BoSox Blotter

Apologies to all who missed BoSoxBlotter last season. Fortunately for everyone we are re-launching BoSoxBlotter this season as a video-cast. We’ll be attempting to cover the Red Sox on a weekly basis with in-depth segments and quick tid-bits of baseball news.

We hope you all keep checking back for the initial launch — we hope to shoot it next week and do a round up of the early season.

It was about a half a month ago that the Red Sox won the rights to negotiate with Dice-K. To this point, there really hasn’t been much to announce to the public as the talks continue and have until December 14th before a deal has to be struck. Aside from all of the initial Matsuzaka press, the Sox have been keeping quite busy dealing with free agents — going and coming. Here’s a bit of what’s been going on over the last few weeks and my opinion on the matters.

Outbound:
Keith Foulke: both parties declined options, but might see him back here next year if no teams show enough interest in Keith. I suspect he’ll be pitching elsewhere come April

A-Gonz: Signed a multi-year deal with the Reds

Trot: Was not offered arbitration and will probably get enough interest elsewhere as the Sox appear to be looking to acquire a bigger bat (potentially JD Drew)

Mark Loretta: Loretta most certainly will not be back next season. The Red Sox seem very certain with Pedroia and Cora platooning. Mark has been a .300+ hitter his career and has solid defensive skills. I expect he’ll move back to the NL

Doug Mirabelli: Despite the Hollywood return to Fenway last year, I think everyone sees the mistakes in that trade, what the team lost by way of Meredith and Bard. Sorry, Doug, I do hate to see you go but we need to get younger and better and the team already made a mistake for a quick fix

At this point I can’t say that I’m surprised the Red Sox are the top bidder, but I’ll be surprised if they overpay anymore for him as a “pitcher” during the next 30 days. That doesn’t mean I don’t expect him to get offered a nice cushiony contract, he is only 26 and has more of a proven track record than Beckett (2003 World Series aside). But, Daisuke has yet to throw a pitch in MLB.

I would expect that the top offer the Sox make is around $40 million with some options. I think the move is more strategic than brining a World Series trophy to Fenway, because for $90 million the Sox could’ve grabbed a couple of free agent pitchers. Winning the bid asures that Matsuzaka doesn’t end up with the Yankees, and if they do get him they now have significant penetration into the Japanese market. In addition, I don’t believe the bidding will be subject to salary cap so there won’t be a luxury tax on that amount — wondering how much tickets will go up in price next year

This is from ESPN.com, could there be any worse reporting? How far from the truth are these statements:

5. Javy Lopez to the Red Sox from the Orioles for a player to be named later
Had Jason Varitek been the only big loss for Boston, this deal might have been a factor. But the Red Sox imploded like few contenders in recent memory, losing players to injury and illness and getting swept in an emotional five-game series at Yankee Stadium.

This has been a bad, bad year for Theo Epstein and the catcher’s position. The Red Sox have started six different catchers, and it didn’t have to be that way. Boston opened the season with an outstanding backup for Varitek, but Epstein panicked when Josh Bard had trouble handling 40-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. He shipped Bard and right-hander Cla Meredith to the Padres to get back Doug Mirabelli, who had left as a free agent after 2005.

Wakefield made only 14 more starts before going on the disabled list with a strained rib cage, and Bard has emerged as a .325 hitter for the Padres. Meredith has been San Diego’s best set-up reliever, and the Red Sox exacerbated their problems by trading serviceable right-handed reliever David Riske to the White Sox for Javier Lopez, one of five lefty relievers they’ve tried. What a mess.

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a Web site at www.chicagosports.com. His book, “Say It’s So,” a story about the 2005 White Sox, is available at bookstores, through amazon.com or direct order from Triumph Publishing (800-222-4657).

Is Phil Rogers so stupid to not know that Doug was traded for Loretta? And, Phil, the 5 game sweep was at Fenway. I really hope you don’t get paid for your work. Thinking Javy Lopez came from Chicago is like saying Venus came from Mars.

