From Lou to Ozzie: Welcome, Junior

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Cap flipped around backward, bat slung over his shoulder, Ken Griffey Jr. was walking slowly through the clubhouse on his first day with the White Sox on Friday when he suddenly faced danger.

Just as Griffey neared the manager's office, a laughing Ozzie Guillen came charging out and nearly collided with the future Hall of Famer. Griffey could barely catch his breath when another blur came flying out of the office. It was Ozzie Guillen Jr., chasing after his dad.

Welcome to the White Sox.

Does Griffey realize what he has gotten himself into by approving his trade from the Cincinnati Reds to the high-jinks world of the White Sox and their off-beat manager?

''I've also had Lou,'' a giggling Griffey said of his former Seattle Mariners skipper Lou Piniella. ''It can't be that much different.''

It's a safe bet a laughing Piniella -- wearing his own cap backward -- never nearly barreled over his prized slugger during their days in Seattle. But we get the point.

''Two guys that care about baseball,'' Griffey continued. ''Two guys who care about how people play and how you are as a person.''

There are still plenty of pages left in the book on Ken Griffey Jr., but it's clear we're close to the final chapter. By his own admission, no one should expect the 1990s version of ''The Natural.'' Still, the 38-year-old has plenty to offer.

He got a nice ovation -- even at Kauffman Stadium -- when he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat. With Jim Thome on second, Griffey lined an RBI single that nearly took Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar's head for a ride.

That accounted for all of the scoring -- for either team -- until Griffey added another RBI single in the sixth inning.

Griffey did his first damage with the Sox batting from the seventh spot in the lineup. In the first 2,480 games of his career, Griffey had started a grand total of three games in the seventh spot. He has never started a game batting lower than seventh. This season, in 89 of the 96 games he started for the Reds, he hit in the prized third spot. He hit second in four starts, cleanup in the other three.

None of this was lost on Guillen, who was making a statement as much as he was trying to get a little separation between his lefty sluggers, with Thome batting fifth.

''I'm just going to make it clear: Kenny, he didn't come here to save this ballclub,'' Guillen said. ''If you're going to put pressure, or people in Chicago think Kenny's come here to save this or we're going to be automatic, he doesn't deserve that.''

General manager Ken Williams, who swung the Griffey deal three years after he made his initial run at the slugger, was targeting Oakland Athletics closer Huston Street. No deal. He also made a run at Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, the speedy leadoff hitter Guillen has craved. No deal.

Then he dialed the Reds 24 hours before the non-waiver trade deadline and connected quickly.

As far as consolation prizes go, Griffey isn't a bad one -- especially when considering the Sox parted with struggling reliever Nick Masset and minor-league infielder Danny Richar, who was falling off the Sox' radar.

''He's a piece of the puzzle where the opposing pitcher can look at the lineup and go, 'Oh, geez, this can stack up as one of the better clubs out there,''' Williams said. ''But he's just a piece, coming in here and trying to keep us in first place.''

So far, so good.