Results tagged ‘ Andrew Miller ’
Bard Gets the Call
Daniel Bard (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The bullpen has been heavily taxed the past few days and could use a fresh arm. Enter Daniel Bard. The troubled righty has made his way back to the big league team after knuckleballer Steven Wright was optioned to Pawtucket. This is exciting, because everyone, including myself, has wondered what in the world went wrong with Daniel Bard. First here was the horrific September 2011, then the failed starter experiment, and then the majority of the 2012 season in AAA. He’s spent this year in AA, so it looked like he was never going to return to the Bard of old. Now he’s back though, so maybe there is hope.
Personally, I’m excited to see Bard in action. I think he’ll assume the Alex Wilson role, which will presumably be opened when John Lackey is called up on Sunday and Wilson is likely the one to be sent down. So we’ll see Bard in relatively easy situations just to get his feet wet again. Unfortunately for him, he probably won’t stay up here for very long with the impending returns of Craig Breslow and Franklin Morales. There could be hope for him though with Andrew Miller’s issues and Alfredo Aceves’ attitude. I did talk to Providence Journal reporter, Tim Britton, about this and he told me that Bard stay will be short and where he ends up next ( AA or AAA) will be determined by his performance in the majors.
Game 11: Vs. Rays
Buchholz (2-0) v. Cobb (1-0)
Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
After yesterday’s exciting win that I failed to review the Sox had momentum swinging in their favor. Could it carry over into today’s game? Maybe it did, but maybe it didn’t.
Clay Buchholz was as good as he’s ever been. He was dominate in every way possible. There really isn’t any other way to sum up his performance. He had a career high 11 strikeouts and had no hitter going into the eighth. The no hitter was broken up by a broken bat bloop single by Kelly Johnson. He would give up another hit in the inning, a double to Desmond Jennings, but kept the shutout going for all 8 innings he pitched. Andrew Miller would finish off the game with a strong ninth.
On the other side Alex Cobb was very good, but not great. He struggled in the third and didn’t get much help from the defense which lead to a 4 run third for the Sox. Other than that Cobb pitched very well for 6.2 innings giving up 4 runs with only 3 earned. Jamey Wright finished off the game allowing one run in 1.1 innings of work.
In the end the Sox came out on top with a 5-0 win over the Rays for their second straight win. They’ll have the chance to go for their first sweep of the season tomorrow in the early 11:05 Patriot’s Day game. It’s also Jackie Robinson Day so everyone will be wearing number 42 jerseys.
11 games down 151 to go
Deadline Review
In the past two days there’s been a flurry of roster moves made by the Red Sox in the past couple days. Yesterday the Red Sox said in a press release:
“BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox today placed outfielder Ryan Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured bone in his left hand and recalled both outfielder Ryan Kalish and right-handed pitcher Clayton Mortensen from Triple-A Pawtucket. Kalish and Mortensen will be active for tonight’s game against the Tigers at Fenway Park. Additionally, the club today activated right-handed pitcher Chris Carpenter from the 60-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Pawtucket.“
Sweeney is likely done for the season if the Sox miss the playoffs, but he may return for the final games of the season. Kalish is returning to the Sox after a brief and largely unsuccessful stint in the majors earlier this year. Mortensen was called up to fill the open spot Albers left, until Craig Breslow arrived which was just a few minutes ago. Chris Carpenter has missed the entire year with a right elbow surgery. He was the compensation received by the Sox for Theo Epstein.
Now on to the trades. Yesterday the Sox made two trades. The first was the Sox acquiring lefty Craig Breslow from the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik. This move was made to give the Sox bullpen flexibility, so that Franklin Morales could be put back into the starting rotation. I like this move, because Morales had been very effective as a starter and I love that he’ll be returning to this role. Also the bullpen doesn’t lose anything, because Breslow is a great left reliever. I am a huge Albers and Podsednic fan, but there wasn’t a need for either of them (although you can never have enough pitching.)
The other trade was between the Cleveland Indians and the BoSox. The Sox acquired righty, knuckleballer Steven Wright for first baseman Lars Anderson. This a great move, because it brings everyone’s favorite pitch, the knuckleball. Also, Lars needed to be moved, because he had been blocked for a long while now and I’m glad they got a good return for him. Another great thing is that Tim Wakefield will work with Wright, so he’ll be taught well.
Today there were a few more roster moves that took place. Daniel Nava was placed on the DL with a sprained left wrist and able to be activated on Sunday August 12th. Ryan Lavarnway was recalled from Pawtucket to take his place. Clayton Mortensen was optioned to AAA to make room for Craig Breslow who was added to the 25-man roster.
And with that, that’s all the Red Sox have done the past two days. Ben Cherrington is a very busy man.
Deadline Preview
Today is one of my favorite days of the year, the MLB non-waiver trade deadline. Today many deals will be made, one was already done, but I’m here to discuss what the Boston Red Sox may do before 4 P.M. today.
Now the Sox are stuck in the in between spot where it could be buy or sell. Someone who could very likely go is backup catcher Kelly Shoppach. Shoppach has blocked Ryan Lavarnway all year, but he’s said to be ready and they want him up now. The Mets and Nationals have been most involved in talks for Shoppach, but other teams could take a shot a great defensive back up catcher. The only problem is that the Sox value his defense, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Lavarnway being far behind Shoppach defensivelly Salty could be the catcher that’s moved. If Salty is shopped I think they’ll be more interest and a greater return. Either way I expect one of them to be moved and Lavrnway to be recalled today.
