Could only throw up fanshots at the time, as we were busy recording the next podcast.

• So it didn't take long for the Griffey announcement to come up. The AP's got a little more information:
  

  
  Ken Griffey Jr. will be back with Seattle in the near future working with the team in a long-term job to be determined.
  ...
  He also said Griffey will return this season for a formal goodbye and retirement ceremony in Seattle.
  

  
  There's more, but those are really the two big points. Griffey's said all along that he wanted some time to himself and his family after he retired, and he'll get that time - he's getting that time right now - but everyone needs plans, and this is a plan that should make everyone feel good. Griffey gets to hold a job that doesn't stress him out, and that keeps him involved in the game. The fans get to know that their favorite son is still around with the team in some capacity. And the organization gets to maintain its ties with an icon, which can only work in its favor. No matter what Griffey ends up doing, whether he be a scout, a coach, or just an ambassador, he'll always be Ken Griffey Jr., and Ken Griffey Jr. is a guy that every baseball player everywhere will listen to. Griffey could end up attracting more talent. He could end up helping some young players. Or he could just end up making people smile. Whatever the case, it's good to know he'll stick around. Lots of players do this sort of thing, but with Griffey, I wasn't sure.
  
  As for the latter point, that's just there to reassure everyone that Griffey will have his day. Or rather, that the fans will have their day, instead. Ken Griffey Jr. is probably very uncomfortable with the idea of attending a ceremony for himself and receiving a million endless ovations, but he's going to do it, and in a lot of ways, maybe it's better that he's not doing it in a Mariner uniform. It'll be nice to have this break. Time for the memories of the past two months to slip away. If you're going to have one big final Griffey blowout, you want as many people as possible to remember him for what he was, and not what he became.


• Chad Cordero, as you may have figured out by now, is a feel-good story, having come back from major shoulder surgery and seemingly recovered most of his stuff. He isn't just a feel-good story, though. If he actually has his own pitches again, he could end up being a useful middle reliever, and his numbers in Tacoma are certainly promising. It's important to note that, while Cordero was a closer, he was never elite. He never missed a ton of bats, or threw a ton of strikes, or kept the ball down. And we can rather safely assume that he's still missing a little something from what he was earlier in the decade. But if he's throwing 89-90 again, and if he still has his offspeed stuff, he can get the job done. He can pitch to both hands. There's a pretty good chance that he's a better reliever right now than Sean White. We'll just have to see.
  
  Chad Cordero is only 28 years old. Man.