Griffey surprises crowd at Redsfest (plus Dunn wants LTC)

[OnBaseMachine]

I love guys who want to play for the Reds. I've see numerous quotes from Dunn where he has stated his strong desire to stay in Cincy. I already love the guy as a player but the fact that he likes being here makes me appreciate him more.

Griffey surprises crowd at Redsfest
Right fielder pays tribute to Nuxhall, signs autographs
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

CINCINNATI -- The opening of Redsfest on Friday featured one unbilled player appearance, with no advance notice for fans.

That's just how Ken Griffey Jr. wanted it.

The right fielder flew into town and headed straight for the Duke Energy Center for the annual fan festival. He wanted to appear at a tribute to the late Joe Nuxhall, but he also manned an autograph station for more than an hour to sign for waiting fans.

"I figured I'd show up. I was on my way to Florida, from Florida," joked Griffey, who lives in Orlando.

Griffey received a loud ovation as he walked into the convention hall and took his seat. Many people broke out their cell-phone cameras and snapped photos.

New manager Dusty Baker and Griffey exchanged hugs and hellos. It was the first time they had seen each other since the All-Star Game in July, but the two have spoken since Baker was named manager in October.

"Managers, they can only put me in the lineup," Griffey said when asked for his thoughts on the hiring. "I have to go out there and do my job. It doesn't matter who's managing. He's going to help this organization from top to bottom. It's not going to be a situation where there's going to be guys that aren't ready to come up and things like that. He's going to make sure everybody is well prepared and ready to go out there and do a job."

What does Baker bring to the table?

"That he's won something," Griffey said. "[He has] determination and a desire for the organization to win and win now. He's intense. Any man who would wear batting gloves as a manager, he's intense. But he's going to have a lot of fun. The guys who've played for him ... loved to play for him."

Several who have played for Baker told Griffey that he and his teammates would enjoy it.

"When you get phone calls about Dusty as your manager, [they say], 'Can you put a good word for me to get over there?' " Griffey said. "That says a lot about a manager."

Dunn hopeful: Left fielder Adam Dunn was one of the more prominent players in attendance on Friday. Dunn, who had his $13 million club option picked up on Oct. 31, was hopeful that he could remain with the club under a long-term contract.

"Definitely," Dunn said. "We have a lot of time for that. The main thing was to get back for at least one more year, and we've done that."

Injury report: Infielder/outfielder Ryan Freel had his right knee examined on Friday by Dr. Tim Kremcheck, the team's medical director. Freel, who underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in August, said that he was progressing well and expected to be ready by Spring Training.

"I've been released to start running on Monday," Freel said. "I'm ready to get everything going and get rolling."

Starting pitcher Bobby Livingston is rehabilitating daily from September arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder. Livingston, a Texas native and resident, has lived in Cincinnati since the season ended so he could rehab locally.

"It's great. I'm right on schedule," Livingston said. "I thought it would be better to do everything here than go home and try to get somebody who wouldn't do as good of a job as our guys here."

Livingston hopes to begin throwing in January and targets being ready by mid-May.

Transaction: The Reds acquired right-handed pitcher Justin James from the Blue Jays on Friday to complete the trade that sent outfielder Buck Coats to Toronto.

James, 26, was the Blue Jays' fifth-round pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft. Last season he was 3-5 with a 3.89 ERA and two saves in 43 appearances -- including five starts -- with Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He also pitched in the Arizona Fall League this year.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[remdog]

First of all, I love Jr. The guy is a class act. I regret (as I'm sure Jr. does) that he hasn't always been physically well enough to play his game since he came to Cincinnati. Next year is the last year on his contract and I hope that he can have himself a throwback season. The Reds will be better for it. After that, we'll see.....

As for Dunn, here's another guy I'd like to keep around for more than '08. Down the road I wouldn't be a bit unhappy to see a Dunn, Bruce and Hamilton outfield. Personally, I thought Adam made good adjustments in '07 and I think that he's still got his all-time season ahead of him. It would be great to see it as part of a Reds WS season.

