Teams lining up for Griffey

2009-01-06T10:46:46-05:00

<div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/p1.griffey1.jpg" alt="P1" width="300" height="468" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes" style="text-align: left;">Ken Griffey Jr. battled a knee injury last year, which he hid. <br />David Banks/Getty Images</div> </div> <p>Five teams have shown interest in future Hall of Famer <strong>Ken Griffey Jr.</strong>, his longtime agent <strong>Brian Goldberg</strong> said. According to Goldberg, three American League teams and two NL teams have expressed some level of interest. The Mariners and Rays are known to be two of the AL teams eyeing Griffey, who'd like to play at least one more season.<br />    <br />Another friend of Griffey's said last year that the all-time great would love to play for Tampa Bay, which is less than two hours from his Orlando home. Griffey always has been a dedicated family man, so the convenience would appeal to him. The Rays are looking for one or two hitters, and while Griffey's on their list, a couple other younger players, such as <strong>Bobby Abreu</strong>, <strong>Pat Burrell,</strong> and perhaps <strong>Jason Giambi</strong> or <strong>Garrett Anderson</strong> may be higher on it. <strong>Adam Dunn</strong> is another big hitter in a free-agent market still stacked with sluggers.</p> <p>Seattle would be a nostalgic destination for Griffey. While the Mariners are rebuilding, the Mariners could view Griffey as an aid to their young players, and a draw for fans.</p> Teams lining up for Griffey

2009-01-04T10:58:54-05:00

2009-01-06T10:46:46-05:00

163

Geeon

Patchogue 180280

50 Burrell was signed That ends this thread !!! 3876423

2009-01-06T05:16:38-05:00

YazFan

Oceanside 109835

49 The Rays are going to be a strong team for a while. Great young pitching coming up. Solid team core for another 4-5 years running with a great starting staff already. They could run off a dynasty in the next few years. If you think they are flukes think again. 3874364

2009-01-06T05:13:37-05:00

YazFan

Oceanside 109835

48 Why do some of you people have to rip into the Rays fan base. They had no money to work with, competing in the toughest division in baseball, and they finally got to the playoffs and then some of you have to pick on them. Pick on the Yankees instead, who have all the money in the world and still find a way to mess it up. 3874362

2009-01-05T15:32:10-05:00

1118

Yankee27

Castaic 188694

47 Rays no longer an option. Burrell to the Rays, 2 years $16 3869035

2009-01-05T14:38:44-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/652/122/thumb/Chicago_Cubs.bmp 2 TN

CubsFan1981

Collierville 652762

46 You know, I haven't seen it in reply to rabid_pro's post yet, but I remember when I was a child...baseball always spent the spring in Florida, and about half the teams still do. There is NOTHING baseball-wise that you could know that NOBODY in Florida knows, but I can almost guarantee that there are a great many things Florida-based fans know that you wouldn't. When I lived there we spent weeks going to spring training games, attending press conferences, all kinds of things baseball. Baseball has been the spring time home for baseball LONG before it had a permanent home there. 3868150

2009-01-05T13:34:02-05:00

1118

Yankee27

Castaic 188694

45 I dont see this move as improving the Rays. They should be after Abreu... he fits their needs better. Better avg, OBP, more HRs, 100 RBI, 20 SBs. 3867314

2009-01-05T09:33:45-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/605/723/thumb/Peter_Griffin.png 580 CT

boysfansince1975

Meriden 606363

44 The only place they should be lining up is to get his signature on an old baseball card at a Saturday memorabilia show for the retired players. I predict he plays in 60 games, bats .245 with 5 HR and 25 RBIs. He will be on IR by late August and that will be all she wrote for Griffey. Put a fork in him hes seen better days. 3863806

2009-01-04T12:58:50-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/453/999/thumb/n669191717_1952358_7869.jpg 19 FL

TBfan

Naples 454439

Griffey should just go back to the MARINERS and ride off into the sunset where no matter what he does the fans will still love him and send him off in style. Going to the RAYS with their 1/2 full ballparks and their lukewarm fan reception will just make his decline that much more sad. The RAYS "fans" are terrible bandwagon jumpers and some of the more ignorant baseball fans around...most probably don't even know what Jr. has done in his career. What a sad end that would be...a sad cow-bell soaked end...

9 Wow. I'm sorry that the fans weren't immediately responsive to the Rays and their new culture of winning, but calling us ignorant and band-wagon fans is absolutely untrue. I've been a fan since 2000 when my uncle took me to my first baseball game when I was 11. I know plenty of friends who have been true fans for years now and we know plenty enough about baseball to know what Griffey has done. Tampa is no different than any other city, just without the fortune of having the great dispensable income or tradition that Boston and New York have. 3858944

2009-01-05T09:03:39-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/599/300/thumb/hathaway.jpg 166 NH

TeksMissingPower

Manchester 599940

Wow. I'm sorry that the fans weren't immediately responsive to the Rays and their new culture of winning, but calling us ignorant and band-wagon fans is absolutely untrue. I've been a fan since 2000 when my uncle took me to my first baseball game when I was 11. I know plenty of friends who have been true fans for years now and we know plenty enough about baseball to know what Griffey has done. Tampa is no different than any other city, just without the fortune of having the great dispensable income or tradition that Boston and New York have.

