Griffey Chooses Mariners Over Braves

Griffey is just trying to save face for the seattle face to not hear this new 2nd hand that he would rather be on a competive team than on a bottom dweller for 09'. It seem to be a no brainer for Griffey at this point of his career...

I'm so confused. Is he finally a Bravo?

Break out the champagne, start printing the league championship hats..you're going to the WS.

lol. Kidding couldn't help myself.

More drama from this than the Texeria signing.

You have to admit, I feel a certain Furcal like move coming any moment.

How are the Braves closer to contending than the Mariners? They lost 90 games in the much weaker NL. I'm sorry I'm a big time Griffey fan, and have been since I was old enough to watch baseball, but Griffey... Seriously. No town will ever treat him better than Seattle did, and would have this year. My heart is broken once again by a pro athlete turning his back on the northwest for "Greener pastures".

I have a legitimate question for everyone. Does anyone thing that Ken Griffey Jr. ever took steroids? We would all like to think not, but there are names on that list that apparently, none of us would have ever thought did.

What if he did, and news like that comes out sometime this season.

Just saying. I never thought A-Rod or a pitcher like Andy Pettitte would have, but they did.

"Does anyone thing that Ken Griffey Jr. ever took steroids?"

I think he did. He went from a small size to where he is today, all within a year.

No town will ever treat him better than Seattle did, and would have this year.
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That may be true, but Griffey is well loved pretty much everywhere. We will treat him well (unless he sucks and then the fair-weather fans will run him out of town with Frenchy).

"It's really a shame they could have traded a few prospects and built a tremendous team for this season. You should all fault Wren, for not exploring more options via trade."

Who is there in the trade market? Maggs, Dye, Nady, and Swisher? I would take Griffey over any of them any day of the week. We also got Lowe, Vazquez, and that Japanese dude without giving up that many prospects as we would of with Peavy.

You should all fault Wren, for not exploring more options via trade
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How do you know what he did and didn't explore?

It's really a shame they could have traded a few prospects and built a tremendous team for this season.
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Regardless of your (biased) opinion, I think they have built a team that will compete for the division. AND did it without mortgaging the future by trading away the young talent.

Delmon Young would've cost Yunel Escobar, most likely. And no, there's no void at 2nd base. The Vazquez trade was solid. Peavy cost too much. Swisher was worse than Griffey last year, and pretty much every other year, and he would've cost too much monetarily and prospect-wise.

Even the "worst" GM still isn't an idiot.

alittlebitofreason

Please leave. You have said before you were done posting on Braves threads. For the last time, we don't want to trade Schafer or "Heywood" or any of our top prospects for Swisher and a bullpen arm. That would not be genius, that would be stupid. Wren has done a fine job this offseason, and I think we are all happy he hasn't traded away any top prospects. We have a team that most experts agree is in the mix for the NL east as we stand today. Please go away.

1st) I do not sit with a prospect bible next to me. I had not put the two together at that time.

2nd) I only once brought up the Schafer name. There are other prospects that should be open for discussion.

3rd) Lowe is not a number 3? Then what is he? I'm confused on that one. Wasn't he number 3 during the Sox years? Were other teams considering acquiring him to be a back end guy? He maybe number 1 in your opinion since that is the best you have at the moment.

I am just trying to provide some perspective here, which apparently is not welcome. Even with Sox fans I had better dialogue.

""Does anyone think that Ken Griffey Jr. ever took steroids?"

If Griffey would've took roids he would be the all time home run king already. The biggest benefit to steroids is that they help your muscles heal faster. Thats how muscles get bigger faster on roids, you tear the muscle down by working out, when it recovers it gets bigger. If Griffey would've been using he wouldn't have missed so many games with the Reds. In my opinion the freak muscle guys like Canseco and McGwire aren't the only guys we should be suspecting, players with little to no injury history before 2004 and suddenly developed an inability to stay in the lineup, should be top of the list.

"Does anyone thing that Ken Griffey Jr. ever took steroids?"

I think he did. He went from a small size to where he is today, all within a year.

