Therapeutic Remedial Massages

Edgar Martinez doesn’t need video,Ken Griffey Shoes or any other sort of electronic mental nudge, to recall the fledgling days of Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle. The majestic home-run stroke is indelibly etched in his consciousness.

“It’s almost like I have a photograph Ken Griffey Jr Shoesof his swing in my mind,” Martinez said. “I have a picture of him hitting balls. It was something pretty to watch, and I watched that from the on-deck circle for a long time.”

Seemingly gone forever, Charles Barkley Shoesthe victim of a relentless series of injuries in Cincinnati, Griffey’s magic swing has returned with a vengeance this season.

And yesterday in a moment that those New Ken Griffey Shoeswho saw him in Seattle felt certain would happen much sooner, he made magical baseball history, connecting for his 500th home run.

“I used to think he had a shot Ken Griffey Jr Shoesto push Mays,” former teammate Mike Blowers said of Willie Mays’ 660 home runs. “I thought 500 was in the bag, and I thought it would come much sooner than it has.”

But that was before Griffey succumbed to Ken Griffey Shoesthe ravages of age and, some would say, his lax training regimen in his Seattle prime. After averaging 52 homers and 141 runs batted in in his final four seasons with the Mariners, he connected for 40 homers in his first year with Cincinnati in 2000, then fell to 22, 8 and 13 in 2001-03. In those seasons, Griffey missed more than 250 games with hamstring, knee, shoulder and ankle injuries.

By all appearances, his days as an Ken Griffey Jr Shoesimpact power hitter were finished. But this season, at age 34, Griffey has been reborn. Rumored in spring training as a possible Mariners trade target, his production — 19 homers and 54 RBI, both among the National League leaders — has far out-stripped anyone on the Seattle roster.

“He’s happy that he can Ken Griffey Shoesstand here today and say, ‘I’m healthy,’ ” said Reds general manager Dan O’Brien Jr. “It seems like each and every game he plays, he takes a step toward being the Ken Griffey Jr. you remember from his Seattle days. He’s 100 percent, which is why you see that smile.”

Indeed, Griffey is slowly regaining the exuberance that made him, in his early tenure in Seattle, the game’s dominant personality. Griffey ShoesIn recent years, the celebrated smile has too often been replaced by a sullen attitude that sharply cut into his popularity.

“I think more than approaching 500 home runs, Griffeysthe biggest reason for the big smile on his face lately is because he’s been healthy, and his body parts are working again,” said Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg.

“Really, the most upbeat I’ve ever seen him was a couple of weeks ago, when he said that for the first time his legs were 100 percent strong, and he could do all the things in the field and at the plate he was capable of doing.”

Griffey’s resurgence has coincided — and not coincidentally — with a surprising run to contention in the National League Central by the 38-31 Reds, who lost 93 games last year.

Houston’s Lance Berkman calls Griffey “probably the key to that whole offense in Cincinnati, and I think he’s a big reason they’ve done so well this year.”

Added Berkman, “It’s funny how quickly people forget about you when you’re hurt, or haven’t done well for a few years. But I think he’s reminding everybody what kind of player he was and is.”

Those who saw his incipient superstardom in Seattle need little reminder.

“I knew right away his talent was something special — what he could do with his swing, his skills playing the game, running and throwing,” Martinez said. “I knew he had everything it took to be a great player, and he started showing that immediately.”

What Martinez didn’t know immediately was whether Griffey would become the power hitter he eventually did, starting most emphatically with a breakthrough 45-homer season in 1993, his fifth full year.

“I didn’t know exactly if he was going to be a great home-run hitter, or more of an all-around player,” Martinez said. “I knew he had the tools to do either one. It’s a very special combination. Now he’s showing he’s more of a home-run hitter with a great swing.”

Blowers, who joined the Mariners in 1992, still marvels at the transcendent skill of Griffey in his prime.

“When I first came here, the team wasn’t the priority; Junior was — for good reason,” he said. “He was the draw. The team wasn’t very good. The thing I marveled at the first couple of years I played with him was just how he could capture a moment. If there was a big moment, Junior would rise to it. It was unbelievable, really, at times.”

