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Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy has retired from the Dayton Daily News after covering the Cincinnati Reds for 37 years. Hal's blog, though, will continue to be a must-read for Reds fans. He'll share his thoughts on the team this season and will file updates from Great American Ball Park. You also can catch Hal in print every Sunday in his popular Ask Hal columnHome > Blogs > The Real McCoy | Cincinnati Reds baseball news > Archives > 2008 > July > 31
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Jocketty: No to Griffey’s option
General manager Walt Jocketty said the Cincinnati Reds were not going to pick up Ken Griffey Jr.’s option for next year, so when the Chicago White Sox came calling Wednesday - out of the blue - he seized the opportunity.
“The White Sox didn’t call me until Wednesday afternoon and there had been no contact before then,” said Jocketty. “Surprised? Yes, I was.”
The deal unfolded rapidly and was not agreed upon until after Wednesday’s game in Houston, “Then Kenny Williams (Chicago GM) and I both had to get in contact with our owners for approval, then I had to sit down with Griffey and make the proposal.”
Jocketty said he received no potential roadblock from owner Bob Castellini and Jocketty said, “He was supportive and said whatever I thought was best in the short term and the long term. We received a couple of players we can control for a years years. We are retooling.”
Asked if this was a signal of things to come, Jocketty said, “That would be right. Ken Griffey Jr. was a big part of this franchise, but we are beginning a new era to build a long-term winner. We’re building a young team and this trade supplements us with a couple of young players.”
Does the future include Adam Dunn, who was not traded.
“We’re going to call Jerry Hairston Jr. back early from rehab (Friday) and he’ll play center field. We’ll move Jay Bruce to right and have Dunn in left,” said Jocketty. “My best answer is this gives us an opportunity to look at what the future might be.”
With 12 free agents, including marketable pitchers like Jeremy Affeldt and David Weathers, some though the Reds might do more.
“We had a couple of other things we could have done, but we chose not to do them because we didn’t think they would benefit us in the long run,” said Jocketty.
Jocketty said he though Griffey was a bit surprised when told he was traded and added, “I saw a very talented player in Griffey. The fans of Cincinnati had a Hall of Fame player who has had a distinguished career and hit 600 home runs. Fans saw Wednesday (Griffey homered) that he is still a force and he’ll help the White Sox a lot.
“The White Sox needed another bat and an outfielder, plus Kenny Williams has had interest in Griffey in the past,” said Jocketty. “And we were not going to pick up his ($16 million) option for next year.”
Asked if Griffey’s problem with broadcaster Jeff Brantley hastened the trade, Jocketty said, “No, absolutely not.”
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TweetSenior: Junior received death threats
Father knows best and Ken Griffey Sr. knows what his son went through, things people don’t know.
How about death threats during Griffey’s first three years in Cincinnati?
“When Seattle wanted to trade him, Cincinnati was the only team to which he wanted to go,” Griffey’s father, Ken Griffey Sr., said today. “He received threats to kill his family, kidnap his kids. When his family didn’t show up at games on time, to start the game, I could see his demeanor change. He didn’t care about the game. You could see it in his face. He wasn’t the same until his family showed up at the game.
“That’s why he never wanted pictures taken of Melissa (his wife) or the kids, and can you blame him?” Griffey added.
And the injuries?
“People have no idea what he went through in his career,” Griffey said. “The first time he broke his hand in Seattle, it was bad, man. I thought he might miss two years. They put a plate in his hand and he was back in six weeks. Then a screw came loose in the plate and he screwed it back in himself.”
Then there were all the injuries in Cincinnati.
“I’m proud of what he did and he doesn’t owe anybody anything,” he said. “I know what he went through. There is no doubt in my mind that without the injuries he would be right there with Barry Bonds right now in home runs. No doubt.”
Senior said he could see the trade coming, “Because I know the direction of the team and I can see in the minors what’s coming up.”
Griffey, who works for the Reds as a scout, said Junior called him at 2 a.m. this morning to tell him he had been traded and that the team needed his approval. He wanted advice.
“I told him he had a great eight-year run in Cincinnati, nothing to apologize for. With the injuries, it was amazing he reached 600 homers. A great accomplishment. I told him the only thing he didn’t have was the ring and that he should go for it. The White Sox have a chance to get him that ring.”
Senior said Junior said softly, “OK, dad. Thanks.”
About Griffey’s feud with broadcaster Jeff Brantley, Griffey said, “Brantley played the game and should know better. If he sat down and got to know Junior he would appreciate him more. Fans boo when you mess up. They’ll boo. They don’t need a broadcaster telling them they should boo more.”
And that was it.
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TweetJunior’s 5 a.m. farewell to Marty
Broadcaster Marty Brennaman was shocked that Ken Griffey Jr. was traded Wednesday and the way he discovered the trade was even more shocking.
