*Sigh*
In what can only be a bad omen for the Mariners, Ken Griffey Jr. is coming back. I thought we'd had our fill of washed up, injury prone players, but apparently not. I'm going to predict right now that Griffey will spend at least 40 days on the DL this year and will at some point launch in to a juvenile tirade because some team mate (probably Ichiro or Felix Hernandez) is stealing some of his lime light. I don't think Griffey is a team player and I don't think he has anything left in the tank. What this signing says to me is that management cares more about filling seats than winning games. They are willing to sacrifice wins by bringing in a fan favorite that they know people will pay to see (for a while at least) at the expense of playing time for a better player. It's going to be another long season baseball fans. Brace yourself. And if you're looking forward to seeing him play, buy your tickets early in the season because after the first month all bets are off as to him being healthy enough to be in the lineup.
The good news out of M's camp that has largely gone unnoticed because of the Griffey debacle is that last years first round draft pick, Josh Fields, has finally been signed. He hasn't pitched in 8 months thanks to extended negotiations, but the cupboard is pretty bare in the bullpen and I don't think it will be long before he gets the call. I don't know how realistic an expectation it is, but here's to hoping he'll be contributing before the all star break.
In news that I'm sure nobody cares about, my 8 year reign of terror as a Mariner employee has come to an end. Last year was miserable and it just doesn't pay enough to be worthwhile anymore. I started in 2001 and loved every minute of it. I was there when they won their 116th game. I saw them play in the post season. I worked the all star game. It was unbelievable fun to be there every day. The energy was amazing. From there it has been a steady decline, and to be honest, last year's problems had more to do with management issues than watching a terrible team. Since attendance was down we were overstaffed, and I really think that management's solution was to make employees miserable until they started to quit. Anyway, I don't want to dwell on the negative. I have a lot of great memories from my time there and will probably miss it terribly around July or August when the weather is really nice. I can still honestly say that on a beautiful, warm, sunny day, there are very few places that are better to be than Safeco Field.
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3 comments:
I totally agree with you about Griffey. It was just to get butts in the seats. He's too old anymore. Sad to hear about you quiting though. What will you do with all your free time?
Well, one of the reasons I'm quitting that I didn't mention is because it seems like I've got so little free time as is anymore and I really don't want to give up half my weekends all summer.
Whether or not Griffey is a business decision is not important. You should expect that kind of thing from a baseball team. What's important is that he's a decent hitter. The Mariners aren't exactly overflowing with consistent firepower. It all depends on if he can stay healthy. I'm not concerned about him being a detriment to the clubhouse.
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