BREAKING NEWS: Ken Griffey Jr. Traded

In a surprising move, FOXSPORTS is reporting that the Cincinnati Reds have traded outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox. A future Hall of Famer, Griffey accepted a below market contract to play for his hometown team a few years back. Unfortunately, that fairy tale did not have a happy ending. His tenure in Cincinnati was marked by repeated injuries and a resulting steep decline in his performance. His defense in particular suffered as he went from one of the most graceful centerfielders to a below average corner outfielder. Junior had some highlight moments in Cincinnati including recently belting his 600th home run, but was unable to lead the team to the playoffs. He recently embarrassed himself by how he responded to criticism from the broadcast booth. Normally I'd side with players over broadcasters. However, in this case Griffey clearly handled things poorly to say the least:

Griffey made a slash of the throat gesture toward the radio booth and used the f-word after he hit a home run.

Most of his career Griffey has been a classy player who avoided major controversies. So it is a shame to see his time in his hometown end on a down note.