Griffey: **** you, Atlanta [?!??]

[Sweezo]

If any Seattle fans thought Griffey actually cared about them or the franchise, so many years after he hijacked the franchise in demanding a trade to the Reds, well...no, not so much:

Ken Griffey Jr. has chosen to sign with the Braves, according to a person close to the veteran star and familiar with the on-going negotiations. Griffey and Braves general manager Frank Wren met Monday night in Orlando. Wren and Griffey’s agent were scheduled to meet today in an effort to finalize a deal.

The Braves would be adding a 13-time former All-Star who’s one of six players to hit 600 or more home runs.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2009/02/17/braves_griffey.html

So, let's see...he spends the entire offseason with little to no interest from any teams. His agent spends his time telling anyone who will listen that Griffey really really REALLY wants to come back to the M's. Jack Z seems hesitant and looks into all other options...the market craters, but they can't find a taker for any salary in order to spend any decent money on a bat.

Finally, the M's look at Griffey for their DH spot, and rumors abound that he's coming back to Seattle. Which then causes the Braves, who were also waiting in the weeds, to make a pitch for Griffey as their LF [?!] and possibly more money. Which Junior wastes no time in accepting.

Once again, the M's have been manipulated by Griffey. And as M's fans, we get the prize of...watching him embarrass himself in the field and break down again in a different uniform.

As a platoon DH, he'd have been a decent fit for us. But for Atlanta he's certainly doomed to fail. And at some point, you have to think Chuck Armstrong will want to move on...

[blackery3000]

While I agree with pretty much everything above, it looks like he's still mulling things over:

http://www.realgmbaseball.com/src_wiret ... en_braves/

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Ken Griffey Jr. has denied a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has opted to play for the Braves.

Griffey told MLB.com's Jim Street that he was "still kicking things around with my family and have not made a decision."

"This is the first time in my career that I have been a free agent," Griffey told MLB.com, "and it's nerve-wracking."

He is reportedly trying to decide between the Braves and Mariners.

[Sweezo]

Yeah, I know...that came out later in the day, further spinning everything on its head. He just needs to make a decision already!

If he comes to Seattle, fine, I'll cheer for him and be pleased to see him in his #24 uniform again.

If he goes to Atlanta, fine, the team is likely better off long term.

What irritates me is that the team doesn't need to be placed in a bidding war or used as a negotiation tool. If he wants to stay close to his family, great, but we've heard that rational before, and it's really not fair to spend the entire off-season having your agent pine over Seattle and how you really want to come back...and then when it finally seems to be coming to fruition, jump for another deal.

I'm not one of the fans who's pinned so much of their hopes on him coming here, but for those that have...I don't like the way he's dealing with this. Sure, business is business...but if you're not serious about coming here and finishing your career, then comments like that need not be uttered.

[Basketball Jesus]

Wouldn’t he be respecting the Mariners more by not bringing his moldy, useless carcass to Seattle?

[Ex-hippie]

Griffey is treating the M's as just another franchise and potential bidding source. That's his right, but it seems to me the team should respond in kind: treat him as just another 39-year-old, injury prone lefty bat who can't play a position. Offer whatever he's worth.

It's a sad, but probably true, commentary on Seattle fans as a group that the sentimentality of bringing him back would affect ticket sales. And I guess, theoretically, if he only provides +1 win (a value of, say, $2.5 million) but increases revenue the same amount as a +6 win guy would do, it would be rational to pursue him vigorously. But on the other hand, I'm still not sure we, the non-sentimental (dare I say "real") fans, should care. Can we count on the team to bank that added money and increase payroll accordingly in 2009? Or will it just increase the value of Nintendo stock? One thing I certainly don't see it doing is creating lasting goodwill, e.g., in the form of generating new fans who will stick around in the future; the people this will affect are nostalgia buffs who are typical Seattle fair-weather fans, and they'll remain as fickle as ever.

[Sweezo]

What. The. Hell.

Just over nine years to the day after he left, Ken Griffey Jr. is back with the Seattle Mariners.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer learned Tuesday that Griffey turned his back on a flirtation with the Atlanta Braves Wednesday and opted to take the Mariners' offer of an incentive-laden one-year contract for 2009.

He comes back to the team he helped build into a power while he was the best center fielder in the game as a 39-year-old left fielder and past-time designated hitter. That team is no longer a power and is coming off 101 losses

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/400612_griffey20.html