Griffey Arrives Early

Spring training

The morning workout was long over and nearly all of the Cincinnati Reds had gone. And then, for the first time, Ken Griffey Jr. came walking into the clubhouse.

Griffey slipped unannounced into the Reds’ spring training complex Sunday to unpack his things and start the next phase of his baseball career, a day before his formal introduction.

“I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wear,” he said in Sarasota, Fla.

On the floor was a box of equipment from Seattle; a blue Mariners cap poked out from a jumble of cleats. He picked through the box to see what would go with his new ensemble.

“It’s a little different,” he said. “Everything I’ve had for the last couple of years is blue, and now it’s red.”

A red No. 30 jersey already was hanging in one of Griffey’s two dressing cubicles. A six-inch stack of mail was piled in one corner, soon to be towered over by boxes of shoes and other equipment.

Outfielder Michael Tucker was the only teammate in the clubhouse. Griffey drove in with his wife and two children.

“It’s definitely exciting,” said first baseman Sean Casey, whose cubicle is next to Griffey’s. “It’s going to be awesome to see him play every day. That’s going to be awesome. It’s also going to be nice to get to know him as a person. I’ve heard good things about him.”

Griffey will answer questions at Ed Smith Stadium today - he’ll sit atop the same dugout where Michael Jordan held a news conference with the Chicago White Sox in 1994. It was not certain, however, when Junior would work out for the first time with the Reds

Griffey was sent from Seattle to Cincinnati in a 4-for-1 trade Feb. 10. Asked if it has sunk in yet that he’s part of his hometown team, Griffey thought for a second and said, “Yeah and no. No, because I haven’t run out on the field yet. Yeah, because I know where I’m going to be.”

Martinez absent

Boston ace Pedro Martinez missed the first spring training workout for the second straight year. For the second straight year, Red Sox manager Jimy Williams shrugged it off.

“It’s not a big deal,” Williams said Sunday.

So while 24 pitchers, including Pedro’s brother, Ramon, hustled on a hot day fielding grounders and covering first base during a two-hour practice, baseball’s best pitcher was in his native Dominican Republic.

The Red Sox voluntary reporting date for pitchers and catchers was Saturday, with the first workout Sunday. But the mandatory reporting date under the collective bargaining agreement is March 1.

The A.L. Cy Young winner had personal business to take care of, but will be in camp today, Ramon said. Williams said he learned Saturday night that Pedro wouldn’t report Sunday but hadn’t spoken with the pitcher.

The reason for his absence was unclear. Williams said he’d let Pedro discuss it when he arrives. But Sunday was Pedro’s father’s birthday.

Last year, Pedro reported two days after the reporting date for pitchers and catchers so he could be home for his father’s birthday. Then, he went out and had one of the best seasons of any pitcher in baseball history.

Irabu may have been chipped

Hideki Irabu, whom the Montreal Expos acquired in the offseason from the New York Yankees, may have elbow chips in his right elbow and could need arthroscopic surgery.

Irabu had an MRI Saturday. The Expos said Sunday the test indicated the possibility of a bone chip or chips, but none could actually be seen.

“There may be a bone chip in there, maybe not,” Irabu said through his interpreter. “They haven’t found anything. Why open it up if there’s nothing there?”

Said Expos general manager Jim Beattie: “He could pitch tomorrow, but not if it’s a risk to himself. We may stay concerned all season. He could have arthroscopic surgery at the end of the year, maybe sooner, maybe never.”

Signings

In Dunedin, Fla., the Toronto Blue Jays and closer Billy Koch agreed to a $3.5 million, three-year contract, and outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. agreed to a $395,000, one-year deal.

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Steve Cox, the International League’s most valuable player last season at Triple-A Durham, agreed to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.