Crank the Griffey rumor mill back up
DMZ · May 12, 2008 at 12:29 am · Filed Under Mariners
Sigh. Did it ever shut down? M’s looking at Griffey.
Reports out of New York say that Duane Shaffer, in his first season as a special assistant to Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi, was in Shea Stadium Sunday to have a look at Griffey.
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128 Responses to “Crank the Griffey rumor mill back up”
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I’m really surprised any of this is considered on-topic by the mods. Anyway, these types of discussions are inherently ridiculous, case in point, Shawn Kemp gets no mention whatsoever. He was really really good before he left Seattle.
Comparing players from different positions, sports and eras is a fools errand. I think what’s relevant to the actual discussion of Griffeys trade value is this… ’95 is the biggest thing that’s happened in professional Seattle Sports since the Sonics won it all, and before the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl. And bringing Griffey back would at least make this team more interesting to the casual fan.
I think that if we could get him at little talent cost it’d probably pay for itself. I don’t see however, where there’s room for both Griffey and Ibanez on this team. Unless Ibanez could play 1B, and platoon there. But if that were the case we couldn’t be seeing Cairo there.
As far as pure physical gifts, that’s probably true. But I have to say that A-Rod is about as impressive an athlete as has come through the city, because he has the otherworldly genetic athleticism combined with a work ethic that should embarrass us all. As a side note, I wonder how long it will be before the national press starts getting nostalgic about (an aging) A-Rod’s time in Seattle and suggesting that we trade for him.
Granted, but still kind of fun. And I loved Shawn Kemp before he destroyed himself.
I really don’t understand how you think a $10 million+ salary for a broken down, overrated player whose value is a locked in a bat that has become mediocre could ever pay for itself. Bring him on as a coach after he retires, give him a front office position, but he’s not worth the talent nor the money required to acquire him as a player.
I hope they get Griffey back. If they’re going to suck (which they will), I’d love to have more reasons to watch than just Bedard, Felix and Ichiro.
And he is an upgrade over Vidro. Vidro’s mere presence is starting to offend me at this point…getting Griffey would ensure his option won’t vest. And I don’t think they’d have to give up (or be willing to give up), too much to get him.
Not really into the whole listing thing, but Walter Jones is up there. He’s been the best LT since basically entering the NFL and is one of the best, if not the best lineman of all time. Hard to say all time, but he’s top 5 at least.
All in all Junior had the biggest impact on the city of Seattle. I think he’s clearly the most loved sports figure in Seattle sports history, and honestly, probably always will be.
I’m sure some people will argue it, but I’m pretty confident in saying he is.
Yeah, dead right about Walter Jones.
Beltre always gets left out. I love watching Beltre.
Why would you trade for Griffey when he’s going to be available on the market next year (probably)? If you’re going to give up talent, shouldn’t you be trying to replace one of the bigger holes in the lineup? Neither Raul nor Wlad are problems offensively, and if all you’re looking for is 5 months of a DH, there are better pure hitters out there looking for jobs (and not just the one with the asterisk).
Showing interest in Griffey now is stupid, because you’re just encouraging the Reds to pick up his option with the idea of flipping him for some prospects in the offseason. That would be a dumb move in general, but with Seattle out there to trade with it’s a no-brainer.
Intangibles. A word that strikes fear in all well educated objective fans, including myself. Flashing back to 01, all I would hear from the bandwagon was how the team had intangibles. There was no need to worry about acquiring another bat or dominating starter for October, because the M’s had chemistry. No matter how hard I tried to explain that the M’s would not match up well against NY in a series, I was always faced with the same brick wall. There is more to a team then just stats.
Yet, here I sit. Absolutely, without hesitation, hoping Seattle brings Griffy home for his intangibles. Rational fans know the Griffey of the 90s is dead, there are no miracles in baseball and although a select few choose to believe otherwise, Griffey is not God. However, this is one of those rare times my gut is telling me that this world does not always make sense. Forty Years from now, I hope to be sitting with my grandchildren discussing the importance of loyalty, integrity, and family. Explaining how those core values brought the M’s back from the brink and turned them into one of the most storied franchises in sports history.