Lastly, I'm amazed that the Reds managed to get a guy as highly regarded as Justin James for Buck(y) (f....n) Coats! Please understand that that's no endorsement of James, that's amazment that anyone would give a warm body for Buck(y).....

Rem

[corkedbat]

Originally Posted by remdog

First of all, I love Jr. The guy is a class act. I regret (as I'm sure Jr. does) that he hasn't always been physically well enough to play his game since he came to Cincinnati. Next year is the last year on his contract and I hope that he can have himself a throwback season. The Reds will be better for it. After that, we'll see.....

As for Dunn, here's another guy I'd like to keep around for more than '08. Down the road I wouldn't be a bit unhappy to see a Dunn, Bruce and Hamilton outfield. Personally, I thought Adam made good adjustments in '07 and I think that he's still got his all-time season ahead of him. It would be great to see it as part of a Reds WS season.

Lastly, I'm amazed that the Reds managed to get a guy as highly regarded as Justin James for Buck(y) (f....n) Coats! Please understand that that's no endorsement of James, that's amazment that anyone would give a warm body for Buck(y).....

Rem

Agreed remdog. James might not be anyone to do cartwheels over (43Ks/20BBs in 71 innings @ Syracuse) but he's bound to be an imrovement over Coats. An extra arm for the Bats' staff if nothing else. Coats had no future here.

[Cedric]

Junior is the definition of class. My fiancee and my sister met him at Kings Island back in 2000 and my fiancee asked if she could take his picture, she must have been flustered
He walked towards her and she could see him getting bigger in the camera lens. He grabbed the camera and handed it to his bodyguard. Put his arm around them both and took a great picture. He later signed the picture on the back with a little help from Chief Bender

Funny part about that story is that my aunt was also there with two Finnish twin exchange students. They had NO idea who Griffey was. My fiancee asked who the biggest athlete in Finland was, she said Michael Schumaker. She was amazed to know that Griffey was like that and was that nice.

[OnBaseMachine]

Agreed about Junior. While part of me would have liked to have seen him traded to a WS contender last season for a pitcher in order to free up a spot for Jay Bruce, another part of me is very excited about getting the privilege to watch him hit his 600th career homerun next season, and (hopefully) leading the Reds to the playoffs.

Oh and I also agree about Dunn. Please lock him up, Wayne. He's a great hitter and he loves playing here. This is the type of player you want on your team.

[Cedric]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Agreed about Junior. While part of me would have liked to have seen him traded to a WS contender last season for a pitcher in order to free up a spot for Jay Bruce, another part of me is very excited about getting the privilege to watch him hit his 600th career homerun next season, and (hopefully) leading the Reds to the playoffs.

Oh and I also agree about Dunn. Please lock him up, Wayne. He's a great hitter and he loves playing here. This is the type of player you want on your team.

I never wanted Griffey traded. His numbers are worth the value if the club is willing to spend more like they obviously are. He wanted to be here and I will never forget that. I owe him for that gesture alone. It's rare for someone to do that for Cincinnati.

[corkedbat]

I'd love to see them lock up Dunn and I think it's doable in the present salary structure, when you condider we're already paying him $13M this year and Junior will free up quite a few years if he's not retained after 08.

If they do extend AD again though, I hope they don't give him a full no-trade clause over the last half of the contract and bind our options like this current one. I'd try to make it a limited no-trade where he can pick a list of 8-12 teams he would go to if I could or even write in a bonus if he's traded, but not a full no-trade.

[wheels]

Two class acts.

It's no wonder they were fast friends, and it's no wonder that I want them to remain members of my favorite club.

[WVRedsFan]

I agree with all of you. Junior is a class act and just one of the wonderful parts of the Cincinnati Reds and should remain here as long as he is productive.

