Rain Delay

Junior's name now tangled with Bonds

More stuff regarding the never ending Bonds/Steroid use press, Steve Pearlman of ESPN the Magazine chimes in from his up coming Biography "Love Me, Hate Me: Barry Bonds and the Making of an Antihero." Now Ken Griffey Juniors name is bring brought up, as allegedly Bonds discussed Steroids over dinner with Junior. Bonds and Junior have been friends since, Juniors stint in the AZL as a 17 year-old prospect with the Mariners.

With Griffey's framed memorabilia as a backdrop, and Mark McGwire's obliteration of the single-season home run record a fresh memory, Bonds spoke up as he never had before. He sounded neither angry nor agitated, simply frustrated. "You know what," he said. "I had a helluva season last year, and nobody gave a crap. Nobody. As much as I've complained about McGwire and Canseco and all of the bull with steroids, I'm tired of fighting it. I turn 35 this year. I've got three or four good seasons left, and I wanna get paid. I'm just gonna start using some hard-core stuff, and hopefully it won't hurt my body. Then I'll get out of the game and be done with it."

Now both Griffy and Bonds have responded to what Pearlman has written.

When asked after the Giant's 3-2 win over Texas on Tuesday about the new book, Barry Bonds said: "Why do we have to go over this every time? Can we just talk baseball, please, please, please?"

Ken Griffey Jr. told reporters Tuesday at a U.S. team workout in Fullerton, Calif., that he doesn't recall a dinner conversation about steroids.

"I've been to Barry's house, he's been to my house since we were kids, so that is nothing new," Griffey said. "The conversation that supposedly happened, I don't ever remember happening. That's it. I just don't remember talking about the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"I know Barry differently than most people. Baseball is probably the furthest thing from his mind once the season is over. Once the season starts, that's when all hell breaks loose."

-- The Associated Press

I'm still not sure what to make of all this, really. I've never liked Bonds steroids or not, I've found him to be a egomaniac. But that's just one man's opinion, I just hate seeing someone like Griffey getting pulled into the funnel cloud that is the Bonds/Steroids saga. For how much longer are we going to have to endure this? Well I'm pretty sure we wont see an end, unless Bonds confesses that he did go on the juice, or that he's found innocent.

Boone calls it a career..

Well, just after talking about Boonie resurfacing with the Mets and a chance to win the Second Base job, he announced his retirement from the game today.

"Tell me this is April Fool's Day," Bob Boone said, hoping someone had flipped one extra page on his calendar.

"My father's having a tough time with this," Boone said, hours later as he stood outside the stretch limousine that would take him to Palm Beach International Airport and the rest of his life. Father Boone wasn't alone in that regard. At noon, the Mets' could-have-been second baseman had stood at his locker listening to the clubhouse attendants promising to pack and send the final remnants of his 14-year career to Seattle. And as he listened, his eyes glistened. "I'm sick of crying," he said.

Tears were not unexpected. The oldest baseball grandson of the late Ray Boone wasn't ending only his own career, he also was removing a branch from the family tree. And that made it harder on him. "We're a baseball family," is how Bret Boone put it.

So long Boonie, and thanks for the memories.

Boonie re-surfaces in Met Country

Being a Braves fan for most of my life, I've been brought up to hate the Mets and the Dodgers. Just like during the football season, I'm a Eagles fan therefore it's natural to hate the Cowboy's. That's why I'm torn, I've always had a soft spot for Bret Boone, when he was a Brave and Mariner. On one hand it's good to see he's in camp, albeit a minor-league deal. But it's with....the Mets.

He signed a minor-league deal with a non-roster invite, battling for the 2nd base gig with the Mets that could net him a cool Mill, will incentives upwards to over 500 grand. Last year was not kind to Bret, his career imploded and resulted in getting released from two teams inside a month.  He knew that if he was going to continue to play a game that runs in the family there was going to have to be some adjustments.

"Normally, when I'm really having a tough time, man, I'm mad after the game. But it was like, 'Is the game over now? Can I go home?' I had lost the passion."

