I can't resist writing about Junior

Confession: I saw the Seattle newspaper story re Junior yesterday morning, and swore I wouldn't add to the discourse about it. It's more Junior melodrama, fueled equally by the player and the media. When it comes to Griffey, we've written more words about nothing in the last seven years than I care to remember. I fully include myself in that indictment. If Griffey thinks everyone with a pen is insane, he has a point.

Now then...

Junior has decided he is in Cincinnati, but not of it. Fair enough. Just be prepared for the backlash. This is a small place, which takes its teams and its heroes personally. We don't leave in the middle of the 6th of a 2-2 game to beat the traffic. Fair or not, we like to think "our'' players and coaches love us as much as we love them. We are incredibly judgmental when they goof up. See: Johnathan Joseph.

Griffey has never goofed up. He is an antidote for all the Bengals shenanigans. Good dad, good husband, clean liver. Good person, basically. He gives of his time locally, just not publicly.

And he has a pair of rabbit ears that would put Bugs Bunny to shame. Add to that mix a sensitivity not usually seen -- or at least shown -- by pro jocks, and you can see why he feels how he does. That's too bad, because if Junior chose to, he could be among the best-loved local stars ever. Regardless, that's not him. We shouldnt pass judgment on anything but how the man plays baseball. And, in my opinion, how as a 37-year-old future Hall of Famer, he shows leadership to impressionable younger teammates. What he thinks of his hometown is just a sideshow. The latest in a 7-year run.