Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Somebody find Carl Crawford a couch and a shrink stat

We all knew that Carl Crawford didn't handle Boston well. Sure, some of his struggles were injury related, but you could see it in his performance and body language that it just wasn't working. Today Carl talked a little more about it to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times:

One of only a handful of position players to already report to camp, Crawford is slowly rebuilding his psyche, which he said was battered in what he described as a "toxic" environment in Boston.

Reflecting on his two miserable seasons with the Red Sox, Crawford said, "I knew with the struggles I was having, it would never get better for me. I just didn't see a light at the end of the tunnel. It puts you in kind of a depression stage. You just don't see a way out."

Eesh.

I feel about as bad as you can for someone who is guaranteed $142 million except for probably being totally useless for the rest of his career. He may have been a major disappointment, but he's not some sort of monster, so it's unfortunate that he felt so bad.

According to Crawford, it wasn't just the money and expectations, it was something specific to Boston:

"It was just everything," he said. "Me not playing well. Me being in an unfamiliar area in an environment that was toxic. Just all those things combined. You start to say, 'Is this ever going to end?'"

Asked if he regretted signing with the Red Sox, Crawford replied, "A lot of times I did. You hear a lot of talk about how I just wanted money. At some point, you just wondered if you made the right decision."

Things have to be pretty bad for someone to imply that they wish they had signed for less money just to not be in a certain place. It's interesting that he said the word "toxic" again. I wonder what he was referring to? He had two different managers, lots of different players...could it just be fan expectations and media?

By the sounds of it, Crawford is just a very sensitive guy. He let the environment around him affect him. His spot in the lineup bothered him. The pressure from the fans. The losing. The poor performance. It all got on him. 

Now we'll see if he can turn it around. Amazingly, he's optimistic he'll be healthy for opening day (I don't remember that being a possibility when he was here; I admit I haven't kept track of his progress since). And now we'll see how much of it is truly Boston. There's still going to be immense pressure in Los Angeles. Sure, the fans don't care as much, but by spending the money they spent, they are just asking for intense media interest. They'll be on SportsCenter a lot. And if Crawford struggles, his contract will once again be a talking point, but this time for a different team.

Your Morning Dump... Where Mattingly is positively giddy over Gonzalez

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Given the way everything ended in Boston, it’s easy to forget just how good Adrian Gonzalez is.

“That’s an unbelievable trade,” Mattingly gushed before the Dodgers hosted the Diamondbacks last night. “An unbelievable trade. This guy is the (expletive). He can play. That’s how you win, with guys like that.”

The Dodgers clearly have no regrets over the megadeal that brought Gonzalez, Josh Beckett [stats], Carl Crawford and Nick Punto west, and that’s because they have Gonzalez.

“He’s unbelievable. It really was kind of the perfect storm: The year (the Red Sox) were having, where they’re at (with) the cap, all of that stuff.”

While Mattingly spoke, a broad smile never left his face. As much as Red Sox fans feel like the Dodgers are suckers for taking on more than $260 million in contracts, Mattingly looks like a guy who’d make the trade every day.

“I’m not going to sit here and complain about having freaking Adrian Gonzalez,” Mattingly said.

Herald - Fore-Gonz conclusion

While I was pretty bummed about losing Adrian in the wake of the trade, I have come to see the bright side in all of this.  My concern now is that I simply don't trust that the people that got us into this mess have the restraint to not use that money to put us right back into a similar bind.  Time will tell.

While this trade shined a light on the fact that the ownership group and the front office need to change, we as fans need to change as well.  I've made this same plea over Ortiz in the past, but we need to stop looking for reasons to be unhappy, and instead appreciate what we have.

Adrian Gonzalez came to town with all the pomp and excitement a player like he deserves.  The Sox finally had a hitter that could pick up where Manny left off.  But the honeymoon didn't last forever. 

I don't think it's necessary to re-hash the entire Boston Gonzalez era, however short it was, but let me remind you that the first half of his first year here, Adrian put up obscene numbers.  .354 average, 17 home runs, 77 RBIs, 1.006 OPS.  The second half, while solid, wasn't nearly as impressive.  The first half of this season, he continued his 'good but not great' play.  Then, something clicked.  Adrian began tearing the cover off the ball again.  ....then he was traded.

