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By Sean McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 1:15 AM Thursday, May 13, 2010

DAYTON — Dragons hitting coach Ken Griffey has been around long enough to know how rumors start and spread.

So when reports surfaced of Ken Griffey Jr. napping when he should have been getting ready to pinch hit for the Seattle Mariners, his dad was skeptical.

“To me it’s all B.S.,” the elder Griffey said before the Dragons completed a three-game sweep of the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Wednesday, May 12, at Fifth Third Field. “That’s the way I feel about it. And you can quote me. I played in New York, and half the guys who write the (stories) are never there.”

After checking with Junior, Griffey said he came away satisfied that his Hall of Fame-bound son did nothing to warrant the resulting firestorm.

“He’s hanging in there,” Griffey said. “He’s just a little upset somebody would say something, then not follow up and come out and say why they did it. You can say whatever you want, but if you haven’t witnessed it, why would you open your mouth?”

According to a story in a Tacoma, Wash., newspaper, two anonymous Mariners said Junior was asleep in the clubhouse late in a game when his bat was needed.

“I don’t know what happened, but I talked to him about it, and he said, ‘Dad, I was standing by the rail,’ ” Griffey said. “He said, ‘I just got through talking to the starting pitcher for three innings and I was standing by the rail, right by the tunnel, and I was standing there the whole time.’ ”

Speculation is rampant regarding Junior’s future with the Mariners. Some think he will be released soon.

“There’s always rumors,” Griffey huffed. “If sportswriters don’t have rumors, sometimes they don’t have anything.”

Road woes mount

The Dragons left after the game for Midland, Mich., and a four-game series with the Great Lakes Loons beginning tonight.

They will seek to do something about a 2-12 road record. They have a .220 team batting average and 4.70 ERA away from home. At Fifth Third Field the numbers are .272 and 2.98, respectively.

“We’re like two different teams,” manager Todd Benzinger said. “It’s ridiculous.”

On their 0-6 trip to South Bend and Lake County last week, the Dragons batted .185.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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