Fox has this interesting report tonight:
When the Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. makes his Grapefruit League debut, it will be in right field, according to a source with knowledge of his situation. Griffey, recovering from a broken left hand, does not mind shifting from center to right, the source said. However, Griffey was under the impression that the Reds would delay their decision until midway through spring training while attempting to acquire a legitimate center fielder. Instead, he learned at the start of camp that he would be in right.
That adds an interesting spin to John Fay's
suggestion that "Griffey is waiting to play so there's not enough time to experiment with switching him to right field." (Griffey was apparently pretty
plecked off that suggestion, BTW.)
FWIW, I believe Griffey is genuinely injured and can't play. I read one article that said his hand swells up like it's been stung by a zillion bees after he takes BP. Pain aside, I would think it would be pretty hard to properly grip a bat or ball with the hand that swollen.
As for what this means for the outfield, and Bubba's chances of making the team...beats the heck out of me. It sounds like they are planning to start Freel in CF. But many say he can't play every day without wearing down or getting injured. I've also heard that Dunn and Griffey aren't too keen on the idea of Freel being the everyday CFer, because of his tendency to collide with his teammates. (Eek. Bubba, please be careful out there.) On the one hand, it sounds like they'll really need some spare outfielders. OTOH, with Freel in the outfield, the 25th spot may well go to an infielder.
Ah, well. Nothing Bubba can do about it except make it as hard as possible for them to cut him.
