Juan Gonzalez and Ken Griffey Jr. have won the last three AL MVP awards between them, and both of them will be playing somewhere different next season. Once upon a time not so long ago, trading an MVP within a year or two of winning the award was considered to be some kind of sacrilegious act, but not any more.

Gonzalez, dumped by Texas like a ticking parcel in an Irish pub, had obviously outlived his usefulness. Unable to progress to the point of actually winning a playoff game, the Rangers have obviously decided that a great offense that disappears at crunch time isn't going to cut it any more. The trade will generally help the Rangers with reinforcements arriving all over the field, especially with Justin Thompson to replace free agent departee Aaron Sele. Detroit, meanwhile, gets a marquee player to prove to the world that they're ready to try real hard to win some games next year with the opening of the new stadium.

The Griffey story is quite different from the usual love 'em and leave 'em tale from the major league merry-go-round. Whether you believe the schmaltz about wanting to be nearer his family or not, there's no denying that it's been a longtime preoccupation of his. Despite the Nike and Nintendo hype, he's never been a real charismatic presence in the media; he's always been a very private person. His local Seattle commercials for Chevy trucks give no indication that Griffey is a star attraction for baseball fans across the country. His reputation has been built up steadily from on-field performance, not off-field flash. Despite the retiring personality, he has managed to avoid the surly tag that Barry Bonds has been stuck with.

There's little doubt that the death of golfer Payne Stewart played heavily into the abruptness of the "gotta get out of Seattle" scenario. Griffey's close ties to the Orlando pro golf community put him firmly in the middle of the emotional maelstrom that was Stewart's memorial service. While his new buddy Tiger Woods just gritted his teeth and went out last weekend to win another million bucks or so.

Griffey, with wife and kids, got to think long and hard about what he wants to do with his life while he chases Hank Aaron's home run record. While his family has lived in Seattle, they obviously prefer Orlando, and there is no major league team further away than Seattle. Another factor is that the Mariners travel more than any other team in the major leagues. With a record number of two-game series the last couple of years, the Mariners logged thousands of air-miles more than any other team and are likely to continue doing so.

Admittedly, those miles aren't flown in a thirty year-old Learjet with a relatively inexperienced crew, but the Egypt Air incident reminded everyone that no airplane is immune to disaster. Enough to make someone about to sign a contract for nearly $200M think twice? You bet.

The likelihood is, of course, that he'll be chasing Hammerin' Hank's record in Aaron's old haunt. Well, at least the same uniform. The Braves are easily the best fit for a trade with Seattle. The Mariners could use more pitching and Andruw Jones, while the Braves would be getting a true marquee player. Along with Chipper and the return of Lopez and Galarraga, the offense could be very potent indeed next year. Besides, the reason I know with absolute certainty that Griffey will be traded to Atlanta is that I've razzed Andruw Jones way too much the last couple of years. I did it last year to Brian Hunter, and he ended up in Seattle, so I'm sure it's a foregone conclusion that Andruw will end up in the Pacific Northwest, too. At least he can play the game, and my ribbing so far has been more tongue in cheek than anything. Unlike my merciless pursuit of Hunter.

Meanwhile, what about Dante Bichette, the once-upon-a-time NL MVP candidate? After a couple of years of smooth stealth trading, Jim Bowden is putting his reputation on the line in acquiring the overrated portly slugger. We all know of the magical offensive power that Coors generates (the field, not the beer) and if you look at Bichette's road numbers this year (.844 OPS on the road, vs. .938 at Coors), you may be fooled into thinking that the Coors effect isn't that great, at least not for Bichette. After all, you might point out, isn't that what they all said about Andres Galarraga a couple of years ago, and didn't he work out OK?

Well, I'd have to come right back at you with Dante's numbers from the previous five seasons (93-98). At Coors during that span, he hit for a cool 1.056 OPS, but on the road was a very shabby .719. The 1998 season was one of his wildest splits (1.032 against .693). So which Dante do you think will show up in Cincinnati next year? I'm guessing that the Reds would have been better off keeping Jeffrey Hammonds and the $1.9M in cash. And if they really wanted to get rid of Stan Belinda, a one way ticket to Tijuana would have been much cheaper. As it is, I hate to think how high his ERA could go in Coors next year.

Dave Paisley has travelled plenty in his time, and believe him when he says flying isn't all it's cracked up to be. Send him your unused frequent flier miles at drdjp@strikethree.com.

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