Excuse me while I wet myself.

The blast broke a string of 12 games in which A-Rod was so overcome with pressure that he managed to hit only .177 with no home runs. While I can’t prove that pressure was the thing that was holding him back, rumor has it he hasn’t slept in nearly 10 nights and has often been seen shaking uncontrollably at the mere mention that he has to perform. (All right, so I can’t prove that either.)

A-Rod now joins an elite club that includes Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey Jr. (630) and Sammy Sosa (609) to have accomplished the feat.

Too bad only four of those seven players didn’t need to enlist the help of performance-enhancing drugs in order to reach the milestone.

So way to go, A-HoleRod. Congratulations, or something.

I don’t think taking steroids and cheating the game of baseball has ever crossed Griffey’s mind. And that’s why he’ll always be viewed as a true hero during the darkest days that baseball has ever seen.

Griffey announced his retirement on Wednesday night. He’ll leave the game with 630 home runs (which rank him fifth all-time), 13 All-Star appearances, 10 Gold Gloves, seven Silver Slugger Awards and one MVP honor (1997). He’s a sure-fire Hall of Fame inductee and as I’ve alluded to above, one of the few sluggers whose name has never been mentioned for steroids.

I’ll always remember the days when people would compare Griffey and Barry Bonds in terms of what young outfielder was better. People always said Griffey until injuries started hampering his career and Bonds started crushing 500-foot home runs (while his head grew to the size of a grapefruit). But looking back, Griffey will always be remembered as the better player because he didn’t have to cheat to have his success. Bonds has better numbers, but we all know how he got them later in his career. We also know how Griffey got his: pure, God-given talent.

Griffey’s retirement doesn’t come as a surprise. He wasn’t getting regular at bats in Seattle and wasn’t a part of the Mariners’ present or future. He’s also 40 year’s old and it’s harder for players to balance baseball and their family life when they get to be that age. It was time and I found it appropriate that he made the announcement rather quietly. He’s never been flashy.

Thanks for all the memories, Junior. You never let us down.

It appears as though Ken Griffey Jr.’s days in baseball are numbered. Not only is he hitting .208 with a dismal .234 slugging percentage with no home runs and just two doubles through the first month of the season, but reports have also surfaced on that he missed an opportunity to pinch hit in a recent game because he fell asleep in the clubhouse.

The clubhouse nap incident is certainly troubling, but not necessarily the main issue when it comes to Junior. (Especially considering that most of us would fall asleep watching the Mariners play these days.) The bigger problem is that he’s 40-years-old, he can’t play the outfield any more and is a DH that can’t hit. For a team that has struggled as much as the Mariners have offensively this year, there’s simply no reason to keep Griffey on the roster.

That’s why Tacoma News Tribune columnist Larry LaRue’s report about Griffey’s eventual release in Seattle holds a lot of water. LaRue writes that Junior could be released sometime this month, although maybe he’ll save the club some trouble and just retire.

Either way, the writing is on the wall for the beloved player. While the report of him falling asleep in the clubhouse is embarrassing, it won’t be what he’s remembered for. He’ll be remembered for playing the game the way it was supposed to be played, treating fans and teammates with respect, and the fact that his name has never been connected with steroids. The anti-Barry Bonds if you will.

If this is the end, Junior has amassed one hell of a career.

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> https://www.scoresreport.com/2009/06/27/a-rod-passes-jackson-on-all-time-hr-list/ Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:30:27 +0000 https://www.scoresreport.com/?p=20652 Mr. April has officially passed Mr. October on baseball’s all-time home run list.

Alex Rodriguez hit home run No. 564 to help the Yankees beat the Mets 9-1 on Friday night, moving past Reggie Jackson into 11th place on the career list.

“The negativity that surrounds the steroids is certainly not something that I carry over to him,” Jackson said. “I do appreciate the fact that he admitted his mistakes, so from here we move forward. Judgment on him will be passed with the next 7 1/2 years of his time with the Yankees.”

Jackson was sixth when he retired in 1987, trailing only Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Harmon Killebrew. He’s since been passed by Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and A-Rod.

“You get used to it really,” Jackson said.

Remember when A-Rod was supposed to save us all from Barry Bonds and “legitimize” the home run record again?

Moments like Rodriguez hitting his 564th mean very little now. Maybe Griffey will keep playing until he’s 80 and pass everyone.

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Offseason Movement: The M’s will bring back a familiar face this season after signing OF/DH Ken Griffey Jr. The club also made a slew of trades, adding outfielders Franklin Gutierrez (Indians) and Endy Chavez (Mets), as well as pitchers David Aardsma (Red Sox) and Garrett Olson (Cubs). Seattle also signed free agents Tyler Johnson, Tyler Walker and Russell Branyan.

Top Prospect: Greg Halman, OF
Some feel as though infielder Carlos Triunfel is the Mariners’ best long-term prospect and that very well might be the case, but Halman is closer to making an impact at the big league level at this point. Halman has flashed an outstanding array of power and speed and with Seattle not expected to contend this year, he could be a late season call up. Along with Halman and Triunfel, pitcher Phillippe Aumont is another prospect worthy of keeping an eye on.

