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July 22, 2008

Red Sox Asking About Marte

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "One team source said Boston's interest in reliever Damaso Marte has heightened. The Red Sox are one of nearly a dozen teams to have inquired."

However, Theo Epstein says:
The asking price [for quality relievers] is sky-high right now. It just doesn't make sense. ... The bullpen we have is essentially the same one that won a World Series a year ago.
Essentially the same people perhaps, but certainly not the same results. Still, I don't think the Red Sox will do much at the deadline. The pen is really the only area that could be tinkered with and it seems more likely the Sox will try Masterson and other AAA guys instead of going after a similarly questionable (but costly) arm.

David Ortiz collected two singles and a walk in four plate appearances for Portland: "I'm very close to being 100 percent. Very close. Not too far away."

Jason Varitek played the last game before the All-Star break despite an infection that rendered him pretty much blind in his right eye: "It was the scariest game I've ever played."

Bartolo Colon will throw long toss (120-150 feet) today and have a mound session in Boston on Thursday. ... Michael Bowden allowed three runs in 4+ innings in his Pawtucket debut last night. He allowed seven hits (including five doubles), but no walks. He struck out four, throwing 84 pitches.

New Stat Watch: SCHYCRL-GHW-OH,L (from FJM)

Holy Shit Did He Really Say That Watch (also via FJM): Twins general manager Bill Smith:
Who do you want, a guy who's 10-15 with a 2.80 ERA or a guy who's 16-8 with a 7.00 ERA? I'll take the 16-8.
Wow.
at

18 comments:

  1. nixon33July 22, 2008 at 11:32 AM

    i really hope the bullpen gets figured out, obviously.
    i hope masterson can be '08's oki doki, but chances are slim. who else could we be looking at?

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  2. nixon33July 22, 2008 at 11:33 AM

    yanks want washburn? ha you can have him

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  3. Jack MarshallJuly 22, 2008 at 12:01 PM

    Appropo of our "who's the ace" discussion, I noticed that Baseball Prospectus has marked Dice-K down as a likely second-half flop. No respect! I think the first half of this year is a lot closer to the real Matsusaka than last season.

    Re the pen: if Theo's record of trading for mid-season bullpen help wasn't so horrible, I might take issue with the stand-pat strategy. But giving up players like Freddie Sanchez and David Murphy for the likes of Scott Sauerbeck and Eric Gagne...no mas. Hansen or DelCarmen have to step up, that's all there is to it. And Tito has to be more flexible in using Papelbon. For your best bullpen pitcher to sit unused as the team loses one 1-run game after another is self-evidently misguided, no?

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  4. nixon33July 22, 2008 at 12:20 PM

    no one knew gagne was gonna suck that bad. i remember everyone was over the moon about us getting gagne, myself included.

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  5. laura kJuly 22, 2008 at 12:22 PM

    Theo sucks. Tito sucks. Everyone sucks, all the time. Back in my day, everyone sucked but it didn't matter because we knew how to play the game.

    ReplyDelete
  6. allanJuly 22, 2008 at 1:18 PM

    I noticed that Baseball Prospectus has marked Dice-K down as a likely second-half flop. No respect! I think the first half of this year is a lot closer to the real Matsusaka than last season.

    Dice will "flop" in the second half only in the fact that his luck is bound to run out and more of the many guys he allows on base will start coming around to score.

    In 2008, he is allowing MORE guys on base per inning than he did last season. Yet his ERA is 1.80 lower! Don't expect Dice to be as successful as he has been without keeping more guys off base.

    2007 BB/K: 80/201
    2008 BB/K: 57/77

    Ugh. Not good.

    He is allowing fewer dongs though (25 last year, 5 so far this season).

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  7. 9caseyJuly 22, 2008 at 1:18 PM

    L-girl said...
    Theo sucks. Tito sucks. Everyone sucks, all the time. Back in my day, everyone sucked but it didn't matter because we knew how to play the game.

    Oh, L
    .........


    16 wins is 16 wins 15 losses is well you know

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  8. allanJuly 22, 2008 at 1:24 PM

    Damn it all, Theo! Why aren't you perfect?

    Every other GM in baseball gets exactly what he needs in every trade all the time. They all bat 1.000, Theo the Moron hits .000.

    And Tito has to be more flexible in using Papelbon.

    Ideally, yes. On Sunday, it would have been cool to see Bot in the 8th inning, then a lesser arm take the 9th. But name me one manager in MLB who would do that.

    I'd like Tito to the The One, but it isn't going to happen, not during the regular season. Playoff Assassin Tito might do it.

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  9. Jack MarshallJuly 22, 2008 at 1:29 PM

    Casey, L-Girl was doing what she thinks is a Jack imitation. But I pronounce "sucks" differently.

    Actually, I've liked ALL of Theo's mid-season pitching trades when he made them. But it's hard to deny that they haven't turned out very well. I don't blame him, especially. Heck, I may be the last one alive who will still defend the Bagwell-Anderson trade.

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  10. laura kJuly 22, 2008 at 2:21 PM

    L-Girl was doing what she thinks is a Jack imitation.

    What "she thinks" is a Jack imitation? Nice try. Shall we ask for a show of hands of how many people knew immediately who I was parodying?

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  11. laura kJuly 22, 2008 at 2:21 PM

    I don't blame him, especially.

    ?????????

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jack MarshallJuly 22, 2008 at 2:47 PM

    Well, ya know, the GM IS responsible for the trades he makes, no matter how well-considered, and no matter how unlikely the bad outcome may have seemed at the time.

    If Theo's going to take credit for trading for Cabrera and Roberts and Schilling, he's got to accept the blame for losing Meredith, Bard, Murphy, Sanchez, Arroyo...and not getting much back. (And he clearly does accept it.) Or are your rules that Theo only gets praise for what works and should never get criticism for what doesn't? If so, he really does have the best job in the world...

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  13. laura kJuly 22, 2008 at 2:55 PM

    Or are your rules that Theo only gets praise for what works and should never get criticism for what doesn't?

    Did anyone here ever say anything like that?

    And what rules are you talking about?

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  14. nickJuly 22, 2008 at 3:12 PM

    rules:

    things that suck = suck
    things that are good = suck (time will prove)

    (looking forward to spring training)

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  15. A ConformerJuly 22, 2008 at 3:46 PM

    Hey, this is Ofer. Thought it's about time to choose a screen name for myself.
    Anyway, just wondering: how come Papi started his rehab in Pawtucket and moved down to Portland? Scheduling issues, or what?

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  16. 9caseyJuly 22, 2008 at 4:13 PM

    I've said Tito is the greatest manager for the Red Sox of all time...Theo is the greatest GM of all time....If we are only grading on results.....:). If there is some other way to grade I am not privy to it.



    Jack Marshall said...
    Casey, L-Girl was doing what she thinks is a Jack imitation. But I pronounce "sucks" differently.


    Ohhhhhh realllly...Thanks Man

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  17. andyJuly 23, 2008 at 6:03 AM

    I thought this was about Andy Marte. I was worried.

    ReplyDelete
  18. laura kJuly 23, 2008 at 6:09 AM

    Ohhhhhh realllly...Thanks Man

    Hee hee.

    ReplyDelete