Ohio River floods thanks to Junior's tears

The big off-season move in baseball was that of Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey was considered a hero of the world for taking less money to play near his home with the Reds, however, it has not been the dream homecoming he had expected. Although his power numbers are where they have been in recent years, his average is dismal at best hovering around the .240 mark through most of the year. And who is to blame for his lackluster average? The Mariners. At least that's what Griffey is saying. We don't understand it either, but we'll try to explain. Griffey is claiming that Seattle is making him look like the bad guy after the deal made in the winter. Seattle has been atop the AL West for most of the year, largely due to the players they received from Cincinnati for Griffey. Griffey doesn't think the attention would be on him if Seattle weren't playing so well without him. Griffey's explanation is, "They got five people. Anybody can improve their team if they add $30 million to their payroll." Interesting that Cincinnati was forced to expand their payroll over $14 million just to sign Griffey to a long-term deal. He also added, "People had to made me look bad to justify the trade." Umm, what? Why does anyone have to make somebody else look bad to justify a trade? We're confused.

Griffey also complains that because he's being viewed as the bad guy in the media, his own popularity is suffering. Griffey believes everyone is out to get him for some reason or another and because of that, nobody likes him anymore. First of all, waah waah - get over it. Secondly, if nobody likes you anymore then how did you get voted into the All-Star game by the fans this year? Once again, it doesn't add up. Griffey has put up remarkable numbers over the past 10 years, so why is he so defensive about his struggles at the plate for one year? It's not like he doesn't have the chance to get on base every time he steps in. Defenses constantly use the shift on the infield when Griffey hits leaving the entire left side open. If you want to get people off your back, stick your pride in your back pocket, shoot some balls through the other way, and take some singles to lead off innings. It will raise your average, extend innings, and give your team a better chance to win games. Don't blame the Mariners for your bad season. I have yet to hear the Mariners come out and say "Ken Griffey Jr. made our baseball team bad. Now that we got rid of him we can finally win some games." I'll go out on a limb and say the Mariners won't say that at all this season. The Mariners are having a good season, the Reds are having a decent one. If you don't like people bashing you for your low average, get more hits. If you want us to feel sorry for you for taking less money ($116 million by the way) to play near your home, we won't do that. It was your decision to go there plain and simple. I respect the decision to be close to your family, but don't use that as an excuse. Just show up everyday, play hard, and stop crying. Please. (As you can see on the map, the Cherokee Trail of Tears did not actually go through Cincinnati so all the saltwater flowing in the Ohio River is Ken's.)

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