Brett Tomko was sent packing by the Reds in the Ken Griffey Jr. trade.

Tomko was one of the main cogs in the package the Cincinnati Reds sent to Seattle for Griffey. Recently on ESPN's Up Close with Gary Miller, Tomko said he is looking forward to pitching for the Mariners and and is not worried about the pressure that comes with being traded for a superstar.

"I'm sure I'm going to hear a little bit from the fans saying, 'You're the one we got for Griffey,' " Tomko said. "I'm ready for it. I know what I'm capable of doing and I'm sure the Mariners know what I'm capable of doing."

An edited transcript of Tomko's Feb. 10 comments follows.

Miller: Brett, for now you're a Mariner. Take us through the last 24 hours of your life.

Tomko: Wow. I got an e-mail yesterday saying that the trade may happen and I hadn't heard about anything for a couple of weeks, so it was kind of a shock to me, and then all of a sudden I'm getting phone calls. My mom's calling me from her office saying, "You're going to be traded. You might be in Seattle. You might be in Anaheim. Who knows?" It all started then and then the whole day I was getting phone calls left and right. I went to a Lakers game last night: we were watching a Lakers game with my brother and my friend Bill, and the phone is going nuts. I don't know what to think. I'm thinking, "is it going to happen, is it not?" So I wake up today, go to work out, make a couple of phone calls to find out what's going on and see if I should fly to Sarasota tomorrow and I was told I wouldn't make those kind of arrangements yet. I kind of figured that it was inevitable that I was going somewhere.

Miller: You grew up in Anaheim. How much did you want to pitch for the Angels?

Tomko: I used to grow up going to Angels games, so I was right there. The fact that I'm in Seattle, that's great. They got a great ball club, the management, the fans; it's a great place to play as far as I've heard. I'm excited. I talked to Pat Gillick and Chuck Armstrong just a while ago and they're excited and I'm pretty excited to get going. It's been a great off-season, and I've worked real hard and I'm eager. I'm eager to get out there and start playing? I'm still kind of numb about the magnitude of it; that it's Ken Griffey Jr., possibly the greatest baseball player of all time. It's like being traded for Jordan or something. I don't think it's really hit me yet.

Miller: One of the things you said to a Cincinnati reporter when you thought that you were going to go to the Angels when he called you yesterday was, "I'm upset that I don't get to play with Junior."

Tomko: You've got to look at it from that standpoint. Junior is coming to the Reds, so I'm thinking that it would be great to play with Ken Griffey Jr. His dad has been our bench coach, so I've played golf with Junior a couple of times. I was kind of excited about that and then I realized I may be in the trade and I may be crossing him on a flight. It happens. You realize baseball is a business and I realized that in the last couple of days that no matter what's said to you, things can change real quick and real drastically.

Miller: Who was affected most by the fact that you are not going to be there?

Tomko: I called Sean Casey this morning and he said he couldn't even call me. He's like, "I'm glad you called me. I'm really upset because we had become pretty close the last year." I was excited to see him at spring training and then all of a sudden I'm not going to get to see him. He said, "It's one of those situations where it might be for the best." He even said, "When I got traded over here from Cleveland, I left a lot of good friends. It was real emotional, and I was sad but it was the best for my career." He said, "You just have to look at the positive and try to handle it that way."

Miller: What kind of pressure do you feel about going in to the Mariners for Junior?

Tomko: We were talking about that on the way over here. I'm sure I'm going to hear a little bit from the fans saying, "You're the one we got for Griffey." I'm ready for it. I know what I'm capable of doing and I'm sure the Mariners know what I'm capable of doing. So it's just one of those things, you go out there and do your job and if put up the numbers, no one can say anything about you.