Ken Griffey Jr. returning to the scene of his original crime

You know what, finally a story around we can feel good about. We could care less that we were wrong when we relayed that Griffey had signed on with the Atlanta Braves. Ken Griffey is going back to Seattle, and it’s a win-win situation for all parties.

Keith Law may feel it’s shortsighted by the Mariners, but what else is going to make that team relevant in 2009 with the exception of Felix Hernandez? Griffey will serve his purpose to bring excitement back to that city and put butts in the seats. Since they’re an AL team and Griffey hasn’t been in the AL since the turn of the decade it’s actually worth debating on whether or not the guy can put up some impressive and surprising numbers. That park was built tailored for Junior. It’s not out of the realm of thought to consider Griffey a threat to hit 35 homers and play in 140-150 ballgames. Remember he can finally DH when he needs to give his legs a rest.

And even if the Mariners aren’t the Mariners at all that they were when Griffey was there, the fans remember and I remember what Junior looked like when he was the face of baseball wearing that white Mariners uniform with aqua blue and midnight blue cap. He’s going to be wearing that again. I’ll be tuning in every night just to see what Griffey does in what is surely his farewell tour if not his final season.

Rumor has it Griffey spurned his family and it’s a fact that he’s sacrificing time he would have had to be with them to go back and play where his heart has emotionally never left. Junior has made a lot of immature decisions in his career but this one appears to be a decision that is going to define him as a player who had a sensitive side.

It’s just another reason to really look forward to 2009. Thumbs up to Griffey and the Mariners for making it happen.