43 I agree. I'm a dyed in the wool Red Sox fan and I welcome the fans of the Rays to the big stage. You've still got a new team with a short history. Your team made a giant leap forward last year and it will be fun seeing how it goes about staying on the top of the pile. Enjoy what your team did last year, look forward to the future and enjoy building your own traditions. See you next season! 3863434

2009-01-04T13:49:02-05:00

The Hurricane

Spring Hill 97148

14 Part of the problem that many people outside of Central Florida don't understand is that even though there are alot of people in the "Tampa Bay Area," it is still VERY spread out. The University of South Florida is in North Tampa and it takes about 40 minutes to get from there to the Trop. That also doesn't include what happens when I-4 is backed up and holding up traffic on 275--tack on at least another 15 minutes on a good day if that is the case. The problem isn't people. The problem is that it is well over an hour drive from most suburbs of Tampa to Tropicana Field and then it takes 20 minutes to park. Most people also don't realize that the Trop is in St. Petersburg, not Tampa. That involves crossing long bridges with bad traffic if you're headed to the game from Tampa or for Bradenton/Sarasota. It is a complex problem that doesn't have any real solution yet. It just isn't easy to make it through traffic for a game because you also have to leave work early and we don't have the benefit of a train or subway system here in Florida. People in the Bay Area are proud of their teams, it just isn't always easy to get people inside the stadium. 3859222

2009-01-05T08:21:05-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/493/352/thumb/IbisDaU.jpg 744 Fl

RobPLS

Royal Palm Beach 493792

Part of the problem that many people outside of Central Florida don't understand is that even though there are alot of people in the "Tampa Bay Area," it is still VERY spread out. The University of South Florida is in North Tampa and it takes about 40 minutes to get from there to the Trop. That also doesn't include what happens when I-4 is backed up and holding up traffic on 275--tack on at least another 15 minutes on a good day if that is the case. The problem isn't people. The problem is that it is well over an hour drive from most suburbs of Tampa to Tropicana Field and then it takes 20 minutes to park. Most people also don't realize that the Trop is in St. Petersburg, not Tampa. That involves crossing long bridges with bad traffic if you're headed to the game from Tampa or for Bradenton/Sarasota. It is a complex problem that doesn't have any real solution yet. It just isn't easy to make it through traffic for a game because you also have to leave work early and we don't have the benefit of a train or subway system here in Florida. People in the Bay Area are proud of their teams, it just isn't always easy to get people inside the stadium.

42 Can't agree less with this comment. I've driven from the East Coast several times to see TB play and have found it very easy to get in and out of the stadium fairly quickly. This includes week days and week ends. I've seen traffic a lot worse in other cities. Until this fall, you could go to any TB game and find there were more fans for the visitors than the home team. The problem is most of the Baseball fans in TB are from somewhere else. If TB continues to play well, they will eventually win over the locals. if they pull a Marlins and sell off, they will suffer the same fate. 3863176

2009-01-04T12:50:27-05:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/557/174/thumb/DUALCHAMPS.jpg 18 FL

MacMucci

Sebastian 557654

8 I am not a Rays fan, but I grew up in the TB area. The people of Tampa-St. Pete are just as knowledgeable as the people of NY or MA when it comes to sports. After all, almost everyone in Florida has roots in the North East. Rabid-Pro is just another New Englander who thinks he knows everything, and who thinks everything in the north is SOOO much better than the south. The Rays suffer from the same market economics as teams like KC, Florida, and San Diego - older ball parks in smaller markets that are dominated by larger, global teams like St. Louis, Atlanta and Los Angeles. 3858780

2009-01-04T23:43:23-05:00

blyekin

San Luis Obispo 253040

I am not a Rays fan, but I grew up in the TB area. The people of Tampa-St. Pete are just as knowledgeable as the people of NY or MA when it comes to sports. After all, almost everyone in Florida has roots in the North East. Rabid-Pro is just another New Englander who thinks he knows everything, and who thinks everything in the north is SOOO much better than the south. The Rays suffer from the same market economics as teams like KC, Florida, and San Diego - older ball parks in smaller markets that are dominated by larger, global teams like St. Louis, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

41 I wish my team played in an "old" ball park like the padres do. One of the newest/nicest parks in baseball. But yes, Jr needs to go to seattle and finish out his career there. Him in a TB uniform will look terribly awkward (kinda like a white sox jersey). 3862474

Jon Heyman

New York 10084