Griffey denies taking a nap

BALTIMORE – Ken Griffey Jr. insisted Tuesday he was available to pinch hit during a recent Seattle Mariners game, despite a report that he was taking a nap.

Quoting two Mariners who spoke anonymously, The Tacoma News Tribune wrote that Griffey was asleep in the clubhouse during Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, leaving manager Don Wakamatsu scrambling to get someone else to hit.

“I’m available all the time,” Griffey said. “There are some issues that are not true in that situation.

“I can’t win this and I’m not trying to. There are some things that are not accurate. I’ll leave it at that.”

Wakamatsu backed up Griffey’s assertion.

“He wasn’t asleep. He was available to pinch hit and I chose not to use him as the manager,” Wakamatsu said, adding that Griffey was in the dugout at the time.

Griffey was vague in his denial.

Asked if he was asleep during the game, Griffey waited and stared for several seconds after hearing the question. He then said, “Anything else you want to ask?”

He seemed more interested in finding out which of his teammates said he was sleeping on the job.

“I’m just hoping that whoever said it will be man enough to come to me,” Griffey said.

Wakamatsu put the 40-year-old Griffey in the starting lineup Tuesday night against the Baltimore Orioles. The manager labeled the issue “a distraction,” and was more intent on getting his last-place club ready to make a move in the A.L. West.

“What we’re focusing on right now is that we won a game on Sunday and ended an eight-game losing streak that nobody’s proud of,” he said. “Again, my point is that he was available, I was the manager and chose not to pinch hit him at that point.”