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You want my thoughts?  Fine.  Brad Penny is gone and I am very happy.  He did not pitch well for the Red Sox and, in fact, really hurt them (lost 7, won 6).

Good luck to all the teams rumored to have interested in Penny.  Here's a quick scouting report:  He throws 90% fastballs and 10% miscellaneous (curves, wild pitches, balks, time outs, hit batters, more fastballs).  His fastball is fast, but very straight, just ask the Yankees who were quoted as being elated he threw straight, fastballs.

Now that I have breathed out the bad and am now breathing in the good, we can move on.

Tim Wakefield looked great Wednesday night and it was nice to see David Ortiz look like the Ortiz of old (Yankees fans, please start your comments now).

Welcome Billy Wagner.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In a last second change of heart, Billy Wagner decided he did want to come to Boston and waived his no-trade clause.

Piecing together various reports:

 - Red Sox will assume the rest of his 2009 salary (approx $2mm)

 - The Red Sox agreed not to exercise his 2010 option

 - The Red Sox did retain the right to offer him salary arbitration (he is a Type A as of this post meaning the Red Sox would get a first round pick and a sandwich pick in the 2010 draft if he signs elsewhere).

 - The Mets will get two AA level pitchers as compensation

 - A fight has been scheduled, underneath the bleachers, at midnight, between Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon.

I like this addition.  There are risks as Wagner is 38 and is coming off Tommy John surgery, but with Enrique Gonzalez on the 25-man and Brad Penny without a rotational spot (seriously, Gonzalez is better than Penny right now), there are 2 main candidates to be cut.

Adding a power lefty to the pen is always a good thing, but what worries me most is what we've seen in recent years with the Red Sox.  They go out and get a decent National League arm only to have that arm fizzle, loudly.  Examples include Eric Gagne, John Smoltz and Brad Penny.  Of course Takashi Saito has seemingly made the adjustment and obviously it can be done.

But the AL East is a tough place to learn the American League.

No word if we can expect to see Wagner tonight.  The Mets are playing in Florida tonight and given the deadline on this deal, I have to assume the Mets charter had already landed in FLA or was well on its way.  I think John Henry might shuttle Wagner back up North in his private plane, no?

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Further Evidence that Jonathan Papelbon is a doofus. Basically Papelbon doesn't think Billy Wagner would help the club and was entirely disrespectful, in my mind, when talking about the idea.

Forgot to mention this, but Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Red Sox have claimed Billy Wagner. For the same reasons Peter wrote about a day or so ago, the Red Sox would be wise to acquire Wagner.

The money in this case is not astronomical and he could potentially provide an adrenaline lift to the team. Even if he no longer throws 100 mph, he would be a decent risk in my book.

The teams have until 1pm Tuesday to hammer out a deal.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I think Friday night's game puts an exclamation point on just how bad Brad Penny has been for Boston this year. First off, does he really only have 2 pitches? A fast, yet wild, fastball and a hard curve he never uses on a consistent basis.

Is that really all he has? I don't think I've seen anything else. Sure, his fastball is so wild that it is "unpredictable" as to just where it will go, but that isn't a good thing unless your wildness is limited to the strikezone.

I really hope we have seen the last of Penny. With Tim Wakefield throwing a 5.2 inning, 2 hit, 1 walk, 1 earned run, 4 strikeout game tonight in Pawtucket tonight, the Red Sox really need to designate or trade Penny (I know, who would want him in a trade). Of course Penny isn't the only one to blame in Friday night's game, but he got things off to a terrible start. He put the Red Sox in an 8-1 hole which was just about enough to put the game out of reach.

Penny now has a 5.61 ERA. That's the kind of ERA teams let a former superstar put up if he is just back from an injury or somehow is a sympathetic figure. Penny is neither of those and needs to go away.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Saturday night's Red Sox/Rangers game featured far too many players I know nothing about.  And I'm talking about Red Sox players.

First off, why is Brian Anderson on the team?  Why is Fernando Cabrera on the team?  Why did the Red Sox trade for Alex Gonzalez?

What is happening around here?  Does this team value on base percentage?  Doesn't this team follow trends?  Isn't a guy with a 1.494 career whip someone to stay away from?  Doesn't a guy with a career .288 OBP belong in the Independent Leagues?

I realize injuries are hitting the "ludicrous speed" level on the Red Sox roster right now, but aren't there better options?  Let's talk about Brian Anderson, the player they traded Mark Kotsay for (I'm dangling prepositions baby!!!).  Anderson is a very bad hitter.  He has moderate power, unfortunately he couples that with nothing good.  20 home runs in 782 at bats.  Did I mention he has struck out 203 times and only walked 62 times while hitting .225?

The good news with Anderson is he WILL get DFAed as soon as tomorrow when Rocco Baldelli is activated.

As for Cabrera, clearly the front office thinks they can harness this kid (does 27 years old still qualify as a kid?).  Isn't that the epitome of arrogance, believing you can help a pitcher that no one else has?  He walks too many but lures you into believing he can be better by striking out more than 1 per inning (189 k's in 170 IP in the majors).

Fine, perhaps the Red Sox can harness this kid's ability, but let's try doing that in the Arizona Fall League, or the Dominican Winter League, not mid-August in a playoff hunt.

Lastly, back to Gonzalez, he is a fine fielder, if you look at his career work, but he isn't good anymore.  The Boston Globe's Adam Kilgore was able to look through the nonsense I heard on Sports Radio on Friday and basically spelled out why Gonzalez isn't what you think he is (coach Dennis Green, are you listening?).

