Busy Day in Beantown

The Red Sox made two deals on Wednesday, and while neither one can match the earth shaking move from last season when they dealt the head case that is Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay, each move was meant to tweak a Red Sox roster that is need of a pick me up. In what follows I’ll give my thoughts on both moves, as well as spending a few moments detailing the demise of professional baseball in Pittsburgh.

Adam LaRoche was traded from the Pirates to the Red Sox in exchange for two minor leaguers you have never heard of – SS Argenis Diaz and SP Hunter Strickland. The reason you have never heard of them is that they are both young and haven’t yet appeared above Double-A. If you want to read more about all three guys and the move in general, please give LaRoche Headed to Beantown a read as I spend a good bit of time breaking things down. The early consensus is that the Pirates got a guy who can field with the best of them but hits like his eyes are closed, as well as a nice control artist who one day might be a solid 4th starter. Should the club have gotten more for the power-hitting LaRoche? Working against them was the fact that LaRoche is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, and teams are shying away from adding talent that they can’t control as the downturn in the economy has finally begun to make teams cautious of those “rent-a-players” who only spend a couple of months with the club before signing with someone else the following year.

Regardless of that, I just don’t get it. Three weeks ago I wrote Will It Ever End? in which I questioned the commitment to winning in Pittsburgh. The deal currently being discussed has done nothing but buttress the feelings that I illuminated in that previous piece. I was ready to continue to lambaste the Pirates organization for their further ineptitude but my colleague, the always astute Ted Carlson, beat me to it with his piece Updated Pirates Scorecard. I could add my two cents, but I think the two links do justice to what has become a laughable situation in Pittsburgh. If I was a Pirates fan, I think I would go on permanent strike.

The other deal that the Red Sox made was to send disgruntled SS Julio Lugo to the Cardinals in exchange for struggling outfielder Chris Duncan. As I write this the deal isn’t “official,” but what we believe is that the Red Sox will likely pay the majority of the $13 million that Lugo is due this season and next. As for his work on the field, Lugo has hit .284 in his 109 ABs this season. Injuries to his legs have limited him to just three steals on the year, and without that asset his game isn’t very valuable, but it should be pointed out that has exceeded his career batting average (.271) and OBP (.335) this season (his current OBP is .352). With the Cardinals no longer trusting Khalil Greene at shortstop, and with ample reason, the only man in Lugo’s way to substantial playing time is the .276 hitting Brendan Ryan who has all of one home run and a .313 OBP in 214 at-bats. Do you really think Lugo won’t be able to garner the majority of playing time in St. Louis given that competition? Don’t forget that a move to St. Louis late in the year did wonders to awaken the bat of Felipe Lopez.

As for what the Red Sox got in the deal, Duncan has been a mess this year hitting .227 with five home runs in 260 ABs. Whether or not his back will ever be sufficiently healed to allow him to return to the 20-HR plateau he has reached previously is open for debate, but it’s not debatable that dude simply cannot hit left handed pitching with a .206/.269/.346 career line in 228 ABs. As a result of his struggles this season it is believe that the Sox will send him down for some work in the minors (with the addition of LaRoche there would be no room for him at first, so he will only be called up when the team feels they have a need in the outfield). To me, this is a negligible move and one that lessons his already meager fantasy value.

Overall you gotta like what the Red Sox did on this day. They added two left-handed bats that could potentially provide some nice pop as well as given them two solid veteran type hitters for depth plays if their frontline performers struggle or go down with injury.


By Ray Flowers

You Gotta Love It

I love it. Baseball is here, and finally there are box scores that matter. Speaking of that, is there anything better in the morning that eating a bowl of oatmeal while reading the box scores from the previous night? I love technology, but something about that newspaper in my fingers at the table brings me back to my childhood, and I love it.

Chad Billingsley struck out 11 Giants on Monday. First off, that doesn’t really surprise me much considering that the Giants are a less than stellar offense. Secondly, it is proof that Chad has just about revived as an ace. The only reason I personally didn’t have him in my top-10 starters this year was because of the concern over how much his broken leg would set him back this off-season. Through two starts this year it hasn’t bothered him at all as he is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA.

Brad Hawpe tweaked his hammy on Monday, and as of this writing it’s not known how severe the injury is. It is being called day to day. For those of you who grabbed Dexter Fowler perhaps Hawpe missing a week’s worth of games would allow Fowler to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with. I know that would personally please me.

Randy Johnson looked strong this spring, and though it’s only two starts, things aren’t going well with his new team now that the games count. RJ has 12 K in just 8.2 innings clearly showing his stuff is still strong, but its obvious that his location has been off as his ERA after two outings is 11.42 thanks to the fact that he has already walked six batters. I wouldn’t discount him just yet, but at the same time it might be wise to park him on your bench until he shows something on the hill for the Giants.

Evan Longoria has been great so far leading to the AL Player of the Week honors thanks to a .481 batting average and five home runs. That kid can flat out rake.

So is the world of an AL-only owner. Jed Lowrie will be placed on the DL with a wrist injury that dates back to last year. Lowrie hit .343 with 16 RBI in 25 games this spring, and with Julio Lugo on the DL to start the year because of an injured knee, the hope was that Lowrie could burst on to the scene as a fantasy force in 2009. He didn’t. Lowrie was just 1-for-18 with eight strikeouts before being shut down, so it’s not like the Sox will be missing much at the dish. As for Lugo, he will likely only have to be out the likes of Nick Green and Gil Vazquez for the starting role once he is healthy which should hopefully be by the end of April. Don’t overlook Lugo if he is on waivers in a mixed league and you need some help at the middle infield spot. Lugo averaged 32 steals each season from 2005-07, and provided his knee is sound he should do some running when he returns.

Despite reports of a potential injury, a declining fastball, and poor performance on the hill (21.60 ERA, 4.20 WHIP in two appearances), B.J. Ryan will remain the Jays’ closer according to manager Cito Gaston. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg had the following to say. “I know he’s got a heart the size of Texas. I know he’s busting his [rear] to thrill all the fans in Toronto — make everybody turn their backs on the B.J. Ryan saga.” Look, I’m not saying Ryan is a bad guy, he might be a saint, but the facts are the facts and they show that Ryan just isn’t the clubs best option to be pitching the ninth inning. I wish Ryan all the luck in the world, but as soon as the team starts losing, they started hot at 5-2, look for the club to make a move if Ryan doesn’t show drastic improvement.