Posted by Jed Lewison on Mon Jun 25, 2007 at 1:58 PM Pacific

Junior

I was just up in Seattle for three days, including three Mariners games. It was great seeing friends and family -- but it was also pretty wonderful seeing Ken Griffey, Jr. take the field once again at Safeco, belting two homers, including a mammoth shot to right field.

There's been much speculation about whether Junior will or will not return one day to the Mariners. I would love to see him return, but I'll leave that debate to others.

Two things really struck me.

First, this weekend was by far the most enjoyable weekend of Mariners baseball I've experienced since 2001. I think it says something about how well (or how poorly) the Mariners have been managed over the last five or so years that the most fun that was had at Safeco Field came when an opposing player made his return to the ballpark.

Second, I've never seen anything weirder as a sports fan than the sight of 46,000 fans rooting for a player on the opposite team, even feeling joy when that player hits a home run to put their team down 2 runs to nothing. I think it underscores the biggest problem baseball has: its financial system, especially free agency. Two teams really stand out in Mariners history: the 1995 Mariners and the 2001 Mariners. Aside from Ichiro, the 2007 Mariners bear absolutely no resemblance to either of those two teams. Even Junior only played on the 1995 squad, giving us the iconic Seattle baseball moment when he slid into home after Edgar's double ("I can't believe it, the Mariners are going to play for the American League pennant!").

It's a real problem for baseball and for the Mariners that there is such little continuity between clubs. People want to root for more than just a uniform. Both football and basketball have better systems -- hopefully baseball will one day recognize the problem and fix it.

p.s.: It was really nice seeing Hargrove get thrown out of the game on Friday, finally showing some emotion. Hopefully he was pissed off not just at the umpires but at the fans for not only praising Junior but booing our own pitcher when he threw over to first with Junior at the plate. If so, it would show to me for the first time that Hargrove has some passion for the Mariners ballclub. It's obvious that while Mariners fans root for their team, their passion is not for the team's present, but rather its past. Its up to Hargrove, at least for now, to get fans excited again about the current crop of players.

Junior

I was just up in Seattle for three days, including three Mariners games. It was great seeing friends and family -- but it was also pretty wonderful seeing Ken Griffey, Jr. take the field once again at Safeco, belting two homers, including a mammoth shot to right field.

There's been much speculation about whether Junior will or will not return one day to the Mariners. I would love to see him return, but I'll leave that debate to others.

Two things really struck me.

First, this weekend was by far the most enjoyable weekend of Mariners baseball I've experienced since 2001. I think it says something about how well (or how poorly) the Mariners have been managed over the last five or so years that the most fun that was had at Safeco Field came when an opposing player made his return to the ballpark.

Second, I've never seen anything weirder as a sports fan than the sight of 46,000 fans rooting for a player on the opposite team, even feeling joy when that player hits a home run to put their team down 2 runs to nothing. I think it underscores the biggest problem baseball has: its financial system, especially free agency. Two teams really stand out in Mariners history: the 1995 Mariners and the 2001 Mariners. Aside from Ichiro, the 2007 Mariners bear absolutely no resemblance to either of those two teams. Even Junior only played on the 1995 squad, giving us the iconic Seattle baseball moment when he slid into home after Edgar's double ("I can't believe it, the Mariners are going to play for the American League pennant!").

It's a real problem for baseball and for the Mariners that there is such little continuity between clubs. People want to root for more than just a uniform. Both football and basketball have better systems -- hopefully baseball will one day recognize the problem and fix it.

p.s.: It was really nice seeing Hargrove get thrown out of the game on Friday, finally showing some emotion. Hopefully he was pissed off not just at the umpires but at the fans for not only praising Junior but booing our own pitcher when he threw over to first with Junior at the plate. If so, it would show to me for the first time that Hargrove has some passion for the Mariners ballclub. It's obvious that while Mariners fans root for their team, their passion is not for the team's present, but rather its past. Its up to Hargrove, at least for now, to get fans excited again about the current crop of players.

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