Griffey does it again

[Kam]

Griffey gone for season (http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0717/1582320.html)

[JonInMiddleGA]

A real shocker huh?

[cincyreds]

Coming from a diehard Reds fan, it is very sad to see.

I believe that Griffey will never be healthy again until he leaves Cincinnati. I believe that some curse or spell has been placed on Jr. and it won't let go until he is gone.

(There's water in boat)

[QuikSand]

At what point do we say this has gone beyond pure bad luck, and start to wonder about something more? It just seems so strange...

I know there's a rap that players taking certain performance enhancers can become more susceptible to certain types of injuries. Is there a way to make a case that this is related there, somehow? (I don't recal the litany of injures he's suffered, and whether they are of th right class to potentially be linked)

Not trying to cast aspersions - just wondering if there's a logically valid theory out there, besides "bad luck."

[scooper]

I don't think Griffey's problem was performance enhancers. On local radio this morning the concensus seemed to be that it is a combination of things:

1. A decade of playing centerfield on a very hard surface in Seattle has taken its toll.

2. Due to natural ability, Jr. never had to train real hard in the offseason and that is catching up to him.

3. Age, he's 33.

4. Dumb luck.

[Butter]

Originally posted by QuikSand
At what point do we say this has gone beyond pure bad luck, and start to wonder about something more? It just seems so strange...

I've wondered about that too, Kickstand. I can't understand why the man can't string together more than 20 games in a row. I've been wondering for more than just the past few months whether or not Griffey has either been not used to working out, which has made him more injury prone, or if he's tried to boost himself artificially. There's no way to find out, really, unless he gets brain cancer in 10 years. I don't think he has, personally, but there's a doubt there, there has to be with this many injuries. Makes the Reds keeping Guillen around look smart.

[Balldog]

How is him leaving Cincy going to magically revise his ability not to get injured?

This sucks because he was finally starting to hit the ball well again, and I have tickets Saturday and again in two weeks.

[tucker342]

tough break for Griffey, as he was really hitting the ball well lately. But I kind of saw it coming

[Arles]

I think there is something to the theory of Griffey's work ethic. I've seen numerous stories dictating how little conditioning and stretching work Griffey does in the offseason to prepare for the season. Steve Finley attributed his longevity and success still in his high 30s to his conditioning and stretching regimen not too long ago.

Plus, once you start the balling rolling on leg injuries, it's usually not good. He really tore up his left hamstring in 2000, and did it again in 2001. I don't think it's a coincidence that he went on to have problems with his right knee and now his right tendon a few years later. My guess is that he put a lot of strain on the right leg to rehab the left hammy quickly. And, without significant stretching and rehab on both legs, he could have worn down the other side in the process.

Arlie

[damnMikeBrown]

He's just broken. Ship his oversized contract back to the A.L. where he can DH. The team that gets him though, should install some nerf stairs from the dugout to the playing surface. Maybe get him a "Little Rascal" to take from the dugout to the on-deck circle, to the batters box. Never know when that hammy is going to go again.

[Butter]

Good point, dMB. Even better, just let him ride a Segway around the basepaths. I mean, it would be the AL with the DH already, so it's not that big a rules stretch.

[korme]

:(

[clintl]

I think there might be something to the conditioning/work ethic theory. Here's something I stumbled across that I don't remember seeing anyone bring up yet:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/griffke02.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mantlmi01.shtml

There are some remarkable similarities about the career paths of Griffey and Mickey Mantle. In his early 30s, injuries caught up with Mantle, and he was pretty much done as a great player at age 33. And it's pretty well known that Mantle also didn't take care of himself physically (for different reasons than Griffey, obviously).