And now that Griffey has risen to 500 home runs, it is legitimate to reconsider the question of just how far he can go. Once predicted by Hank Aaron as the likely successor to his home-run record, he has been surpassed in that pursuit by Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. And now his former teammate, Alex Rodriguez, has succeeded Griffey as the leading “on-pace-for” pursuer of the home-run record.

Yet Martinez, for one, believes that Griffey is young enough to reach 600 and beyond.

“The key is to stay healthy,” he said. “It seems that he has regained his form again, and he’s healthy again. Just stay that way, and he’ll be able to accomplish that.”

The ultimate accomplishment of this comeback season for Griffey may be equally as satisfying as reaching the historic number of 500: He has reawakened his status as one of the game’s elite players.

“A couple years ago, he couldn’t play a week straight because he was always hurt,” said Toronto’s Carlos Delgado. “Now he’s got a bunch of home runs, and it seems like he’s got his old swing back. That’s good for him, because he’s still a great player. I’m a big fan of saying your stuff doesn’t go away.”

Added Berkman, “Before Bonds and (Mark) McGwire took over the baseball landscape, and then Sammy in ’98, in the years leading up to that, Ken Griffey Jr. was head and shoulders above everyone as the best player in baseball.

“Since then, you’ve got Bonds, who had a late-career just incredible run; you’ve had A-Rod emerge as the heir apparent to being the next great player. And then with Griffey’s injuries, he dropped off, but who knows? Now, he might come roaring right back.”

Blowers, who saw Griffey do so many heroic feats early, would love to see a sustained career renaissance.

“It’s not only good for him, it’s good for baseball,” he said. “I think Ken Griffey Jr., when he was on his 10-year run here in Seattle, was great for baseball.

“I’m a huge fan, so I’m all for it. Hopefully, this year will not only help him get his numbers, and get his confidence and everything else coming back, but it will bring that smile back and that swagger back to him. That’s the part I think the fans want to see out of him.”

Edgar Martinez doesn’t need video,Ken Griffey Shoes or any other sort of electronic mental nudge, to recall the fledgling days of Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle. The majestic home-run stroke is indelibly etched in his consciousness.

“It’s almost like I have a photograph Ken Griffey Jr Shoesof his swing in my mind,” Martinez said. “I have a picture of him hitting balls. It was something pretty to watch, and I watched that from the on-deck circle for a long time.”

Seemingly gone forever, Charles Barkley Shoesthe victim of a relentless series of injuries in Cincinnati, Griffey’s magic swing has returned with a vengeance this season.

And yesterday in a moment that those New Ken Griffey Shoeswho saw him in Seattle felt certain would happen much sooner, he made magical baseball history, connecting for his 500th home run.

“I used to think he had a shot Ken Griffey Jr Shoesto push Mays,” former teammate Mike Blowers said of Willie Mays’ 660 home runs. “I thought 500 was in the bag, and I thought it would come much sooner than it has.”

But that was before Griffey succumbed to Ken Griffey Shoesthe ravages of age and, some would say, his lax training regimen in his Seattle prime. After averaging 52 homers and 141 runs batted in in his final four seasons with the Mariners, he connected for 40 homers in his first year with Cincinnati in 2000, then fell to 22, 8 and 13 in 2001-03. In those seasons, Griffey missed more than 250 games with hamstring, knee, shoulder and ankle injuries.

By all appearances, his days as an Ken Griffey Jr Shoesimpact power hitter were finished. But this season, at age 34, Griffey has been reborn. Rumored in spring training as a possible Mariners trade target, his production — 19 homers and 54 RBI, both among the National League leaders — has far out-stripped anyone on the Seattle roster.

“He’s happy that he can Ken Griffey Shoesstand here today and say, ‘I’m healthy,’ ” said Reds general manager Dan O’Brien Jr. “It seems like each and every game he plays, he takes a step toward being the Ken Griffey Jr. you remember from his Seattle days. He’s 100 percent, which is why you see that smile.”

