Griffey

        Ken Griffey Jr. is considering retirement. Some days more than others. As he struggles with his torn hamstring and contemplates the retooling efforts of his team, the Cincinnati Reds' center fielder wonders whether baseball is still worth his trouble.

        “If they're not willing to win, I don't want to be here,” Griffey said before Friday's game. “I can't play with eight guys I don't know. I'll go home first.”

        Griffey is able to rationalize the Reds' 2001 record because of the extent of their injuries — including his own — but he has been unable to accept the club's payroll-trimming posture. Four days before baseball's midseason trade deadline, Griffey hinted at a dramatic response should rumors involving reliever Danny Graves, infielder Pokey Reese and outfielder Dmitri Young become real.

        “If all three of these guys are gone, I'm gone,” he said. “I'll be watching the rest of the year on TV. If it's two of them, maybe I'll go halfway home — I may stop off in Atlanta. It depends on what they get ... I just don't think cutting costs is going to solve anything. If they're talking about the big picture in 2003 — these guys are a big part of that.”

        Griffey made a similar case for preserving the status quo July 18 and repeatedly has expressed his willingness to restructure his contract to enable the Reds to sign other players. But Griffey's agent, Brian Goldberg, said Reds management has never responded to these overtures.

        The same day Griffey's plea for roster preservation appeared in print, the Reds traded outfielder Alex Ochoa for second baseman Todd Walker and outfield prospect Robin Jennings. The following day, outfielder Michael Tucker was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a pair of pitching prospects.

        Now, with trade speculation mounting and visiting scouts congregating at Cinergy Field, Griffey's stance has grown more strident. He stopped short of issuing an unqualified threat — and said he would make no decisions until the offseason — but he pointed out that he was already “set for life” and could walk away from the remaining seven years of his $116.5 million contract.

        If he was just venting frustration, he did so for the better part of an hour.

        “Ten percent of me says you can go ahead and retire,” he said. “The other 90 percent says you want to win a World Series. If we keep these guys, we have a 75 percent chance of getting to the World Series. If not, there's maybe an 80 percent chance that we won't ...

        “I don't want to be in a situation where it looks like we're the Bengals. I want to win.”

        Reds chief operating officer John Allen, advised of Griffey's remarks, declined comment.

        Griffey said he considered retirement last year, amid the fallout from his move from Seattle. He was stung by the criticism he received and has been disturbed by death threats and by some of his family's unpleasant experiences at the ballpark.

        “A lot has to do with 10 years in Seattle when I can't do anything wrong,” he said. “I come here, and now I'm the bad guy of baseball.”

        At the age of 31, Griffey has accomplished enough to be considered a certainty for the Hall of Fame. Two years ago, he was the youngest player elected to baseball's All-Century Team. Last year, his first season with the Reds, he became the youngest player to reach 400 homers. But Griffey thinks the severity of his injury is still misunderstood by the general public and he remains uncertain about his prospects for a full recovery. Reds team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek describes hamstring surgery as “experimental” and worries it might make Griffey worse.

        “If he can play baseball at the level he is now, I think that would be great,” Kremchek said. “My gut feeling is I would not operate on him ...

        As of Friday afternoon, Griffey had reached no lasting conclusions.

        “There are good days and bad days,” he said. “There are days when I wonder: "What the hell am I doing out here?'”

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