The Seattle Mariners are a team now known for their one-two punch of Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee. But the batting side is where trouble awaits. Many years ago, Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre were signed on to help Ichiro Suzuki in the batting department. That didn’t work out too well. Now, Ichiro still has nobody to help him. Ken Griffey Jr. is an all-time great who brings nostalgia to the team, but not much else. Aside from Ichiro, only one other player on the Mariners is even batting .250 this year. Chone Figgins was supposed to be a great acquisition, but his batting average is not even .200 more than mine is.

Cliff Lee has proven to be a great pick-up for Seattle. However, they clearly did not focus enough on batting. Ichiro continues to be his usual great self, but he is climbing up in age. At this rate, by the time he retires, the Mariners won’t have anyone batting over .250. The Mariners need serious batting help. Until then, I hope they will at least find the need to get employees for playoff viewing parties.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Ken Griffey Jr. had an MRI exam on his left knee Tuesday afternoon to determine the extent of the discomfort that has kept him out of the lineup for the past five games.


The results showed inflammation, and Griffey should be ready to resume action on Thursday night when the Mariners open a four-game series against the Athletics in Oakland.

“He’s had some pain in this particular spot and he hadn’t had it there in a while,” manager Don Wakamatsu said. “It just showed up again.”

Click here to read the full article – By Jim Street of MLB.com

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