Dropped Third Strike

Griffey to ChiSox.........really?

As we've all heard by now, Ken Griffey Jr. is heading over to the White Sox where he may actually have a shot to play past September. This looks to be mostly a salary dump for the Reds and a questionable decision by the White Sox. Griffy waived his 10-and-5 no trade rights to make this happen. There is a $16 million club option on Griffey for next year with a $4 million buyout. Man, I used to love playing Ken Griffy Jr. Slugfest.......

So far this year, Griffey has banged out 15 homers. He's also driven in 53, scored 51, and put up a career-worst .245 batting average. Obviously Griffey still has some pop in his bat and adds the veteran presence that is expected to come along with a 13 time all star. He was also the AL MVP in 1997, picked up a few Silver Slugger awards, and won every Gold Glove between 1990 and 1999.

My only question is where are they going to play him? With the corner outfield spots already filled with Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin, the obvious spots would be DH, Center, and first. First base is pretty much off the table as Griffey has only played a game or two there in his entire career (and man is it a long one, this is his 20th season.) DH is already filled on a regular basis by another player, Jim Thome, who is almost old enough to be my Dad. Thome is also outperforming (although very slightly) Griffey in most offensive stats.

Center seems to be the most logical place to stick Griffey, but this presents a couple of issues. Putting him in center means having to give Nick Swisher some time to play at first; this reduces the playing time that both Konerko and Thome will see. The other problem is how Griffey will cover all of center field with that weight of his walker slowing him down.

Bottom line, unless the reds sent a time machine back to the 90's with him, picking up Griffey seems like a questionable decision at best. 

Adam Dunn vs. Ryan Howard

As the trade deadline quickly approaches, we are finally starting to see some interest in Adam Dunn, and why not? The guy is putting up great power numbers and would add power to any lineup in baseball. In my last post, I half-heartedly compared him to Ryan Howard. I have gotten a comment and a couple of phone calls from people who disagree, so lets take a look:

Here are their comparisons this year:
Average - Dunn .243, Howard .237
Home Runs - Dunn 32, Howard 30
RBI - Howard 94, Dunn 74
Runs - Howard 67, Dunn 58
Slugging % - Dunn .567, Howard .499
OBP - Dunn .385, Howard .323
Walks - Dunn 76, Howard 50

Neither hits lefties very well (Dunn .212, Howard .188)

AB per HR - Dunn 10.35, Howard - 13.63
OPS - Dunn .952, Howard .822

Dunn is leading in most categories, except Runs and RBI, which can be affected by the rest of the lineup, and Ryan Howard is surrounded by a much better team.

Adam Dunn is 2 inches taller, and 10 pounds heavier. Dunn is even 10 days older than Howard.

Why not compare them??? Dunn would be very productive in a better lineup - and it looks like there is a chance he will find one, possibly with the Tampa Bay Rays. In my opinion, the biggest downside with Dunn is the team he is playing for.