The Old Jr. Is Not The Old Jr.

There is no sports figure in Seattle history as beloved as Ken Griffey Jr. We've watched "The Kid" throughout his entire career. From the dazzling circus catches in the outfield to the flawless home run swing to the charismatic smile Ken has always captivated Seattle sports fans. When he bolted to Cincinnati we felt betrayed. We knew they couldn't love him as much as we do. Eventually he found his way home and we welcomed him back with open arms. We knew he wasn't the same Jr. but we'd rather have him around with diminished skills than no Jr. at all. Even though the Mariners have had Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and Ichiro Seattle has always gravitated toward the Griffey mystique. He is an outstanding representative for the ball club and the fans still come to see him play. That being said it's time for Ken to go gently into that good night. I won't say he's washed up because I don't bad mouth Seattle sports legends, but he's hitting .224 with ZERO home runs and FOUR RBI's 25 games into the season. The Mariners have a dominant 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation and are surprisingly only 2 1/2 games out of first place as badly as they've played. It's not the humane thing to do, but it is the right thing to do. Ken is hurting the Mariners with his lack of production and he is a complete liability on the base paths. Does Don Wakamatsu have the guts to pull Seattle's prodigal son out of the lineup? He better if he wants to win. The writing is on the wall.