What helped bring it back was sitting at home in Seattle in August and September, reduced to watching games on television and wondering what in the world had brought him to this point.

"I reflected on everything, and started getting that hunger back watching baseball games, thinking, 'I can't believe I'm sitting home.' I'm watching guys playing, and I'm going, 'Are you kidding me?' "

To his credit, Boone takes full blame for his demise and says the Mariners were justified in releasing him.

After working with his trainer that he used in his All-Star/MVP year he started working on his comback, even seeking the advice of Chili Davis a former Twin who lives in Emerald City.

"He said that it happened to him at the same age, that he lost that desire inside, and that he thought about walking away," Boone said. "He said I needed to rededicate myself if I wanted to still compete. He said he did, and he came back and had three or four more good years."

It's good to see he's back at it, I hope his career gets back on track even if for a short while. He's 37 and the clock is ticking. Though playing second base at Shea is his job to win, especially when your only competition is Kaz Matsui. Matsui, a Japanese import cost the Met's way to much cash for what he's delivered. They've been trying to dump his $8 million salary all winter. 

This could be the thing Bret needs to get back into the swing of things.

Good Luck Boonie.

The Spezmiester re-surfaces..

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to spring training.

The training complex at Roger Dean Stadium is like a Mariners nightmare flashback. Everywhere one turns, it seems, is a screaming reminder of ill-fated trades, misguided personnel decisions, and faded splendor.

On one side is the St. Louis Cardinals camp, where (cue the scary music) Scott Spiezio has resurfaced as a backup infield candidate. This may surprise those who believed, based on last year's .064 average, that Spiezio would have difficulty winning a backup job on a high-school team. Never mind a pennant contender.

But wait it doesn't end here, he then starts talking trash about his stay with the M's.

In various recent interviews, Spiezio has had the gall to intimate that his pathetic two-year stint with the Mariners was the fault of: a) stick-in-the-mud teammates who broke his spirit; and b) management that didn't give him a fair shot; rather than c) an abject inability to perform.

Empasis mine, and so's the hate. Yeah it was all the Mariners fault when your the DH hitting a robust .056. .056? There's the Medoza line, maybe there should be a Spezieo Line?

Bucky gone, signs with ChiSox

Bucky Jacobsen, signs with Minor League deal with World Champs.

He was a Mariners folk hero and then a Mariners discard, and now he's a member of the White Sox organization.

Bucky Jacobsen, who made an indelible impact in his brief Seattle tenure, on Friday signed a minor-league contract with Chicago. His agent, Joe Speed, said Jacobsen will report to the White Sox minor-league camp in Tucson, Ariz., on March 6.

Looks like he'll be 3rd on the depth chart, behind Kornerko and Thome. It's his knee that's really in question and was more than likely why the M's kept him off the 40 man roster, and made absolutly no effort to re-sign him.

The Buckster's stats via The Baseball Cube

Reds hire First Base Coach

Can't believe I missed this, but according to Red Hot Mama, the Cinncinati Reds re-hired Randy Whisler to take over the First Base coaching duties after John Moses retired Thursday.

Ken Griffey, father of the Reds' center fielder by the same name, had been thought to be a front-runner for the position. Griffey seemed to fit well with Castellini's stated desire to include more former Reds in the day-to-day activities of the team and could lend his experience with a winning Reds team. Plus, junior Griffey tends to hit better when his father is around; he's hit four home runs on his father's birthdays and four more on Father's Days throughout his career.

"Having Whisler as the first base coach gives us more flexibility," explained Narron. "He allows us to use [Griffey Sr] in more of a utility role.

Junior and Senior?

It looks like Senior could catch on with the Reds as the first base coach. He is already set to join Junior on Team USA where he will be the, get this..First-base coach in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. The Reds first base coaching job officially opened up on Thursday after the retirement of John Moses, and Griffey Senior will be interviewing for the job, along with 3 other candidates.

