I’ve been saying for some time now that Daisuke Matsuzaka could return to the DL, and yesterday he finally did. MRIs showed “weakness” in his throwing shoulder. After a string of disappointing starts with no clear explanation for his poor performance, it was finally time for Matsuzaka to bow out for a while. The Sox say it could be quite a while, but with John Smoltz coming into the rotation this week, that doesn’t seem to matter much. He should take the time off, right himself, and then rejoin the rotation in August for the stretch run. For those who think he doesn’t belong there- go look at the last two seasons and stop being silly.
Give the front office credit- where most teams would be scrambling to find a 5th starter, the Sox are sitting pretty and still considering a trade of Brad Penny. The Phillies, for all their posturing, remain very interested in Penny’s starts, and might very well be coaxed into giving us a nice prospect for the righty. Why trade Penny? The answer to that question is pitching at Pawtucket, and his name is Clay Buchholz.
That rain-shortened game against the Marlins didn’t sit well with me all week. Jon Lester took an “L” for that one, which is not fair to him or the team. Nick Green got all the press, but yesterday’s game also proved again that the Sox bullpen allows us to pull games out if we have enough chances against their relievers. The rain prevented that, and cost us a game we could have won.
How about David Ortiz, eh? He’s showing confidence at the plate again, and he’s rapidly making us all forget the woeful two months he had. Our prayers go out to him and his father, who’s very sick right now. Even though he is pounding the ball again, Kevin Youkilis is earning some respect from Chipper Jones. That’s a nice person to get complimented by.
Jed Lowrie will likely spend “a few weeks” at Pawtucket before rejoining the Red Sox. It’s been a while for him, and he’s sure to be a bit rusty. Green has given the Sox the luxury of not hurrying him back into action. Good news for Dusty Brown, who was called up as a third catcher yesterday.
As for the Jonathan Papelbon controversy, there is none. Yes, he said he would be willing to go play for the Steinbrenners in 2011, but he later clarified what he said; and he’s said plenty of stupid stuff before. Paps is not the sharpest tool in the shed, he’s made it known that he’s all about the money and we shouldn’t be surprised by his comments. He’s clearly not thrilled with the way contract talks have gone this past offseason, and wants to get paid. That’s fine, but I don’t know why he’s shooting his mouth off about free agency when it’s still two years away. The Sox brass are shrugging this one off, but they’ll remember it come negotiations time.
Jonathan Van Every was also placed on the DL this week, and will undergo knee surgery, which will keep him off the grass for at least a month. That hurts the Sox’ depth at CF, but better now than late in the season, just in case something happens to Jacoby Ellsbury. That catch the other day was just a gem, BTW.
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June 22, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Pat
It seems like either keeping Penny, or trading him for the right return, is a gamble.
Keeping him, we risk losing out on what could be a quality return, when we might already have a player that could replace him in Buchholz.
Trading him, we gamble that Smoltz will be healthy the rest of the way, and that Buchholz is ready to fill in for Dice-K, while he gives his overused shoulder much needed rest.
The deal breaker for me? Bowden, Masterson, and the bullpen. We can afford to deal Penny’s one year rental, considering that we have both Bowden and Masterson backing up Buchholz.
I think the Red Sox can afford to wait until even late July before pulling the trigger on a deal. Hopefully this would give us ample time to evaluate Smoltz, Lowrie, and Ortiz. This would give us a good idea about what we would want as a return.
I was excited at the prospect of an imminent trade, but it seems like, to me, that it won’t be happening anytime soon.
June 23, 2009 at 10:56 am
redsoxtalk
Pat, the main thing that Dice-K going to the DL achieves is it buys us time to trade Penny. There’s already a lot of interest in him, and we have no need to deal him until we’re good and ready. You can bet that Theo will hold out for a role player/quality prospect in return for him, if they were indeed asking for Jason Donald earlier.
And you’re right, there may be further injuries/developments in July which will require an acquisition somewhere else. As it is, we don’t NEED anything right now, so the Sox are happy with what they have.