The Cincinnati Reds arrived from Houston to their hotel in Washington at 5 a.m. this morning. As it happened, Griffey and Brennaman were on the elevator together headed for their rooms.
“I was on the seventh floor and he was on the sixth,” said Brennaman. “When the door opened for his floor, he stuck his briefcase against the door to block it and said, ‘Can we talk a minute?’ “
When Brennaman said yes, Griffey stuck out his hand and said, “I want to thank you for everything. You were fair with me.”
Said Brennaman, “What’s this all about?”
Griffey said, “I’ve been traded.”
Brennaman thought it was a typical Griffey gag and said, “C’mon, Griff. It’s 5 a.m. and we’re tired and let’s just go to bed.”
Griffey pulled out his cell phone and showed Brennaman a text message Griffey received from his Cincinnati-based agent, Brian Goldberg, confirming the trade to the Chicago White Sox.
“I was shocked,” said Brennaman. “I’m still shocked.”
Asked if he thought Griffey’s recent problems with a fan and with broadcaster Jeff Brantley had anything to do with the trade, Brennaman said, “If anything, it might have brought it to a head.”
Nothing was said to anybody after Wednesday’s 9-5 win over the Astros. Baker mentioned no trade to any of the media, but Griffey was absent from his locker.
Baker said he had no idea the trade was made until after the game, after the media left the clubhouse, and nothing was said to anybody until Griffey told Brennaman, although Griffey privately said his goodbyes to teammates.
“Griffey told me if he had it to do all over, he wouldn’t change a thing,” said Brennaman. “He’d still come to Cincinnati. He thought it was important for him to wear the uniform his father once wore. It was rather touching.”
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TweetUgly ending to Griffey era
The love-hate relationship between Ken Griffey Jr. and Cincinnati is over. The era that began in 2000 with great hope when he arrived ended Thursday with much malice when he was traded to the Chicago White Sox.
It came just two days after owner Bob Castellini said general manager Walt Jocketty was not instructed to dump salary. Amazingly, they did NOT dump salary. The Reds are getting a major-league relief pitcher and a minor-league second baseman and are PAYING the $4 million still owed on Griffey’s contract.
In other words, the Reds wanted to get rid of him in the worst way and did it in the worst way.
Injuries curtailed what might have been for Griffey in Cincinnati, and many fans resented him deeply for it and expressed it in the stands and on talk radio. They blamed him for the team’s seven straight losing seasons that coincide with his arrival and looks as that streak will continue into an eighth year.
Griffey didn’t take criticism lightly. He is thin-skinned when it comes to criticism and responded — sometimes with unkind words to fans in right field. And sometimes he responded to criticism by the team’s broadcasters, Marty Brennaman a couple of times and lately Jeff Brantley.
“I’m a lightning rod for everything that happens around here,” Griffey often said and manager Dusty Baker said, “Yeah, he told me that, too.”
On the last homestand Griffey reportedly cursed out a fan in right field and the fan told an usher, who wasn’t going to report it until a security guard told him he heard what Griffey said.
Then came the throat-cutting gesture and the mouthed epithets toward Brantley in the broadcast booth last Saturday in Cincinnati.
Did any of this play a part in Griffey’s departure? Nobody is saying, but it is known that Castellini was not happy about either incident. When he made his surprise visit to Houston on Tuesday, he reportedly talked to Griffey about it.
One now wonders if the real purpose of Castellini’s Houston visit was to discuss the departure of Griffey.
Griffey always has said he wanted to end his career playing in Cincinnati and it was thought he would turn down any trade. But if you aren’t wanted, why stay?
He was on the other end of this kind of trade during the Jim Bowden/Carl Lindner regime.
Lindner, owner at the time, wanted Griffey traded to dump salary after the team signed him to a nine-year, $116.5 million deal, with a $16 million club option for 2009. At the time, Griffey was not a 10-and-5 guy (10 years in the majors, five straight with his current team), so he couldn’t say no.
But on the other end of the trade, San Diego’s Phil Nevin did have a no-trade clause and invoked it, so Griffey stayed.
Griffey nearly went to the White Sox in 2006, but the Reds reportedly backed out when the Sox weren’t willing to take enough of Griffey’s salary. Now they aren’t being asked to take any of it. Play for the White Sox, be paid by the Reds. Interesting.
It is a sad ending to what might have been. The injuries and age robbed Griffey of what he was in Seattle and the fans expected to see The Kid, the young player who made the All-Century team for the 1900s.
They saw only glimpses of the superstar. What they saw most was a fast-deteriorating player in his late 30s, a guy who could no longer run and no longer played defense with the style and grace of his youth.
Fans, though, expected $116.5 million worth of talent. Griffey couldn’t give them what they wanted because he couldn’t, and it ended up that the fans resented him and he resented the fans.
“I was loved more on the road than I was at home,” he said. “I preferred playing on the road because I was accepted more.”
