Vaughn Grissom is in the middle of a mini-breakout with the Los Angeles Angels. In just over 300 plate appearances, he's hitting .250/.311/.386 while playing respectable defense at three infield positions. He's slowed down a bit since his hot start, but overall, he's been a pleasant surprise for a team that only needed to surrender outfield prospect Isaiah Jackson for his services.
So, how is he celebrating that success? By calling out the Boston Red Sox once again (via the Boston Herald).
“I think I would probably attribute that to the computer, you know what I mean?” Grissom said. “You have to watch the game and I think I’m damn near the same player, it’s just the opportunity, these people believe in me and in Boston there was no belief in the player. It is what it is, some people watch the game, some people go on the computer.”
Good to know he's still thinking about his ex, I guess.
Vaughn Grissom is throwing stones at Red Sox from a glass house in Anaheim
In fairness to Grissom, it's true that he didn't get a lot of opportunity in Boston. He spoke out excessively against management while still with the franchise, which definitely played a part, but he was also outperforming guys like David Hamilton and Nick Sogard in Triple-A and was still passed over for promotions.
It's also true that the Red Sox have been accused of being a little too analytical under the watchful eye of Craig Breslow. His communication skills have been so thoroughly panned that there were rumblings of the organization needed to hire a "Breslow translator" this summer, and there's no shortage of fans that have been frustrated with some of his choices in free agency and on the trade market.
At the same time, Grissom is talking all this smack about the Red Sox while lauding... the Angels? Really? The same franchise that couldn't win with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani? Talk about throwing stones from a glass house.
It's nice that he's having some success in a low-pressure environment, but it's also not like Grissom has become an All-Star now that he's free of the Red Sox's cold, calculating clutches. Save for a solid whiff rate, he's been below average in every category that Baseball Savant tracks, including those on defense and the basepaths. There's no shame in being a slightly subpar major leaguer — that's a threshold that most humans could only dream of — but Grissom is talking as though he's always been a superstar, which just isn't true.
Oh well. If he's pleased with his individual performance, more power to him. The Angels are currently the worst team in the league by record. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are in pole position to grab the American League's second Wild Card.
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