Ken Griffey Jr. arrived to the park last night thinking he was going to play, and when he saw the lineup card without his name on it, he grilled Dusty Baker's nine-year-old son Darren why his dad wasn't playing him. One kidney shot to the ego later, Griffey probably wished he kept his mouth shut. From Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News:"Why am I not playing tonight, Darren?" asked Griffey.Ouch. Technically Junior is 38, he just stays healthy like a 50 year old. But Darren was right about the lefties: Griffey is hitting just .200 (17-for-85) against them this year. Griffey did redeem himself by hitting a walk-off home run (ahem, off right-hander Matt Capps) after coming into the ninth as a defensive replacement, but Darren's quick wit before the game makes you wonder if Dusty is letting the youngster have some input on the lineup.
"Because you can't hit lefthanders," said Darren, son of manager Dusty Baker. "And you're old."
"How old am I?"
"Fifty."
Of course, if a nine-year-old is making calls in the dugout, it might also explain why one of the team's biggest bats was trying to bunt with two runners on and no outs in the eighth inning.
