A Low Blow, Literally

So maybe I am just giddy after the Gagne pickup, but I just have to indulge anti-Yankeeism for a moment.  Check out this hilarious article from The Onion:

Left Bed In Clemens, Pettitte’s Shared Hotel Room Clearly Unused

KANSAS CITY—One of the beds in the hotel room occupied by Yankee pitchers and offseason workout partners Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens was…

Goodness gracious.

Gagne to Fenway

Well, well, well.  Theo has definitely made up for last year’s lack of action at this time.  Eric Gagne as the setup man for Papelbon?  Totally sick.  Throw in Okajima, and no one can touch the Sox bullpen.  Now, 10 minutes left for the Jermaine Dye shoe to drop . . .

Stinky Red Sock Becomes a Redbird

The Sox have made a minor move so far, trading stinker Joel Piniero to the Cardinals with cash considerations for a player to be named later.   At least the Red Sox will get something back for their fruitless investment in Suckmaster Piniero.  Enjoy him, St. Louis!

Decisions, Decisions

With fewer than 6 hours to go, there seems to still be the possibility that the Red Sox will make a move before the trade deadline.  In today’s “The Buzz,” it seems that hopes are still alive for Jermaine Dye and Eric Gagne.  Both would set the Sox up for the postseason, but the more important question for me is:  what would the Sox give up to get them?   The Sox may not have to give up anything, as Dye is hesitant to be traded to Boston, because he wants to get playing time (which is partially complicated by JD Drew being in the first of a 5-year contract).  His versatility in the OF, as DH, and at 1B would be useful to the Sox, however, allowing Francona to rest Ortiz, Youkilis, Drew, and Manny as needed.  Gagne’s reluctance is that he wants to continue to be a closer (and in fact has significant bonus packages in Texas that are contingent upon his closing a certin number of games).  So, if these deals do happen by 4pm today, they certainly weren’t easy to come by.  And let’s hope that the Sox aren’t parting with more than Pena and one or more mid-level players or prospects. 

Tick Tock

With the trade deadline looming, many names have been thrown around the Red Sox mix, including Jermaine Dye, Octavio Dotel, Solomon Torres, Todd Helton, Mark Teixiera, and Eric Gagne.   Wily Mo Pena certainly made himself more marketable during the Tampa Bay series, but most teams looking to trade have been interested in Buchholz, Lester, and Ellsbury.  Theo won’t part with those guys (thankfully), but that makes the Red Sox options look pretty limited right now.  The Buzz, on the Boston Globe’s boston.com website, updates the Red Sox trade rumors as they happen.  Just over one day and 7 hours left . . . .

Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad

Meat Loaf said it best . . . . Overall, a great weekend for Sox fans. The Sox took 2 out of 3 in Tampa, and the Yanks lost 2 out of 3 in Baltimore. Some (highly unusual) missteps by the bullpen were the only mistakes this weekend, and I’m fairly confident that Paps and Delcarmen will go back to their usual business of not giving up game-changing home runs the next time they take the mound. The Sox lead in the AL East is 8 games, and the Yankees are looking like they are going to have an uphill battle, as games keep ticking away, leaving them with a fairly significant number of games they have to win in order to stay in playoff contention.

Andy and I were pretty busy this weekend, so I had little time to keep up with the sports world — when I got home, I was surfing the major sports sites to catch up, and found this NBC video. For those of you unfamiliar with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, Mad Dog is a broadcaster on WFAN out of New York, and is known for his “enthusiastic” way of speaking, and for his Yankee-hating. In the video, Russo talks about Schilling, the Yankees, and Selig. Most interesting, I think, is his discussion of Schilling, who Russo thinks should keep quiet (responding to Schill’s comments about Bonds, Canseco, and Palmiero and steroids in baseball) and stick to his rehab and getting back to winning games for the Sox. Most hilarious is Russo’s discussion of the Yankees, who he thinks are done on all counts for the season, Wild Card included. I disagree about the Wild Card, but I hope he’s right. Back to Fenway to face the Orioles on Tuesday.