Possible Return for Griffey via Mariners Blog

[757690]

This is from Mariners Central, a respectable Mariners blog.

http://tbcmariners.blogspot.com/2008...d-seattle.html

"What it's going to take to get Griffey over here is the biggest question. Would the Mariners give up Wladimir Balentien or Jeff Clement? I don't know. The Mariners would probably be hard pressed to part with their top prospects. Other than those two, guys like Phillipe Amount and Carlos Truinfel come to mind. Cha Seung Baek and Jeremy Reed apear to be extra parts, and are still young and have some potential, so maybe Baek, Reed and another high-ish level prospect would get the job done?"


If the Reds could get a combo like that for Griffey, it would be the best of all possible worlds. He can go home to finish his career where he started it, like all great HOF's, Mays, Aaron..., and the Reds could get some decent prospects in return who can help out rather quickly.

[redhawk61]

Give me Reed and Carlos and its a deal

[Orodle]

I would be happy with Clement alone but I also like the looks of reliever Ryan Rowland-Smith. Hes not great but hes caught my eye and is a realistic piece of a possible trade.

[muethibp]

Why would the Mariners' fans think they would have to give up anything of note to get him? If they would take on his salary 2008 salary and a piece of his '09 buyout, wouldn't the Reds do the deal for a bag of balls?

[_Sir_Charles_]

I'm no expert on the way contracts & free agency works, but if the Reds hang onto Griff until the end of the season and let him go to free agency, don't we get like 2 additional draft picks or something like that? I'm not saying we shouldn't look to move him prior to that, but would we be better served by the 2 picks?

[Orodle]

I'm not exactly sure how it works with a contract with option years but in an outright year yes they get a pick. However, the baseball amature draft is such luck I would rather them try and get someone a little close to major league ready.

[goreds2]

Why would the Mariners' fans think they would have to give up anything of note to get him? If they would take on his salary 2008 salary and a piece of his '09 buyout, wouldn't the Reds do the deal for a bag of balls?

My thought exactly.

[NarrowStairs]

I will NOT pay money to watch someone named Wladimir, so if the Reds want my money, they better either 1) not trade for him, or 2) make him change his name to something not.....stupid.

By the way Wladimir Balentien has no future as anything more than a .270/20HR corner outfielder. Pathetic to even consider him as a return for a future HOF.

[Natty Redlocks]

I will NOT pay money to watch someone named Wladimir, so if the Reds want my money, they better either 1) not trade for him, or 2) make him change his name to something not.....stupid.

By the way Wladimir Balentien has no future as anything more than a .270/20HR corner outfielder. Pathetic to even consider him as a return for a future HOF.

Even a washed-up one who doesn't want to be here whose production can be easily replaced for free and with much better defense?

I'm sorry but Griffey barely did jack as a Red. I checked once and you know who drove in more runs from 2000-2007 than Junior? Jacque Jones, that's who. Gettin sick of the Griffey love. Again.

[CWRed]

Even a washed-up one who doesn't want to be here whose production can be easily replaced for free and with much better defense?

I'm sorry but Griffey barely did jack as a Red. I checked once and you know who drove in more runs from 2000-2007 than Junior? Jacque Jones, that's who. Gettin sick of the Griffey love. Again.

I agree. I love Griff but he also shouldn't be allowed to play outfield anywhere. Ever. Jacque Jones. Yikes.

[757690]

Even a washed-up one who doesn't want to be here whose production can be easily replaced for free and with much better defense?

I'm sorry but Griffey barely did jack as a Red. I checked once and you know who drove in more runs from 2000-2007 than Junior? Jacque Jones, that's who. Gettin sick of the Griffey love. Again.

Jacque Jones played every day, and was once a very productive hitter.

The actual #'s:

Jones 4123 AB 579 RBI
Griffey 2994 AB 549 RBI

that's almost as many RBI's in over 1100 more AB's.

Griffey averaged an RBI once ever 5.4 AB
Jones once every 7.12 AB

Griffey was a disappointment, no doubt, but to say that he barely did Jack is insulting and ignorant of the facts.

Griffey was very productive when he was healthy, his OPS+ was at 119-145 for 6 of the eight years he's been a Red. He had two 30+ HR, 90+ RBI seasons, and in both cases he missed the last month. In his first season, he hit 40 HR, and drove in 118.

It is clear that his best years are behind him, but he had some very good ones with the Reds.

[Natty Redlocks]

Jacque Jones played every day, and was once a very productive hitter.

The actual #'s:

Jones 4123 AB 579 RBI
Griffey 2994 AB 549 RBI

that's almost as many RBI's in over 1100 more AB's.

Griffey averaged an RBI once ever 5.4 AB
Jones once every 7.12 AB

Griffey was a disappointment, no doubt, but to say that he barely did Jack is insulting and ignorant of the facts.

Griffey was very productive when he was healthy, his OPS+ was at 119-145 for 6 of the eight years he's been a Red. He had two 30+ HR, 90+ RBI seasons, and in both cases he missed the last month. In his first season, he hit 40 HR, and drove in 118.

It is clear that his best years are behind him, but he had some very good ones with the Reds.

The only point is that the Griffey era in Cincinnati was a huge disappointment considering what he did in Seattle and what was expected. Obviously a healthy Griffey would've outproduced much better players than Jacque Jones. Bottom line is he wasn't healthy and as a result didn't produce anywhere near what everyone expected. Of course, the Reds didn't build anywhere near the team around him that he undoubtedly expected so the disappointment is likely mutual. He's obviously going to say good riddance to Cincinnati and I see no reason not to feel the same way. Bring on Bruce, the sooner the better. And Jr. can take this learning disabled manager away with him, that'd be great too.

[Cicero]

Even a washed-up one who doesn't want to be here whose production can be easily replaced for free and with much better defense?

I'm sorry but Griffey barely did jack as a Red. I checked once and you know who drove in more runs from 2000-2007 than Junior? Jacque Jones, that's who. Gettin sick of the Griffey love. Again.

And I am sick of the Griffey hatred.

[Natty Redlocks]

And I am sick of the Griffey hatred.

Great. I can only think of one way to make it stop though.

[David Cubbedge]

Very interesting thing I dug up. This is reaction from Mariner's fans after he was traded to the Reds.

Before everyone jumps all over the Mariners management about this trade and what we got in return for "the greatest player to play the game" (a debatable statement anyway), remember it is Junior himself who orchestrated this fiasco and it is Junior who guaranteed that the Reds would not have to send anyone to Seattle in return.
Will we miss the guy? Well, we will miss his bat. But will we miss his tantrums, his pouting, his dogging it when he was unhappy (an all too frequent state lately)? I think not. Maybe now we can have a team with some chemistry. We will certainly have a bigger clubhouse since we don't need all that room for Junior's massive ego. Let's see if the Reds fare any better with him than we ever did. My guess would be not really.

Sounds all too familiar. Interesting...

Lest we forget, the Mariners went on to win 119 games the very next season. Does that say something about a possibility of bad chemistry that comes with having Ken Griffey Jr. on your team?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/grifx.shtml