BBTF's Sox Therapy Discussion :: Trade Deadline Thread

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Trade Deadline Thread

Well, it’s that time of year again and the Red Sox are showing their usual midseason malaise. A very uninspring 61-47 record (2 games off their pythag) has them on pace for 91.5 wins, which is, pretty mediocre for a team of their resources. Today’s showing against the seemingly magical Angels did not do much to improve my view of them. Nor did losing 2 of 3 to the Yankees over the weekend.

But what do you do to improve the team at the trading deadline? The talent seems to be there at just about every position. Their pen could use one more good arm, but how much difference will that make over a 54 game stretch? And how likely are they, given their history, to actually pick up a good arm at a fair price at the deadline?

According to SI.com, the Phillies are frontrunners for Manny right now. I’m well beyond putting any stock in Manny rumors these days, and I don’t like the idea of doing a trade just to shake things up. But perhaps the front office doesn’t see things that way. Maybe they think a change in chemistry could improve things. Or maybe they see a way to improve the team by replacing Manny in-season.

Should make for a couple interesting days. Of course, I’d be more interested in the team putting together a nice winning streak.

Darren Posted: July 29, 2008 at 11:36 PM | 414 comment(s)
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401. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:08 PM (#2885318)

Upside is what the Littlefield Pirates didn't understand, and Huntington clearly does. I'd be really happy about this trade if I were a Pirates fan.

Where is the upside of Ohlendorf and Karstens? Oh right, they were passengers on Cory Lidle's plane, along with Jessica Alba's virginity.

402. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:09 PM (#2885323)

"Bryan Morris: 21 years old, in A ball, already lost one entire season to injury, 72 K and 31 BB in 81 innings. Not a prospect."

Yeah, um, not so much.

403. JC in DC Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:09 PM (#2885326)

If Wok didn't exist, we'd have to invent him.

404. Softball-Playing Human Refuses to Be Walked Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:09 PM (#2885328)

I don't disagree with this, but I guess this means the end of the "Manny's a great LFer in Boston's quirky LF" stuff and the beginning of the historical revision of his D.

Exactly. Familiarity with the Monster in LF is the only reason a butcher like Ramirez could even pretend to be within screaming distance of acceptable.

405. jmurph Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:10 PM (#2885332)

I like this karl mangus fella.

He's sharp, I'll give him that.

406. IronChef Chris Wok Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:12 PM (#2885343)

Btw, are we calling up Chris Carter now that Brandon moss is gone?

I'm surprised nobody wanted Carter. HE was the superior hitter to Moss but he can't play defense.

407. Elevate Phil Coorey Later Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:13 PM (#2885344)

karlmagnus - the Red Sox will win the World Series again before England wins the Ashes.

:)

408. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad) Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:13 PM (#2885345)

"Jose Bautista, who has not had a terrible year"

He's costing the team an awful lot of glove runs, and his bat isn't anything special. LaRoche is a big upgrade.

The Alvarez thing doesn't worry me much, since:
a) Alvarez isn't signed yet.
and
b) I've been mentally projecting Alvarez as a 1B anyway.

409. Sometimes it Rains (sj) Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:15 PM (#2885350)

HE was the superior hitter to Moss but he can't play defense.

Its because all he does is catch touchdowns. They are of very little use in baseball.

410. JPWF13 Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:15 PM (#2885351)

Not sure I agree, but at least he's a prospect. Very weird though to take LaRoche when they just drafted Alvarez.

Who they have not signed yet. A lot of the top 10 picks have yet to sign, but Coonelly has been making noise about being "frustrated" with Alvarez. Also under the new rules, if a team doesn't sign their 1st round pick they get an extra pick the next year the slot after. So if the Pirates do not sign Alvarez, they get pick #3 next year (in addition to their regular pick (likely around 8-10).

Now with LaRoche, Alvarez is superflous- I don't think the Pirates are going to up their offer, either Alvarez is going to have to cave, or he'll go back into the pot for next year.

411. karlmagnus Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:16 PM (#2885355)

That may well be true Phil; I'm planning to have myself cryogenically frozen until the MCC's genetic engineering labs under the Lords pavilion have done their job.

412. Still Waiting on Pork Chops (John R.) Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:19 PM (#2885369)

Effects of this trade:
Dodgers could make run at NL West
Red Sox no change still fighting TB/NYY for AL East or Wild Card
Pirates could reach .500 record next year or not.

My AL only fantasy team - decimated.

Sucks to hear that...

Of course, the smack-talker that has Manny in my AL-only league will get just enough FAAB back to get blitzed in his attempts to get any NL import better than Griffey. Meanwhile, if the trade I have to acquire FAAB gets accepted, I can have my choice of Tex or Bay...

Can my 10-point offense that could (in a 10-team 4x4) lead the charge into 2nd place?

413. Russ Posted: July 31, 2008 at 05:20 PM (#2885371)

b) I've been mentally projecting Alvarez as a 1B anyway.

That's better than me. I've been mentally projecting that Alvarez would tear an ACL or suffer kidney failure before the team would have the chance to move him.

414. Dan Posted: July 31, 2008 at 06:00 PM (#2885439)

Has there been a Theo interview at all yet?

415. Dan Posted: July 31, 2008 at 06:33 PM (#2885469)

Another point about Bay: the Red Sox are clearly pretty high on him, and quickly looking at his spray charts he's more of a pull line drive hitter like Lowell, so perhaps they feel he is a good fit for Fenway? Manny really isn't/wasn't a good fit at Fenway, it seems like he hit a lot of balls to right that were caught because of the deep RCF wall and the triangle.

416. tjm1 Posted: August 01, 2008 at 07:03 AM (#2885948)

What what they said about David Murphy. And Brandon Moss has much better power than Murphy.

Sure, but David Murphy is a fourth outfielder who just happens to be playing every day. In 518 at bats in the majors, he's .280/.328/.471, mostly playing his home games in Texas. That's a 110 OPS+. That's a good 4th outfielder or a passable starter. The fact that it's also a guy who might drive in 100 runs hitting fifth behind Kinsler, Young, Hamilton and Bradley doesn't make him a good everyday left fielder. It makes him an average one in a great situation. These are numbers pretty much like Buckner's numbers in 1985 and 1986 when he was hitting behind Evans and Boggs or Barrett and Boggs most of the time and drove in 100 runs when that was a lot, despite being a below average offensive 1B. Driving in 100 runs in those seasons was par for the course. Losing Moss will be no worse than losing Murphy or Murton. They're all decent major leaguers, but they're also all the kind of guys you can come up with one of every 2-3 years if you have a decent organization, and the 6 years you control them are probably worth less than having Jason Bay for $7.5 million for one year.

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