Gonzalez is no longer getting to that many balls and while he does handle the ones he does get to, he isn't a "plus" shortstop anymore.  In fact, Kilgore's research suggest Nick Green would be the better option, not only because he is a superior defender, but because he is hitting much better than is Gonzalez.  Not to beat a dead horse, but Gonzalez is terrible at the plate.  Terrible.

So Saturday night featured Jason Varitek - .754 OPS in 2009, Gonzalez - .554 OPS in 2009, and Brian Anderson .641 OPS in 2009.

That's not going to get it done.  If an inning started with any of these 3, you might as well have turned the channel.  This is not the bottom 3 of a playoff team.  Come on!  I can't say it more clearly than that.  This is a terrible disappointment.

The depth on this team is scary bad right now, but also confusing.  When you look at the injuries and/or surprisingly ineffective players in 2009, there have been some bad breaks, but I'm not sure why the Red Sox management has chosen to replace injured/ineffective players with the ones they have.

Things have to change.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

In Friday night's game, NESN showed a replay of Victor Martinez returning to the dugout in the top of the 9th after scoring the Red Sox 6th run. Manager Terry Francona is seen enthusiastically congratulating Martinez.

Now you might ask, 'so what, he does that with everone.' Well, that probably is true, but Terry Francona made a very confusing and potentially disasterous move in the 9th. With no one out, Jacoby Ellsbury on first, Jason Varitek on second and Dustin Pedroia at bat, Francona pulled Varitek in favor of...Clay Buchholz. Clay Buchholz?!?

Now I'm sure Buchholz is faster than is Varitek, but he is a pitcher...and this is the American League. Well, wouldn't you know it, Pedroia hit a ball to the left field fence that ricocheted off the wall presumably scoring Buchholz, except that Buchholz misread the play (the lighted scoreboard embedded in the left field wall didn't help) and ultimately got thrown out at home, by a wide margin, and he went in head-first, a serious no-no for a pitcher.

I just don't get it, I think Francona was desperate and was completely irresponsible with that move. Buchholz could have blown out any part of his arm/shoulder area and, more importantly, he has no clue what to do on the basepaths. Fortunately, Victor Martinez put the Red Sox ahead with his 2-run double and ultimately scored. The look we saw on Francona's face as he congratulated Martinez was relief, relief that his silly move didn't cost the Red Sox A.) the game and B.) the season for a young, talented pitcher.

I guess every manager is entitled to a few dodged bullets in a season and this definitely qualifies. I generally don't engage in second-guess Francona as he has proved himself a competent manager, but I couldn't let this one slide.

The Red Sox poured it on in the 9th and came away with a very important road win against their closest wild-card competition. Good start to the road trip.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Update:  I was wrong about Gonzalez's salary for this year, he is on the books for $5.4mm.  Reports are out that the Reds are sending $1.1mm to Boston to offset part of his salary and the Red Sox are sending them A - shortstop Kris Negron.

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The Red Sox acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez today from the Reds.  Gonzalez cleared waivers and was traded to Boston.  Boston.com isn't clear on what the Red Sox are sending in return.

He makes $4.5mm this year and there is a team option of $6mm for 2010.

Gonzalez is hitting very poorly this year with a .210 average, a .258 OBP and a .296 SLG (which means he makes it just over a quarter of the way to first base in each at bat) for a scrawny OPS of .554.  Wow is that bad.

His defense is average at best this year it would seem.  He makes the plays he gets too, but it seems he isn't getting to as many balls as he did in the past as he has posted below league average range factors on a per 9 inning basis and a per game basis.

So Gonzalez is seen as an upgrade over recently acquired Chris Woodward, but really, it isn't that big an improvement.  What do you expect for this time of year?

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

MLB announced today that Kevin Youkilis will be suspended for 5 games for his part in last night's brawl.

Ouch.  I think that ought to make any other Red Sox player think long and hard before charging the mound again (as long and hard as one can given the circumstances).  Rick Porcello also got 5 games.  Basically he'll miss one start while Youkilis misses 5 games.  Make it pretty clear who MLB thought was the main culprit here.

Boston.com says both have appealed meaning they can play in the meantime.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Didn't Kevin Youkilis look like a linebacker last night?  His pursuit of Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello made me think of pre-season football what with Youkilis looking slightly hunched over, keeping his center of gravity low and not falling for any head-fakes.  He came right in and made the tackle.  From what I could see, not a punch was thrown.  For a bench clearing brawl, it was over very quickly and there was no spill over or simultaneous fights.

I'm not sure last night's game was a tipping point, but certainly some frustrations were released.  A night after Brad Penny hit Miguel Cabrera and Detroit's Edwin Jackson hit Youkilis, Red Sox rookie Junichi hit Cabrera again in the first to load the bases.  Porcello then threw at Victor Martinez, and missed, but did hit Youkilis in the bottom of the 2nd thus setting off the fireworks.

Oddly enough, the ejection of Youkilis forced Mike Lowell into the game only have Lowell become the night's offensive hero hitting 2 home runs.

Youkilis is sure to get suspended as while chasing down Porcello, he also threw his helmet at him.  At least Youkilis made Terry Francona's job of fitting in too many players into too few spots a bit easier for the next few games.

Tazawa pitched very well after a bumpy first inning and got his first major league win.  I hope he can lay claim to a rotation spot, even after Tim Wakefield returns.  Wakefield, by the way, is set to return next week, but the video of him shown on NESN last night made me think his year is done.  He was running from the mound to first and had an enormous limp.  No way he can be that close to coming back.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)