RLakin
All Star
http://www.azgameday.com/news_gameday.shtml#newsitem1057270012,94265
On the previous thread I saw some comments about Grace's value to the team in the context of his personality. This sentiment has been echoed more than once by those in the media (including Gary Cruz on our show Sat.). What you have to remember, though, is that many of the people on radio and television aren't indebted to Grace because of the wonderful spokesman he has been for this team. You can always get a good sound bite out of "Gracie," and he makes the jobs of those covering the D-Backs that much easier. It's called buying "protection" from the media, a concept explained to me by Skip Bayless. Skip saw this happen in Chicago w/ Grace and in Dallas w/ Emmitt Smith. Those guys were beloved by fans and media members in both of those respective cities and, as a result, you probably wouldn't see many columns or news stories questioning their value as it pertains to the specific sport that they participated in. Or their value to that specific team.
Grace's on-field value to the 2003 Arizona Diamondbacks is hardly noteworthy. He plays one position, hits from one side of the plate, has little power, and almost no speed. He’s barely hitting over .200 and Lyle Overbay has even supplanted him as the best defensive 1st baseman on the roster.
Given all this, I don't see a persuasive baseball argument that can legitimately contend that Grace is one of the 25 best players in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. All I know and seem to hear, is that he’s one of the 25 best human beings. I’m sorry to say it, but that means little to a team trying to win baseball games.
On the previous thread I saw some comments about Grace's value to the team in the context of his personality. This sentiment has been echoed more than once by those in the media (including Gary Cruz on our show Sat.). What you have to remember, though, is that many of the people on radio and television aren't indebted to Grace because of the wonderful spokesman he has been for this team. You can always get a good sound bite out of "Gracie," and he makes the jobs of those covering the D-Backs that much easier. It's called buying "protection" from the media, a concept explained to me by Skip Bayless. Skip saw this happen in Chicago w/ Grace and in Dallas w/ Emmitt Smith. Those guys were beloved by fans and media members in both of those respective cities and, as a result, you probably wouldn't see many columns or news stories questioning their value as it pertains to the specific sport that they participated in. Or their value to that specific team.
Grace's on-field value to the 2003 Arizona Diamondbacks is hardly noteworthy. He plays one position, hits from one side of the plate, has little power, and almost no speed. He’s barely hitting over .200 and Lyle Overbay has even supplanted him as the best defensive 1st baseman on the roster.
Given all this, I don't see a persuasive baseball argument that can legitimately contend that Grace is one of the 25 best players in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. All I know and seem to hear, is that he’s one of the 25 best human beings. I’m sorry to say it, but that means little to a team trying to win baseball games.