The Big Question: Can Erik Bedard stay healthy?
The Mariners have some of the best pitching depth in baseball, but they need Bedard to stay healthy. The club traded promising youngster Adam Jones and pitcher George Sherrill for Bedard last offseason and all they got was 15 starts before he suffered major shoulder issues. If he can stay healthy, Bedard and “King” Felix Hernandez form a nice 1-2 punch at the top of a rotation that also features Carlos Silva, Brandon Morrow and Jarrod Washburn. The M’s might be wise to move Bedard back in the rotation at the start to get him more days rest earlier in the season.

Outlook: Don’t get it twisted – this isn’t a bad club. Well, this was a bad club last year, but the pieces are there for a contender down the road. The M’s have one of the better rotations in the AL and if youngsters Yuniesky Betancourt, Brandon Morrow and Franklin Gutierrez start producing right away, Seattle could surprise. But that’s asking a lot of those young players and unfortunately even with players like Ichrio, Griffey and Adrian Beltre, the veterans probably aren’t good enough to carry this team on their own. The bullpen is also a major question mark. New management has brought a little excitement to this club and it probably won’t be long before things start turning around on the field. But inexperience will be the downfall this year and it’s hard envisioning the M’s making a surprise run this season.

Projection: 4th, AL West

1. Ken Griffey Jr. (2521 games, 20 seasons)—He’s played for some great Mariners teams, but his Reds’ clubs the last decade or so were mostly awful. Junior had a shot with the White Sox last season after being traded, and didn’t make it. Can he play long enough for Seattle to become competitive again?

2. Frank Thomas (2322, 19)—Really, the Big Hurt has never sniffed a World Series? Well yeah, he was with the White Sox for 16 years and the team won it all in 2005, his last season with the team. But that October, Thomas was injured and left off the postseason roster, and then signed with Oakland in 2006.

3. Alex Rodriguez (2042, 15)—Does anyone else think it’s not coincidental that A-Rod has never reached the Fall Classic? Dude is a world-beater in the regular season but never seems to match or exceed his capability in the postseason.

4. Carlos Delgado (2009, 16)—Delgado began his career in Toronto right after the Jays won two World Series titles, and while he’s been close with the Mets a few times, he’s still looking for that “brass” ring.

5. Ray Durham (1975, 14)—Ray Durham has been a steady player, but all those years with the Giants (after they were NL champs in 2002) didn’t help his chances to reach the big stage. A late-season trade to Milwaukee in 2008 got him close, but the Brewers lost to Philly in the NLDS.

6. Jason Kendall (1833, 13)—Nine seasons in Pittsburgh says all that there needs to be said.

7. Bobby Abreu (1799, 13)—Abreu left Philly, and the Phillies won two division titles and a World Series. He put up decent numbers with the Yanks, but being A-Rod’s teammate didn’t help matters any (see above).

8. Mark Grudzielanek (1772, 14)—Grudzielanek began his career in Canadian baseball purgatory (Montreal) and has played the last three seasons in American baseball purgatory (Kansas City).

9. Vladimir Guerrero (1750, 13)—This dude has absolutely mashed his entire career, but playing eight years in Montreal ensured a late start in postseason experience. He signed with the Angels two years after they won it all, and is on a very talented team that always seems to underachieve in the playoffs.

10. Miguel Tejada (1713, 12)—Tejada won an MVP award in Oakland and has put up some monster numbers. His link to steroid use, along with A-Rod’s, has not exactly put him in a good light, but it’s still a bit surprising that he’s never made it to the big dance.

Source: Baseball Reference

In one of the stranger baseball stories this offseason, Ken Griffey Jr. has decided not to sign with the Braves, instead he’ll head back to Seattle, where he started his career 19 years ago.

Here’s how the story unfolded:

The Journal-Constitution first reported Tuesday that Griffey had told a close friend he would sign with the Braves. Wren said Wednesday that communication with Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, had gone smoothly until after that AJC report, which Goldberg and Griffey said was inaccurate.

Griffey told MLB.com later Tuesday that he was still torn between the pull of Seattle, where he had spent the first half of his career, and the Braves, where he would be just a one-hour flight from his wife and children in Orlando, and where he would spend spring training just a 20-minute drive from his home.

By noon Wednesday, Braves officials seemed concerned by the silence from Griffey’s camp and said they expected a decision from him by Thursday.

It’s been a week of misdirection plays for Griffey. Even as it was being widely reported last week that he would sign with Seattle, Griffey called Jones and a Braves official to express interest in playing for the Braves.

He hadn’t been one of the Braves’ preferred options for their outfield job entering the offseason, but the free-agent pool had thinned, plus the Braves didn’t have much room left in their payroll and didn’t want to trade top prospects to acquire an outfielder via trade.

Suddenly the Griffey option looked pretty good, and the Braves figured they would pair the left-handed slugger, one of only six players with 600 career homers, in left field with right-handed hitting Matt Diaz.

As the story goes, Griffey was apparently ticked off that the AJC reported that he chose the Braves over Mariners. Whether or not that was Griffey’s official reason for turning around and signing with the Mariners is uncertain, but nevertheless this situation developed oddly.

Several AJC writers are taking a beating because of their original report. Braves fans are claiming the paper ruined the team’s shot of landing Griffey, but in defense of the AJC, stories are printed like this all the time. If Griffey honestly based a decision of this magnitude (i.e. one that involves his family, where he’ll work and where he’ll live for the next year) off of what a newspaper printed, then that’s ridiculous. Did the paper jump the gun? Probably, but it’s their job to report that the news and they reported what they had.

Either way, Griffey is on his way back to Seattle after signing a one-year contract, and the Braves are still in need of a fourth outfielder.