O/T - Red Sox - Dodgers Trade
 

Wow...if the deal goes through, I can't believe that the Dodgers would take on that much $$. A-Gone will be a nice fit in LA, but Crawford will most likely not play for another year and Beckett is a cancer, although he may fare better in a somewhat pitcher friendly park and back in the NL. As a Boston fan, here's hoping that they spend the freed up $$ more wisely this time around....

This is why I eat, sleep, drink and dream prewar. The modern sports world bloze.

As long as the Red Sox are cleaning house, they may also consider jettisoning Bobby Valentine. The players don't like playing for him.

Agreed, 100%. Too bad they could get the Dodgers to eat Lackey's contract as well!

Too true Steve,

So in that vein....how could the Red Sox trade Duffy Lewis, Dutch Leonard and Ernie Shore to the Yankees for four nobodies in 1918??!!

A disastrous season, a completely dysfunctional team. Only four of these clowns could even be bothered to show up for Johnny Pesky's funeral, on an off-day.

as constructed it's a franchise-altering trade for the dodgers. clearly a-gon is the only asset, and they have to take on beckett and crawford's massive contracts while giving up 2 of their top prospects de la rosa and webster and a serviceable jerry sands. they are giving up too much for what they're getting back, but i hear cash is coming from boston also.

/

No No Nanette

I'm surprised mlb approved it.

As a Dodger fan and a bit of a Red Sox fan, this one is interesting. Dodgers are giving up two decent prospects (Webster is actually very very good) but Sands is actually a bit on the injury prone side but may be good as a fill in.

Dodgers will not be taking on as much of the money as people think. The Red Sox will be sending a boat load of cash along with the other players. Crawford is being paid by an insurance company currently and will not be paid by the Dodgers until he actually plays for them.

This trade will clean up the Sox (if they get rid of Valentine) and make room for some improvement.

The Dodgers will get help at first and a another serviceable(hopefully) starter this year...and Crawford can help out in the outfield next year. Should be interesting how this all works out in the next few years.

Joshua

What's even more suprising is that Bud-lite somehow didn't muck this up. :rolleyes:

And you have to like the Dodgers chances in the NL West now with A-Gone replacing Loney and with the Giants losing Melky for the remainder of the season. As a Sox fan, I was hoping they would eat Lackey's contract as well! We'd even through in Dice-K:)

No thanks, you can keep Dice-k

If this trade goes through the Dodgers will have one impressive batting order: Kemp, Ethier, Ramirez, Gonzalez, Crawford (next year). These guys all have lots of years ahead of them. The Dodgers could have a potent lineup for a long time. If the change of scenery revitalizes Beckett that would be a real benefit. Then they would have three great starting pitchers to complement all that hitting. At least on paper, they would be one of the top few teams in baseball.

Trade complete. The trades this year have been awesome. Ichiro to the Yankees. Hanley to the Dodgers. Now this trade too.

People keep trying to push the great deal the Red Sox got but I'm not seeing it. Loney stinks, De La Rosa just had Tommy John, Sands is a AAAA slugger and Allen Webster hasn't pitched above AA.

Guess the argument is that the Red Sox drop the salary but they're still going to be paying a ton and are supposed to be a "big market" team.

I wish the Dodgers would send Beckett to AAA.

Red Sox dropped a quarter of a billion dollars of salary. Considering they were going nowhere, management has to be happy about that.

Speaking as a Sox fan I am all for this trade I still can`t believe the Dodgers are going for it just shows how much they want Gonzalez! To me both Gonzalez and Crawford never lived up to the hype granted Crawford was oft injured but they could all have success in L.A. even Beckett. If they all do tear it up playing for the Dodgers it will only show just how dysfunctional the Red Sox really are! When the Sox traded Youkilis he found new life and was named player of the week his first week since leaving Boston! Even if all the prospects Boston gets don`t pan out I am still all for this trade.

Hey L.A. we still got John Lackey and Dice-K? We can even throw in a translator for Dice-K, Bobby Valentine! All we want are a couple of used fungo bats! Deal?!?!

