Not only was this unexpected, but kind of pathetic, considering that it came to light in a Baseball America minor league transactions column. It's hard not to think that there was more to it than Frieri just sucking with the Pirates. The Pirates evidently saw no point in having Ray Searage try to work some sort of magic on him.
Anyway, since that fateful meeting in O'Hare Airport, Frieri has put up a 10.13 ERA and 1.78 WHIP with the Pirates and 3.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with Indianapolis. Meanwhile, Jason Grilli, pitching in a role for which he's overqualified, has a 2.28 ERA and 1.01 WHIP for the Angels. He cut his walk rate more than in half after leaving the Pirates. Grilli is represented by Gary Sheffield. Frieri is not.