Sleeping Beauty.

You've heard of sleeping on the job. Of course, you'd never do such a thing, but all of us have heard that it's happened before. What happens if you're a future MLB Hall of Fame player who's fallen asleep during a baseball game? A game in which your team is playing?

Ken Griffey Jr, the Mariners outfielder and designated hitter, allegedly fell into dream land, while his teammates were playing an "unspecified" game.

Unnamed Mariners are alleging, that Jr. was unavailable to pinch hit, because he was catching his zzzz's in the clubhouse. What does a pinch hitter do for his team? A pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Pinch hitters don't necessarily have to play in the game prior to being put into the line-up. Often times they're used to replace a player on the starting line up, if the manager believes they have a better chance of scoring. Ken Griffey Jr. is that guy.

Griffey, who began his career in Seattle, and returned back to the Mariners last season, is one of the most beloved athletes to every play in the Emerald City. He re-signed a $2 million contract to continue playing with the M's for 2010.

Juniors father, Ken Griffey Sr, is a Cincinnati Reds MLB Hall of Famer. Junior is poised to follow in his fathers footsteps, and be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Griffey has won ten golden glove awards to date.

Griffey's younger teammates, spilled-the-beans to Tacoma News Tribune, calling out the Baseball Great. The names of the Griffey tattle-tells have yet to come forward. The Tribune reports that a "younger" member of the team went into the clubhouse to retrieve his coat, and found Griffey fast asleep. Griffey has since called for his gossipy teammates to announce themselves, quoting "I'm just hoping that whoever said it be man enough to come and say something to me."

When asked if he caught shut-eye in the clubhouse, Griffey responded "I can't win this. I'm not trying to. So, it's simple. There are some things that are accurate and that's it. I'll leave it at that." Another reporter, Ken Rosenthal of FOX, asked Griffey to share his side of the story. "I'm available all the time. So, like I said. There are some issues that are not true in the situation."

While Griffey did not elaborate what truths were hidden into the story, he did make it very clear that he was available in the eighth inning, when called upon.
Though his performance this season has been staggering, to say the least, Griffey still remains a part of the Mariners line-up. However, after this incident, many M's fans say he's on his last leg, or shall we say, his last bat.

We can't help but feel a little sorry for 'ol Griff. One of the best Mariners of all time, he is, and will remain the cities "golden boy", however, like the old family dog who has fallen ill, what choice do you have?! Griffey has entered into his 40th year of life, perhaps the man just needed a little shut-eye? We remain hopeful. Like the Thelma Houston's 1976 disco hit, we can't help but proclaim, Griffey, Don't leave us this way...

Stay Lovely,

xoAng