710 ESPN Seattle's Shannon Drayer
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E-mail thisApologies for not checking in sooner. I am actually working two full weeks doing updates in the office! Crazy. Not used to being confined to an office that isn't in the shape of a baseball diamond. Doing my best to stay out of trouble.
Thoughts on what happened with the team last week. I will start with Junior.
He is coming back for a twenty second season. Good I say. I am going to completely push aside the baseball reasons here. Personally, I wanted him back because quite simply there is no one I would rather walk into my workspace each day and see than Ken Griffey Jr. Pure and simple, it was something I looked forward to every day. He was that enjoyable and fun to be around and I know his teammates agree with me.
Ken Griffey Jr had no demands coming back. He told Jack Z that he wanted to come back and be a part of this if they would have him.
Some look at this as Jr needing baseball. I think otherwise. I think baseball needs Jr.
He has a beautiful family, unlimited recourses, and enough curiosity and interests to keep him busy for a lifetime. There have been many players I have covered through the years that I worried about what they would do when playing was no longer an option because baseball was all they did. Jr is not one of these players.
He is happy being a full time parent and husband. He loves to travel. In his down time he will take off with the family in his RV or boat. He takes pictures, he is working on his pilots license, he has a great network of friends that he has fun with. He has adventures in all points of the globe set up for when he retires and has time to turn his attention to those pursuits. He has his foundation and is active on the boards of others.
While there are things he will miss in the everyday life of baseball in getting to know I him I realize that he gets it. He gets how fortunate he is. He gets that baseball is a huge part of his life but there are other things out there that are important to him too.
He came back because he wanted to be a part of a team that is going in a positive direction. Money was not a factor. Playing time was not a factor. I would like to come back if they will have me he said.
Of course after 21 years he can afford this but still, to live it every day is another thing.
It is not frustrating to him that he cannot go out there and hit forty homeruns a season. He focuses on what he can do. Not for himself but for his team. Make no mistake. If he thought he were hurting the team, he would not be here.
I want to be a part of this, if they will have me.
They will have him. From Chuck to Jack to Don to Ichiro and every man on that roster the answer is yes, we would like to have him.
And for one more season, we will.
For two more seasons we will have Jack Wilson. With this team defense up the middle is a priority and you can't do much better defensively at short than Wilson. Offensively, he showed little in his time with the Mariners. I knew not to expect much, he was not known for his bat, but still the lack of offense was a concern.
What I have to remind myself is I am convinced that he was really pressing in his short time with the Mariners. I know he was anxious to show what he could do and tried to do so on a bad hamstring. You could tell it was eating him up shortly after he arrived. He also told us on the Hot Stove League Show (heard on 710ESPN Wednesdays from 6-8) that the unfamiliarity with the league both offensively and defensively was a killer for him. With time to get healthy and prepare I think we will see more of what he has been in Pittsburgh the last few years. Still not a great bat, but not an automatic out either.
The signing helps solidify the infield while perhaps displacing a future infielder. Carlos Triunfel was the shortstop of the future. Had he not spent the year on the DL last year we most likely would have seen him in September if not sooner. Some think that he could make up for lost time quickly and we could see him this year. Jack Z told us that he will be playing 2nd and 3rd in AFL and Winter Ball. So what of Jose Lopez? That remains to be seen.
Moving on. Mariners have been the darling of the hot stove season with their name popping up in all sorts of rumors. Today Jon Paul Morosi of foxsports.com reports that the team is interested in Edwin Jackson and has even exchanged names for a possible trade. Detroit is looking for young, cheap pitching and the Mariners do have some of that. You can read the article here.
The Mariners have had a flirtation with Jackson before and this could get even more interesting as the same article says that the M's are interested in Curtis Granderson as well. My one concern here, and it is a biggie, is he cannot hit lefties. Nice fielder, good against righties, top of the class in character but really struggles against lefties. If the Mariners were to sign him, they would need a huge bat at third and DH. I just don't see Granderson as part of the solution on offense but as with everything this offseason, I am going to wait until all of the puzzle pieces are in place.
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