Cincinnati Reds News Blog @newzblogz.com

SEATTLE (AP) - Ken Griffey Jr. enjoyed the final day of his Seattle homecoming so much he was still laughing in the Reds dugout and wearing a collared shirt and blue jeans 40 minutes before the first pitch.

It didn't seem to affect his swing.

Griffey hit two home runs to pass Mark McGwire for seventh place on the career list in the Cincinnati Reds' 3-2 loss to the Mariners on Sunday. 'When the game starts, it starts,' he said. 'Everything else, like (Allen) Iverson says, 'It's just practice.' Griffey quickly changed into his uniform and homered in his first at-bat against Miguel Batista. He then hit No. 584 in the fifth inning off Batista to pass McGwire. 'You play long enough, you hit a few out and you catch people,' Griffey said. H...

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Imagine, for a moment, a home-run quest that made Hank Aaron proud to embrace his successor, rather than feel the need to stay in hiding for the duration.

Imagine a race to Aaron's hallowed ground in which commissioner Bud Selig wouldn't have to think twice about being there to shake the hand of the new king of swat.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s career has been slowed by injuries since he joined the Cincinnati Reds after the 1999 season. Before that point, he was the youngest in history to reach 350, 400 and 450 home runs.

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Baseball hits the season's halfway pole this weekend, and we're here to ask about the ailing. This is for the downtrodden teams who will celebrate the coming holiday with grilled disappointment and a couple of scoops of homemade frustration.

You know ... the feel-bad stories.

There's no reason to worry about the Boston Red Sox, who at 11 games, have the largest lead in their history at this stage.

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Charlie Manuel suddenly has a pitching staff he never could have envisioned.

Freddy Garcia is out indefinitely, while Jon Lieber likely has thrown his last pitch in a Phillies uniform. Tom Gordon hasn't pitched since May 1. Brett Myers hasn't pitched since May 23. And Geoff Geary and Antonio Alfonseca are the only two pitchers who have been in the seven-man bullpen continuously since opening day.

Others, such as Gordon, Myers and Ryan Madson, have succumbed to injuries or ineffectiveness.

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CHICAGO — On a shelf in the office of Chicago White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen, mixed in among the family photos, the Roberto Clemente bobblehead and the Napoleon Dynamite figurine, are four small but intimidating religious icons.

"If you see my saints, you'll be like 'Golly, they're ugly,' " Guillen had said before inviting a visitor to come in. "They've got blood. They've got feathers. You go to the Catholic church, the [saints] have got real nice clothes.

"My religion, you see a lot of different things you never see."

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