Obviously this is being pursued right now because management knows he’ll put butts in the seats. And when we SUCK as bad as we do right now, they know they’ll need to sell tickets some other way. And bobblehead giveaways can only go so far.
Well, I better trot this out again:
http://www.malchick.com/stuff/griffey.jpg
DMZ, you’re welcome to put that on the front page for this post! 🙂
Jimmie
“Not really into the whole listing thing, but Walter Jones is up there. He’s been the best LT since basically entering the NFL and is one of the best, if not the best lineman of all time. Hard to say all time, but he’s top 5 at least.”
Yes, definitely. Good call.
I’m partial to this LL jpeg:
Because the Reds won’t want any part of Washburn, Cairo, Vidro, or Sexson and the Mariners won’t trade Ibanez, Ichiro, Felix, or Kenji, and hopefully not Clement or Balentien that leaves players the Mariners could trade that might get them something: Bedard, Putz, Lopez, Betancourt, and Beltre.
If they realize that this season is a lost cause, I would think that a trade of Bedard or Betancourt might entice the Reds to give up Griffey plus a decent arm or two, but that might not work so well because the Reds are 7-1/2 games out. But if the Reds were interested in Bedard, Putz, Lopez, Betancourt or Beltre, could Bavasi get Homer Bailey or Johnny Cueto from the Reds along with Griffey?
It would be crazy to trade Bedard or Beltre — especially Bedard — for Griffey.
Yes it would be crazy to trade any of those guys for Griffey, but if you could get some pitching help in the deal, would that make sense?
I may dislike a lot Bavasi’s moves, but if he trades for Griffey, even at the prodding of Armstrong/Lincoln, he won’t give up much. The Reds will not send any good young talent with Griffey, and, aside from a Rob Johnson-ish type prospect, they will not get much.
It is isn’t likely the Reds would want Balentien or Saunders. The Reds are loaded with outfielders, aren’t they?
I think the Rays have shown that you shouldn’t worry about where people will play when aquiring quality, young talent. You can sort that out later. If the Reds decided to ask for Saunders in the deal and had no room for him, they could always flip him to someone else for something they do need.
Good point.
Thanks. I’m not sure if the Rays planned it this way all along, but after the Garza trade a little light bulb went off above my head.
For those obsessed on the prospect of a Griffey trade, you can quench your thirst by reading the Enquirer (Cincinnanti.Com) on a daily basis.
or the Post, where Jr poo-poos trade talk 🙂
Junior is as enigmatic as ever.
Its so great of many of you to retard or ruin Balentien’s and Clement’s development by bringing in Griffey to block their at bats.
If Griffey were a rookie with the M’s today, he’d be stuck in Tacoma til he’s 24, then given 2 weeks to prove himself. Or traded after 50 major league at bats.
I am thinking Bavasi solves the Clement problem by trading him and Morrow to Reds for Griffey. Fits with what they paid for Bedard and think they see Griffey as a fixture for next three years. This is Bavasi’s biggest achilles heal is that he has no idea about evaluating talent and what he has – a stud middle of the order guy like Griffey (not to mention Vidro) must be worth a measley #2 .167 hitting catcher and a young but wild thing reliever like BM.
Seriously? We already overpaid for Bedard, who is one of the better pitchers in the AL and is still in his prime. Griffey is 38 and near the end of the line.
Wlad, Clement, Morrow, Triunfel and Aumont should be untouchable in trade talks for Griffey. The key phrase is “should be”, but I’m holding my breath.
104 “paulkersey”:
Well since this years payroll doesn’t count towards next years payroll in Mariners Math… And this team, I believe, needs to do something sooner than later to slow down the erosion of the fan base. Once you lose a fan it takes a whole lot more to get them back. These “fair weather” fans (opposed to us fairly weathered fans) need something to hold their interest until the team starts winning ballgames again.
It’s like that episosde of the Simpsons where the MLB spy satellite crashes in Springfield, and Mark McGwire hits “a couple dingers” to distract the crowd, while the evidence is removed.
So who wants to see Griffey hit a couple dingers??!!