Sox tried to get Griffey again, but were refused

[CincyRedsFan30]

Slumping Sox bolster efforts to pry Griffey

By Hal McCoy

Dayton Daily News

PITTSBURGH | Chicago radio and television stations reported Saturday that the Chicago White Sox have turned the heat up on the Cincinnati Reds to trade them Ken Griffey Jr., as if they held blow torches under General Manager Dan O'Brien's feet so he would say, "Yes, yes. Oh, yes, please take Griffey off our hands."

One radio station said the trade was done and all it needed was Griffey's OK, as is necessary.

What else is there to talk about on a rainy day when your team is in the tank, losing six of its last 10 and watching its American League Central lead shrivel from 14 games to eight?

When Reds manager Jerry Narron heard the report that the temperature is up in Chicago, he smiled and said, "I'll bet it is."

Of course, he meant the heat is on White Sox management to put a tourniquet on the losing and because Griffey is unstitching baseballs every day.

Chicago did call again this week, begging for a mercy trade to save them. Again they were refused, even though they offered to take on more of Griffey's salary.

Griffey saw the media approaching Saturday, held up his hands and said without being asked, "I'm not going to Chicago. I'm in Pittsburgh with the Cincinnati Reds, and that's where I'm staying."

Asked how he knew the question, he said, "The only time you guys make a beeline to me these days is to ask about a trade or if I'm Star of the Game."

As usual, Griffey treated it with humor. "I'm not talking about this without the presence of my attorney," he said with a laugh. "The ballclub has not made a formal offer to me, so there is nothing to say. Will I accept a trade? I haven't talked to anybody on the club about it."

There are four days left before this goofiness goes away, because if the White Sox don't get Griffey by Sept. 1, he won't be eligible for the postseason.

Dunn creeping close

Griffey hit two home runs Friday night, but the one Adam Dunn hit drew the oohs and aahs, even though Griffey's first homer went 417 feet to center and Dunn's 411 feet to right.

But it wasn't the distances, it was where they landed. Dunn's left the ballpark, cleared the bleachers and landed on a grassy knoll on the banks of the Allegheny River.

"That is one strong human," Griffey said of the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Dunn. "He's always going to hit them farther than me."

That brings up another subject involving Griffey and Dunn. In his first five years in the majors, Griffey hit 162 homers. This is Dunn's fifth season and he has 153, with 33 games left to play.

"Yeah, and I only played 66 games my first year," Dunn said to Griffey. "And you were concentrating on baseball before I ever played it. But, really, who cares? Who really cares? You'll probably still be playing after I retire."

Said Griffey, "Hey, I was 18 my first year and weighed about 195."

Pitching equals wins

After Friday's game, Reds starting pitchers were 12-4 with a 2.86 ERA the last 19 games, punctuating Narron's mantra that good pitching equals victories.

"If you pitch well all year, you are going to go into September every year in contention," he said. "Offensive teams are exciting, some people think, but all you have to do is go down the pitching statistics and you'll see who is in contention."

Freel staying home

Ryan Freel is eligible to come off the disabled list Wednesday, but it isn't expected to join the team in Houston. Freel had knee surgery Aug. 18, and he is throwing and hitting, "But his sore quadriceps is holding him up more than the knee, and while he is anxious to get back at it, I don't think he'll join us on this trip," Narron said.

[redsrbetter]

I wonder if the talks are continuing. Keep it up DanO! But he has to eventually tell them what he would take. Go get McCarthy!

[Geki Ace]

Griffey isn't going anywhere.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Griffey isn't going anywhere. The real sources continue to say it and I believe them.

[griffeyfan3]

i sure hope griffey doesnt go any where....i would love for griffey to end his career in cincy with about 600+ home runs.

[redsrbetter]

I honestly think it would be better for this organization to keep Griffey as well. This offseason the outfield crowd is going to have to be addressed. But, we would likely get a good deal for any one of these guys. reds fans, this years off season is going to be insane.

[Dam8610]

I wonder if the talks are continuing. Keep it up DanO! But he has to eventually tell them what he would take. Go get McCarthy!

I think that's where Kenny Williams draws the line. It seems like he wants to keep McCarthy and Anderson, and he thinks that everyone else is tradeable. That's why Chris Young was offered.

[CrazyEights]

The Reds have 4 Outfielders, and only can field 3 at the same time. A team like the Reds should focus more on keeping their younger players regardless of the cost. Trading Griffey for good prospects would make a lot of sense. The Reds still have one of the best offenses in baseball, and hopefully get some good young pitching to boot. Griffey's money can then be used in the free agent market. The reds would take a hit on the PR side, but they do that everytime Griffey is still a red and gets injured.

[Wally Mo Pena]

the things that makes me think is, if danO had ever said to the whitesox that griffey was unavailable, you'd think they wouldn't keep coming back. It seems more like DanO may have told them that they need to include certain players and take a certain amount of money before he would take it to griffey.

two days left, i think it might happen.

[redsrbetter]

Great point Wally. There is no way that Williams would kep the talks up if DanO is refusing the whole thing. But maybe DanO is refusing now and Williams is hoping they can get something done as they did a few months ago with this.

[CincyRedsFan30]

Griffey's going nowhere.

The Sox can keep asking all they want. Just because they ask over and over doesn't mean O'Brien is saying he's available. They could well be hoping that O'Brien will bend and then break if they keep increasing the offers for him, but that doesn't mean O'Brien has said that he is available.

[Wally Mo Pena]

The Sox can keep asking all they want. Just because they ask over and over doesn't mean O'Brien is saying he's available.

i know you're sure he's not going anywhere, you said that earlier in the thread. And i never said DanO was telling them he's "available," just that i doubt he's told them that griffey is "unavailable." I don't think DanO is shopping Grif, but with the whitesox needing to shore up their outfield, i doubt they would be spending so much time on Griffey if DanO had ever told them flat out, Griffey will not be traded. They would just be wasting their time. They might be anyway, but i think DanO must have left the door at least a little open.

There's a difference between letting everyone know that a player is ready to be moved, and telling a team that with the right offer something could get done, and i think DanO is probably working with the latter approach.

That, or all of this is just a media creation.

[CincyRedsFan30]

It's possible he's leaving the door open, but I think it will slam shut before it can get pulled all the way open.

[missionhockey21]

I think a lot of it is simple media creation. Griffey is hot once again and will keep the trade rumor segments alive via ESPN News or whatever. And I doubt Griffey is protected from any trade but what I gather (and it's hard to see the truth when you don't know whats real or not) Dan O probably asked a steep price (McCarthy for example and maybe someone else, who knows) in addition to the White Sox taking on the entire contract. Williams, despite wanting Jr., wouldnt want to pull that deal off and probably hoped that O'Brien would get desperate to unload the contract and would settle for something much below his initial asking point. In other words, I don't believe anything is about to go down.