Seattle Needs Batting
The Seattle Mariners are a team now known for their one-two punch of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee. But the batting side is where trouble awaits. Many years ago, Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre were signed on to help Ichiro Suzuki in the batting department. That didn’t work out too well. Now, Ichiro still has nobody to help him. Ken Griffey Jr. is an all-time great who brings nostalgia to the team, but not much else. Aside from Ichiro, only one other player on the Mariners is even batting .250 this year. Chone Figgins was supposed to be a great acquisition, but his batting average is not even .200 more than mine is.
Cliff Lee has proven to be a great pick-up for Seattle. However, they clearly did not focus enough on batting. Ichiro continues to be his usual great self, but he is climbing up in age. At this rate, by the time he retires, the Mariners won’t have anyone batting over .250. The Mariners need serious batting help. Until then, I hope they will at least find the need to get employees for playoff viewing parties.
by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network
Griffey Should Have Hung ‘em Up
As much as it pains me to say this, I hate watching Ken Griffey Jr. still play for the Mariners. Its hard watching athletes play when they are merely a shell of their former selves, as Griffey is today. In his prime, Griffey was a 5 tool player who, if not for injuries, would have seriously and fairly challenged Hank Aaron’s all time home run record. Injuries throughout his career to his wrist, hamstrings, and knees have robbed us the chance to see Griffey play at the level he is capable of when healthy. Now, at 40 years old with severely diminished bat speed and no interest in playing the field anymore, its beyond time to move on. To his credit, even though he is certainly no longer the player he once was, Griffey seems to still enjoy the game and has become one of the great clubhouse guys in all of baseball. Prehaps Griffey, who has always seemed to have a legitimite love for the game, will one day make a great coach and mentor to younger players. Hopefully we will find out soon, because it is clear that his playing days are numbered.
by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network
Ken Griffey, Jr. May Not Return In 2010
Former Red Ken Griffey Jr. says he’s not sure if he’ll return for another year.
Mariners fans gave the Cincinnati native a standing ovation Sunday after their final game of the season.
The fans also cheered “One More Year,” asking Griffey to return to Seattle for another season in 2010. At the end of the game, he was carried off the field by his teammates.
The Mariners team Web site reports that Griffey is headed back to Florida to talk to his family. Griffey will be eligible for free agency next month.
Griffey’s last game with the team he started his Hall of Fame career with ended with a 4-3 over the Texas Rangers.
Click here to read the full article – By of KYpost.com
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Mariners perfect mix: Hernandez strong on mound and Griffey homers in Seattle’s 6-2 win
Ken Griffey Jr. started what might be his final homestand with career homer No. 628, and Felix Hernandez added another strong effort to his AL Cy Young Award resume in the Seattle Mariners’ 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.
Griffey has been mostly evasive about his future plans following the end of the season, but the Mariners icon jolted the meager crowd that showed up on a chilly night with a three-run homer off Oakland starter Trevor Cahill in the fifth inning.
Cahill became the 406th different pitcher to give up a long ball to Griffey in his storied career. Cahill (10-13) was just 13 months old when Griffey smacked his first career homer off Eric King on April 10, 1989.
Griffey’s homer gave Seattle a 5-1 lead and was more than enough run support for Hernandez, who bolstered the best season of his young career on a night he didn’t have his best stuff.
Hernandez (18-5) struggled with his control, walking four and hitting two batters, but lasted 7 2-3 innings and improved to 7-1 since Aug. 1. He gave up seven hits, struck out four and threw a season-high 120 pitches in his next-to-last start of 2009.
Mark Lowe struck out Cliff Pennington to end the eighth after Hernandez loaded the bases with two outs. Seattle closer David Aardsma gave up a two-run single to Kurt Suzuki in the ninth, before getting the final two outs.
Oakland missed its opportunity to capitalize on Hernandez’s early struggles, failing to score with runners at first and second and no outs in the second, and with runners on second and third and two outs in the third.
Mark Ellis had an RBI single in the fourth, but the A’s left runners at second and third in that inning as well.
Hernandez is among the favorites for the Cy Young in the American League. For wins, he trails only CC Sabathia, who has 19, and his 2.48 ERA is second to Kansas City’s Zack Greinke (2.06).
Hernandez will start Sunday in the season finale against Texas.
Click here to read the full article – By TIM BOOTH of Courant.com
Seattle Mariners Sports Memorabilia
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