We set extremely high expectations for Gonzalez.  In our head, we had a vision of who Gonzalez was, and when he didn't fit nicely into that mold, a good chunk of Sox fans turned on him.   Not like they turned on Beckett - they didn't reign boos on him as he stepped to the plate.  But they never embraced him the way he deserved. 

Much of it boiled down to the fact that he wasn't hitting many home runs.  Regardless of how productive at the plate he was, we fixated on the number in the home run column.  We wanted a "slugger", not a hitter.  Adrian has that in him, so it wasn't unrealistic to expect.  But since he wasn't bashing home runs, we became skeptical.  And then we looked, and found, some reasons to dislike him.  His post-game comments weren't fiery enough.  He, for whatever reason, blamed last season on "God's plan".   He provided silly reasons to dislike him, and some of us pounced on him.  

Regardless of the number of home runs he hit in his 1 and 2/3 years in Boston (42), let's not forget the fact that we lost one of the top 5 (probably top 3) first basemen in the league.  If you read those comments from Mattingly above, he certainly realizes what he has.

Rest of the links:

Herald - Jarrod Saltalamacchia wants to catch on | Jon Lester’s best month ends on down note | Globe -Mike Aviles deals with a new Red Sox reality | Sox get swept under by Angels | WEEI -Hunter: 'I'm sure [Crawford's] a lot happier' | Brentz headlines Sox' Arizona Fall players | CSNNE - Ellsbury 'comfortable' with Red Sox | Report: Pedroia tries to set the record straight

Red Sox place Daisuke Matsuzaka on waivers

Via MLBTradeRumors comes a nugget from Buster Olney that the Sox have placed the national treasure Daisuke Matsuzaka on waivers. 

Dice pitched well yesterday and has $2 million remaining on his oversized deal. Could he be an option for a team looking for pitching for five weeks?

You never know. Especially if that team has thrown all financial caution to the wind...a team such as, oh, I don't know, the Dodgers, who are reportedly looking for more pitching despite having traded for Josh Beckett and Joe Blanton already this month.

That was just speculation, but the way the Dodgers have been throwing around money, it wouldn't surprise me. I don't even care what we would get back -- unloading Daisuke and giving his starts to somebody looking for an opportunity, like Franklin Morales or one of the September call-ups -- is a no-brainer.

Your Morning Dump...Where the trade was more than just a salary dump

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Red Sox [team stats] didn’t just unload $270 million in yesterday’s deal with the Dodgers. They received some legitimate talent in return, too. While first baseman James Loney is the only player with extensive big league experience, a pair of minor league pitchers hold quite a bit of promise.

The Red Sox announced the acquisitions of Loney, as well as Double-A right-hander Allen Webster and Triple-A infielder Ivan De Jesus. Two more players to be named later — confirmed to be Triple-A right-hander Rubby De La Rosa and Triple-A outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands — will join the organization after the season because they didn’t clear waivers.

While Loney might represent only a one-month fix before hitting free agency, he’ll at least fill a need for the rest of the season.

He’s a lifetime .284 hitter who’s batting .254 this year with four homers and 33 RBI. The 28-year-old left-handed hitter owns the third-highest postseason average among active players at .349 (22-for-63).

“We’ll get a chance to get to know him,” said general manager Ben Cherington. “He’s a good defender, he’s very durable, he’s played a lot. We think he’s got a pretty good swing for Fenway. I think he’s excited to hit in a different ballpark.”

Webster may be the key to the deal. The 22-year-old right-hander began the year as the Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect, according to Baseball America, and he landed on the Top 100 list of ESPN’s Keith Law, as well.

He’s 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 starts at Chattanooga and will probably report to Double-A Portland, Cherington said.

“Athletic, good stuff, three plus pitches — fastball, slider changeup,” Cherington said. “He has been a pretty consistent performer. We think he has a chance to be a good major league starter.”

Herald: Red Sox trade with Dodgers not just salary dump

Everywhere I go, I keep hearing, "Red Sox in 2017". Sure, that would be great, but the Sox will have some serious spending power in the winter and we should fully expect that they will be in contention much sooner than 2017.

The Sox are in the process of rebuilding the farm system and regaining some pieces that they lost in previous trades. Getting a number 2 prospect and having the ability to buy some players to fill in some of the power void left by Adrian Gonzalez.

The Sox are doing the right thing by making the major change that was needed and are setting themselves up for a bright future.

Don't dwell too much into Gonzalez's homer in his first at-bat with the Dodgers, that relationship is over. We are better without him. 

