Junior Griffey is being treated like Rodney Dangerfield by the Reds organization and the media.

Is it just me, or is Ken Griffey Jr. getting the shaft from the media lately? It seems to me that the media coverage of his quest for the 600 club in home runs has been woefully inadequate. I fully realize that he has not been playing every day, and that he is dealing with some injuries (so what else is new?) that have kept him out of the lineup of late. But even ESPN seems to be almost ignoring Griffey these days, and the Reds ballclub may very well be the worst of the offenders. Again, this is just my perception of things, but it sure seems like the team is waiting for him to get that 600^th homerun so that they can then trade him off to someplace. The feeling seems to be that he can no longer help their team except to put fannies in the seats while going for the milestone homer. Once he has accomplished the feat, he is no longer useful to the organization, except perhaps as a bargaining chip that they will use to obtain more pitching; probably for the bullpen. Barry Bonds, criminal that he is, got way more press coverage for his milestones. Even Sammy Sosa enjoyed a great deal more fanfare than Griffey is getting now. There are those who feel that Griffey will end up back in Seattle as their DH and extra outfielder. He can finish out his career in the place where he spent most of his better years. Others think that Boston would be a good destination for Griffey, especially if the reports that David Ortiz may not come back this season have any merit. Griffey could serve as the Red Sox DH, or as a left-handed bat off the bench. Either way, he appears to be on his way out of Cincinnati. Maybe it is for the best, given how little the team seems to respect what he has brought them all these years. It’s not easy playing for a loser year after year, and that is exactly what the Reds have been for a long, long, time. I would like to see him come to Boston to finish out his career, and perhaps even win a ring with the defending champs, who seem headed for another run at the World Series this year. Wouldn’t it be great for Junior to win the World Series to cap off his season? Considering how little attention he is getting for his feat of 600 career home runs, a World Series win would be a nice way to celebrate and perhaps finish Junior’s career. I’m certain he thinks so too.

Let’s see what there is to see in the news and the box scores around baseball.

The Tigers are in a real bind with the loss of Jeremy Bonderman for the season. The surgery he had to remove the blood clots and relieve the blockage in his vein was pretty serious stuff. It could have cost him much more had it not been discovered when it was.

Now they will have to rely on Dontrelle Willis. Too bad for the Tigers – all that money spent on payroll – and they will likely finish somewhere near the basement, if not actually in it. By the way – don’t make the same mistake as the Tigers, Willis belongs out on the waiver wire in your fantasy league.

Another hard luck story is Jake Westbrook of the Indians. What was thought to be a minor elbow strain has turned into a full-blown disaster that will result in Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. You can write Westbrook off until the second half of next season at the earliest.

Good to see Jorge Posada back in action. It will be interesting to see how many players will test his arm. The Yankees gave up the most stolen bases of any AL team last season.

This got me to wondering which teams are giving up the most steals this season; so here the top 5 teams for each league to date:

AL

Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Seattle Mariners
New York Yankees

NL

San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies
Atlanta Braves
LA Dodgers
Philadelphia Phillies

Anybody who doesn’t believe that Brandon Webb is the best pitcher in baseball this season doesn’t have a clue. Friday night he needed just 95 pitches over 7 innings to dispense with the Pirates. He gave up just one run on three hits, and struck out three without walking anyone. Overall, he is holding batters to a .211 average, and is well on his way to a 20-win season. Forget Santana, Peavy, Beckett or anyone else. Webb is the man!!

It’s getting harder and harder to wait for Adam LaRoche to start hitting for the Pirates. In looking over his splits, one thing jumped out. Last season he hit .239 before the break, and .312 afterward. In 2006, he hit .251 before the break, and .323 afterward. I still believe he will hit this season, so hang on to him, preferably on your bench if you can spare the spot.

Hiroki Kuroda put together his best start of the season Friday night against the surging Cubs. He scattered four hits in a complete game shutout at Chavez Ravine, and struck out a season high 11 batters.

If you need a middle infielder with a little pop and good speed, take a flier on Alexi Casilla of the Twins. He is in the midst of an eight game hitting streak, has hit safely in all but three games of the 21 games he has played, and is batting a robust, .347. He’s been very productive fantasy-wise too; with 18 RBI and 14 runs. The Twins may make him the starter for the rest of the season if he keeps this up. Casilla can be used in AL only, or even in mixed leagues that use a MI.

If you need a middle infielder…wait, I did this already….another guy you might consider is Jerry Hairston of the Reds. He is batting .325 with 10 stolen bases. He will continue to get at bats, even after Jeff Keppinger and/or Alex Gonzales returns, but he is only good for use in NL only formats.

That’s all for me today folks. Shake it easy.