What An Oversight
My one Bostonian friend (who has the good grace to be enraged with the Lucchino-Epstein administration for giving up Wells and giving up on the season while they were still in the Wild Card race) pointed out to me that in my long bill of indictment against the Sox managemnt, I had actually forgotten the worst Theoprop of all, one that I have heartily criticized in the past: the trading of young number 3 starter for Willy Mo Pena, a number 4 outfielder. In addition to misprizing pitching, the deal showed no respect for nor awareness of Red Sox team chemistry. Arroyo was a true Idiot, a clown and yet a clutch performer; Willy Mo Pena is Manny Ramirez without the talent or the joie de vivre. He's more of a lower case idiot, unable to hit the breaking stuff, unable to lay off it, and unable to rethink his approach for the next at bat. Arroyo has predictably been a part of the Reds' unlikely playoff run; Pena has just as predictably been a part of the Red Sox unlikely collapse.
posted by joe valente | 10:49 PM
3 Comments:
And don't forget that for a while there Arroyo had hit more home runs than Pena.
Let me make just one point about old and broken down. In 3 years Damon's contract will be up, he'll be 35 going on 36 and noone expects the Yankees to re-sign him. At that point, Melky will be just 24 years old, the average age for a rookie in the major leagues. In five years, both Matsui and Abreu will be as old as Bernie is now and will be near done, if not done. Atr that point, Melky will be 26, the age that most players begin to come into their own. I'm sorry, on the evidence we now have, less than one full year in the bigs, it would be just about as stupid to trade Melky for anyone, short of a similarly young ace like Loriano, as it would have been to contemplate trading Jeter in September of 1996, before he had seen his first post-season. I'm not saying Melky will ever become another Jeter, and I'm not saying I've decided to name a kid after him, as I did with Jeter in October of 1996, but I am saying that right now, at the age of 21, Melky has been just about as good as Jeter was at that age (1995-early 96) and to consider trading him now makes no sense to me whatsoever. Melky is a fan favorite for the same reason Jeter was an immediate fan favorite--already a gamer, with a huge upside, and enough youthful enthusiasm to carry him for the next decade. Trade Melky? I'm sorry, I've gotta say, NO FUCKING WAY!
If we trade Giambi, does that mean we play Sheffield at first, with Damon, Abreu, and Hideki/Melky in the OF? Because that might work, at least for the short term, which given G's age, 35, and his bodily breakdown (owing to the steroids), is probably the only term he has anyway. Without Sheffield, I think you lose too much in the power dept. in giving up Giambi. But with Sheff, you'd be fine in that regard. Sheffield has said he wants to play another 3 years and given his temperment, he probably will. three years is all but surely all Giambi has left as a force. I think oyu'd lose something in the clubhouse with such a change, but on paper I think it would work out.
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