Even Griffey Could Be Priced to Move by Reds

So came the final days before the trading deadline, and the Cincinnati Red clubhouse, where half the roster has been in one rumor or another, reflected the gravity of the times.

Adam Dunn stood atop Wily Mo Pena, who had been stretching on the floor before Dunn arrived. Pena howled. And Dunn hopped off. Then on again.

Ken Griffey Jr. entertained a handful of guys with a true-life story, and the laughter lapped against the lockers across the room.

Finished with Pena, Dunn pulled aside public relations man Rob Butcher and said he was seriously running out of things to say to the media about possibly being traded. Or not being traded.

“Maybe I’ll start making things up,” he said affably.

Kent Mercker tugged at a reporter’s tape recorder. He wanted to tell the tale of teammate Todd Coffey, how he was a 41st-round draft pick, but was supposed to be a second-rounder, except his telephone didn’t work on draft day, and nobody could get a hold of him, and ... well, Coffey, the rookie, smiled and wore the abuse as blush across his cheeks.

Just, you know, boy stuff in a boy’s game.

As confessed sellers, the Reds are among the few with both the attitude and the commodities to alter some far-away pennant race. They’d already sent the popular Joe Randa to the San Diego Padres, and general managers were circling over the likes of Dunn, Mercker, Sean Casey, Rich Aurilia, David Weathers and, perhaps, even Griffey. General Manager Dan O’Brien has said he would not trade the Reds’ youngish core, but apparently hasn’t been convincing enough.

Many of the players, and those like them in clubhouses from Seattle to Tampa Bay, have seen this before. The hours pass with an eye on the game and another on the door, some (Phil Nevin) hoping to stay, others (Jay Payton) hoping to go, most simply wishing for the finality of Sunday, when the non-waiver trading deadline arrives.

The New York Yankees need an outfielder and at least one starter. The Boston Red Sox really need a closer and the Chicago White Sox are thinking the same way. The New York Mets need a first baseman. The Padres need a starter or two. The Angels need a bat and some big lug attached to it. The Dodgers need, man, what don’t they need? Even the St. Louis Cardinals need help, in the outfield.

And what’s out there? A.J. Burnett, a career .500 pitcher who’d probably come packaged with Mike Lowell. Outfielders Randy Winn, Eric Byrnes (again), Vernon Wells, Aubrey Huff and Matt Lawton. Odalis Perez. Tom Glavine. Mike Piazza. Alfonso Soriano. Shea Hillenbrand. Billy Wagner. Jose Mesa. Danys Baez. Kevin Millwood.

And a whole bunch of Reds, including, maybe, Griffey, who just happens to be standing in center field at Dodger Stadium this week, and regularly for the first time in five years.

Kid is 35 years old. In fact, Kid has three kids, one in middle school and another, a Junior of his own everyone calls Trey, getting there.

In his previous four seasons, Griffey played the equivalent of two. Screws hold his right hamstring together. The wound left from a spring-training procedure hasn’t healed quite right. While it is not structurally threatening, without getting into the ugly details, it’s killing his wardrobe.

While those around the club don’t expect Dunn or Griffey to be dealt, that doesn’t quiet the phones, or stop the clock, or end the curiosity.

“I don’t think about what tomorrow’s going to be like,” Griffey said. “I try to do everything I can today....And that’s it.

“The organization will let me know. That’s good enough for me. When they did my deal, they’re the ones that structured it. There were no big contract demands. We’re all trying to do one job; and that’s win a championship.”

They are a ways off, they’re realistic about that, and that’s why they’ve become so popular with the contenders. The team that ponders Griffey must also consider the risk that comes with his right hamstring, whether his defensive savvy is enough of a cover for his declining foot speed, and the nearly $42 million he is owed over the next four years. The Reds have an overloaded outfield and a $60-million payroll, which leads to the Griffey speculation, particularly now that he’s reasonably healthy.

He has played in 94 of the Reds’ 100 games, is batting .284 and with Tuesday’s home run he has 22 and 66 runs batted in.

Asked what it’s like to be Ken Griffey Jr., the ballplayer, again, he grinned and shrugged. The recent seasons have been difficult, the criticism nearly as bad, and yet here he is, close enough to himself to be good again.

“I don’t really worry about it,” he said. “I go out there every day and play.”

And then it’s left to circumstance, he said; the Reds are in last place in the National League Central, drawing poorly in a new ballpark, the organization going on an 11th season without a real postseason game. In the middle of it, now, stands Griffey, who came home and found he hadn’t the legs to carry it all.

“Things could happen,” he said. “Things could change. We go out and finish strong and ownership decides we’re going to make a run, things could change. If not, it could go the other way.”

As a player with 10 years in the major leagues, the last five with one club, Griffey could veto a trade. But he wouldn’t have to.

“I’d have to look at it,” he said. “I just want to play. If the organization says, ‘Hey, we want to go younger,’ there’s nothing I can do about it. I mean, I can say, ‘No.’ But, that doesn’t do them any good, or me any good. I just am going to go out there and try not to let the other guys down.”

If they were, Dunn would probably stand on them anyway.