Griffey, a resident of Orlando, Fla., has a no-trade clause but would be interested in waiving it if he could be dealt closer to home to a contending team, SI.com reported, citing the unnamed sources. The 39-year-old right fielder is hitting .256 with seven homers and 30 RBIs this season. He is making $12 million this season and has a $16.5 million option for next season.

Dealing Griffey makes sense: Just look at this photo. The Reds would save thousands in wristbands alone. And Tampa needs both a right fielder and a DH (sorry, Cliff Floyd fans). Anyway I guess the Marlins are out, since signing Griffey would quadruple their payroll.

Griffey Reportedly Mulling OK For Deal To Rays [NBC Sports]

Griffey became the sixth player in history to reach 600 homers, getting it off of Mark Hendrickson in the first inning of the Reds’ 9-4 win. He joins Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the only players to reach the mark. And as one might expect, there's controversy over who got their hands on the ball first, and lawyers are now involved. God bless America's pastime.

So at age 38, one has to figure that Griffey has a shot at bigger game: Sosa at 609*, Mays' 660, Ruth at 714, Aaron 755, Bonds at whatever number* Bonds is at (don't make me look it up). But one gets the feeling that Junior has already had his greatest moment: That day in 1990, Sept. 14, when he and his dad hit back-to-back homers for the Mariners. "My father hit 152 home runs, and that’s who I wanted to be like,” said Griffey. Yes, it can be that simple. Ken Griffey Jr. has always been someone who was easy to root for, and I hope we all get to do that just a while longer.

• Isn't Back-To-Back-To-Back Physically Impossible? Speaking of the long ball, the Rays had an embarrassment of riches on Monday, as Evan Longoria, Willy Aybar and Dioner Navarro hit consecutive home runs in Tampa Bay's 13-4 win over Anaheim/Los Angeles/California/U.S./Planet Earth. Longoria added another homer in the ninth.

• Good Job, Cliffy. Ryan Garko's three-run homer in the first helped Cliff Lee earn his 10th win, as the Indians beat the Tigers 10-2. Now witness the starting pitching stylings of Dontrelle Willis: Eight runs, all earned, three hits and five walks in 1 1/3 innings. Now witness Leyland picking up a large circus mallet ...

• Nick At Night. Say "switch-hitting Swisher" three times fast. Nick Swisher homered from both sides of the plate (there are only two, right?) as the White Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Twins, 7-5.

• Wizard Cat Defensive Player Of The Game. Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson and Pirates' hitter Doug Mientkiewicz exchange angry words in the 3rd, and both benches empty. But look how long it takes the Pirates' bullpen to cross the outfield to get to the action ... especially that last guy. It's like watching Lawrence of Arabia cross the Nefu. Wizard Cat gives this journey: Two wands.

Utley of course is unconscious, with his homer on Tuesday making it seven homers in his past eight games (he already had a stretch of seven homers in seven games April 17-23). More Utley adulation over at Phillies Nation, including a nice photo of one of his diving catches. And The 700 Level also chips in right here. They're declaring him the frontrunner for NL MVP, and who are we to argue? Although Chipper Jones is still hitting over .400 (2-for-4 to increase his average to .407 in the Braves' 7-5 win over the Marlins). Meanwhile, the Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. sat out the game with "general soreness," remaining at 599 career homers. As I recall, didn't it also take him forever to go from 499 to 500?

• The Hat Squad. Um, what the hell is up with this?. Don’t know; don’t want to know. Baltimore beat Boston 6-3, as the Red Sox lost David Ortiz to the 15-day disabled list with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist.

• Jason And The Argonauts. The pinch-hit grand slam, thought to be extinct in the wild, was discovered in St. Louis on Monday when Pittsburgh's Jason Michaels did it to tie the game 4-all. Jason Bay then doubled home the winning run in the eighth.

• Mighty Casey. Casey Blake single-handedly saved your fantasy team with two homers, a bases-loaded double and seven RBI — the most by an American League player this season — as Cleveland beat Texas 13-9.

• Wizard Cat Defensive Player Of The Game. Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins. Wizard Cat hates greed, like when friends come over and try to muscle in on his Tender Vittles. Let this be a lesson to Derek Jeter, who tried to double down on the Twins' center fielder and was met with Epic Fail. Boom goes the dynamite! Wizard Cat gives this play: Five wands.

After all, considering the considerable steroid haze surrounding Bonds and (to a somewhat lesser extent) Sosa, one could make the argument that Griffey is the first "legitimate" player to reach the mark since Mays. And when you consider how much time Griffey has missed because of injury — injuries that, theoretically, could have been avoided a bit if he had bothered to use steroids — he probably should have reached this mark years ago.

