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Alright, that took a long time. The lovable laughing kid, "Junior" to most, finally got to 600 homers on Monday night. As a Reds fan and Cincinnatian, I'm very pleased. Who could forget his exploits at Moeller, and then going to play for the school up north -- I can remember going to OSU with my grandfather to see great college baseball games against Michigan with the kid playing against us ... wait, that was Barry Larkin. Is Ken Griffey, Jr. the same? Let's look at it -- now Ken Griffey himself (sr.) was a Reds mainstay. He hit .296 over 18 seasons. He was part of the Big Red Machine. But look closely; Senior had 152 total homers, and Junior now has 600. Incredible, we all should say.

Barry Larkin is a Reds legend, which nobody can deny. But is Junior no more than a Mariners' legend? The 600th was hit on the road, not in the Fairly Good American Ballpark. First inning in Miami, before a whopping 16,000 fans. Yes, that's pretty good in south Florida, even with the Marlins playing well. But the hometowners couldn't cheer, and in general they haven't been in Junior's hometown tenure. With the exception of .301 in 2005, Griffey hasn't gotten 3/10 hits for the Reds in any year. His only season with 40 HR and/or 100 RBI with the Reds was way back in 2000, his first year in the Queen City. What have you done for us lately, many ask. The Reds just do not make the playoffs with Junior, plain and simple.

Well, let me just say that baseball is not plain and simple. It is a game that at a minimum 9 players must contribute to each night. I will freely admit that I'd always hoped Junior would contribute more to the Reds, but I can't say the current drought is his fault. He has hit 200 homers for the Reds, though he hit 250 for Seattle in the 5 years before joining Cincinnati. It's a complex game, and I for one congratulate the "Kid" on his 600th big one, though it looks like we're going to need many, many more for any hope come September.

Tags: cincinnati reds, ken griffey