The Rant...With Patrick S. O'Brien Highway Robbery PATRICK S. O'BRIEN Something occurred to me as the whole Ken Griffey, Jr. trade took place. The Seattle Mariners got the short end of the stick. They got an average hitter in Mike Cameron and a decent pitcher in Brett Tomko. The Reds got one of the biggest names in baseball. Another thing that strikes me about this deal was Griffey's attitude throughout the whole ordeal. Griffey did not want to go to any team other than the Reds. The Reds wanted him, but they didn't want to give up their top prospects to get him. The Mariners wanted Pokey Reese, one of the top young players in the National League. The Reds didn't want to give him up. Come on now, this is Ken Griffey, Jr., the man who is most likely to break Hank Aaron's home run record. Even if the Reds had traded Reese in the deal, the Mariners still get the short end of the stick. Even when the deal looked like it wouldn't get done, Junior Griffey did not want to go anywhere that wasn't named Cincinnati. The big question in this whole deal was the Reds being able to sign Griffey. They signed him alright. For a lot less than the Mariners offered Griffey last season. I guess the one thing you can't fault Griffey for is going to the highest bidder. However, I really feel bad for the Mariners. Not only did they lose Griffey, they're (more than likely, in my humble opinion) going to lose Alex Rodriguez. But back to Griffey. Look what he does by going to the Reds. He goes to the National League Central. Guess who plays there? Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, the two reigning home run kings of our day. Throw a little Junior into that mix and you're going to get long ball after long ball flying out of ball parks all over the National League this season. If there's anything positive to take out of this, us Red Sox fans should be thankful that Junior's not going to be jacking home runs out of beloved Fenway Park. But what this all boils down to is the Mariners getting a raw deal. They get two average major leaguers and a couple minor league prospects that weren't going to amount to much according to scouting reports. If there is another positive to get out of this it's that the Red will put a lot more fannies into the seats at Riverfront Stadium (I forgot the name corporate America gave it). Not to mention they literally stole him from Seattle. I don't know whether to chastise Cincy for stealing Griffey to belittle Seattle for not holding out for a little more than they got. However, they say that perseverance and patience are virtues that eventually pay off, but in the case of Ken Griffey, Jr. and his new home, it paid off immensely.