No Griffey? No Problem!

Hopefully for Braves fans, all the dust has settled from the team’s latest setback. I know it has for me.

But what you might not realize is that this could be a blessing in disguise.

In Griffey, you have a name and a pedigree. You have a former great, who considering all the steroids talk, deserves to be considered the greatest player of our generation.

The thing is, Griffey hasn’t been great in nearly 10 years. Griffey still has the name, the fans, and the pedigree, but the numbers and playing time have all but vanished.

Griffey Jr. was going to be nothing more than a role player, only playing three or four games a week, if that. Yes, “Griffey” has become a name.

If you look at the alternatives, they are quite enticing, and may even make you wonder why Frank Wren went after Griffey in the first place.

The No. 1 alternative, and the one I think Wren will look to, is to let the kids play. I think we’ll see a full-fledged platoon in left field between Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones.

While this is probably a decent alternative, it doesn’t get the fans excited. It won’t bring nearly as much excitement as the name “Griffey” apparently did, but it's still a reason to look to the future.

Plus, it saves a little money, so if Wren has to go after a big bat at the trade deadline, he has some extra cash, just in case the Braves are still in the hunt for October in late July.

Alternative No. 2, however, has to be Garret Anderson. I realize that less than 24 hours ago, I stated that the Braves should not go after the aging veteran, but after consulting the guy’s statistics, I have changed my mind drastically.

Anderson played in 145 games last year, 82 of those games in left field and the rest as a designated hitter.

He hit .293 with 15 homers and 84 RBI. In case you didn’t know, that’s exactly two more games, 44 more batting percentage points, and 13 RBI more than Griffey had.

Sure, he hit three less homers, but the 41 more hits and 12 fewer strikeouts, in my opinion, somewhat make up for the long ball differential.

I think Anderson gives Atlanta a player who technically would not need a straight platoon. He hit .290 in 124 at-bats against lefties last year, which is almost the exact same batting average he had against righties (.293).

Of course, playing DH helped Anderson rest his legs a lot, but he would definitely play more than Griffey was going to.

And consider this: Matt Diaz is a great guy to have on that bench. If you consider playing a limited platoon between Diaz and Anderson, it would free Bobby Cox up to use Diaz more in pinch-hit roles and late-inning switches. After all, Diaz has a career pinch-hitting average of .282. 

So, in my humble opinion , signing Garret Anderson would not only help the outfield production, it would increase flexibility in the lineup.

I don’t necessarily believe it will happen, but I would love to see Wren go after Garrett Anderson and do it SOON!