But there's not much rigmarole or pomp for Griffey, and it's likely he'll be traded not long after he hits 600 anyway. People can say all they want about the "horrors" of steroids. We still focus more on users' accomplishments than of those who never touched the stuff, and paid the price.

Where's All The Hoopla For Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th Homer? [Sportaphile]

The tide has turned — it helps that he's healthy and, you know, not much of a steroid user — and now he's talking about returning to Seattle as a hero.

Would I [come back]? Yeah. For the simple reason that this is the place where I grew up. And I think I owe it to the people of Seattle and to myself to retire as a Mariner.

We're not sure this will happen in any way other than one of those "sign him up as a Mariner for one day so he can hold his press conference and retire" things that you see every once in a while, but after the guy passed Mark McGwire in homers yesterday, it's pleasant to go back to loving Ken Griffey again, like we used to, way back in the day. Even if he throws jock straps to fans.

Griffey: "I Owe It To The People Of Seattle To Retire As A Mariner" [Enjoy The Enjoyment]
Ken Griffey Jr. Knows How To Deal With Hecklers [Deadspin]

According to The Jaunt, a man in the Chavez Ravine stands was mercilessly (but harmlessly) heckling Griffey, to the point that the future Hall of Famer noticed. Then, according to the fan's MySpace page, the real fun began.

Well, by the 2nd inning he was looking right at me giving me the looks. When he walks in from the 6th inning he decided he had enough and came over to talk some smack. He called me some fat references which was hilarious and then he told me I couldnt touch the threads on his jock...

I then told him to show me what he's got, that he talks a big game and then I told him to limp back to the dugout where he belongs and I even said some things about his Mom. I told him I might be fat, but I could still play center field:) It was an incredible exchange to say the least. After the 6th inning he walks out and stops to talk to me holding a brown paper bag in his hand. He motions to throw it to me and I told him no, I know that trick. He laughs and says catch it, so I put up my hands and he tosses it over. He wouldn't leave until I opened it and when I finally did, the whole place erupted with laughter. Griffey throws me his jock...

Seriously, the full report of this is amazing. That's how you deal with a heckler, friends: Throw him something stained and sweaty. He'll love it, he really will.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s On My Jock [MySpace]
Just How Big Is Your Ken Griffey Jr.? [The Jaunt]

• 1. You Go, Junior. The way things started for him, we always thought that it would be Ken Griffey Jr., and not Barry Bonds, who would one day be approaching the all-time home run mark. There was that impressive five-year stretch, 1996-2000, in which he hit 249 homers — including back-to-back seasons with 56. But injuries have dented the legacy, most likely denying the 36-year-old the opportunity to be the first player to legitimately challenge Aaron's record. But Griffey returned to the Reds' lineup on Thursday in a big way; his three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th won it for Cincinnati, 5-4, over the Nationals. (Griffey had missed a month because of a bad knee.) The Reds have been in first place in the NL Central for 14 days; their longest time there in two seasons.

• 2. Pretty In Pink. A reader brought up the point on Wednesday and we have to agree: it would be quite odd if Barry Bonds tied or passed Babe Ruth with a pink bat. There's no word yet if Bonds is going to be one of the many major leaguers who will use the dyed bats on Mother's Day; part of a weeklong program to raise money for breast cancer research. It's kind of no-win for Barry; he'll look like a schmuck if he doesn't participate, and he'll look like a dork if he does. This will be a photo, after all, that will live for quite some time. For example, can you imagine this shot, only with Aaron carrying a purse? The Giants, by the way, beat the Cubs on Thursday 9-3 as Bonds went 0-for-3 with two walks.

• 3. It Only Hurts When I Wave. This just in: The Yankees have confirmed that they have a limp-wristed player, and it is not Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez.* It's Hideki Matsui, who broke his left wrist on Thursday attempting a sliding catch. It also broke his consecutive-game streak at 518 games, and the Red Sox went on to beat New York 5-3, taking the series 2-1. Of course, combined with his 1,250 consecutive games with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League before joining the Yankees, that's 1,768 straight for Matsui. Mark Loretta's two-run single in the seventh was the difference.

• 4. Oh, Canada. Troy Glaus homered twice with four RBI and Ted Lilly went seven-plus strong innings to beat his former team as Toronto downed Oakland 8-3. Glaus, who hit .258 last season with Arizona, waived a no-trade clause to come to the Blue Jays. He must have known something, because he's hitting .274 with 12 homers and 30 RBI.

• 5. Catch 33. Your Thursday scores from Philadelphia: Center Field Wall 1, Aaron Rowand 0. Phillies 2, Mets 0. Rowand broke his nose on a run-saving catch, in a five-inning game shortened by rain. The grab was really pretty amazing, as you can see in this video (thanks to The 700 Level).

* = So cheap. Sorry (we bow, Japanese style).