On Page 2, There is a weird aura in the Red Sox clubhouse

Your Morning Dump... Where the winds of change are blowing

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Whether or not the deal goes down, we now have beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt proof that Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington is prepared to make like Michael Corleone taking out the heads of the other four families in his own clubhouse.

Forget about tinkering under the hood or making a couple of surgical strikes to purge the likes of Beckett or John Lackey.

This is wiring Fenway with enough TNT to sink the Poseidon.

Let the healing begin, because the Red Sox have taken their first significant step toward erasing the stench of the last calendar year. And if they’re thinking this big now, there’s every reason to expect even more in the coming months.

It already feels like a new day, which is exactly what the franchise needs. The focus of this deal from a PR standpoint should be Beckett, because removing him from the equation immediately makes the club about 25 percent more likable.

Herald - Sox poised to blow it all up, start anew

The more I thought about this trade last night, the sicker I felt.  It may be the right move, but I don't like it.  When you boil it down to its core, we're being robbed of Adrian Gonzalez due to Josh Beckett's surliness and Carl Crawford's elbow. 

And, in the process, the Red Sox are freeing up salary figures that are equivalent to the GDP of several small nations, as well as getting some top-tier prospects in return.  I guess the plan now is to sit back and hope that the Sox spend that $270 million more wisely than before?  I'd argue that Gonzalez's 7 year $154 million contract was pretty shrewd, especially when compared with Prince Fielder's 9 year $214 million deal.  So, I guess we'll try to use that money to get more players like Gonzalez and good contracts, like the one we gave Gonzalez? 

I know, I know... I need to get past losing Adrian.  I just never got a chance to say goodbye.

Emotions aside, I love the balls that Henry and Lucchino told Cherington to display in this move.  This Sox squad needed an overhaul.  The organization needed a change in direction.  And this move clearly shows that we're getting both.  The key cog in this transition will be what the Sox do with Ellsbury.  If they flip him this offseason, we know that we're in full-blown rebuilding.  If they try to throw half of the money they saved in this deal at his feet, well, then what was the point? 

So we're about to embark on what is shaping up to be an absolute wild offseason for the Red Sox.  And amidst all this change, don't be shocked to see Papi take his talent to somewhere like New York this offseason.  He's already unhappy with this franchise, and he's certainly not going to want to hang around while the Sox rebuild for the next 2-3 years.  Sadly, I doubt the Sox are going to be putting up much of a fight to keep him.  I hope I'm wrong.

But we're not talking about funerals anymore, are we?  Well played, Henry.  Well played indeed.  Other than, you know, taking Adrian away from us.

On Page 2, the players react

Sox-Dodgers trade appears to be done

 

It's being reported both Adrian Gonzalez and the Dodger's James Loney are being held out of their respective lineups tonight.  That's certainly not a coincidence.

Expect reports of this deal being completed to be rolling in shortly.

ESPN has some details:

The Dodgers and Red Sox are closing in on a deal that would send Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto to Los Angeles, though a few hurdles remain before it's official, multiple baseball sources said Friday.

Pitcher Rubby De La Rosa will be headed back to Boston as the centerpiece of the deal, sources say. De La Rosa made his first major league appearance of the season Wednesday, having had Tommy John surgery about 13 months ago. Also included are first baseman James Loney and prospects Ivan De Jesus (infielder) and Jerry Sands (outfielder), according to sources, plus another top prospect that is still unknown.

The Dodgers optioned De La Rosa to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday afternoon. Gonzalez was scratched prior to Friday's game and summoned to the clubhouse, along with Punto. Loney was a scratch as well, and was called to manager Don Mattingly's office.

I'm suffering a bit of shell-shock, so I'll refrain from commenting on this for right now... other than to say what the rest of you have been thinking all afternoon.  Is it worth losing Gonzalez just to be able to dump Beckett and Crawford?

That question won't be answered for some time, but we all wanted a major overhaul of this team.... be careful what you wish for.

UPDATE: Beckett also claimed by Dodgers.

I just said that it would be a dream scenario for the Dodgers to take Josh Beckett alongside Adrian Gonzalez in any sort of trade. 

Well, Sean McAdam just confirmed that the dream could become a reality. Beckett has also been claimed by the Dodgers off of the waiver wire.

Disgruntled Sox fans can already be heard celebrating but before we continue this fiesta, let's remember that Beckett's 10-5 rights are still in effect and could effectively kill all of this discussion. But why Beckett would put this in effect considering all the hatred & drama that is thrown is way is beyond me. He'll be in the midst of a division hunt, where there is less pressure and benefit those massive fields in the NL West. 

