Junior

The latest rumor, per Boston Dirt Dogs is that Ken Griffey Jr. will be coming aboard in a deal involving the newly-signed Bronson Arroyo. I suspect most people's first reaction, as mine was, is "NO! They call him Mr. Glass!" This is a very valid sentiment.

Moreover, the Arroyo signing is a good one for the Sox. Bronson, in spite of some glaring meltdowns in big games, is an underrated player. He is obviously the most tradeable commodity the Sox have. He is young, eats up innings, and is, declining K/9 rates be damned, not a bad pitcher. He's never been on the DL. He is cheap. He plays guitar, and makes bad hair decisions. There is nothing not to like.

Even assuming Griffey holds up for 500 ABs and produces like he's capable of, he is 36 years old (exactly the age we, certainly I, have been citing as the crap years of Captain Caveman's fat contract with the MFYs)and would serve only as a bridge to Ellsbury. Is that fair market value for Arroyo? Probably not, but we could be in a position where we simply cannot get fair market value in any deal for a CF.

If Griffey holds up to the numbers he put up last year, even with some regression, for another two years, I like this deal. His OPS last season was .942. He hit 35 dings in under 500 ABs. In Fenway that number is likely to increase, which hopefully means other guys will see better pitches. He helps the team if he stays on the field, although not IN the field, where his defense is careening into Bernie Williams territory. Fortunately we have defensive whiz Adam Stern to bring into blowouts.

If he "pulls a Griffey" and is on the DL by May (in Vegas the odds on this can't be good, probably like 8/5) then we've given Arroyo away for no reason, and people are skulking down Yawkey Way carrying tire irons. It's possible that given the disparity in the contracts, and the value of the players, that the Sox would get a prospect back too. We'll see how it plays out. Once again, the 2006 offseason can be described with one word: ambivalent.