Cheap Seats

Bring on the clowns

Ken Griffey Jr. in an interview in Inside Sports magazine:

“I was watching soccer highlights one day this spring, and there were some nice plays, but what struck me was the way the players jumped and did flips and tossed their arms in the air after they scored.

“Man, would I like to do that on the ballfield. I’ve often thought about running down a ball near the wall, getting one foot up on the wall and turning a back flip. The fans would go crazy.”

At least it would give Mariners fans something to cheer about.

Take your bat and go home

Devil Rays third baseman Wade Boggs recently blasted Mets pitcher Rick Reed after the right-hander blanked Tampa Bay in a 3-0 victory.

“He’s a scab and a career minor-leaguer,” Boggs said. “If he’s so good, why wasn’t he up here (in the big leagues) sooner?”

Reed was a Reds replacement player during the 1995 players strike. By the time he decided to make that risky commitment, he had spent parts of seven seasons in the majors with the Pirates, Royals and Rangers.

He’s blossomed since. Last year, he was 13-9 with a 2.89 ERA for the Mets. This year he’s 8-3, 2.31. His ERA ranks fourth in the National League.

“If you want to be a better person, you learn to move on,” said Mets player rep John Franco. “For most of us, (the strike) is in the past. Maybe Boggs was mad because he had just one hit off Rick.”

If Wade Boggs insists on bringing up the past, there are just two words for him: Margo Adams.

Just chump change to sportswriters

When he opened his paycheck last week, Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Rolando Arrojo put on a cartoonish face of mock disgust, told a reporter, “You make more money than me,” then used the paycheck to wipe his backside in pantomime.

The check, covering a two-week pay period, was for about $8,000. Arrojo, at 9-4 and one of the American League’s premier pitchers, may be bitter about his major-league minimum $170,000 per season, but it’s hard to feel sorry for him. In order for the Devil Rays to sign him as a free agent last year, they had to give him a signing bonus of $7 million.

With that kind of money in the bank, Arrojo can afford to use $8,000 checks as Charmin.

Denny Neagle’s evil twin brother

Atlanta Braves pitcher Denny Neagle found himself in an uncomfortable situation after a burst of candor got him in hot water with the Florida Marlins.

Not long after he had shut out the gutted Marlins lineup on four hits, he told reporters: “I’m not trying to make a joke about it, but when I looked at the lineup card (before the game), I almost laughed.”

The Marlins didn’t think that was funny. Neagle felt bad and went to the Marlins clubhouse to apologize. Turns out, he didn’t need to.

“That’s not Denny Neagle,” Florida manager Jim Leyland said. “He’s a class act. I know Denny Neagle better than that, and there’s no way that’s Denny Neagle in any way, shape or form, and nobody will ever make me believe it.”

Believe it, Jim. Your lineup stinks.

The last word …

“The great advantage of American soccer is that it comes without guilt, even losing to Iran, which is worse at soccer than we are. Iran would be the L.A. Clippers of world soccer. We would be the Sacramento Kings.”

- Bernie Lincicome, columnist, Chicago Tribune