Indeed, Griffey is slowly regaining the exuberance that made him, in his early tenure in Seattle, the game’s dominant personality. Griffey ShoesIn recent years, the celebrated smile has too often been replaced by a sullen attitude that sharply cut into his popularity.

“I think more than approaching 500 home runs, Griffeysthe biggest reason for the big smile on his face lately is because he’s been healthy, and his body parts are working again,” said Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg.

“Really, the most upbeat I’ve ever seen him was a couple of weeks ago, when he said that for the first time his legs were 100 percent strong, and he could do all the things in the field and at the plate he was capable of doing.”

Griffey’s resurgence has coincided — and not coincidentally — with a surprising run to contention in the National League Central by the 38-31 Reds, who lost 93 games last year.

Houston’s Lance Berkman calls Griffey “probably the key to that whole offense in Cincinnati, and I think he’s a big reason they’ve done so well this year.”

Added Berkman, “It’s funny how quickly people forget about you when you’re hurt, or haven’t done well for a few years. But I think he’s reminding everybody what kind of player he was and is.”

Those who saw his incipient superstardom in Seattle need little reminder.

“I knew right away his talent was something special — what he could do with his swing, his skills playing the game, running and throwing,” Martinez said. “I knew he had everything it took to be a great player, and he started showing that immediately.”

What Martinez didn’t know immediately was whether Griffey would become the power hitter he eventually did, starting most emphatically with a breakthrough 45-homer season in 1993, his fifth full year.

“I didn’t know exactly if he was going to be a great home-run hitter, or more of an all-around player,” Martinez said. “I knew he had the tools to do either one. It’s a very special combination. Now he’s showing he’s more of a home-run hitter with a great swing.”

Blowers, who joined the Mariners in 1992, still marvels at the transcendent skill of Griffey in his prime.

“When I first came here, the team wasn’t the priority; Junior was — for good reason,” he said. “He was the draw. The team wasn’t very good. The thing I marveled at the first couple of years I played with him was just how he could capture a moment. If there was a big moment, Junior would rise to it. It was unbelievable, really, at times.”

And now that Griffey has risen to 500 home runs, it is legitimate to reconsider the question of just how far he can go. Once predicted by Hank Aaron as the likely successor to his home-run record, he has been surpassed in that pursuit by Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa. And now his former teammate, Alex Rodriguez, has succeeded Griffey as the leading “on-pace-for” pursuer of the home-run record.

Yet Martinez, for one, believes that Griffey is young enough to reach 600 and beyond.

“The key is to stay healthy,” he said. “It seems that he has regained his form again, and he’s healthy again. Just stay that way, and he’ll be able to accomplish that.”

The ultimate accomplishment of this comeback season for Griffey may be equally as satisfying as reaching the historic number of 500: He has reawakened his status as one of the game’s elite players.

“A couple years ago, he couldn’t play a week straight because he was always hurt,” said Toronto’s Carlos Delgado. “Now he’s got a bunch of home runs, and it seems like he’s got his old swing back. That’s good for him, because he’s still a great player. I’m a big fan of saying your stuff doesn’t go away.”

Added Berkman, “Before Bonds and (Mark) McGwire took over the baseball landscape, and then Sammy in ’98, in the years leading up to that, Ken Griffey Jr. was head and shoulders above everyone as the best player in baseball.

“Since then, you’ve got Bonds, who had a late-career just incredible run; you’ve had A-Rod emerge as the heir apparent to being the next great player. And then with Griffey’s injuries, he dropped off, but who knows? Now, he might come roaring right back.”

Blowers, who saw Griffey do so many heroic feats early, would love to see a sustained career renaissance.

“It’s not only good for him, it’s good for baseball,” he said. “I think Ken Griffey Jr., when he was on his 10-year run here in Seattle, was great for baseball.

“I’m a huge fan, so I’m all for it. Hopefully, this year will not only help him get his numbers, and get his confidence and everything else coming back, but it will bring that smile back and that swagger back to him. That’s the part I think the fans want to see out of him.”