Hit it Here Griffey!!!!

It's no secret, I'm a hometown homer fan (hence the name of this blog). So it's understood that I'm extremely pleased to welcome Jr. back to Seattle. But I'm not happy he's back for nostalgic reasons or to see him retire as a Mariner. I think he legitimately can still play this game and he's a significant upgrade at the DH position for the M's.

Let's compare Jr. in 2007 to Jose Vidro in 2007 (the M's DH for the majority of the year). Here's the stat lines:

Griffey (with a torn meniscus):
.249 average, 30 doubles, 18 HR's, 71 RBI, 78 walks, .353 OBP

Vidro (with a sore vag):
.234 average, 11 doubles, 7 HR's, 45 RBI, 18 walks, .274 OBP

On top of Vidro's less-than-impressive stat line is the fact he was paid $8.5 million last season. What a joke!

Now Griffey's contract with the M's carries a base salary of $2 million with incentives (based on plate appearances and attendance) that could push the deal to $5 million. To me, its a no-brainer. And with Griffey's knee at 100% and the opportunity for him to rest his body and play DH, I expect better numbers this year from Jr. Do I expect him to hit .350 with 40 HR's and 120 RBI. Ofcourse not. I think more along the lines of .280 with 25 HR's and 85 RBI.

No he never took any HGH

Gary Matthews Jr. finally broke his silence to proclaim his innocence in the internet based HGH scandal. This past offseason he signed a 5 year $50 million contract with the Angels. This announcement was not surprising since Angels owner Artie Moreno was contemplating voiding the new contract. From ESPN.com:

"I have never taken HGH -- during the 2004 season or any other time. Nobody has accused me of doing so, and no law enforcement authority has said I am a target of any investigation for doing so," Matthews said in a statement released by the team.

I think Matthews is full of shit. The HGH was delivered to him. They have his name on the documents. Lets see...last year he had a career year in batting .313, home runs 19, and RBI 79 along with making sick catches like the one in the picture. He's definately guilty. Watch his numbers take a dramatic slide this year.