pokey

Oh my god, we have more whiners! Pokey Reese and Dmitri Young have now taken the bold step of telling the world that Ken Griffey Jr. is to blame for the Reds poor performance the past two years. Reese said things were better with Greg Vaughn in the clean-up spot. It was the dreaded “clubhouse chemistry” that did them in. Mmm hmm… I suppose it had nothing to do with their #1 starter being Elmer Dessens after perennial head-case Pete Harnisch was injured (shocking!).

AAHHHH!!!!!!!!! Ken Griffey Jr. gets preferential treatment from management. SO WHAT!?!?! Does that mean you stop playing hard? Little Kenny gets the big seat on the bus so you choose to strikeout more? To hell with throwing strikes, Ken Griffey Jr. got a bigger sandwich at the lunch buffet! My Word! You have got to be kidding me.

I know, Pokey, I know. If only that lousy Ken Griffey Jr. hadn’t shown up! You would have gotten at least two Cy Young caliber years out of Chris Reitsma, Lance Davis, Osvaldo Fernandez and Jose Acevedo.

And clearly, with that automatic out Ken Griffey Jr. in the line up, everyone was pitching around you, Pokey, to get to Griffey. He was clearly to blame for your .224 batting average and .284 on base percentage.

Meanwhile, your savior Greg Vaughn, that master of motivation, was motivating his teamates in Tampa to a 62-100 season, hitiing a robust .233 with 24 home runs.

As for Dmitri, yes he had a decent year, but something tells me that in the not-so-cozy confines of Comerica Park, comrade Dmitri will turn in to Lenny Harris

And Pokey! You didn’t like playing with Ken Ken so you did what any over-rated whiner would do; you signed with a team that has absolutely no chance of competing! That way, when you average doesn’t break .250 and your OBP again falls shy of .300 no one will really notice. They’ll be too busy watching Lloyd McClendon erupt or Derek Bell hit .134 or Jason Kendal hurt himself again.

Pokey, enjoy your two year exile to Hell. Dmitri, lets see the stats pile up with Bobby Higginson batting behind you. Have fun fellas. Meanwhile Ken Ken will be sipping his Evian with his feet up on your old locker stool, wondering if he should hit 50 or 60 home runs this year.

**Footnote**
Many of you know I can’t stand Ken Griffey Jr. That’s still true. I think he’s a whiney prima donna with no sense of humor that has lived a charmed life and still acts like the whole world is against him. But I'd still want him on my team. Seems like a long time ago that he was considered the best player in baseball but it was only two injury-filled seasons ago.