We've heard the last few days over and over, "Ken Griffey Jr. wants to be on the Atlanta Braves." Apparently he's wanted it for a long time, but the time had never been right for both sides, until now. And now he's the best free agent option left for Atlanta.
No, he's not Adam Dunn. He's not Bobby Abreu. He's not even Raul Ibanez. In all likelihood he will be a shell of his former self. Maybe it's wrong to bet a spot on the roster that he can live up to being a starting outfielder (or even a good half of a platoon), but isn't it worth the gamble to see if he has one last good year left in him? If he doesn't cut it, then we're right back where we were a week ago; seeing if Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones and any other internal options can cut it.
This is a team Griffey's always wanted to play for, it's a team his dad played for, and sometimes a player can overcome pain and age to rise to the occasion. Perhaps this is Griffey, and he wants to go out on top, instead of wasting away. We shall see.
It looks like the answer will be near:
Griffey, 39, met Monday with Braves general manager Frank Wren in the Orlando area and was expected to decide by Tuesday whether to sign with Atlanta or Seattle, where he last played in 1999.
This is a good outcome. Griffey will be a public relations boost to a team that has taken a couple of big PR hits this off-season, and his rumored contract leaves room for another nostalgic return of Tom Glavine. Despite what Keith Law says, one of the main ways the Braves maintain fan loyalty is by retaining their homegrown players, sometimes for longer than they should.
The guys over at Rowland's Office dug up this great pic of Griffey Jr. looking at home in a Braves uni.
0 recs | 18 comments
Jr: “Dad, this team really sucks.”
Sr: “Yes son, yes we do.”
Jr: “They’re not gonna draft me are they?”
10-4 - February 16, 2009
We brought back...
…Senior when he had about zero left in the tank, might as well do it for his kid too. I still think this stinks…
RainDelay - February 16, 2009
I can't decide.
In the tradition of Spring Training, i’m leaning towards blind optimism. I usually do that every year, so why stop now. I think he’d be serviceable in a platoon, which is what we’re gonna have whether he signs or not. But at the same time, i’m curious to what Brandon Jones can do. So that leads back to blind optimism, whatever we go with. Ditto for Glavine.
10-4 - February 16, 2009
I am most definitely on the blind optimism train at this point.
I am also totally buying a Griffey Braves t-shirt if he signs with us.
mattdiaz4life - February 16, 2009
You just can't win, can you?
This is what you get for rooting for two teams. Deja vu.
royhobbs - February 17, 2009
Story of my friggin' life my friend.
RainDelay - February 18, 2009
fUNNY
Jessero - February 16, 2009
Make it hap'n, cap'n...
sdp - February 16, 2009
Ugh...
I would have rather had any of the other four bargain bin all hit/no field outfielders, and to be honest, I don’t get it at all. I realize the front office could have kept it all quiet, but I didn’t hear a single thing about going for Dunn, Burrell, Ibanez, or even Abreu. Griffey is simply a replacement level player at this point – worth all of .4 wins over the last two years combined. Both Diaz and Francoeur have been better over that same stretch, though both tanked in 2008.
If we really needed a cheap fix, why not bring Willie Harris back? The Nats have no plans of starting him, maybe we could have sent them one of our numerous cheap 5th starters in exchange. He’s not much of a hitter, but he covers the outfield better than 95% of the players in the game – +10 in center and +18 in left for his career.
Overall, if we pay anything more than 2 million for Griffey (if we sign him, of course) we’ve overpaid.
BraveBronco0121 - February 16, 2009
Griffey
I think Cox will start him out playing almost every day, which may or may not be a good idea. He SHOULD probably sit him against someone like Johan Santana. Cole Hamels maybe not so much since he actually doesn’t have such a split. But the fact is that Jr can’t catch up to a hard LHP fastball anymore, and Diaz has some of the quickest hands on the team.
FineHamAbounds - February 16, 2009
"one of the main ways the Braves maintain fan loyalty is by retaining their homegrown players, sometimes for longer than they should."
Like who?
Lennox - February 16, 2009
Francoeur, for one
That’s the specific argument Keith Law made. I may be in the minority, but I’m a huge Fenchy fan and would not be happy if the Braves had non-tendered him. The realist in me knows this year needs to be the last chance, but the fan in me still has hope.
Glavine is the other cited by Law as a sentimental (rather than practical) signing. Again, I personally think having Glavine as a 5th starter isn’t bad, but I’m not nearly as sentimental….never been a Glavine fan. But that’s me.
secondbass - February 17, 2009
I assume there are actual examples from the last 10-15 years of “homegrown” players that the Braves hold onto longer than they should to engender fan loyalty, and not just the two guys from this off-season that Law was talking about.
Lennox - February 17, 2009
yeah, but . . .
I think this is a move that can be made in order to show that we made a move. . . the free agent pool was weak in this area, the asking price should be low enough to leave a little for Glavine and a few extra bucks to go towards a trade either out the gate or at the deadline. I can’t really see a downside if he comes into it knowing he’ll probably be part of a platoon, and he really just adds another option in an outfield that after last season lacks a single solid piece without offensive question marks. Go Braves!
Meatloafin' - February 17, 2009
how was the FA OF pool weak
Dunn
Abreu
Ibanez
Burrel
Bradley
Griffey
Swo12bv - February 17, 2009
Grouping Griffey with those 5 is a joke.
bigjoe - February 17, 2009
fair point
touche sir
Swo12bv - February 17, 2009
Still opposed...
My methodology for a team trying to do any sort of re-tooling is that the goal is to get younger, cheaper, and more athletic. None of which describe Junior if he were to become a Brave. Sure, he’s likely more than a marginal upgrade from Brandon Jones, but his injury risk is concern to me, and nobody’s going to really convince me that he’s currently more athletic than Bjönes is. And if it were to go no-Griffey, and Bjönes gets hurt – the likely replacement would still be someone younger and athletic, be it whichever Blanco/Anderson isn’t the starter, or a cup of coffee for Jordan Schafer in an extreme case.
I’m not going to pretend like I know how baseball team economics go, but I’m curious to know if the Braves could just take whatever remaining $3-6 million they have left for player salaries, and just funnel that towards other organizational budgets, or if that $3-6 million is all they have left for everything in general. But it would be nice to not “settle” on one of the many 36+ injury-history OFs left, and put the money towards perhaps the the draft and throwing some fat bones to the kids, or some international amateur free agents or something of the sort.
royhobbs - February 17, 2009
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