> If this trade goes through the Dodgers will have one impressive batting order: Kemp, Ethier, Ramirez, Gonzalez, Crawford (next year).

Same was said about the thought of having Gonzalez and Crawford in the Sox lineup - how'd that work out? Gonzalez had little impact after last year's AS game. He was a rally killing hole in the middle of the Sox lineup since then. Yeah, he got RBIs that showed up in the yearly stats - but he was totally MIA during any clutch situation. I know that it's been said the he had lots of late inning RBis - how many meant anything? Especially last year when the two hitting in front of him (Ellebury and Pedroia) had .400 OBPs and were top 5 (I think) in the MVP balloting - how he could he help but pile on the RBIs. Every time he came up it seemed there was a runner in scoring postition. But he never did it against the better teams. He had very little positive impact at the plate - always seemed to loaf running the bases (yeah he's slow anyway, but his loafing often saved infielders or outfielder on the other teams errors was he jogged around the bases. It killed me to watch that. And, I have no idea whatever happened to his batting eye - at one point he went more than a month without a walk this year - how can a middle of the lineup guy not walk? This year they often intentionally walked the hitter in front of him (this even after he was dropped to 6th in the lineup and that someone was Cody Ross or Will Middlebrooks) just to get to him... this Sox fan is happy to see him go. I hope he performs well for the Dodgers. But I wouldn't count on it. Watch his games, not his stats (sorta like "buy the card, not the holder"?). Same for the other 2 - big names, little impact. Beckett has lost a few MPH off the fastball and can no longer get away with mistakes - maybe in a league without a DH he'll survive a few more of those mistakes. Even with a change of scenery and an attitude adjustment it might not work for him - I wish him well but I think his days of being a dominant pitcher are behind him. Crawford - he seems to be burdened by his contract. It's heavy - too much it seems - he's weighed down - indecisive at the plate on the bases, and in the field - hard to believe that he won gold gloves (he's been atrocious in the field - at least when he gets on the field - too much money for a guy who can't get on the field... he seems to try hard, always hustles, wants to win - but it just wasn't working for him. The Sox have been abysmal since last September and these 3 are a big part of the core that was supposed to lead them. And where have they lead them? The Dodgers are getting 3 big names - but, based upon recent performance, thats all they are, names - names of guys that were once stars. I have my doubts about whether they can ever reach that level again. I don't think that they ever would in Boston... good luck to them in LA.

I'd have let the 3 go for a box of balls, all of that money tied up with little production for it was killing them... this looks like an NBA trade (at least from the Sox perspective). It's all about the money. You have to take my bad contracts to get the player (Gonazalez) you want (and I suspect that the Sox were actually tired of Gonzalez act anyway). Now the Sox are no longer prisoner of the salary cap - we'll see how they do in developing and acquiring talent (and attitude) over the next couple of years.

As a Rays fan, I LOVE this trade! Between the Sox being the most dysfunctional franchise in MLB, and the Yanks getting old fast (with nothing down on the farm), the Rays should be at the top for years to come.

why? if you're a rays fan, wouldn't you want an underperforming crawford with an albatross contract and clubhouse cancer beckett to stay with the sox? now they get younger and have money to retool. that was probably the thinking when toronto claimed de la rosa when the dodgers tried to pass him through waiver (so now he was sent down to the minor and will be PTBNL)

Keep dreaming Jim

.

Gonzalez 3 run HR in the 1st inning!

clean house BIG TIME!
 

Very true, Barry my friend!
Actually, I think a lot more need to go so we can rebiuld the team fresh.
Honestly, to me, the owners selling the team would be the best thing to happen. They seem to love their soccer team and not the Red Sox!

Ironically, I'm not a fan of the Red Sox or any particular team as much as I'm just a Baseball fan! I just like good BB!

These trade arguments have been going on since forever! There have been some scary ones!
One day after the Bill Lee trade, I was walking towards Fenway for a game and saw this spray painted on the wall after the Bill Lee fiasco:
WHO THE HELL IS STAN PAPI?

