Seattle Times is reporting Jr. Signs Deal.

[Hawk096]

Rotoworld is also reporting this with the link coming from the Seattle Times. Here is the link, but it's a one-year deal for Junior to stay put in Seattle. Link:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/t ... marin.html

 

[seahawkscott19]

My emotional side loves this, but my rational side hates it.

 

[Fenom]

My emotional side loves this, but my rational side hates it.

"My ultimate goal is for the Mariners to get to and win the World Series". - Griffey

Clubhouse impact/19 homers in a split role at DH...sounds good to me.

 

[seahawkscott19]

My emotional side loves this, but my rational side hates it.

"My ultimate goal is for the Mariners to get to and win the World Series". - Griffey

Then he should retire and come back as our hitting/tickling coach. Giving a roster spot to a part time DH who's 40 and bats .214 isn't going to get us to the World Series.

I love Griffey just as much as anyone, but I'm a Mariner fan first, Griffey fan second. This move doesn't make any baseball sense.

 

[Fenom]

My emotional side loves this, but my rational side hates it.

"My ultimate goal is for the Mariners to get to and win the World Series". - Griffey

Then he should retire and come back as our hitting/tickling coach. Giving a roster spot to a part time DH who's 40 and bats .214 isn't going to get us to the World Series.

I love Griffey just as much as anyone, but I'm a Mariner fan first, Griffey fan second. This move doesn't make any baseball sense.

Baseball has became a business and this is a good business decision. Griffey draws in more attendance which brings in more money.

He also brings a better atmosphere to the clubhouse which will help keep guys here and attract players to come here. Nobody wants to play in a clubhouse where nobody is joking around or having fun.

 

[seahawkscott19]

Well, the 2009 attendance was lower than the miserable 2008 season, so I guess he didn't help all the much.

The chemistry argument is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You want to know what makes it a happy clubhouse, makes free agents want to come here, and increases attendance all at once? Winning. I've never heard of the Yankees signing someone because he's a fun guy to be around. And they've got 27 more championships than we have.

 

[Fenom]

Well, the 2009 attendance was lower than the miserable 2008 season, so I guess he didn't help all the much.

The chemistry argument is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You want to know what makes it a happy clubhouse, makes free agents want to come here, and increases attendance all at once? Winning. I've never heard of the Yankees signing someone because he's a fun guy to be around. And they've got 27 more championships than we have.

Why would the Yankees need clubhouse appeal? They're the Yankees...Their history attracts players.

 

[seahawkscott19]

"Why would the Yankees need clubhouse appeal? They're the Yankees...Their history attracts players."

That's exactly my point. They don't need "good chemistry" because they've actually won something. Winning solves everything, focusing on good clubhouse chemistry gets you 4 playoff appearances in 30 years.

I'll change my statement if that will make you happy. I've never heard of ANY team who has ever won anything say that they signed a guy because he seems like a fun guy. They sign them because they produce. Also, I've never heard of any player say he signed with a team because it seems like a fun clubhouse. They go places because they want to win.

The chemistry argument is like describing the ugly chick as having a good personality.

 

[SeaHawksHuddle]

I don't know. They were talking about it on the Brock and Salk show and had Ray Roberts talking about what it means to have a veteran who is a leader like Griffey in the clubhouse. He said it can make a world of difference and used John Randle as the perfect example.

Since you cannot measure intangibles, it makes it difficult to debate them as well.

 

[Fenom]

We'll just have to wait and see how it turns out. We all know his impact in the clubhouse, but it will be difficult to predict what he does in the batters box.

 

[bobflipaburger]

Well, the 2009 attendance was lower than the miserable 2008 season, so I guess he didn't help all the much.

I think you can probably attribute that to the economy more than anything. But I agree 100% with scott.. I love Griffey and wouldn't want to see him in any other uniform, but I'm not convinced we'll be a better team with him on the roster.

 

[Hawk096]

Scott I wouldn't say that about the Yankees. A lot of people close to the team say Nick Swisher's attitude helped the Yankees team chemistry out a lot. He had a calm laid back fun side that they hadn't had since the late 90's. Prior to that team they went through some tough time especially with the A-Rod drama. I think every team needs a chemistry. The M's might need more than just Jr. though. Look how the Yankees re-tooled their pitching rotation.

 

[bobflipaburger]

lol "re-tooled." You mean threw money at the 2 big pitching free agents... And this year it's going to happen again. Damon is going to leave and the Yankees are going to throw all of their cash at Matt Holliday and Erik Bedard.

 

[Hawk096]

They've thrown $ all the time, but it hasn't worked. They did re-tool the rotation. Past signees haven't had this good of an impact like CC and AJ. Look at Jeff Weaver and Kevin Brown just to name two. List goes on and on...

 

[seahawkscott19]

The Yankees signed Nick Swisher because he can produce and contribute to winning. He just happens to be a laid back, funny dude as well. The Mariners are signing Griffey solely for the purpose of "clubhouse chemistry", knowing full well that he isn't going to contribute all that much. There's a big difference between the two.

I hate having this argument because I love Griffey, but I just can't see this team being any better with Jr on it. This is why I wish he would have retired after last year, so we could have avoided this awkward situation.

Here's what Keith Law at ESPN said, and sadly, I kind of agree with him:
"He's just about useless as a player now, barely worth his roster spot, let alone the salary he'll be paid. I assume this was forced on GM Jack Zduriencik by ownership; if I was a GM and ownership tried to force an old, injury-prone, hostage-taking player like Griffey on me, I'd quit. You can't build a winning team playing silly sentimental games with players whose suns set eons ago."

 

[bobflipaburger]

Well we won't have Mike Sweeney here again so I guess going from 2 to 1 cheerleader is an improvement. We better stop sitting there being stubborn with Branyan. Offer him 2 years with an option for a 3rd. We need all the offense we can get and for a while last year he WAS our offense. I'd like to land a big name like Chapman or Holliday, but we'll get outbid for both of them.

 

[SeaHawksHuddle]

Zduriencik was on the Kevin Callabro show last night. Unless he is a really good PR person, he did spoke quite highly of having Griffey back.

This will only be a big deal if the club does not do well.