Salvage Heart

Sunday June 24: Mariners v. Reds. Somehow the matchup I'm most interested in seeing takes the longest to arrive. Interleague play drags on for years, and finally Cincinnati plays in Seattle, with Ken Griffey Jr. in tow.

Odds were good that Griffey, the best and most congenial of the Seattle superstars of the late-'90s (Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriquez his more sullen counterparts), would be on the DL by late June, or at the minimum, filling the DH spot by Game 3 of the series. Nonetheless, the boy and I hit Seattle with right field seats, six rows from the rail.

Pre-game autograph session (or "autos" in the common parlance) a success: J.J. Putz signed the boy's baseball card, and Morrow inked the cap (meaning, I guess, that I have to get a new Seattle cap). Massive Team Store visit a moderate success. Garlic Fries, a pass (they smelled great in the second inning, but avoiding the heartburn at the seventh inning stretch was well worth it).

Griffey smiled, joked, messed around, patted a kid on the back as he ran past. Hit two homeruns, and as I heard a half-dozen people remark, that and the Seattle win made for a perfect game (M's pitcher Batista, who served up the pair of solo dingers, might beg to differ). As much fun as Ichiro is to watch, having Griffey messing around in right field (with a couple of nice plays and a trap-door-sized divot kicked up along the way) is a preferable view to Ichiro's stretching (though which of the two manages to stay off the DL?).

Good game, good game. Post-game interview full of hints about the future, and Griffey's assertion that he always assumed he'd return to where he started. Really? Not everyone was convinced. Norm "The Sheriff" Charlton, who knows his way around a Reds uniform, questioned this in the post-game commentary.

Total cost for the one-day junket? Suffice to say we're watching Portland Beavers games from here until the playoffs.

The playoffs? Wow. It is after midnight, isn't it.

Labels: baseball, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners