Why Write a New Cliche

"Be careful what you wish for." "The grass is always greener on the other side." "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Is there really a point in me writing a blog about the trade demands of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett and my desire to see both players in Chicago Bulls uniforms next season? While most sports stories revolve around some cliche, it can be fun to see how to get there. After all, it's really the action on the field of play that we want to see. It's what happens there that puts into play our assumptions of the human character.

Ken Griffey Jr.'s return to Seattle this past weekend offered a poignant example of what can happen when a player demands a change of scenery. He left a Seattle team that would make the ALCS in consecutive years. He went to a Cincinnati organization that put together a few other good hitters and a mediocre pitching staff at best. The team refused to spend money, and when it did it wasted it on the likes of Eric Milton. It had a logjam at the corner outfield spots, so it gave away Austin Kearns and traded Wily Mo Pena and is now looking to get rid of Adam Dunn as well.

Did Junior Griffey get what he deserved, asking Seattle to trade him? If anything, he helped the Mariners. Instead of losing him after the 2000 season for nothing, they acquired Mike Cameron who was able to play excellent defense in center and contribute more with the bat than most would suspect. Griffey gave the Reds a "home town discount" and watched them fumble the second half of a Hall of Famer's career. He suddenly became injury prone and a liability in center. The greatness of his early years in Seattle is mostly forgotten already. Is it simply cosmic retribution?

No, it was bad luck for Ken Griffey, Jr. He was traded from a team ready to make a run for the next few years to an organization waddling in mediocrity. His body suffered from fluke injuries and serious break downs.

Is this what KG and Kobe should expect for the rest of their careers if they get traded? What about another athlete who played in Cincinnati? Corey Dillon was the only better than average player on some very bad Bengals teams for years. He went out game after game and put it all on the line. He would then go into the locker room and tell the press how much he hated the organization. He would remind everyone that he needed better teammates. The Bengals finally put some good, young talent around him and he wanted out.

Known as one of the NFL's biggest malcontents, he was traded to the defending Super Bowl Champion Patriots. He had a huge year in helping them defend their title. Over the next couple years, his reputation went from one of the worst in the league to that of a respected veteran with a solid presence in the locker room. His complaining in Cincinnati was, though not completely forgotten, at least faded in terms of significance to his career's story.

It was good luck for Corey Dillon. What will become of Garnett and Kobe? If they get traded, will they suffer for their demands and remain stuck in a position from which they cannot contend? Or will they find themselves being elevated because fortune smiled on them and they were left in positions for greater glory? Only time will tell of course. If Junior Griffey's career taught us one thing, though, you may not always get what you deserve, so be careful what you wish for.