He was accepted on the road for what he once was. He was judged at home for what he is now, a shadow and a shell of what he once was.
Even though he was no longer productive enough to be a No. 3 hitter, Baker kept him there most of the season, mostly out of respect. But it no doubt hurt the team.
Adam Dunn or Brandon Phillips or even Jay Bruce probably would be better No. 3 hitters. It was often wondered why Baker just didn’t make out a lineup card and put Griffey sixth or seventh. What could he do?
Griffey made a lot of noise early when there was talk that he would be moved from center field to right field. Eventually, former manager Jerry Narron moved him to right and Griffey grudgingly accepted it. He didn’t like it, but he played it and kept his mouth shut.
Griffey furnished some excitement in Cincinnati during his chase for 500 home runs and then 600 home runs. But that’s all he became — a guy chasing home runs and not much else.
He was going to be gone after this season, anyway, and the Reds are going nowhere this year, so it probably was the right move to send him on his way while they could and get something for him.
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TweetDunn happy where he is
The clock is ticking and Adam Dunn doesn’t hear it. And he is more than happy about it, more than happy that his name isn’t being included in trade chatter around the league.
When he hit two home runs Wednesday in the Reds’ 9-5 win over the Houston Astros, it gave him 12 for the month of July, most in the majors, and 26 RBIs in July, most in the majors.
It is no coincidence that The Big Donkey, as he is affectionately referred to by teammates and friends, had a July explosion.
For those who have wondered if batting coach Brook Jacoby does anything other than lean on a bat during batting practice and spit sunflower seeds, listen to Dunn.
To Dunn, it is no surprise that July has been productive after a late-June session with batting instructor Brook Jacoby.
“We tweaked a few things — I hate that word tweak, it’s like tendinitis — it means nothing,” said Dunn.
Whatever tweaking Jacoby did meant a lot.
“I’m being more aggressive,” said Dunn. “Since the end of June, seems like forever ago. I’ve been swinging at pitches I’ve normally been taking. Maybe it’s the ash bats, I don’t know.”
Despite the upsurge in his offense, trade talk with Dunn’s name in it hasn’t surfaced much.
“I love it,” he said. “I don’t want to ever hear them. I hate it. The only time I hear it is through the media guys. I don’t watch TV, I don’t read the papers and, hard to believe, I don’t listen to the radio.”
Told that not listening to talk radio was a good idea, he said, “You think?”
The trade deadline is 4 o’clock this afternoon and Dunn said, with his fingers crossed, “I haven’t heard anything. I guess that’s good.”
Of Dunn, manager Dusty Baker said. “That’s fine with me that he has carried us for a month. That’s what the big boys do. They carry people and Adam is swinging as good as I’ve seen since I’ve been here. It is very, very welcome.”
SOMEBODY ASKED, so I figured it out. When the Reds open a three-game series Friday in Washington at Nationals Park, it will be a new venue for me.
The question? How many parks have you covered major-league games in?
I figured it up. Amazing. When I cover Friday’s game, Nationals Park will be my 50th major-league park.
NATIONAL LEAGUE - New York 1, Philadelphia 2, Florida 1, Atlanta 2, Washington 2, Chicaago 1, Milwaukee 2, St. Louis 3, Houston 2, Cincinnati 3, Arizona 1, Los Angeles 1, Colorado 2, San Francisco 2, San Diego 2, Montreal 2, Puerto Rico 1.
AMERICAN LEAGUE - Tampa Bay 1, Boston 1, New York 1, Toronto 1, Baltimore 2, Chicago 2, Minnesota 1, Detroit 2, Kansas City 1, Cleveland 2, Los Angeles 1, Texas 1, Oakland 1, Seattle 1.
My favorite National League Park: San Francisco. Best view, best food, best aesthetics.
My least favorite National League Park: The Sewer Hole that is Shea. I’ve covered my last game there, thank Abner Doubleday. The Astrodome used to be my least favorite, especially after one night as the place was nearly empty and I was writing my story I felt something nuzzle my foot. It was a rat as big as house cat. The echoes of my screams probably still bounce around the Dome, now used for tractor pulls and rodeos.
My favorite American League Park: Fenway Park. It’s all about the Green Monster. The first time I walked into the park, in 1975, I walked up a portal on the first base side and the first thing I saw was the 37-foot high left field wall. Honest to gosh it took my breath away. It really did.
My least favorite American Leagjue Park: Toronto. Hate artificial turf. Hate roofed stadium (although I give a pass to Minute Maid because the park is so nice, really different. One of my favorites. When they open the roof in Toronto, the place looks like a giant bandshell, an oversized Hollywood Bowl. I expect the Beatles or Metallica to start a concert instead of the Blue Jays starting a ballgame.
Tick, tick, tick. The clock is running on the trade deadline. Dunn stays. Bronson Arroyo stays. No major trades. Am I wrong. We’ll see, won’t we?
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