It's Official: Griffey Pickup Good Deal for M's

Forget the nostalgia, forget the chemistry contributions. The signing of the Mariners' prodigal son Ken Griffey Jr. was good for the ball club, period. 

As I'm writing this, he's just collected his second hit of the night, the first being a bomb to right field, that classic Junior swing on full display and obviously as potent as ever. 

At 39, Griff Dogg is still a dangerous power hitter. Not a 50 home run power hitter like he was in his prime, but a threat to go deep nonetheless. 

Another writer on this blog asked me recently how many homers I thought Griffey would hit this year. I said the 18 he hit a year ago while enduring a plethora of injuries and a move across leagues at the trade deadline was the floor if given enough playing time. And I said, given his age and assumed reduced playing time, I'd say his ceiling was 28. So, being an optimist, I settled on 24 as the number of times Junior would turn on a pitch and watch it disappear into the seats. And I'd be happy with that. 

But now, I've seen Griffey and the rest of the team look good, look dangerous, and I'm adjusting my expectations. Why not 30 bombs? Why not the playoffs?

Holy Suzuki! Ichiro just went yard, bringing up another great point. With Ichiro healthy and Griffey's renaissance, we're looking at the two greatest Mariners of all-time joining forces. How can this possibly be anything but destiny? 

M's up and on their way to taking a series from the Angels for the first time since 2003! 

Count me on board. I'm a believer.