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Ken Griffey Jr. said it's too early in his career to start thinking about switching positions, and his play in the outfield has nothing to do with criticism of his defense.
The Cincinnati center fielder, who won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1990 through 1999 with the Seattle Mariners, has run into the outfield fence while chasing down flyballs at Great American Ball Park twice in the last two games and gone to his knees to make a sliding catch of a sinking liner to help the Reds win the first two games of their three-game series against Milwaukee.
He said it's just a coincidence that he made the plays right after a newspaper columnist and the hosts of a radio talk show suggested he'd lost some of his range and should consider moving to left field or first base.
``I don't play (angry),'' Griffey said before Wednesday's game against the Brewers, the day after he refused three times to talk with the media following the Reds' 7-3 win over Milwaukee.
Griffey, 36, missed 26 games earlier this season with a strained tendon in his right knee. He celebrated his return on May 11 with a game-winning three-run homer in Cincinnati's 5-4 win over Washington in 11 innings. He didn't homer again until he belted a grand slam in Saturday's 7-6 loss at Detroit, and he followed up with three-run homers Monday and Tuesday against Milwaukee.
He hit .275 with four homers and 18 RBI in his first 12 games after being activated. He took a seven-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game.
``We're glad he's back,'' teammate Rich Aurilia said. ``He's been playing some good defense and getting some clutch home runs for us. It's sad, but that's what people expect of him. It's probably not fair to expect that all the time, but that's what people do.''
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060524%2F1925936200.htm&sc=2010
The Cincinnati center fielder, who won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1990 through 1999 with the Seattle Mariners, has run into the outfield fence while chasing down flyballs at Great American Ball Park twice in the last two games and gone to his knees to make a sliding catch of a sinking liner to help the Reds win the first two games of their three-game series against Milwaukee.
He said it's just a coincidence that he made the plays right after a newspaper columnist and the hosts of a radio talk show suggested he'd lost some of his range and should consider moving to left field or first base.
``I don't play (angry),'' Griffey said before Wednesday's game against the Brewers, the day after he refused three times to talk with the media following the Reds' 7-3 win over Milwaukee.
Griffey, 36, missed 26 games earlier this season with a strained tendon in his right knee. He celebrated his return on May 11 with a game-winning three-run homer in Cincinnati's 5-4 win over Washington in 11 innings. He didn't homer again until he belted a grand slam in Saturday's 7-6 loss at Detroit, and he followed up with three-run homers Monday and Tuesday against Milwaukee.
He hit .275 with four homers and 18 RBI in his first 12 games after being activated. He took a seven-game hitting streak into Wednesday's game.
``We're glad he's back,'' teammate Rich Aurilia said. ``He's been playing some good defense and getting some clutch home runs for us. It's sad, but that's what people expect of him. It's probably not fair to expect that all the time, but that's what people do.''
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20060524%2F1925936200.htm&sc=2010