The Sportsstation

For several years now, the Seattle Mariners have had a special place in my heart.

I grew up with Alex Rodriguez, in his pre-Madonna days, and Ken Griffey, Jr. as my idols.

When Griffey left, I was devasted, much more so than when A-Rod signed for more money.

Now, Ichiro is the face of the Mariners, but I’ll always have the memories of Griffey.

Once he went to Cincinnatti, things went sour and as resentful as I was that he was no longer with Seattle, I never would have wished those seasons on him that he had with the Reds.

Now he’s going to Chicago and despite being old, I believe he still has it in him. The last several years have not been too kind to him, but his abilities may still be there, lurking beneath the age and fatigue.

When he was a Mariner, he seemed on top of the baseball world. Now, it appears that he is a long way off from that.

I hope that Chicago will be much better to him, and maybe, just maybe, he can use the next few years before retirement to show the world a glimpse of the player he used to be.