Some of you predicted this - kudos for that.
Red rover, red rover, Ben Grieve come over. Grieve, the 1998 AL Rookie of the Year, will provide a reality-check for Jason Bay, who still has a long way to go as he establishes himself as an enduring and productive big-leaguer.
Grieve's comparable players - see the above link - are pretty good. This is another good low-risk, high-upside signing. Grieve is no savior but he has a great career OBP. Like Matt Lawton, he's of more value to the impatient young Pirates team than he would be to many other teams. We need more guys who can set an example of working the count. Craig Wilson has decent on-base skills but leaning in and getting hit by a pitch is not a method that will work for everyone.
Grieve's one of the new generation of low-BA, high-OBP hitters that don't impress too many people because he strikes out a lot. And like Mackowiak, who now avoid arbitration after getting a sweet raise, Grieve hasn't been able to hit left-handed pitching. That said, he crushed lefties in the very few at-bats he was given against them last year.
Hitting lefties or not hitting lefties, he's a player that fits with Mac's Shuffle Boogie management philosophy. Give us all your guys with vicious platoon splits. There's no doubt they are undervalued on the free agent market.
Now, what's the story with his defensive ability? I remember him being described as a statue in the Oakland outfield. Anyone have any good idea how his defensive abilities rate? Does he have a good arm? What does it say on his Strat card?
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