Last night was a rare delight for Sox fans. Julian Taverez was exceptional as a starter — holding the ChiSox to 2 runs over 6+ innings. I’m thinking he should have been our 5th starter. I’m not getting crazy, but I would entertain the idea of being post-season hopeful if we sweep the Chicago White Sox, a very tough thing to do.

The line up has familiar names again, but Papelbon and Schilling missing is a bit scary. If we can get a healthy Ortiz back in the order with a regular and healthy Manny, we might be able to start adding up the run totals at the end of the game.

Tonight’s competition will mean a lot for momentum. Another win might spark alittle more confidence the realization that the season is not over. It will of course take an amazing performance from Kason Gabbard.

It’s been ages since there’s been a post here. It’s felt like centuries since the Sox won a game before last night’s. There has been a lot of criticism thrown at the Red Sox organization, and much of it is deserved. Some really horrible deals have been made the last couple of seasons, and for awhile everyone seemed to be turning a blind eye because of the trade that shocked the Nation and brought a World Series to Fenway (if you don’t know which trade I’m referring to, stop reading now and go back to your Yankees website).

Danny boy over at the Globe loves times like this. In fact, I think he prefers agony over victory when it comes to the Sox. He has, on a number of occassions, referred to the Coco as being disastrous, and Beckett as disappointing (maybe not those words, but you get the point). As I’ve been extremely disappointed completely by the entire season, I think Coco and Beckett could very well still have their best years ahead of them. On that note, I really hope they aren’t moved this winter.

Coco started the season with a splash and then got hurt. He’s faded quite a bit and hasn’t been the ideal lead-off guy. Youk stepped in and revolutionized the lead-off role. Given the right circumstances, a lot can turn for the better next year. Coco has been exceptional defensively and will probably continue to improve the more he plays at Fenway. He’s having an uncharacteristic year, but I have confidence he’ll turn it around next season — hopefully the Sox don’t ditch him like they have others in the past while they keep Clement.

Beckett is in his 20’s and locked up for 3 years. His stuff can be nearly magical. The upside is still there, and another season in the AL East and at Fenway will teach him a lot while improves. Picking up another top-level starter this offseason would certainly help in Beckett’s development. I still salivate at the prospect of getting a proven closer and having a rotation with Schilling - Beckett - Papelbon.

I just read this from RedSox.com about the Sox most recent loss to the Oakland Athletics:

Boston has lost 13 of their last 16 contests and with a rainout at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox dropped to 7 ½ games back of the division lead for the first time since August 20, 2004.

If only the 2006 team had the chemistry and the players the 2004 season had

We couldn’t have sent Seanez somewhere before the trading deadline??? Now we’re going to eat his salary anyway!

It’s now 8-5 in the 10th inning, Yankees are well on their way to their 4th victory in 3 days over the Red Sox. This might be the cap to a horrible second half season. Craig Hansen has just given up his 2nd home run of the inning, a two run shot this time by Jorge Posada.

The Red Sox bullpen, many of the arms are the “untouchables” (Hansen, Delcarmen), has been horrible lately. Unfortunately, I don’t think the mathematics that the front office uses incorporate team chemistry, the leading ingrediant Billy Beane’s theory uses to compete in the AL West on limited resource.

Theo Epstein has said time and time again that the approach of the Red Sox is to have one time on the current season and one on the future of the ball club. This year, one would be hard press to prove there was an eye on the season…..

1) Arroyo signs a hometown discount extension while Epstein is away. Theo comes back to the club and trades him for Wily Mo Pena. Arroyo has the lowest ERA of his career right now, and the Sox have had more trouble with starting pitching and a piss-poor bullpen than anytime I remember. Arroyo’s strengths were that he could start or come out of the bullpen.