One big thing to look out for is how much money the Dodgers would assume in a trade. If the Sox could manage to get them to take a majority of the salary, this trade suddenly becomes even more tempting for the front office to pull the trigger. 

If this trade does go through, it becomes the biggest trade to happen in the Waiver Trade Deadline and would very well make teams like the San Francisco Giants scream at Bud Selig and MLB that this shouldn't be able to happen. We'll see what happens...

Dodgers awarded Adrian Gonzalez in waivers, Sox have a now-or-never decision to make

The Los Angeles Dodgers were awarded Adrian Gonzalez off of waivers. The Red Sox now have 72 hours to decide whether to keep him, see if they can trade him, or just letting him go and let the Dodgers assume Gonzalez's contract. 

Once it was known that Gonzalez was placed on waivers, it was widely assumed that the Dodgers would put in a claim, as it was reported that they tried to acquire him before the July 31st trade deadline. 

Now the time is ticking and the front office has a chance to really start the rebuilding process. This would open up 6 years/$127 million remaining on his contract and that could be used to try and re-sign Jacoby Ellsbury, use that for another cheaper replacement in the free agent market, like a Mike Napoli, and use the remaining to bolster other areas, like the rotation. But Adrian is too good of a player to just let go to save some cash. Having that cash freed won't be a panacea to what plagues this team but...it would certainly help.

As far as a trade goes, two things must happen for it to happen. One is that the Sox must be willing to pay a little of the contract (something like $20 million) and the other is that the Sox will get only prospects in return. The Dodgers have been super aggressive ever since Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners took them over and are trying to win right away and Adrian Gonzalez would fix their glaring hole at first base. They haven't lost many of their prospects either since most of their acquisitions they have just assumed all the money remaining on player's contracts. 

A dream scenario would be that maybe the Sox could be willing to take Josh Beckett in the deal. But that would be incredibly unlikely considering that they want to win now and Beckett is in the midst of his worst year in baseball, even if they could get him at a discount. For those that are wondering, John Lackey can't get traded since he's on the 60-day DL. 

In all likelihood, the Sox will take Gonzalez off of the waiver wires and keep him. He's too good of a hitter to let go and despite the fact that he hasn't fit in this city ever since he arrived here, he's still a hitting savant, who is now hitting .300 and is on pace for 120 RBI's despite an awful start to the season. He's the guy Sox fans have been waiting for since Manny was booted from this team and their is a chance that he can still lead this team to a title.

Having said that, if the Red Sox want to trade him, they won't have a better chance to do so. This is the one of the few teams that have a need at first base and are desperate to bring a title to Los Angeles that they would take the contract and quite possibly give prospects in return for him. If they wanted to wait in the off-season to move him, would the Dodgers even be willing to listen if they believe Gonzalez was the missing piece of the puzzle? Doubtful. After the Dodgers, which team has a major need at first and be willing to take Adrian and his contract? No one, which makes this a now or never type deal.

So the Sox have a major decision to make. Will they finally throw up the white flag with this team and start rebuilding?

 

Your Morning Dump...where the Sox can make it rain on free agents this year.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Before trying to figure out the Red Sox’ targets in free agency this winter, it’d be nice to know what they can spend.

And an examination of the numbers suggests a pretty healthy sum: $30 million-$40 million.

That’s enough to land an impact free agent like Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Carl Crawford while retaining catcher Victor Martinez and patching the bullpen.

Or if they decide to spread the money around like last winter, the Sox could collect mid-level free agents like catcher John Buck, reliever Scott Downs and first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Either way, the Sox will have options. And they’ll have money.

Standard disclaimer: It’s impossible to ascertain the team’s exact payroll, since a number of players will receive raises in arbitration, non-arbitration eligible players have yet to be tendered contracts, and tonight is the deadline to exercise the options of players like designated hitter David Ortiz.

That said, we can still estimate a pretty good ballpark figure. The Red Sox spent roughly $170 million on payroll last year, and last week owner John Henry told the Herald he expected that number to remain the same in 2011.

“It will depend on who is available, what our needs are and the market itself,” Henry said. “Purely a guess - probably close to 2010. Last year we thought it was going to be lower than it turned out to be. But with (third baseman Adrian) Beltre and (starting pitcher John) Lackey signing, we ended up near $175 (million).”

