Tom Dipace/ESPN.com

Ken Griffey Jr. became the sixth player in baseball history to hit 600 homers by going deep Monday.

BIG RED

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

Ken Griffey Jr., a center fielder most of his career and a right fielder now as his days in the majors wind down, clubbed his 600th career home run Monday night in the first inning against the Florida Marlins.

We may not remember Griffey as baseball's most prolific home run hitter, but his career has been among the most memorable during the ESPN era.

He was a five-tool player in his prime, one many thought would be the home run king by the time he retired. He provided many great highlights for "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight," whether it was hitting a home run or taking one away.

600 Home Run Club
	Age	At-bats to reach
Babe Ruth	36	6,919
Barry Bonds	38	8,212
Sammy Sosa	38	8,636
Ken Griffey Jr.	38	9,042
Willie Mays	38	9,514
Hank Aaron	37	10,009

Ken Griffey Jr., HR breakdown
Most vs. team	38 (vs. Twins)
Most in one park	198 (Kingdome)
Most vs. pitcher	8 (David Wells)
Most in month	131 (May)
Grand slams	15
Walk-off HRs	4 (includes an inside-the-park homer)

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: June 8 | June 5 | June 4 | June 3 | June 2 | June 1

CAN DETROIT RECOVER?

By Orel Hershiser, ESPN

Can they? Yes, because the American League Central is so mediocre right now. In the preseason, the cream of the division was supposed to be Detroit and Cleveland, and when the cream spoils that allows the whole division to have a chance.

The Tigers have done poorly so far because of a combination of things: Other than Curtis Granderson in center, they don't have a great defense. They were supposed to have outstanding starters with Justin Verlander, Jeremy Bonderman and Dontrelle Willis. They were supposed to have a great offense and score 1,000 runs.

So far, they have had bad defense and bad offense -- and terrible pitching. Now, we knew the bullpen would struggle. But with Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney coming back from injuries, that should start to put things back in order there. But now it looks like Bonderman will be out for the year with a blood clot in pitching shoulder. Verlander has been OK, but he has fallen victim to bad offensive support. The team has scored just three runs per start for him this year. Willis will play a huge role going forward, especially with Bonderman's absence.

The lineup is struggling, too. Much of the lineup is hitting below their career averages. And it's not any one guy -- it's the whole team. Only a new mindset and new approach will fix their problems. Jim Leyland has done more than any manager to make changes to get his lineup going. Moving Miguel Cabrera from third to first, and Carlos Guillen from first to third and then to left field are just a couple of many, many examples. And he's not changing things up with some rookie -- he's doing it with Cabrera, a guy with the biggest contract (eight years, $152 million) in the history of the franchise. Now it's up to the players, not Leyland.

On an airplane the other day, a Tigers fan asked me what's wrong with the team and my immediate response was, "They got old at the same time." In some ways, they all have had their down year at the same time. Hitters do have down periods, and, unfortunately for them, it looks like most of the team just happens to be having one at the exact same time.

FORWARD THINKING: TUESDAY

•  Braves at Cubs, 8:05 p.m. ET: The last time Tom Glavine (2-2, 4.47 ERA) pitched at Wrigley Field he was picking up his 300th career win. Over his career, though, Glavine is a modest 7-5 at Wrigley. Left-handers are not having much trouble with Ted Lilly (5-5, 5.23 ERA) this season. They are hitting .309 against him.

•  Rays at Angels, 10:05 p.m. ET: James Shields (4-4, 3.64 ERA) returns to the mound for the first time since that benches-clearing brawl with the Red Sox. Shields earned a six-game suspension, but is appealing. Jered Weaver (5-6, 4.79 ERA) has given up 10 hits in each of his past two starts. That makes five starts this season in which he has given up double-digit hits.

• Yankees at A's, 10:05 p.m. ET: Chien-Ming Wang (6-2, 4.57 ERA) continues his search for a win. He has not won since May 2, going 0-2 with four no decisions as his ERA has jumped from 3.00 to its current 4.57. Dana Eveland (4-4, 3.82 ERA) was wild last time out, issuing seven walks against Detroit. In his previous four starts, however, he only allowed eight total.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Tuesday's games