2) A lengthy extension offered to Josh Beckett. This “might” prove to be beneficial over time, but it won’t prove to be of any significance this year as Beckett has an ERA of almost 5 and a half and has won a game in ages. Not only a huge dissappointment for the trade that was made (giving up Hanley Rameriz and other top prospects who are shining in their rookie seasons in Florida), but potentially a disastrous trade if Beckett does not turn it around and become an ACE — not a number 2 starter.

3) No trade deadline trades. If ever a season needed a big trade to turn a team around, it was this year. The Sox have no chemistry as a team. On paper, this team may even appear close to the competitive level that the 2004 Sox were, but they lack huge team chemistry. I think Theo is trying to build a club of professional players day in and out, but is forgetting that some things rise above professionalism. This is a game that when you are having fun victory usually follows. The 2006 Red Sox are struggling more than a teenage boy in Jr. High.

4) The 2004 Red Sox may have created “boy wonder” in the front office, but a lot of the key pieces of that team were in place well before Theo Epstein was a part of the franchise. Sure, David Ortiz will live on as one of the greatest clutch hitters in the history of the sport, but Manny, Pedro, Trot, Veritek, Wake, and others were already Red Sox. Theo has added Renteria, Clement, B. Kim, and others that aren’t even worth mentioning as Red Sox. Hmmmm…. I think there may have been too much credit given to a single trade (Nomar, wink) in 2004.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Epstein but I think he’s dropped the ball quite a bit this year. Unfortunately it’s costing this team (2006) and the fans a helluva lot. The Red Sox are now 5 and a half games back to the Yankees, after a entering the series only 1.5 games behind. As fans we don’t have a lot to look forward to. This season, plagued by injuries and no moves by the front office to improve the roster, leaves a very dissatisified taste. At this point, Wake, Tek and Trot coming back will most likely be way too late. There aren’t that many games remaining and we pretty much kissed the AL East title good bye — the Yankees are perhaps just too good this year.

While it is still early in August, the Red Sox have won just two games the entire month. Everything from shady starting pitching to a reliable bullpen falling apart, has been the reason why the Sox are now 2 games from first in the AL East, and a 1/2 game back in the Wild Card race.

A lot of fingers are probably pointing to the lack of a big-time trade. Since the trading deadline has passed, the Sox have lossed their catcher/captain Jason Veritek and then Mirabelli got roughed up the first game after acquiring Javy Lopez to split time behind the plate. Injuries have plagued this squad all season. Significant members from the 2004 World Series Championship team currently on the DL are Veritek, Keith Foulke, and Trot Nixon. Those are 3 very important players when healthy.

The upside is that David Wells threw very well his last start. Johnson threw effectively. If these two can pitch this way the rest of the season, the Sox should be able to turn it around. Losing a 4 run lead is devestating to a bullpen, but hopefully having today off will give the youngs arms some much needed rest. I’m hopeful that the bullpen will be able to return to form shortly, as the bullpen was a strength for the team along with its stellar defense that has slipped a bit recently as well.

So things aren’t looking so great right now. There’s panic throughout New England like there often is this time of year. But if folks remember, it was only a couple years ago when the Sox found themselves in a much dire situation and managed to win the Wild Card and the World Series. I think if Foulke returns, and he’s Keith Foulke of old, it could have huge implications for a depleted bullpen. At this point we’re not moving Seanez or Taverez, but Taverez has been effective in eating up innings when the Sox are behind by a lot (his last appearance notwithstanding).

The biggest let-down has probably been the inconsistency of Josh Beckett and the lack of ‘gems’ I think a lot of us fans thought we’d be seeing. Now I understand there’s still a lot of games to play, and he probably will end up a 20 game winner all things considered, but I’d like to enjoy the games from here on out where he’ll lower that 5+ ERA down to something in the 3’s.

As far as I’m concerned, I’m not too sure I want to see Clement in a Red Sox uniform anytime soon — I think we have enough to worry about.