Herald-Sox need to play moneyball

$30-$40 million? That sounds pretty good for me considering they just bought Liverpool. I was honestly expecting about half of that. Enough to pick up one player and let rookies play at this point... wait who am I kidding. The front office knows that they can't have a poor offseason. Not with the Yankees willing to give blank checks to Cliff Lee (and maybe) Jayson Werth.

I honestly have no idea what the Sox will actually do, especially when it comes to Beltre (is he really going to continue the all around hitting in the next couple of years or is he trying to what he did in 2004 to get another contract?). He's a Type-A Free Agent so it wouldn't be a shocker to see Beltre get the Jason Bay treatment and low ball him so he leaves. I just hope they find someone so it isn't Jed Lowrie playing the hot corner.

Some Hot Stove Links: Globe:Ortiz option deadline|Notebook: Mets quickly exercise Reyes' option|Herald:Yankees set to be aggressive in pursuing Lee|Payroll breakdown of the Red Sox|Vlad a free agent, hopes to return to Rangers|MLB Trade Rumors:Yankees don't plan to pursue Crawford,Werth|Yu Darvish plans to play in MLB in 2012|Pierzynsku yet to hear offer for ChiSox|

Red Sox/Dodgers series preview

Boston Red Sox (40-28) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (38-28)

Friday (7:10, NESN): RHP Carlos Monasterios (3-1, 2.98) vs. LHP Felix Doubront (1st start)

Saturday (4:10, FOX): RHP Vicente Padilla (1-1, 6.65) vs. RHP Tim Wakefield (2-5, 5.42)

Sunday (8:00, ESPN): RHP Hiroki Kuroda (6-4, 3.10) vs. RHP Clay Buchholz (9-4, 2.67)

The starting matchups are pretty compelling. Inexperience in the first. How will Felix handle a Friday night Fenway crowd, restless from a Celtics loss and emotionally on edge with the return of Mannywood? How will Senor Monastery handle an AL lineup? Then on Saturday it's two old innings eaters having rough years. And Sunday finds two surprisingly good pitchers, though Clay has the edge there.

Who will go off: David Ortiz. Ortiz's Manny comments were intriguing this week. They appear to have not been as close as people wanted them to be, though I'm sure we'll get plenty of smiling and pointing and incomprehensible stuff from the two of them this weekend. But Papi is lurking behind Manny in career Sox numbers. He recently passed Manny in career walks and RBI, and is currently 1 behind in homers. I say he gets it, and that he plays well against these righthanders from the NL West. As a side note: David Ortiz has been my favorite baseball player for the last seven years, but I can't comprehend that he's in the same class, statistically, as Manny, over his Sox career. (He's just behind in slugging percentage and OPS, too.) Bravo, David.

Who needs to be stopped: Why look anywhere else: it's Manny Ramirez. Manny doesn't have anything to prove because he is incapable of comprehending situations like this. He won't freak out if people boo; he won't realize what the noise is, or why it's happening whenever he walks toward the plate. He's going to rake in familiar surroundings, even as the fans and media continue to get all self-righteous about one of the greatest hitters of all time.

The Sox will lose if...they can't handle unfamiliar pitching. The Sox have never faced Monasterios, and only three hitters have faced Kuroda for a total of 7 PAs. Many of the players have experience against Padilla from when he was with Texas, though Lowell, Beltre, and Scutaro are all under the Mendoza line against him. The key will be if the Sox approach works against the unfamiliar guys. And given our history in interleague play, I have to think it will.

Miscellany: No stats, just a plea: Don't boo Manny. Come on. I get it, he's a narcissistic, aloof jerk. He pushed an old guy, loafed some ground balls, and may or may not have allowed Mariano Rivera to strike him out once because he woke up on the wrong side of the bed one day. He also provided each and every one of us with an unbelievable amount of entertainment. No one has captured our attention like him -- sure, we love Brady more, and probably Papi too, and of course Bird going back into history. But no one has ever been this combination of awesome and incomprehensible in Boston. We loved Ted Williams despite his inability to appreciate anything. Why can't we love Manny, who just vacillated between loving us and hating us? He is what he is: a doofus, but great. Don't let a handful of games override 7.5 years of greatness. Stand up and applaud for the best right-handed hitter in the history of the team, and one of the best of our generation.

Prediction: Another Sox sweep, vaulting us into the playoff race.