Asleep In the Batter's Box

I don't know whether Ken Griffey snoozed in the clubhouse late in a game against the Angels, as reported by the Tacoma News Tribune. Frankly, I think Griffey ought to be snoozing on his couch at home rather than limping desolately through the post-useful portion of his career. And I can't blame anyone sleeping while the Mariners bat; it appears that's what their lineup does at the plate.

I don't know whether manager Don Wakamatsu is telling the truth when he denies that Junior was unavailable for pinch-hit duties because he was sawing wood. I'm not sure Junior's .489 OPS is much of a pinch-hitting upgrade on even the pitching coach.

Even if the story is completely true, as Griffey's shadow-boxing with the question suggests, it doesn't have anything to do with Seattle's 13-19 record. The fact that the sarcophagus of a former player fills a roster spot on a team desperate for a big league bat is a much bigger issue to me.

No, it was the actions of Cliff Lee in the wake of the story that I think merit a dressing down, and frankly, a suspension. Lee not only refused to answer questions asked by the story's reporter, Larry LaRue, he refused to answer any questions from any reporters unless LaRue left the room. This is a classic case of blaming the messenger. It also nearly convinces me that LaRue was right.

LaRue was doing his job, reporting what people in Seattle want to know about. He got the information from multiple teammates of Griffey, according to the story. Based on Griffey's dissembling when asked whether he was awake for the whole the game, LaRue hit upon some truth, if not all of it.

The Mariners have a right to be angry at the players who ratted out a city icon, but I doubt that's the issue here. The team has been an embarrassment, in part because Griffey has been an embarrassment and this episode just brought the cauldron to a boil. 

That's not Larry LaRue's fault. If a few more members of the M's lineup had been doing their jobs as well as LaRue did his, they wouldn't be in this predicament.

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