Ken Griffey Jr. lofted the 600th home run of his career into the barely occupied seats in right field at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium tonight.
It’s a shame it had to happen there — although he’ll tell you that having all his family there was more than worth it — where they’re lucky to get 20,000 people into the stadium made for football.
It’s kind of like when Tony Gwynn hit his 3,000th hit in Montreal in 1999. Sure they did their best to honor the soon-to-be hall of famer for his feat, but it was just a bit hollow in a stadium that wouldn’t even be used for baseball within a few years.
Even Junior’s wife, Melissa, told FSN Ohio’s Jeff Piceiro in an interview shortly after the blast that she wished he had done it in Cincinnati.
But oh well. It is what it is as they say. One of two things is likely to happen now. Either he relaxes — he has been hitting the ball OK when pitchers give him something to hit, just not out of the park — and starts helping this team, or the Reds trade him, likely to Seattle which would seem to be the only place the veteran would agree to go.
Bruuuuuuce
Work has kept me from posting much of late. Jay Bruce Mania hasn’t escaped me, however. I’m so excited about the kid, and who isn’t? He’s hit pretty much every day since he came up, with the exception of an 0-for-9 stretch that began in Philadelphia and ended with his second at bat in Florida last Friday.
I’ve watched him catapult through the farm system — seeing him in Dayton in 2006, and following his stops along the way — and he seems to be the total package. Even something that plagued him in the minors, striking out a lot and not walking enough, seems to have been reversed thus far.
Going back to the last post (The Trade) where I talked about the Reds dealing Josh Hamilton for tonight’s starter, Edinson Volquez, I often thought last summer about the possibility of having Bruce, Hamilton and Adam Dunn in the same lineup for years to come.
During a rough season, and last year was pretty rough, big time fans often begin to envision the future, which didn’t seem quite as bright as it currently does given the stable of young players who’ve made their Reds debut since last September.
I was one of those guys who began looking forward and my thoughts often turned to the outfield, where Junior, Dunn and Hamilton were playing last season, and Bruce would seemingly be in the near future.
My thinking was that either Junior or Dunn would be gone by 2009, while I didn’t really envision a trade of feel-good story Hamilton at that point. The only issue between the four was that they’re all left-handed batters.
Now I assume Junior will be gone after this season — a $16.5 million option won’t be picked up by the team, so the only way he comes back is if he decides to take substantially less from the club — and I also feel like owner Bob Castellini will get Dunn signed.
That means you will have an outfield with Bruce for sure, Dunn possibly and likely not Junior. That means you could see Ryan Freel patrolling center field when he can stay healthy. Norris Hopper will likely still be around and — more on this guy later — Jerry Hairston Jr. could stay with the team based on the things he’s done this year.
Notice I didn’t mention Corey Patterson? I don’t think he’ll be around. They overpaid for him this year at above $3 million, so I assume the team and he will part ways.
Look out for Joey Votto in a corner outfield position should 2008 first round draft pick Yonder Alonso shoot through the system after the University of Miami is finished in the College World Series.
Voltron
By the way, one of the great things about Edinson Volquez is that even with his mid-90s fast ball he can still locate at the hollow of the knees seemingly whenever he wants. His control has been so good. Obviously the numbers speak for themselves.
I go back to C. Trent Rosecrans, formerly of the Cincinnati Post, who put into words what I had been thinking after watching Volquez and Johnny Cueto make their first starts for the Reds. He said something to the effect of, “How many times have Reds fans been able to get amped up about watching a Reds player PITCH?”
In my world, I often record the game on my DVR if I have to work or have other things to do when the game starts. When the Reds bat I rarely fast forward, but usually if the Reds are on defense, I’ll skip through a few pitches at a time.
Not with Volquez. Everything about the way he gets things done is fun to watch. His mannerisms border on cocky, but he is an exuberant young player with that Dominican Republic flare not seen in Cincinnati since Jose Rijo notched the lowest ERA of the 1990s for the Reds.
Hairston injured
Hairston apparently broke a bone in his left thumb sliding into second early in the game tonight. That’s not good considering the Reds are already on their third shortstop of the season, and that Hairston had really solidified the lead off position.
Jeff Keppinger just left Sarasota to start a rehab assignment — Dusty Baker said before tonight’s game that he’d likely play third base at first until they’re sure he has the mobility he needs.
Here’s hoping he gets healthy quick!
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