Seattle Mariners Ken Griffey Jr. Misses At Bat For Nappy Time
Now Just A Shadow Of What Once Was
With high expectations and some major acquisitions this off-season the Seattle Mariners haven’t actually lived up to the hype going 12-19 to start the 2010 season. The terrible start has not only put the fans to sleep but sure to be Hall of Famer Ken Griffery Jr.
Griffery was sleeping in the clubhouse in the middle of the game when manager Don Wakamatsu came looking for him to be a pinch hitter late in the seventh inning for Rob Johnson. A teammate said Griffery went to get a jacket earlier in the game but never came back out and was found in his chair curled up.
The record of the Mariners and the lack of playing time for the 41 year-old has reports that the Mariners may release outfielder/DH later this month, if he doesn’t decide to retire instead. Griffey is hitting .208 with no home runs and just five runs batted in 77 at-bats this season mainly because his bat speed has slowed dramatically and struggles to even catch up to fastballs. This is coming after a year he hit .214 in 117 games.
As I found out yesterday we have to respect the process and after 21 years I would say even old-school has a tendency to not respect the process of your manager needing you to be ready, not in nappy nap time.
Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Mike Scioscia Wins American League Manager Of The Year
34 Would Be Proud
Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels of Anhiem had to endure the most emotionally season of his 10 seasons as leader of the Angels and that culminated in him selected as the 2009 American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
It was Scioscia’s second Manager of the Year award. He was named by the BBWAA in 2002, when the Angels claimed their first World Series title under his direction after entering the postseason as a Wild Card. Scioscia, who is the first manager in Major League history to pilot six postseason teams in his first 10 seasons, received 15 of a possible 28 first-place votes for 106 points.
The Twins’ Ron Gardenhire finished second with six first-place votes and 72 points. Joe Girardi of the Yankees (four first-place votes) was third, followed by the Mariners’ Don Wakamatsu (two), the Rangers’ Ron Washington (one) and the Tigers’ Jim Leyland.
Coping with the death of young pitcher Nick Adenhart in a car wreck on April 9, Scioscia and the Angels emerged from early struggles — they were 29-29 on June 11 — to take flight en route to a third consecutive AL West title, their fifth in six seasons.
In the AL Division Series, the Angels swept their October nemesis, Boston, in three games before falling in six games in the AL Championship Series to the Yankees, who went on to subdue the Phillies in the World Series.
With 97 wins, the Angels continued a run of excellence under Scioscia, whose teams have won 900 regular-season games in 10 seasons. His 567 victories over the past six seasons represent a Major League best — one more than Joe Torre has achieved with the Yankees and Dodgers and two more than Terry Francona with the Red Sox.
