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Twins-Mariners Preview

Jun 3, 2010 - 6:20 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (31-22) at Seattle (21-31), 10:10 p.m. EDT

Ken Griffey Jr. denied taking a nap during a game last month. It turns out the 13-time All-Star was, in fact, tired - of becoming an afterthought in the Seattle Mariners' plans.

A day after Griffey announced his retirement, the Mariners continue to move on without the greatest player in franchise history as they conclude a four-game series with the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.

Griffey's decision was announced Wednesday night, just hours before Seattle (21-31) beat Minnesota 2-1 in 10 innings on an infield single by Ichiro Suzuki.

Griffey had the Mariners' previous game-winning hit, a pinch-hit single in the ninth of a 4-3 win over Toronto on May 20. It was the final hit for the 40-year-old Griffey, whose 630 homers are fifth on the all-time list.

Griffey was hitting .184 with no homers and seven RBIs, recently going a week without even getting any playing time, and that may have left him disinterested.

The (Tacoma) News Tribune, quoting two Mariners who spoke anonymously, wrote that Griffey was asleep in the clubhouse during a 4-3 loss to Los Angeles on May 8, leaving manager Don Wakamatsu scrambling to get someone else to hit. Griffey insisted he was available.

"I told the Mariners when I met with them prior to the 2009 season and was invited back that I will never allow myself to become a distraction," Griffey said in a statement Wednesday.

"I feel that without enough occasional starts to be sharper coming off the bench, my continued presence as a player would be an unfair distraction to my teammates and their success as a team is what the ultimate goal should be," he said.

A 10-time Gold Glove outfielder, Griffey played 22 years in the majors with Seattle, the Chicago White Sox and his hometown Cincinnati Reds, hitting .284 with 1,836 RBIs. For a stretch in the 1990s, the '97 AL MVP was widely considered to be the best player in the majors.

"I happened to spend some time with him in the video room watching his last 40 or so home runs, just reliving them with him," left fielder Milton Bradley said. "I didn't know that was going to be one of the last moments we spent as teammates."

Minnesota (31-22) will be without slugging right fielder Michael Cuddyer, but only for a few days.

After a 2-for-4 game Wednesday that included his seventh homer, Cuddyer will leave the team Thursday following the death of his father-in-law. He will not rejoin the Twins until they return home June 8 to face Kansas City.

The Twins are trying to bounce back from their second straight loss after winning the series opener 5-4 on Monday night.

Minnesota will give the ball to Carl Pavano (5-5, 3.99 ERA). He earned a win in his last start, allowing two runs in seven innings of an 8-3 victory over Texas on Saturday.

The veteran right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts against the Mariners.

Seattle will counter with Felix Hernandez (2-4, 3.50), 0-1 in his last four outings despite a 2.25 ERA. He has lost four straight decisions since beating Baltimore on April 21.

The right-hander is coming off one of his best starts of the season, giving up one run and striking out seven in eight innings as Seattle lost 5-1 in 10 innings to Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Hernandez is 2-1 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts at home versus the Twins.