Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners agreed Wednesday to another one-year contract that will keep the popular slugger in Seattle next year. Baseball's active home run leader, who turns 40 on Nov. 21, will basically get the same, incentive-laden deal with $2 million in base salary he signed to return to Seattle for the 2009 season.
The Tampa Bay Rays will not get the chance for a second straight championship season. Jose Lopez hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Rays 4-3 Tuesday night, eliminating the defending AL champions from the postseason. "It's not the way we wanted this year to end," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said.