Posted by: BravesRed.mlblogs.com | February 18, 2009 at 09:24 AM

You can't possibly be saying that he was juicing this offseason, the consensus i have heard is that there is no way the players could be juicing and not caught anymore. you are crazy. i have never heard anyone implicate griffey because of his size...you are hysterical. there is no correlation between the size of griffey and a guy like sosa, mcgwire, bonds, rodriguez, or giambi. lets be serious now...

peekaboo,

Smoltz only really counts as a loss emotionally from last year, since he only made 5 starts, Vasquez consistently pitches 200 innings with around 200 Ks (so I would say he is worth mentioning. As far as Soriano never being healthy, I could say the same thing about Bedard, and he is a way bigger piece of your puzzle than Soriano is of ours. The M's have 3 lame duck pitchers (Washburn, Silva, Batista), one bat Beltre, one awesome ego ridden leadoff hitter,and they traded their closer. I like the M's, their probably my third favorite team and my favorite AL team, but the only thing that excites me is Felix. When Washburn and Batista come off the books after this year they could be good fast, but until then I can't see them as contenders, I'd have to say I'd be impressed to see them not finish in the cellar.

Soriano will never be healthy...ever. Take it from a Mariners fan. The only real addition worth mentioning is Lowe, and you guys lost Smoltz. The Mariners with a healthy Bedard, and Felix combo could very easily compete with the Angels who lost Mark Teixeira.

Posted by: peekaboo21 | February 18, 2009 at 10:02 AM
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In the same paragraph you state that Soriano will never be healthy, and then go on talking about a healthy Bedard. Classic.

when braves sign him and glavin all they need is one more gud picther how bout mark mulder guys gud fit o wats?or open back talks for peavy

"when braves sign him and glavin all they need is one more gud picther how bout mark mulder guys gud fit o wats?or open back talks for peavy"
----Kareem247

Was that that a serious post? By August we could very well have 7 very good (albiet not gud) starters and 5 spots for them. (Lowe/Vazque/Jurrjens/Kawakami/Glavine/Hudson/Hanson)
How does that equal needing one more pitcher?

scribbletone... I agree 100% with that psot. Lowe isn't a #1 but he is a high-end #2. If you ranked players on a scale of 1 to 100 and you had to be a 90 to be a #1, Lowe would be like an 88.

"I'm not sure that Lowe is quite as good as he was in 2008, although he's definitely a very solid 2 starter."

How in the hell can you say that when a single spring training game hasn't even been played yet?

Easy fella, its an opinion. Don't get you panties in a bunch, they're just saying that based on his history they don't think he's as good as his last years numbers. Personally I think he'll benefit from a very solid infield defense, and hopefully will be close to what he did last year. I would have to say in classifying him as a 1-2-3, I'd have to have a definition of what you call a one, but I'd be hard pressed to say there is 30 guys I'd rather have on the mound in a big game. Theres only a for sure two in the NL East and you could make arguments for a couple more, but he's definitely a top tier pitcher.

" A WSB-TV (Atlanta) report indicates that Braves officials believe Griffey is leaning toward the Mariners."

What the hell..

Maybe Griffey realized the backlash that Seattle would've gotten if they didn't bring back The Kid.

I think Griffey to Seattle and Garret Anderson to Atlanta was the best scenario for both teams anyways, so this works out fine.

Did you guys see the brand new post that Channel 2 in Atlanta is reporting Braves officials think Griffey is "leaning towards the Mariners"?

as a braves fan, write me down as someone who doesnt want Anderson anywhere close to Atl.

I hope they are right! One down and one to go! Run Wren run!

I'd love to see Junior in Atlanta, but I've been saying for the last week that Edmonds makes the most sense. If we could get Diaz and Edmonds' bats together in the lineup against middle of the pack righties for 45 to 50 games that would be a huge offensive plus over what J.Anderson will most likely give us in center.

For a sec there I thought Jr. had flip flopped, but after reading the article, I agree with the poster above, nothing in there to indicate he isn't going to Atlanta.

nothing except the lead sentence: "Atlanta Braves officials denied Wednesday they have signed outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and believe Griffey is leaning towards signing with the Seattle Mariners."

For a sec there I thought Jr. had flip flopped, but after reading the article, I agree with the poster above, nothing in there to indicate he isn't going to Atlanta.

