FanHouse Ken Griffey Jr

When the Mariners signed Ken Griffey Jr. to come back to Seattle, it pretty much seemed like nothing other than a public relations move. Junior is way past the prime of his Hall of Fame career, and it was an accepted fact that the Mariners were destined for the basement of the AL West. Well, turns out the Mariners are in first place at 8-5, even though Junior is struggling with a .205 average.

Thankfully for Griffey, batting average isn't taken into consideration when deciding who the judge should be in Mariners Kangaroo Court, as the honorable Judge Mo' Money oversaw all cases this weekend in Seattle.

MLB Power Rankings: Where we care what you've done for us lately when we break down the who's who and the what's what in the baseball world each week.

We're almost there. You can smell it in the air, can't you? That's right ... the NHL playoffs! Ha. I kid, of course. No one actually watches hockey (if it even exists). But people do get amped up for baseball, and the season is upon us. So, in that vein, we've got our final installment of preseason power rankings ready for your digestion. Play ball.

FanHouse begins its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Atlanta Braves.

It's not my typical policy to engage in cheesy headline writing, however, this is GM Frank Wren's second full year at the helm with his team. Things are going to be different, in theory. But more importantly, it might be time to go ahead and realize that this isn't your dad's Braves team, or your older brother's for that matter. After 14 straight division titles, the Braves have been absent from the postseason for two straight years. Wren's job, obviously, is to fix that.

Over the last seven days there seemed to be a lot of back and forth between the Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners for the services of one Ken Griffey Jr. Last Thursday the word was that Junior was going to be returning to Seattle, and the only thing in the way was passing a physical. A few hours later, Griffey came out and said the report wasn't true.

Then on Tuesday the report was that Griffey was going to Atlanta where he could be closer to his family, as he'd reached a contract agreement with the Braves and was just waiting to pass a physical. Once again, a few hours later Junior said it wasn't true. Finally on Wednesday Ken signed with the Mariners, but who helped him decide between legacy and family? Well, any bitter Braves fans should probably direct their ire at the great Willie Mays.

Reports were rampant on Tuesday that Ken Griffey Jr. was on the verge of signing with the Braves. It's possible that he was leaning in that direction, but after mulling his options one more time overnight, he accepted a one-year contract Wednesday to return to the Mariners.

Griffey's change of heart must leave the Braves feeling jilted at the altar -- not to mention a little deja vu -- but it's hard to fault a guy for wanting to end his career in the same spot it began two decades ago.

Update: Griffey denies making a decision -- see bottom of post.

Just last week it looked like Ken Griffey Jr. was on the verge of returning to Seattle where he started his career, but now, five days later, Junior still hasn't signed with anybody. In fact, with each passing day it seems less likely that Griffey is going to return to Seattle, as most of the talk surrounding him the last few days has been about him signing with the Atlanta Braves.

As a kid growing up, there's no question that my favorite player (non-White Sox) in the sport was Ken Griffey Jr. I emulated his batting stance for a while, I started wearing my hat backwards during practice, and I tried to get every Griffey baseball card in print. Of course, when I reminisce about Junior, I always picture him as a Seattle Mariner.

Frankly, while his time in Cincinnati had its moments, I remember it more for all the injuries that robbed him of any chance to break Hank Aaron's home run-record. Then he came to Chicago last season, and while it was nice to see him in a White Sox jersey, he wasn't the Griffey I grew up watching. Now, thankfully, after nine years away from the Emerald City, it looks like Junior is on the verge of returning to where it all started.

Now that the season has ended for the White Sox it's time for the organization to start looking towards 2009. Sure, the team won the AL Central this season, but their series against the Tampa Bay Rays helped expose quite a few flaws that the team had, and some changes will need to be made if the team is going to get back to the playoffs again next year.

Of course, if you're going to bring in new players that means you have to get rid of the ones you have. Whether or not Ken Griffey Jr. is one of the players to go, or if he'll be back remains to be seen, but we can be pretty sure Junior isn't going to retire and make the decision easy.

''I'm not retiring. I have things to do,'' Griffey said, already at 611 home runs and turning 39 next month.

''I'd like to come back [to the White Sox],'' he said. ''It was a great ride. A lot of fun. I've had more ups than downs. The city, the fans, it's been great for me. This team fought all year. They were fun to be around. We'll see what happens.''

Well it's nice that you want to come back, Ken, but I can't say I want you back. Seeing Junior play just about everyday for two months helped me see just how far he has fallen from greatness. I knew he wasn't the same player anymore, but I had no idea how bad things had gotten.

The truth is, Griffey is exactly the kind of player on the White Sox roster they need to replace. They have enough concrete footed sluggers in their lineup, and really, Griffey isn't much of a slugger anymore anyway.

While there were plenty of big plays to go around in last night's AL Central playoff game, the one most people want to talk about today is the play at the plate in the 5th inning. After Michael Cuddyer doubled to start the inning -- it was Minnesota's first hit of the evening -- he moved to third on a fly ball to centerfield.

Apparently this was enough to convince Cuddyer that he could beat Ken Griffey Jr, so a few pitches later on a pop up to shallow center, Cuddyer decided to test Griff again. Griffey's throw home beat Cuddyer, and despite Michael's best efforts to take A.J. Pierzynski out, the lovable Sox catcher held on to the ball and Cuddyer was out. Considering the final score was 1-0, it turned out to be a pivotal play, but not one that Cuddyer regrets.

"Obviously once (Griffey) caught that ball it was a play we had to make," Cuddyer said. "We had to take a chance right there. We weren't getting much done offensively, we were at the bottom of the order. We had to take a shot. ... Unfortunately A.J. made a hell of a play. I don't know how he held onto the ball. I thought I knocked his arm off, not just the ball, but he made a great play."

I understood the Twins logic in sending Cuddyer then, but I still don't agree with the decision. Griffey's arm may not be what it once was, but most MLB outfielders will throw you out from that depth, so I thought it was a mistake. Not one I minded of course.

Now, about A.J. showing Cuddyer the ball afterwards...

I have to admit, when I first saw Alexei Ramirez in a White Sox uniform, I thought the Sox had broken new ground by scouting for baseball talent in Ethiopia. The kid was so skinny that even Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen thought he was bulimic. Well, as it turns out, the Cuban import has been a fantastic addition to the White Sox this season.

I've already begun my Carlos Quentin for MVP campaign here on FanHouse, so I don't want to litter the place with more "The White Sox rule!" posts, but I have to say, Alexei deserves some recognition for A.L. Rookie of the Year. I wouldn't have said this a few weeks ago, but now with Evan Longoria on the disabled list, there's a chance Alexei could change a few minds.

Not that he cares. He's just honored to be playing here.

"It really feels like a dream right now that I don't want to wake up from," said Ramirez, who played for several national teams and for Pinar Del Rio in his native Cuba before this season.

"In certain lineups, [Griffey] has been hitting behind me, and it's an absolute honor to be in the same lineup."