Ah, the Red Sox, you gotta love them!

Bill Hedin

I watch a lot of Sox games and I agree GoneHitLez was coming up short more times then not. I got soooo tired of him hitting a weak ground ball to the right side of the infield in big spots, clogging up the bases, loafing to first, his lack of leadership in the clubhouse, his constant complaining about the schedule, all his excuses why they team wasn't winning, his bitching to management because he didn't like what the manager said or how he said it, rarely driving the ball to the right side. There were stretches when it seemed he'd go weeks without pulling the ball with any authority at all, home or away. Swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, leading the league in GDP, lack of power numbers, his apathitic demeanor, ect. I could go on. Bottom line it wasn't a good fit. Good luck

Where have you gone Anthony Rizzo., and Casey Kelly for that matter

Statistics can lie. Oh how they lie

> Statistics can lie. Oh how they lie

Yep, I'm too lazy to do fetch 'em... but if you like those clutch stats from last year that were referenced in a prior post, you might take a look only at what was done against the rival treams, those that you have to beat, those where there is pressure, like the Rays, Rangers, and Yankees... Gonzalez was totally MIA against them (and a couple of the other better teams). He cleaned up on the weak sisters... he was streaky, but those streaks were always against the lesser teams. Ask any Sox fan to remember a notable at bat by Adrian... I suspect that few can. Tied, down one, down two with two out in the eight or ninth and Gonzalez coming to bat - might as well head to the concession stand or fridge - nothing to see here. Other than Punto he was probably the last guy that I wanted to see up (as a long watching Sox fan).

He should be praised for an excellent first half of last year, his fielding in general, and also for being willing to go out and play right field for a bunch of games while the Sox worked out the Middlebrooks-Youkilis situation. But he was not even close to being an elite performer over his time with the Sox. Better they spend their $$ elsewhere.

It never ceases to amaze that guys who get paid millions to play a game bitch, moan, and whine so much, as if they had real grievances compared to 99 percent of humanity. For every Derek Jeter there seem to be ten jerks.

boston management doesn't have the best reputation of patting a guy on the back when they leave town. the owners are incredibly self-conscious of their image to the fanbase. why any future free-agent would want to go there is beyond me.

Also their streak of home sell outs is nothing but a fraud.

Did you see what happened to that grafitti later? Someone added a very non PC answer, and for some reason the team left it up on that wall for years. I wanted to take a picture of it, but just didn't get to doing it.

Steve B

My brother went to a game right after that trade and said someone spray painted that on the wall too! :D I`ve always remembered that I guess the new version would be WHO THE HELL IS BRENT LILLIBRIDGE?

I never knew there was an update to that grafitti what did it say? If you can word it without offending anyone, anyone but Stan Papi that is! :)

It ended up as "Who the Hell is Stan Papi? He's the best head in town."

I suppose it's ok to quote it. If anyone's really bothered I'll censor it somehow.

I also recall the third word beginning with an f, but it was a long time ago. I was always amazed they didn't paint it over. It outlasted Papi.

I used to take a lap around the outside of the park if I was early enough or in the area. There used to be a small door along the first base side that aligned directly with the grounds crew field entrance. And it was usually left open, and also usually unguarded on off days. I never had the guts to wander in and try getting on the field. The BPD wasn't particularly gentle on occasion especially with stuff that was a nuisance to prosecute.

To keep on topic, I'm not liking the trade much. Sure, those three players were underperforming this year, but it seems like everyone is under the new manager. Youk is doing well in Chicago, and I'll be surprised if the guys traded don't do well for LA. I'm all for the use of sabrmetrics in helping figure which players to sign, but there are a few cities where the players mental makeup might matter more. Boston, NY, a bit less in Chicago. The Sox have had a lot of good players signed who can't handle the scrutiny.
The trend the Sox seem to be taking is to become the A's. Borderline competetive on nearly no budget. And competetive because they're loaded with players who are all slightly above average but also very dull.
Give me a bunch of occasionally brilliant headcases any day. At least when they come in 3rd they'll be fun to watch.

Steve B