Posted by: Grizzlyfox | February 18, 2009 at 11:36 AM

You expect me to actually read the article? Good grief sir, I'm a busy man!

Exactly, me and the Bearded one have to squeze these tidbits in between filling out TPS reports. I just got a memo, it appears now we'll be putting cover letters on our TPS reports. Nope no way we'll have time to read those article now.

All I have to say is if Griffey goes to the M's the Braves need to go to the Yankees and pull the trigger on a trade for one of those guys they MUST get a power hitter for the outfield if they want to have a chance this year.

KnoxBrave13,

If Griffey was 85 years old with two bad knees, a glass hip, a surgically repaired shoulder, altheimers, and a case of the clap, he is still worth 2.5M. He isn't what he used to be, but G. Anderson is at best a wash offensively, defensively Jr will be at worst league average with his knee healthy, and when you figure in the ticket and jersey sales junior will basically be a free player. I don't see how you can think this would be a bad move for the braves.

rudolf,

You might want to check again, Atlanta is very much a pitcher's park. Last year was the only time it has ranked anywhere close to a hitters park and that was skewed by all the pitching woes the braves had last year. If you don't think Lowe is "Ace Lite" as you put it then I'd like to know what you think is.

IF both the Mariners and Braves are offering King Griffey Jr about the same amount of money and KGJ WANTS to be on a winning team then WHY is this taking sooooooo long?

My guess is King Griffey's EGO is getting in the way (yet again).

On the Braves, King Griffey would only be a platoon player (damage to his ego) and would be playing for a Manager who doesn't take any crap off his players (damage to his ego). Also, if the Braves are winning and King Griffey does NOT perform well or goes on the DL, then the media and fans will be all over him (damage to his ego).

However, if the King goes back to Seattle, a team that will most likely NOT be a winner, then he will get the full love of the fans. Even more so if he actually DOES stay healthy, performs well and the Mariners do better than most people expect.

Now entering LF for your 2009 Atlanta Braves, Hank Aaron!!!

Here's a question: Who cares where Griffey signs? He's almost 40. He hit 249/353/424 last season, and doesn't project to do much better in 2009 (assuming he's healthy). Braves. Mariners. Who the hell cares? He's not an impact player anymore. We might as well be talking about Jody Gerut or Garrett Anderson.

Anderson is a better player all around right now than Griffey. Thats why they would be able to complete better than last Anderson can hit both lefties and righties

Posted by: KnoxBrave13 | February 18, 2009 at 12:48 PM

It's been said multiple times that Griffey would be in a platoon in LF...why the hell does it matter how well Anderson can hit LH pitching? And just so you know, he hits RH pitching much, much worse than Griffey.

bravo84- I didn't say Atlanta was a hitters' park. I said it was more of a hitters' park than Chavez Ravine. Can we agree that pitchers do better in LA than other stadiums, by and large? "Ace lite" is Erik Bedard healthy, or John Lackey, or Josh Beckett (most years), or Mike Mussina (earlier in his career). Derek Lowe doesn't dominate like those guys can. He has good outings that are pretty good, and he has bad outings that aren't that bad. He's better than an average three, but aspires to the status of a solid #2. IMO, over the course of his career, he's been a great #3 pitcher, and on occasions he pitches like a solid #2. The statistics don't lie. I understand he can dominate at times; that is what a #2 does. Roy Halladay he is not. And unlike a guy like Beckett, or Matsuzaka, or Zambrano, Lowe is getting up there in age.

Yes, the braves can make the playoffs with this team. Do you like their chances??? No. Not much.

seriously griffey??? hurry up!!! monday you said you were going to make your decision then or early tuesday, yesterday you said later today or early wednesday!! good god!!! he is toying with everyone!

The statistics don't lie
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You are right, look at the post right above yours, rudolf... those statistices don't lie. But I refuse to get sucked into the "Your team sucks" debates, that's why they play the games. I guess time will tell if you are right.

Keep us hangin' Jr... Keep us hangin'...

