Daily Dan Sports Blog

It was time.

I’m sure it was as painful watching Willie Mays play out the string in New York. At least this one ended before the season got more embarrassing.

There are a lot of similarities between Ken Griffey Jr. and the Say Hey Kid. They were both the best player in the game for a about a decade playing centerfield. They both had a great charisma and personality that engaged the baseball world. Both had great nicknames indicating the childlike way they approached the game. Gold Gloves, MVP, 22 years in the league, 600-plus home runs…

Griffey left Safeco Field as he wanted. No fanfare; no grand goodbye. Who knows if he was forced to retire as some newspaper reports claim. I guess I will just always believe this was his time and his decision. I wish I could have seen him one last time. I’m heading to Safeco Field in 3 weeks to watch th M’s play the Cubs and Lou Piniella. That would have been nice to see Junior take a last swing.

Regardless, it was time. I remember all the great plays, big hits, and circus catches. Here are mu top 5 Griffey memories…

1. Rounding third and coming for home in the 1995 playoffs against the Yankees. The great slide to score the winning run and sending the M’s the the ALCS.

2. The Spiderman catch in centerfield in the Kingdome when he shattered his wrist.

3. The 8 consecutive games with a HR.

4. His back-to-back home runs with his dad against the Angels.

5. His opening day HR against the Twins last year when he returned.

What are yours?

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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There is now a Facebook Fan page out calling for Larry Larue of the Tacoma News Tribune to quit because of the story he wrote on Ken Griffey Jr. It claims that “Larry LaRue was the mouth for two unnamed Mariners players who decided to talk behind Ken Griffey Jr.’s back through the media. Against better journalistic judegment LaRue published the story.”

C’mon people…get a grip!

Larue is a 30-year plus veteran beat writer. He is extremely well respected in the industry and the Mariners organization. He doesn’t fabricate stories. He has an obligation to report what he learns. He isn’t employed by the Mariners, nor is a shill for them. The problem is inside the M’s clubhouse in a lot of areas.

1 – If Griffey were even producing like last year, this wouldn’t be an issue. The reality is he’s not, and he’s looking worse as the season goes on. As much as I wanted him back, I’m not so sure the end is going to look as good as it would have last year.

2 – Two players talked. Larue didn’t hold a gun to their head to say Griffey was in the clubhouse snoozing. What’s their purpose or agenda for talking?

3 – Mike Sweeney is now trying to fight people. In the players only meeting, Sweeney called out the snitches and offered to fight them. No takers. What a shocker. Which led Sweeney to say the story was fabricated. Wrong. I get the hunkering down in the clubhouse, but seriously.

Yea, the Mariners got a much needed road win in Baltimore last night. thanks mainly to the brilliance of Cliff Lee. Griffey went 0-3 and is now hitting .200 at the “designated hitter” spot.

Look, I’m a huge Ken Griffey Jr. fan. As far as I’m concerned, he can ride out the year and hope for some sparks of glory the rest of the way. However, that should be as a pinch hitter and occasional DH. This team put it out there in picking up Lee to make a run THIS year. This offensive lineup that includes Griffey won’t get it done. It’s time to make some hard choices.

Let’s hope Trader Jack isn’t asleep in his office.

© 2010 Dan Weedin. All Rights Reserved

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1 – The Seahawks Defense isn’t that bad. Chris Johnson got his 2,000 yards but it took hm 38 attempts. Overall, 17 points given up against a pretty good offense (8-2 the last 10 games) is decent. The D-Line still needs help and a guy like Carlos Dunlap from Florida would look great rushing off the end.

2 – The Hawks and Broncos losses give us the 6th and 14th picks in the April NFL Draft. There’s an opportunity to get well quickly through good drafting. Keep your fingers crossed on getting a savvy General Manager.

3 – It was a thrill to see Ken Griffey Jr. raise the 12th Man Flag before the game.  Probably the highlight of the day.

4 – New Orleans, Indianapolis, Arizona and Philadelphia are in trouble.  The former two get a BYE to re-group, but definitely lack momentum. The latter two got slaughtered by the teams they will face next week in the playoffs. Green Bay and Dallas are smoking hot and that usually equals success in the playoffs. My two early upset picks for next week – Green Bay over Arizona and Baltimore over New England.

5 – There’s nothing as great as going to a ball game with your family. Doesn’t matter the sport; doesn’t matter the futility of the team. That’s one of the great gifts sports gives us. The opportunity to enjoy each others company and root, root, root for the home team together. I’m glad my family got that chance to start of this decade right.

Extra Points:

• The Wes Welker injury is a great reminder of why teams will rest key players during the last game. Welker, who led the NFL with 123 receptions, tore his ACL and MCL and is lost to the Pats for the playoffs.
• The Huskies took a big hit at home against Oregon. Ouch. Oregon came up to the state and beat both the Dawgs and Cougars. Looks like they are back as a program after a two-year hiatus to the bottom of the conference.
• Mariners Fan Fest is January 30-31. I went last year and highly recommend it as a fun event for the family.

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