The Where’s Junior watch began in earnest Thursday, a day off for the Cincinnati Reds when suspicions ran rampant that he might have been at the ballpark.
Someone thought they saw him at Safeco Field Wednesday night after the Reds arrived in town. Nobody was sure about that, though.
Another said Griffey had slipped into the building early Thursday afternoon and took a few swings in the batting cage. That couldn’t be confirmed.
Then there was the most believable report, from Mariners trainer Rick Griffin, who said Griffey was spending time Thursday with longtime friend Jay Buhner.
Tonight, Griffey’s return becomes official when the Reds play the Mariners in the first of a three-game series. It’ll be his first game at Safeco Field since the 1999 season before the M’s traded him to the Reds.
A 15-minute ceremony, starting about 6:45, will honor Griffey before tonight’s game, which is all but a sellout. Only scattered single seats remain for tonight’s game, and about 3,000 are left for Saturday and 2,000 for Sunday.
Along with the hoopla over Griffey’s return, fans will have a chance to purchase a memento.
Griffey has signed 1,000 commemorative baseballs that will be sold for $100 each, with proceeds benefiting Children’s Hospitals in Seattle, Cincinnati and Orlando. The balls have a logo that reads “Griffey Returns, Safeco Field, June 22-24, 2007.”
They will be sold at the Mariners Team Store at Safeco Field beginning today, with limited quantities available at Team Store outlets, including Alderwood Mall.
Feierabend to start: The Mariners made official Thursday what had become known Wednesday, that 21-year-old left-hander Ryan Feierabend will start tonight.
He replaces Cha Seung Baek in the rotation, and Hargrove said it wouldn’t be a one-time deal.
“We think that Ryan has a bright future ahead of him and we feel like it’s close to being his time,” Hargrove said. “He doesn’t seem to get rattled and he handles himself well. He’s got good mound presence and he’s got good stuff and he competes well.”
Feierabend is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three games, including two starts. Baek is 3-3, 5.74 in 11 starts, but hasn’t gotten out of the sixth inning in his past three outings and has an 8.40 ERA in June.
Moving Baek to the bullpen gives the Mariners another right-hander there in the absence of Sean Green, who missed the past two games to be with his sick grandmother.
Signings: The Mariners have signed infielder Matt Mangini, their supplemental first-round pick in the draft, and assigned him to the Class A Everett AquaSox.
Mangini, a third baseman, batted .322 with nine home runs and 49 RBI in 63 games at Oklahoma State University this year.
The Mariners have signed 22 of their 51 draft picks.
They also signed two Chinese players to minor league contracts – infielder/outfielder Yu Bing Jai and catcher Wei Wang, who played for the Beijing Tigers of the China Baseball League. They will play on the Mariners’ team in the Australian Summer League when they aren’t involved with commitments with the China National Team.
Of note: The Mariners held a 40-minute players-only meeting Thursday afternoon and, while nobody would speak on specifics of what was discussed, the main topic was the importance of maintaining the focus needed to remain in contention in the AL West. … Early in batting practice, several Mariners took turns with an aluminum bat and their blasts were enormous. Richie Sexson planted a ball four rows from the top of the second deck in left field and Adrian Beltre, who hit a ball out of the stadium last year with an aluminum bat, cleared the tall “batter’s eye” behind the center field fence. … Tacoma Rainiers outfielder Wladimir Balentien and High Desert Mavericks outfielder Michael Saunders were named to the World Team for the All-Star Futures Game on July 8 in San Francisco. … J.J. Putz and Jose Guillen pulled on afro wigs and 1977 Mariners uniforms to record commercials promoting Turn Back the Clock Day on July 29. Guillen wore his wig throughout batting practice.
Kirby Arnold, Herald Writer
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