[nfbwatlk] Mariners Notebook: Peoria powwow played large in landing Junior

[Mike Freeman]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/baseball/400792_mbok20.html

Mariners Notebook: Peoria powwow played large in landing Junior
Concerns resolved in meeting with GM and manager

Last updated February 19, 2009 8:46 p.m. PT

By JOHN HICKEY
P-I REPORTER

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Although much of the credit for the Mariners' 
successful wooing of Ken Griffey Jr. went to a phone call made by 
baseball legend Willie Mays to Griffey on Wednesday, it would be remiss 
to overlook a more routine conversation.

Sunday, Griffey and his wife, Melissa, flew from Pebble Beach, Calif., 
to Phoenix, then drove to Peoria to meet with Mariners general manager 
Jack Zduriencik and manager Don Wakamatsu.

Neither side knew the other particularly well, except by reputation. For 
the Griffeys, it was a chance to size up Zduriencik and Wakamatsu as 
employers.

"Ken and Melissa came in and talked to Jack and me," Wakamatsu said. 
"They wanted to know us."

While the learning process took place, two Mariners doctors, Dr. Edward 
Khalfayan and Dr. Mitch Storey, waited to administer a physical exam.

"At that point, there was no agreement to have a physical until he got 
comfortable with them," Mariners president Chuck Armstrong said 
Thursday. "But Khalfayan and Storey hung around until Ken was ready."

The two sides hit it off well enough that Griffey took a three-hour 
physical, including X-rays and an MRI exam.

The time wasn't wasted for Melissa Griffey. Her father lives in Peoria, 
not far from the Seattle complex, and she had dinner with him while the 
medics did their work.

The physical is mandatory before contracts are signed, but this one was 
unusual in that contract terms had not been completed. Usually the 
physical is the last piece to complete a player acquisition.

If the meeting with Zduriencik and Wakamatsu had gone poorly, not even 
Mays' phone call urging Griffey to go back to his Seattle roots to 
finish his career likely would have stopped Griffey from playing for 
Atlanta instead.

"I thought I was the reason (Griffey) signed with us," Wakamatsu said, 
breaking into a laugh, "then I woke up this morning (to read) that it 
was Willie. That's disappointing."

The smile on Wakamatsu's face showed no disappointment at all.

RIPFUEL UPDATE: When Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was doing his 
mea culpa about steroids use Monday, he made a reference to use of 
performance enhancers during his time in Seattle (1994-2000), saying he 
used RipFuel, an ephedra-based drink.

Mariners trainer Rick Griffin, who was with the team when Rodriguez was 
the Mariners shortstop, said he remembered RipFuel being around in the 
1990s.

"It wasn't the only one," Griffin said. "There were lots of them on the 
market. You could get them at GNC. Alex probably got them there."

Eventually RipFuel and all dietary supplements containing ephedra were 
pulled off the market, though not until 2004. The drinks were promoted 
as weight-loss products, but scientists say ephedra's principal active 
ingredient is similar to that in amphetamines.

At the time Rodriguez said he was using RipFuel in Seattle, such drinks 
were legal and not particularly unusual.

"Taking one was probably like having four cups of coffee," Griffin said. 
"But they had to take them off the market. I think there were some cases 
when kids died taking them."

When Steve Bechler, a Baltimore Orioles pitcher, died during a spring 
training workout on Feb. 17, 2003, the medical examiner found that 
ephedra toxicity played a "significant role" in his death. It was after 
Bechler's death that the FDA reopened its investigation of ephedra use, 
leading to a ban on its use as a dietary aid the next year.

FIELDS LETS FLY: First-round draft pick Josh Fields, signed earlier in 
the week, threw off a mound for the first time Thursday afternoon.

"I think it went well," Fields said while icing down afterward. "It was 
nice and easy, not too much. I was just trying to hit my spots. I felt 
it went really good."

Wakamatsu said he saw a little of Fields from the side -- Wakamatsu was 
throwing batting practice at the time -- and liked what he saw.

EXTRA BASES: Infielder Tug Hulett, dropped from the roster over the 
weekend when the Mariners claimed pitcher Luis Pena on waivers, was 
claimed on waivers by the Royals. Hulett stopped by Thursday afternoon 
to pick up his gear and say his goodbyes. ... Minor league first baseman 
Mike Carp escaped serious injury after being involved in a traffic 
accident Wednesday while driving from Los Angeles to Peoria. He was in 
camp Thursday, had his physical and is ready to go. He said his 2003 
Mustang hydroplaned off the road and was badly damaged. ... There is 
still no word when outfielder Wladimir Balentien, in Curacao battling 
visa issues, will be on hand. ... Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, hobbled 
by a bad hamstring, remains day to day. ... The Mariners said lefty 
relievers Cesar Jimenez (bronchitis) and Tyler Johnson (sore left 
shoulder) are getting close to taking part in full pitching drills.

© 1998-2009 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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