I agree than Dunn should be locked up for 3-5 years without a no-trade clause, but I get a feeling that we won't come up with the money to do that. If you look at our team, Dunn and Griffey scored more runs (179-168), significantly more HR's (70-31) and more RBI's (199-142) than the World Champion Boston Red Sox LF-RF combination of Manny Ramirez and J.D. Drew. Leave them alone.

[Reds1]

My buddy called from the Reds fest and not only got an autograph, but the Reds paid for and gave each of teh 200 people he signed for a baseball. Basically, the price they paid for the Redsfest they got the ball and a suprise auto from on of the greatest. How cool is that.

[GAC]

It was a very classy thing to do. But IMHO, and I realize that players like to "get away" during the off-season, I wish more of the 'big name" players would take time out of their busy schedules and try to show up for at least one day of Redsfest. It's becoming a big thing for Reds fans during the off-season. I went down last year on Friday and had a blast; but I don't think either Jr or Dunn was there either day, and I was a little disappointed with that.

As for Jr being here after the '08 season - I still say they'll pay him the 4 mil buy-out and he's gone. Wouldn't they have to pay him the full 12 mil (or maybe more) for that one year? And if they are possibly entertaining trying to sign Dunn long term, and with Bruce in the wings, and nothing at all against Jr, then it may not be a wise business/financial decision for the Reds.

[redsmetz]

Originally Posted by GAC

It was a very classy thing to do. But IMHO, and I realize that players like to "get away" during the off-season, I wish more of the 'big name" players would take time out of their busy schedules and try to show up for at least one day of Redsfest. It's becoming a big thing for Reds fans during the off-season. I went down last year on Friday and had a blast; but I don't think either Jr or Dunn was there either day, and I was a little disappointed with that.

As for Jr being here after the '08 season - I still say they'll pay him the 4 mil buy-out and he's gone. Wouldn't they have to pay him the full 12 mil (or maybe more) for that one year? And if they are possibly entertaining trying to sign Dunn long term, and with Bruce in the wings, and nothing at all against Jr, then it may not be a wise business/financial decision for the Reds.

I could be wrong, but I think we could simply decline the option, pay the buyout and then negotiate with him as a free agent. Now whether that would happen is a different story. I think, though, as much as I love Griff, I think this should be his last year here. He's going to want more AB's than I think we can find for him because he'd just be a bench player for us after this year. I think the AL is his final spot, maybe a return to Seattle.

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

I could be wrong, but I think we could simply decline the option, pay the buyout and then negotiate with him as a free agent. Now whether that would happen is a different story. I think, though, as much as I love Griff, I think this should be his last year here. He's going to want more AB's than I think we can find for him because he'd just be a bench player for us after this year. I think the AL is his final spot, maybe a return to Seattle.

I agree. I wish Junior well, but I also believe that it would be better for both Junior and the Reds if he would finish out his career in the AL, where he can DH, probably back in Seattle.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by redsmetz

I could be wrong, but I think we could simply decline the option, pay the buyout and then negotiate with him as a free agent. Now whether that would happen is a different story. I think, though, as much as I love Griff, I think this should be his last year here. He's going to want more AB's than I think we can find for him because he'd just be a bench player for us after this year. I think the AL is his final spot, maybe a return to Seattle.

I could be wrong too but I think we'd have to offer him arbitration in that case. And then if he accepted, and I could be wrong about this too, we couldn't cut his salary more than 20%.

[TeamBoone]

Originally Posted by GAC

I went down last year on Friday and had a blast; but I don't think either Jr or Dunn was there either day, and I was a little disappointed with that.

Last year was the only Redsfest that Adam Dunn has missed. It was because of the birth of his son, who was only three weeks old when RedsFest rolled around.

I also think last year was the only time Griffey didn't make a "surprise" appearance to sign for kids only. I'm sure there was some good reason why he was unable to attend.

This year he was prominent in Joe's tribute and the kids' press conference. The kids asked a lot of very good questions and most of KGJr's answers were legitimate but with a comic spin. He's a funny guy!