I love how everyone acts like O'Brien is the one who published all the incorrect braves "scoops" this offseason. He wasn't the person who prematurely said a Peavy deal was struck and he wasn't the guy who broke the news of Furcal signing with the Braves. What else has he been wrong about this offseason.

Brad426,

Obviously Dunn would've been a nice addition, but he would have required more money than we had anyway. The real question is how did we not get in on Abreu. But any chance of a decent offense was shot when Wren spent 24 million on an unproven #4 starter in a buyers market.

But any chance of a decent offense was shot when Wren spent 24 million on an unproven #4 starter in a buyers market.
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You may be right, albeit with the benefit of hindsight. When Kawakami was signed who knew that Abreu and his ilk could be had for so little? And who knew we would get Lowe?

I don't disagree with what you are saying, but I think Wren might deserve a little bit of slack on that.

I actually that Kawakami's deal was cheap at the time. It still might turn out that way.

Another thing about Griffey vs. Anderson - as a lifelong Braves fan, I'm WAY more excited about Junior. That's a good thing after 3 crappy years in a row.

Assuming Anderson/Schafer in Center then Atlanta is above average defensively at every other position except Second and Right (and KJ and Frenchy[gold glove] both have the talent to be considerably better than they were last year). Griffey had a bum knee last year and played 32 games in center for the ChiSox, which skews his defensive numbers. Griffey played right and center last year which as a whole has much better defenders than left. Anderson played left and as such was judged against leftfielders. Griffey was judged against rightfielders and centerfielders, which he clearly is not anymore. As a left fielder and with a healthy knee, he is nowhere near the liability you are letting on defensively, and offensively Griffey had a .841 OPS versus righties (which is all that matters), while Anderson had a .774. And thats not even being fair to Griffey when you consider the bum knee he played with (because he deserately wants a chance at a ring).
Call me crazy if you want, but I take Junior every day of the week.

I agree hindsight is 20/20, but I still think with the money available Wren had to know he could've gotten Lowe or Perez, with ATL and the Mets being the only two real bidders left for them. Kawakami would've gotten virtually the same deal as Kuroda a year ago so I actually think if the economy rebounds and he pitches well it will look like a discount by the end of the contract. I'm just saying he signed too many pitchers, and in Glavine he's trying to sign another. I absolutely hate the idea of blocking Hanson, and with Hudson possibly back in August I don't know where we are gonna get him his starts. Much less a sophomore shot for Morton who was a top notch prospect only a year ago, and still has the stuff to be a legit 2/3 if he can get his head and consistency straight. I'd rather miss the playoffs again this year than miss it for the next 10 after.

I looked at that earlier, it all depends on defining the term "totally disabled", can't imagine them winning that since he finished the season. But hey if you're paying the lawyers anyway, might as well use them.

Brad 426,

Those FIB numbers are wonderful. He's been in the top thirty pitchers for three years. Problem is, he's 36 and getting older. And we cannot forget about the three years prior.
I used to live in LA. I've seen Lowe pitch numerous times. I've paid attention to him his entire career in fantasy baseball.
Here is why he isn't an Ace "light": 1. He rarely pitches into the eighth inning, or the seventh for that matter. 2. He gives up a a hit/inning +, (with the exception of 2008). 3. He doesn't strike out many batters.
Dominant pitchers, or what I'd call Aces, can mow down the opponent on any given night, and usually do. A number 2 pitcher can do the same, just not as often. They tend to deliver less than stellar results every couple times out, or for stretches.
Lowe just doesn't dominate. He's hittable. He alows too many baserunners, (to be an Ace or something close to it). He doesn't go long innings. He had a good 2008, a career year, at age 35. It's safe to say that in a less-pitcher friendly environment at an elevated age, he's going to regress back to the previous two years statistics, (you hope not worse).
When he's on, he's kinda great. When he's not, he's okay to mediocre. That's not a #1 pitcher. That's a number two, at best.
As for the rest of the Braves team, the offense is kind of like Lowe, at best. The whole team is kind of like Lowe, good but not great. I'm not bashing on the Braves, here. I wish the M's were as good as the Braves! It just seems like a lot of Braves fans are excited about their pitching, and especially Lowe, and I don't see what the fascination is. Good luck.