Heard from two talent evaluators yesterday that Boston is very active in trying to come up with a large and creative deal, involving more than two teams. Smart thinking, one of them said, if it all works. Crazy stuff you wouldn't normally think of, said another. An executive with an AL team reports that he's heard that a scout was rushed off his area coverage to go scout Boston minor leaguers. ... Red Sox executives are mum; execs from other teams say they are very active.Red Sox scouts have been in Philadelphia, watching Cory Lidle and Jon Lieber. Lidle won his game yesterday, allowing two runs on four hits over eight inning, striking out eight.
Olney also commented on Lidle:
Right now, Lidle may be the most tradeable commodity on the market because he isn't tied to money long-term, nobody is confusing him for a star, and yet everybody respects his grittiness and knows he can handle pressure. A guess-timate: He winds up with the Texas Rangers.Nick Cafardo (Globe) quotes one AL executive: "The price for what we'd like to do is absolutely ridiculous right now. I think we're going right up to Saturday and Sunday before things start to pop when the sellers come down a bit."
The Importance Of The Back Of The Rotation -- SoSHer OttoC crunches some numbers and talks about "the dearth of [starting] pitching and the suggestion that teams might not need to set their sights so high in filling the 3-5 slots".
The Angels are in town. Tonight's starter Jon Lester wants to keep his pitch counts down. ... Javier Lopez was recalled from Pawtucket. ... RedSox.com feature on Manny Delcarmen.
Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post:
A beautiful gift fell from the sky this spring and landed at the feet of the Boston Red Sox. It was so radiant, they didn't know what to do with it at first. So precious, they have come to treat it with exceptional care. So powerful, the mind races at what the future could hold. For now, however, it is simply a gift that should be shared with and enjoyed by the world. All behold, Jonathan Papelbon.
3 comments:
What a great quote from Sheinin.
It's exactly why Papelbon should remain the closer. It's working. It's perfect. Mess with it at your great peril.
Back-end starters are out there, enough to cobble together a decent rotation. But near-perfect closers - especially in October - are gold. No, they're rarer and more valuable than gold.
Thanks, RedSock, these are the kind of crunchy bits I've been hungering for. Hate the idea of getting rid of WMP more and more, guess I'm buying into the stuff about his high ceiling.
I-girl, you and Jack have plenty to talk about.
Papelbon has been a gift alright, but do not expect me to cry if Wily Mo is traded. I'm big on defense, thats why I was such a big Dwight fan, and Wily Mo is atrocious as a right fielder. So if you can get someone good for him without giving up the farm I say go for it.
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