So after being limited to only 364 at bats (and 22 home runs) last year, Ken Griffey Jr. is injured again. This time he’s out for three to six weeks with a partial tendon tear in his right knee. He’s had two hamstring tears in the last two years and hasn’t played a complete season since joining the Reds.

Before Bonds took over last year, the smart money was on Griffey — if anyone — to break Hank Aaron’s home run record. Through 2000, he had averaged 35 home runs a year for his career, and 48 home runs in the seven complete seasons since the extra live ball era began in 1993.

Right now, Junior’s got 461 home runs, putting him at No. 22 on the list, but he’s still only 31. So, assuming he kept up his 48-home run pace through age 35 (when most players, unlike Bonds, McGwire and Aaron, start to decline), he’d have a total of of 652 home runs. Then he could coast with 25 home runs a year for a little over four years and be the toast of baseball at 40.

Oh, and by the way, he was supposed to help his hometown Reds win another championship. But his Cincinnati homecoming has been a disaster, and his leg troubles have weakened his once glorious outfield defense.

Hopefully, Junior will recover and be better than ever (except against the Cubs, of course). I want to to see him make a run for the record. He’s had a great career, but he can go down as one of the best ever, as Bonds is now doing. Like Bonds, Griffey’s got a shaky rep. He should learn from his San Francisco colleague and disregard the critics while making himself injury-proof.

It’s really up to him now. Great — or the greatest?