Walker" proportions.

I'll be interested to hear Lance's take on the thing as he is usually fair and his opinions are normally well reasoned. Personally, I LOVED the stare. The thing is, it wasn't even a start. If you watch the replay it was a glance that last lasted about a second. And I think it's something most players of his stature would have done in that situation. Junior took it personally, and I don't blame the guy. I recorded and watched the game late and laughed my ass off when I saw the glare. It was classic and I loked seeing that sort of thing out of Junior.

[buckeyenut]

Agree that it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

But I love it. I absofreakinglutely love it.

The great players & the great teams always seem to have a little bit of moxie. Chutzpah, even.

Junior & the Reds showed some last night.

Here, here!!!!

Judging from his reaction in the papers, I would guess McKeon could care less and wouldn't condone throwing at Jr. I think he understands the dish it out take it nature of this one. Now, Beckett on the other hand, I could see him going to Phelps and saying, can you plant one in this guys back for showing me up? The sad thing is that Jr came to bat again in the game. Lead off the 8th inning. If you are going to retaliate for something like this, you do it then and there or you do it back in the sixth by planting one in Austin Kearns' back as he comes up after Jr. I don't remember him coming anywhere close to Kearns. To retaliate the next day for something like this is bush league and would IMO be completely driven by the media coverage of it.

I have been trying to temper my enthusiasm about this team all year and take the long term view of these guys. But I just can't do it anymore, not after the last five games. We are gonna win this division!!!!!

[LvJ]

People want him to show emotion and fire, and when he does, he gets some crap for it? Wow. Get over it RFA66. I usually agree with alot of what you've gotta say, but right now - your making me hurt. It' was a stare after the weak hitting 1B got IBB infront of a future hall of famer! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that stare. Nothing at all. Nothing no man can ever come up with in his little head will ever make that stare out to be something bad or wrong.

[smith288]

The more I think of the stare (when FSO put it on slow mo going to commercial break i think) the more bada$$ it was. A menacing look towards the slight from McKeon is deserved.