Now the biggest name that the Red Sox have shopped around is Josh Beckett. It was said that the Sox called the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves about Beckett, but the Braves weren’t a fit due to salary concerns and talks with Texas are said to be dead. The odds are he’s moved today are very, very small, but trades can still be made in August and Beckett will pass through waivers so watch out for a deal around mid to late August.
Outfielders could be on the market too. Ryan Sweeney, Cody Ross, and Scott Podsednik could all be in play today. Last night Sweeney likely took himself off the market by injuring his hand by punching a door which will hold him out for 8 weeks so he’ll likely stay put. Ross is also unlikely to stay as well, because of his huge contributions and he’s also a great clubhouse guy. Now Podsednik is the most likely to be moved, but interest is minimal so he may also stay as a depth guy. Any of the 3 have a chance to go, but I’m not expecting anything. Like Beckett, they may be moved in August especially if the Sox fall completly out of contention for the final wild card spot.
Now on to the fun part, what the Sox could acquire. The biggest need is starting pitching and there’s plenty of it. Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, and Josh Johnson are the best pitchers available, but I don’t think the Sox are in on any of them. But the Cubs say the Dodgers are out on Dempster and the Yankees and a mystery team which could be the Red Sox. Another guy who could be picked up is Joe Blanton, but it looks like the Orioels may have him. Now two guys who I really like for the Sox are Jason Vargas and former Boston Red Sox Justin Masterson. Both are young controllable arms who post quality numbers. They’d both provide a huge boost to the rotation which is desperately needed. The difference between the two is just that Vargas is a lefty and Masterson is a righty. Vargas has been the better of the two this year but Masterson is having a down year, but he could get a boost from a change of sceenary. The Sox have been higher on Masterson probably because he came up through the Sox’s system, but either guy would be huge.
Now this part is pure speculation at this point, but I love this idea. Stephen Drew to the Red Sox. It had been discussed, but nothing has really come together, yet. Drew would be a great piece to add to the lineup which would help propel this team forward. Plus the Diamondbacks are shopping him so something could go down.
Silva Out of SP Race; Miller Too?
Carlos Silva and Andrew Miller were recently scrathed from the next spring training starts.
Silva is suffering from shoulder inflamation in his throwing shoulder. He’ll miss some significant time or even the entire spring. Even though he was a long shot, this offically kills any chance Silva will make the opening day roster.
Miller has stiffness in his elbow. This is just a minor setback, but in a competition for a roster spot, any little thing can be the diffrence from making the team or being DFA’d.
Off Season Ideas: Youk to A’s?
The Red Sox trade Kevin Youkilis and Andrew Miller to the A’s for Gio Gonzalez and a prospect.
Why it Would Work: It’s no secret the Sox need pitching and Youk can be used as trade bait. Gonzalez is a great , young lefty who could turn out to be a superstar. He was an All-Star this year and looks like he will be for years to come. The Sox only have one lefty starter in the rotation so adding another wouldn’t hurt. Another reason would be that an unhealthy Youk can be more harm than help so trading him now while he still has a high value might be the best idea for the Sox. Billy Beane loves Youk, so the second his name is mentioned he’ll listen to anything. Also dumping Andrew Miller wouldn’t be a bad thing, plus he helps fill the spot left be Gonzalez so the A’s still have a serviceable lefty to start aside from Brett Anderson. Also the prospect would just be a throw in hit or miss guy.
Why it Wouldn’t Work: The A’s are struggling to get a winning team in Oakland. Their pitching is what has been carrying them. Would the A’s be willing to give up their best pitcher for some offence? They’ve been hurting at the corner infield spots by a series of failed prospects and bad trades. Youk could fill that spot, but are the A’s willing to sacrifice that much for an injury prone, early thirty’s corner infielder?
If you want your idea featured here comment below or on any article, e-mail me at tricher00@gmail.com, or send me a tweet @thebestsoxblog.
Off Season Ideas: Lincecum to the Sox?
Sorry once again for the absence. Today will be my catch up day.
John said:
Compensation for Theo suggestion: Take Lackey and Jenks too. Give us Garza.
Then we package Garza with Bowden, Doubront or Miller, Reddick, Lowrie, and either Tejeda or Pimentel for Tim Lincecum and Sergio Romo. Then we sign Willingham for one year. Re-sign CoJack and sign Andruw Jones and Jose Molina to round out the bench.
Why it would work: For what we’d be giving the Cubs it seems like a fair enough deal to get Garza in return. Then shipping him to San Francisco would be a huge package for Lincecum and Romo. The Giants would have to at least consider it. And also, signing Conner Jackson, Josh Willingham Andruw Jones, and Jose Molina wouldn’t be to bad of a deal.
Why it wouldn’t work: They’re are plenty of flaws with this proposition. First of all Garza is the Cubs ace, and they don’t want to part with him. They also don’t want another washed up pitcher with a huge contract like Lackey when they already have Carlos Zambrano. They could want Jenks, but it’s unlikely that he’d serve much of purpose there. In the other half of deal the first that doesn’t work is that involves Tim Lincecum. He’s probably the biggest piece in San Fransico, and they never want to lose him. Also the package for them is a bit ridiculous. The front office loves Reddick, Lowrie, and Doubront, and are too valuable to the Sox after they lost they’re top three prospects last year. Lastly, I don’t have a problem with signing Josh Willingham, Andruw Jones, and Jose Molina, but resigning Conner Jackson just isn’t a good idea. He can’t hit very well anymore, plus he’s nothing special on defense besides his slightly above average arm.
If you want your idea on here please comment below or any article, email me at tricher00@gmail.com, or send me a tweet @thebestsoxblog.
Tim Richer
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