The End?

During the 1994 season, the Minnesota Twins, managed by 12-year old Billy Haywood stood at a crossroads with their aging slugger and Twins legend Jerry Johnson.

Following a Johnson single that got Haywood particularly hopeful for a Johnson revival, bench coach Mac Macnally turned to Haywood and said, "Son, don't you think there's something wrong when you get this excited over a seeing-eye single?"

After the game, Haywood made the excruciatingly painful decision to inform Johnson that the Twins were releasing him. An irate Johnson forcefully told Haywood, "You're making a big mistake. I'm not through yet. I'm gonna catch on somewhere. And when I do, I'm gonna come back here and I'm gonna stick it RIGHT IN YOUR FACE."

Fast forward to 2010 and the Seattle Mariners seemingly have a similar situation on their hands. Ken Griffey Jr., the greatest athlete in Seattle sports history and the singular reason why there's even a baseball team in Seattle, is struggling mightily. At 40, Junior can't hit, can't field, and the revelation that Junior was sound asleep during Saturday's 4-3 extra innings loss to the Los Angeles Angeles of Orange County has lead to speculation that Junior's days as a professional baseball player are about to end abruptly.

This is certainly not what the Mariners and Griffey envisioned when they mutually decided to re-up for the 2010 season. While Griffey didn't hit for average in 2009, he still finished third on the team in home runs, and provided countless game changing and game winning hits for a squad that exceeded everyone's expectations. And when you factor in the final week of the 2009 when Junior blasted 3 home runs over the Mariners final six games, there was hope to think he could at least repeat his 09 performance.

But five weeks into the season, Griffey has zero home runs, five RBI's, and only two extra base hits. When he's not grounding out to second, he's either getting fooled on breaking balls in the dirt, or taking good pitches that he used to send into orbit.

The sleeping incident is a microcosm of how the Mariners season has gone so far in 2010. Save for Ichiro and Franklin Gutierrez, the entire offense might as well be sleeping in the clubhouse during games.

This team was supposed to contend. They were supposed to have enough hitting to complement their stellar pitching staff and lock down defense. But the offense has been so monumentally putrid that any chance of the M's team playing in October could realistically be erased in the next ten days.

The Griffey dilemma is confounding for more reasons than just the obvious fan backlash that would occur if the M's released him or encouraged him to retire. Are the Mariners prepared to have 'Griffey Backwards Cap Night' on July 8 and not have Griffey on the team?

Since almost the entire offense sucks just as much, if not more than Griffey does right now, there really isn't anyone who could replace Junior and be considered an upgrade. There isn't a masher in AAA just waiting for his chance to crack the 25-man roster. And if you think Mike Sweeney is an option, then you probably also think Sarah Palin should be president.

Griffey deserves to go out how he wants to go out and on his terms. Junior is not brain damaged like Evander Holyfield who seems intent on dying in the boxing ring. Griffey doesn't need to play for a pay check or to guarantee Hall of Fame enshrinement. He's still playing because he loves the game as much as anyone and he feels like he can still contribute.

What happens next is anyone's guess. If the Mariners and Griffey can start hitting and start winning some baseball games, this will all be forgotten. If not, Griffey could always go the Jerry Johnson route.

After Johnson failed to make good on his threat to stick it in the Twins' face, he was immediately hired as the team's hitting coach following a crushing defeat to the Mariners in a one-game playoff tie breaker.

And who hit the game-winning homer for the Mariners?

Ken Griffey Jr.