Updated June 5
It's called "Love Letters" for ironic reasons, because they often aren't. I would have called it "Hate Mail" but I'm not as obvious as our guy Gregg Doyel (great, now he'll probably write me). Whatever, I'm blushing. This week's batch stays way too far toward the true "Love Letters" concept. Why, at times it's almost sappy. ...
From: Pat, Boston
Re.: The numbers don't lie -- next year could be this year
Scott,
Without a doubt, your piece on the Cubs today is the best sports-related article I have read in two years. I read it twice. I never read anything twice.
Aw shucks, Pat, thank you very much. Aw shucks, Pat, thank you very much. Aha, gotcha! Bet you just read something else twice!
From: Jeremy
Re.: Even as milestone approaches, Junior de-emphasizes his achievement
Excellent, excellent article on Griffey. The reason we aren't hearing more about 600 (homers) is because The Kid doesn't put himself in the spotlight and make himself a media darling, unlike the previous two men to enter the club. But then again, Griffey doesn't mind. It's a shame more people don't realize what a special talent Griffey is and what a privilege it is being able to watch him play.
The other reason we aren't hearing more about 600 homers is because he won't hit the darned thing.
From: True W.
Hi Scott,
This is one of the best articles I have ever read on this Web site, and I have been a user for at least the last five years. I live in Tacoma, Wash., and grew up watching the Kid, and of all of the players that have left any one of the Seattle teams, I never got rid of Ken Griffey Jr.'s jerseys. I wish there were more people like him in baseball and in the world. Thanks a lot Scott.
Cincinnati outfielder Adam Dunn agrees with you.
From: Mike D.
Hell, no drugs, no steroids ... Griffey is too clean, and the public doesn't like that.
People just aren't ever happy are they, Mike? That's one of the lessons here.
From: Ray T.
Scott,
Junior may have matured since the time of my story about him, but I witnessed him being one of the biggest jerks I've ever seen. It was spring training in AZ while he was still with Seattle, and Seattle had spring training at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Must have been the early-to-mid 90's. There were three or four kids, 9-to-10 years old, in the aisle, nearest the dugout, and they were trying to get Junior's attention for an autograph.
After several minutes of this, Junior turned around and said to them, 'Don't you kids have anything better to do than bother me all day?' I lost all respect for him that day. Unbelievable. I hope for his sake and his own kids' sake, he's grown up since then. Hard to be a fan of the guy, which I was then, when you witness something like that.
The no-win situation these guys are in is this: They can sign autographs 99 times in a row and turn someone down on time No. 100, and that person will think the guy is a jerk. I'm not saying that was the case in the instance you witnessed, Ray -- I don't know. I'm just saying, it's not an easy life in the public eye.
From: Chris G.
That was a great piece of writing about an exceptionally talented, humble baseball player. Thank you.
I've always enjoyed Junior..
From: Scooter
Hey, glad to see they got you some help, Pal! And a guy who covered the Tigers! Beautiful, maybe you two can swap stories about the '84 team. Anyway, the new guy (Danny Knobler) writes that Jay Bruce is the news in Cincinnati. And he mentions that Junior Griffey is eating french fries and burgers a few hours before a game!? Guess now I know why he's looking a lot like Gates Brown these days.
But seriously, I saw Griffey from Opening Day 1989 until he left in 1999. He was the best, period. For that 11 years, no one could touch him. You know, I've always felt bad for Reds fans. The guy they've watched for nine years is not the one I watched. Too bad.
You had me at hello, Scooter: I'm a sucker for Gates Brown references.
From: Keith P.
Howdy. A few items: I read that Clint got the Dirty Harry role only after Frank Sinatra turned it down. Can you see Ol' Blue Eyes singing the line, "Do you feel lucky punk -- scooby dooby do." RISP for White Sox in last 13 games is .182. ERA is 2.54. Yikes! Gotta fire (hitting coach) Greg Walker. I say hire Edgar Martinez -- wherever he is. Jim Thome must lead the league in exploding bats. We sat next to Scout seats at Comiskey two weeks ago, and he had two shatter. Just think of the total if he didn't have around 60 K's!
Chicago Blues Fest starts June 5. See Johnny Winter for free 8:30 - 9:30 at Petrillo Band Shell. In honor of Bo Diddley:
"You can't judge a fish by lookin' in the pond
"You can't judge right from looking at the wrong
"You can't judge one by looking at the other
"You can't judge a book by looking at the cover"
And who can forget these words from Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love?
"I walked 47 miles of barbed wire
"Use a cobra snake for a necktie
"Got a brand new house on the roadside
"Made out of rattlesnake hide"
From: Allan the Safety Guy
Re.: Broken bats a growing concern for fans and officials
As a safety consultant, I am concerned about the fans and players getting hit with pieces or fragments of the bats. Small pieces of wood getting into someone's eye or worse could create an OSHA situation. At least the players wear helmets, but eyeshields or glasses might be needed. The fans might have to be protected by some sort of barrier to keep the fragments from going into the stands. This could become an issue similar to coaches now wearing helmets.
You're all over this. How do you get to be a Safety Guy? I'm going to put you in touch with the Commissioner's Office.
From: Don
Re: Nats glad to see Guzman finally over injury hump
It's Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Welcome to your nation's capital -- or is it capitol?
Aw, Don, I was hoping I could do the honorable thing here. Which, of course, would be to blame my copy editors for changing it on me. Ha! But alas, my bad. Thanks for the chuckle in correcting me. Are you a teacher?
From: Gregg F.
Obviously, you haven't seen Guzman play SS. There's more to baseball than hitting. Just ask Dmitri Young! There are only a few Nats that hustle in the field -- and neither Guzman nor Young is one of them.
I watched Goozie play shortstop every day in 1999. Good frame of reference for watching him this year -- and seeing how far he's come over these past few injury-plagued years.
From: Andrew M.
Huge fan of your commentary on Sportsline. Think my KeepTeixeira.com has potential? Let me know!!!
Not unless you have the power to separate Teixeira from his agent, Scott Boras, it won't.
From: Steve M.
Last year you wrote a really good article on Russell Martin. I remember reading it and at the time I didn't care because I am on the East Coast, so why would I care about a catcher for the Dodgers? But you were dead on about him, and how talented he is. So I just wanted to say nice job on that article. Even though I didn't know who he was when you mentioned him, I am noticing he is being mentioned more and more on Baseball Tonight. It's a shame that a lot of my friends don't know who he is and it's because he's on the West Coast.
Tell them to start reading my column. I'll make sure they know who some of these guys are. Promise.
From: Larry S.
All the talk is about Chipper Jones, Josh Hamilton and Lance Berkman. And they are having fabulous seasons. That being said, no one is noticing that with one good arm, Albert Pujols is hitting .360 with 13 homers while being pitched around with his league-leading 45 walks -- 13 of which are intentional. He has an OBP of nearly .500. He has posted Joe DiMaggio numbers each of his first six years in the league but went nearly unnoticed most of the time as Bonds was getting all the attention. He has little protection in the line-up but delivers when pitched to. Put him where Ryan Howard hits and he might hit 50 HR and drive in 175 runs as he would have to be pitched to while hitting .350 every year. Give the guy some love.
When you say "Put him where Ryan Howard hits..." do you mean in the in the middle of the Phillies' lineup, or in the middle of Citizens Bank Park? Because if it's the latter, Pujols may collect 275 RBI.
From: John F.
Scott, come on man. Even tough I enjoy your columns, I would appreciate if you write more about the St. Louis Cardinals. They can give you a lot to talk about, you know. Please, just give it a shot.
Since you asked so nicely, I'll see what I can do.
