As Griffey Pays Up, Piniella Has A Cow

Say this about Ken Griffey Jr. - he’s no welsher.

He bet his manager, Lou Piniella, a steak dinner last week and lost. On Saturday, Griffey paid up and delivered 1,200 pounds of beef to Piniella’s clubhouse office in Peoria, Ariz.

Still on the hoof.

The Seattle Mariners manager was lured out of his office on false pretenses by traveling secretary Craig Detwiler, and no sooner was the manager out than the Hereford was led in and the office door closed.

When Piniella returned, he knew something was up - half the Mariners had lined up around his office door.

“I brought you that steak,” Griffey said.

Piniella opened the door and came face to face with a cow.

“I opened that door with a little trepidation,” Piniella said, “but I didn’t expect a cow. I told Junior afterward, ‘If he takes a dump in my office, you’ll dress in there the rest of the spring because I’ll be using your locker.”’

The cow, a well-behaved Peoria native, merely slobbered in Piniella’s office, while Griffey and teammates rolled in the clubhouse hallways. Captured on video at the moment of introduction, Piniella was seen to jump back slightly and then make an apparent attempt to communicate with the animal.

“Moooooooo!” Piniella said.

Then he turned to his center fielder.

“I’m going to get you back for this,” Piniella said.

“I know,” Griffey said, laughing.

The bet itself was rigged - though Junior was the last to know it. During a session of live batting practice last week, when minorleague phenom Scott Davison was throwing 92 mph fastballs, Piniella bet Griffey he wouldn’t hit a ball out of the batting cage.

What Griffey didn’t know was that Piniella had already ordered the pitcher not to throw the hitter anything near the strike zone. Piniella won the wager.

“I’m not betting Junior any more,” Piniella said.

Then, recalling that he’d had a quick private meeting with Randy Johnson in his office just before the cow moved in, Piniella said: “I had two Big Units in my office this morning.

“In Cincinnati, I had to share my office at times with Marge Schott’s St. Bernard. I’ve graduated from dogs to cows.”

Legislative heat

If one were to weigh all the actual and potential bids for Seattle pitcher Randy Johnson, the list of front-runners for retaining the services of the left-hander would go something like this:

5. Blue Jays.

4. Orioles.

3. Red Sox.

2. Yankees.

1. Washington state legislature.

State representative Greg Fisher told the Seattle Times that if the Mariners trade Johnson, they will pay.

“If they trade Big Unit,” Fisher said, referring to the 6-foot-10 Johnson, “I’m not voting for a new stadium. I mean it.”

He means it. Anyone who’s had a playground showdown knows those are words to take seriously.

Fisher is a member of Washington’s special task force looking for ways to finance a new stadium for the Mariners.

“Normally, I’d be of the opinion that know-nothing politicians should not be armchair managers of baseball,” Fisher said. “But this is the most critical year for the Mariners.

“If they can’t come up with the $4 million to pay Randy Johnson, then many of us question whether they are serious about keeping the Mariners in Seattle.”

As the Seattle Times’ David Postman wrote, Rep. Bill Reams, another member of the committee, disagreed with Fisher. But it’s not the politics he disputes; it’s the baseball. What the Mariners need, Reams said, is a catcher.

Mariners tumble

Despite Griffey’s second home run in two games, the Colorado Rockies topped Seattle 7-4 in an exhibition Saturday.

Griffey, who homered off San Diego’s Andy Benes on Thursday, connected in the first inning off Mark Thompson. Both of Griffey’s home runs have been 430 feet to center field.

Still just as wild

Relief pitcher Mitch Williams, aka “Wild Thing,” made his debut for the California Angels a memorable one. In a 5-3 exhibition win over the San Francisco Giants, Williams sent J.R. Phillips and Jeff Reed to the hospital for precautionary X-rays after hitting both with pitches. And the first batter Williams faced in his sixthinning stint, Glenallen Hill, launched a 425-foot homer.

Charm of third

Is cleanup the glamour spot in a batting order? Not according to Minnesota’s Kirby Puckett and Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox. Each has resisted an attempt to move them from third to cleanup in the lineup.

“I’m not hitting fourth,” Thomas said. “I’m a three-hole hitter. I hit for average and power. That’s what a three-hole hitter is, where I’ve been. Babe Ruth hit third. Hank Aaron hit third, too.”

Minnesota lost two significant bats when Kent Hrbek retired and Shane Mack went to Japan. Manager Tom Kelly is considering dropping Chuck Knoblauch from second to third and batting Puckett cleanup.

Puckett wants to remain the No. 3 hitter. He is also more concerned about who protects him in the lineup.

“If they don’t find somebody to hit behind me, I’ll get about 20 RBIs,” said Puckett, who led the A.L. with 112 RBIs last season.

New, but familiar place

Bobby Valentine’s search for a title in any country lurches forward.

After 12 games, the former Spokane Indian was already in last place with Lotte of the Japan Pacific League. Valentine managed 1,186 games with the Texas Rangers and never produced a title.

Around the majors

Is that the Oakland pitching staff, or a group of aging replacement players? Bob Welch? Dave Stewart? Rick Honeycutt? Think Tony La Russa would rather be managing elsewhere? … Los Angeles third baseman Tim Wallach, 37, has back problems. Might be time for the Dodgers to start searching for a Plan B; when’s the last time you heard of a thirtysomething athlete recovering from back trouble? … With the acquisition of Scott Cooper from the Red Sox, St. Louis third baseman Todd Zeile moves to first. … The Indians’ Eddie Murray, closing in on 3,000 hits, credits his longevity to “good old stubbornness. But I’m also a big believer in taking care of my body. That’s why I do this stretching every day… . First it was Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn, saying he’s sure he would have hit .400 had the strike not wiped out the last seven weeks of the season. Now San Francisco coach Bobby Bonds says Giants third baseman Matt Williams would have surpassed Roger Maris’ single-season record for homers. No question. “I wouldn’t ever admit it publicly last year because I didn’t want to put pressure on him, but now that that’s over - oh, yeah, he would have broken it.”