| Kyle Trompeter. 18th August, 2005 - 3:59 am
 How can the White Sox possibly find a replacement in the order for a man who is leading all of baseball with 54 stolen bases? That player simply isn’t out there for the taking as the White Sox have sent OF Scott Podsednik to the 15 day DL with a strained left adductor.
But since the White Sox lost DH Frank Thomas for the season, the team has been looking for a big bat to replace the pop that the Big Hurt provides for the lineup. The best possible substitute for Thomas would be a guy who is hitting around .286 with 27 homers and about 81 RBI’s going into play on Tuesday.
Enter Ken Griffey Jr.
Griffey Jr. has cleared waivers as expected due to his rather large contract and could be had by any team if they are willing to take on Junior’s contract. But how many teams are capable of adding 41 million dollars onto their payroll? Not that many. The White Sox have been trying to obtain Griffey Jr. since before the July 31st trade deadline, but couldn’t hammer out a deal with the Reds.
Now that teams are able to make waiver trades, the White Sox are still interested in the Cincinnati slugger, who is having arguably his best season since the Reds acquired him before the 2000 season. To make the deal, the White Sox would need the Reds to eat a portion of the remainder of Griffey’s contract. Also, the Reds are hesitant to trade Junior as the team moves to new ownership because some feel that it would be a negative to lose such a marquee player and it would have a damaging effect on the team’s fan base.
Griffey Jr. would most likely jump into the designated hitter role with centerfield being marvelously occupied by Aaron Rowand. A plus to Junior being the DH would be him not having to play the field. Not because his defense is a question as his several gold gloves would prove otherwise. It’s a plus because it would make everyone in the White Sox organization breath easier as the somewhat fragile body of Griffey Jr. would not risk injury ranging from alley to alley. His stay in Cincy over the last five plus seasons has been literally a painful one. With numerous trips to the DL, mostly because of a bad hamstring, anytime Griffey Jr. can be in the lineup without the grind of playing nine innings in the field everyday is a good thing. In the long run, it may add a year or two onto his career.
For now, the White Sox will have OF Timo Perez lead off and play left field as the stand-in for Podsednik with Rowand and Jermaine Dye roaming the outfield grass alongside. Carl Everett (.269, 17, 67) is the everyday DH. If Griffey Jr. is thrown into the mix, Everett would strengthen a rather weak bench and Junior would be the DH. The designated hitters role would be a new one for Griffey Jr, , but with the White Sox staring a serious run in the playoffs right in the face, I think Griffey Jr. would be able to adapt. If a deal between the two teams is struck, the last obstacle is for Junior to waive his no trade clause. Considering the bleak state of the Cincinnati Reds, the decision should be a rather easy one. |