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- Ken Griffey Sr. is one of four candidates for the Cincinnati Reds' first base coaching job.

Manager Jerry Narron said Friday that he will discuss the job with Griffey, outfield and bunting instructor Ed Napoleon, minor league outfield and base running coordinator Lynn Jones and newly hired advance scout Pete Mackanin.

Really nothing else to say here, except I've always liked Senior, when he was a Brave and a Mariner.

Junior chomping at the bit

Ken Griffey Junior is eager to play in the WBC.  This is one guy that I didn't expect to actually play in the WBC. Think about it, the Kid isn't much a kid anymore and has a harder time staying healthy this side of, Chris Snelling.

Here's what Junior had to say to FoxSports.com:

Griffey went from high school to professional baseball in 1987, and never had a chance to represent the United States in the Olympics or an amateur competition.

"It's an opportunity I didn't get before turning pro," Griffey said. "I'd like to represent my country."

He'll be in camp with the Reds for about two weeks, then head to Arizona for the games, leaving his teammates behind.

"That's going to be weird," he said. "But I'll still be on the phone and looking at the paper in the morning (for Reds news)."

I don't see a major upside to the WBC, and I know I'm not alone, the concept is there it's just horrible timing. For the hitters it's not going to be all that hard, think about it they're just going to get a few more at bats to get ready for the season. But no pitcher will be up to throwing that hard by the time the "Classic" comes around. I know they put pitch counts on the pitchers and in the most extreme cases will be 90 pitches or so.

No pitcher is ready to throw that many pitches by the middle of March. I don't blame teams blocking their investments and talent from playing in the "Classic". This is all really, really bad timing, but when else would you play this? Do what the NHL is doing? Stop the season for a month? I can already hear the groans for that one.

So in closing I've just got this to say: Hey Junior! Don't pull a hammy!

Shiggy retires, Johjima on his way

Former All-Star and Mariners reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa calls it a career:

"I had some offers from other teams, but have decided to retire," Hasegawa said. "Unless I'm in perfect shape mentally and physically, I wouldn't be able to be an important part of a team."

Last season he pitched 48 innings on the way to a 1-3 record, with a 4.18 ERA. At the end of the season, the Mariners declined to pick up Shiggy's option for another year. There were rumors that he might have been picked up by SoCal team, but obviously that didn't come to fruition.

We're now less than a week from Mariners Fan Fest at SafeCo Field.  Over the weekend, newly acquired import from the land of the Rising Sun catcher Kenji Johjima headed off for Seattle. He will be in attendance this weekend at Fan Fest. He'll be introduced to the northwest media tomorrow, and will work out at SafeCo prior to heading out to Peoria, the Mariners spring training home to get an early start before the rest of the pitchers and catchers report. After 11 years in Japan, he's ready to start the next stage of his baseball career.

"Finally this day has come," Johjima told Kyodo News Service and other Japanese media outlets at a news conference before leaving for the long flight across the Pacific Ocean.

"I look forward to seeing how I improve as a baseball player through overcoming various barriers."

One of the questions coming into spring training, is his communication with the pitching staff.  He's been working on his English with tutors and will have a translator with him all season. From all indications he's ready to play.

"I'm in shape; I've trained quickly and smoothly," Johjima said before boarding his airplane. "I also spoke with Shigetoshi Hasegawa to confirm what I have learned about the Mariners pitching staff from videos."

[....]

"At first, I'll try to be the Mariner's starting catcher for Opening Day," he said. "I'm sure this year will go by quickly."

I don't think being the opening day catcher is going to be to far of a reach for Johjima. He's an All-Star and a Olympic Gold Medalist. I honestly can't wait to see what he has to offer, any thing's got to be better than the combination of catchers last year.

Here's his #'s from last season:

.309/.557/.381/.938 OPS  24HR 54RBI's in 116 games

Just that line right there, puts him far ahead of any M's catcher last year. It will be interesting to see the impact of a longer season on Kenji than he's used to.