The Baseball Column: Griffey's Power Outage
Junior Struggling In Cincy
POSTED: 11:50 am PDT April 27,
2005
UPDATED: 12:53 pm PDT April 27,
2005
Rant 1: Griffey Not Aging Gracefully
What happened to Ken Griffey Jr.? It seems like just yesterday he was Kid Griffey, effortlessly patrolling the mold green carpet in centerfield of the Kingdome. Today, he looks more like Willie Mays in a Mets uniform.
The 35-year-old has not played in more than 83 games in any season since 2001 and has hit just 103 homeruns since joining the Reds in 2000 after averaging over 52 per season from 1996-99. As of Wednesday, he had none in 68 at bats this season.Rant 2: Mauer vs. Prior
Back in June 2001, there was an interesting debate about who the Minnesota Twins should select with the first pick in the amateur draft. Conventional wisdom said that Stanford right-hander Mark Prior was the best pitcher to ever come out of college and was thus, a no-brainer top pick. The Twins, as they are known to do, bucked the norm and selected high school catcher and local boy, Joe Mauer.The selection, of course, was roundly criticized. The Twins were accused of being too cheap (Prior would command a much larger signing bonus) and too provincial (people in the Upper Midwest are suckers for home grown talent), but in the end they may have been right.Prior, when healthy, has been as good as advertised as has Mauer, but it’s what the Twins did to prepare for the catcher’s arrival that validates the selection. To open up a spot for their prized prospect, Minnesota shipped incumbent receiver A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants and netted Joe Nathan, the AL’s top closer and prospect Francisco Liriano, who is drawing comparisons to Johan Santana.Rant 3: The Season’s Over
It’s only late April, but the season is basically over for baseball’s version of the Three Stooges -- the Royals, Brewers, and Pirates. Kansas City has just one winning season since 1993, while Milwaukee and Pittsburgh were last winners in 1992. Early signs strongly indicate that 2005 isn’t going to be the year any of them reverse that trend.During the late '70s and early '80s these teams were annual contenders and even champions. Because of baseball’s unfair playing field and their own ineptitude in the draft and free agency, these three survive on baseball version of welfare -- revenue sharing. Also note that new stadiums in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh have not helped.
What happened to Ken Griffey Jr.? It seems like just yesterday he was Kid Griffey, effortlessly patrolling the mold green carpet in centerfield of the Kingdome. Today, he looks more like Willie Mays in a Mets uniform.
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Change Record Books?Back in June 2001, there was an interesting debate about who the Minnesota Twins should select with the first pick in the amateur draft. Conventional wisdom said that Stanford right-hander Mark Prior was the best pitcher to ever come out of college and was thus, a no-brainer top pick. The Twins, as they are known to do, bucked the norm and selected high school catcher and local boy, Joe Mauer.The selection, of course, was roundly criticized. The Twins were accused of being too cheap (Prior would command a much larger signing bonus) and too provincial (people in the Upper Midwest are suckers for home grown talent), but in the end they may have been right.Prior, when healthy, has been as good as advertised as has Mauer, but it’s what the Twins did to prepare for the catcher’s arrival that validates the selection. To open up a spot for their prized prospect, Minnesota shipped incumbent receiver A.J. Pierzynski to the Giants and netted Joe Nathan, the AL’s top closer and prospect Francisco Liriano, who is drawing comparisons to Johan Santana.Rant 3: The Season’s Over
It’s only late April, but the season is basically over for baseball’s version of the Three Stooges -- the Royals, Brewers, and Pirates. Kansas City has just one winning season since 1993, while Milwaukee and Pittsburgh were last winners in 1992. Early signs strongly indicate that 2005 isn’t going to be the year any of them reverse that trend.During the late '70s and early '80s these teams were annual contenders and even champions. Because of baseball’s unfair playing field and their own ineptitude in the draft and free agency, these three survive on baseball version of welfare -- revenue sharing. Also note that new stadiums in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh have not helped.
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