Ken Griffey Jr. Heading to the Windy City in a Trade That is Long Overdue

Paul Erskine by Correspondent Written on July 31, 2008
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The night after Griffey connected for his 608th career home run, he gained the opportunity to play for a World Series contender. The Reds and the Chicago White Sox have agreed to a trade that would send Griffey back to the AL pending Griffey's approval. 

Griffey has a full no trade clause, so he could refute the deal. It is expected that he will make that decision early this morning. It has yet to be released who the Reds would get in return for the former All-Star, but honestly, who cares.

Yes, he is one of the greatest players of our generation and the youngest kid in history at the time to reach 500 home runs, and one of six players to ever hit 600. But let us be honest, at $10 million a year you really expect more then a .250 average and 15 home runs from your third spot in the lineup. Couple that with the lack of effort he visibly puts forth in the field, and it’s a wonder he has stayed around this long. 

The trade to Chicago will be good for him and the Reds. He will most likely ride the pine and swing the bat four times a night, which is what he should be doing at his age. He will give Chicago another weapon as they try to maintain their 1.5 game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central. 

He has been hitting at a .318 clip sense the All-star break, which is probably a main reason the Sox went out and got him. But, the fact remains that his situation in Cincinnati just did not bode well for him, or for the Reds. 

This will allow him to continue his career as a DH, which he can do for a very long time without having to worry about injuring that fragile body in the outfield and get the World Series ring he most definitely deserves. 

This allows the Reds to finally move past the "Griffey" age, in which their dreams came true in his acquisition, and then fell apart over the following years because of injury, and old age.

I am a fan of Ken Griffey Jr., but lets hope for his sake and the Reds organization sake that he accepts this one way ticket out of the Queen City!

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written on July 31, 2008 Breaking News

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