A Sportlots order and a trade came in yesterday, knocking off a number of wantlist needs. Without further ado, here we go:
2. Herb Moford. Moford played just four games for the Red Sox, with an 0-2 record and an 11.42 ERA. Not terribly impressive, but I am trying hard to complete the 1959 Topps team set.
3. Jackie Jensen. Jensen was coming off of winning the 1958 AL MVP. He hit .286/.396/.535 with 35 home runs, and a league-leading 122 RBIs. Jensen would lead the league in RBIs again in 1959, before temporarily retiring due to his intense fear of flying. He returned in 1961 but struggled and retired for good after the season.
4. Damon Berryhill. This is the last card I needed for the 1994 Topps Traded set. Berryhill was one of three new catchers for the team in 1994 along with Dave Valle and Rich Rowland. After Valle struggled and was traded, Berryhill took over the starting job. He didn't hit much, which was typical and lasted only the one season in Boston.
5. Kevin Youkilis. This was not on my wantlist, I just wanted to add a Kevin Youkilis card for some reason. Youkilis was a terrific hitter for a few years, and was one of the best hitters in the game in 2008 and 2009. He was also a Gold Glove winner at first base.
6. Daniel Bard. It is unfortunate that Bard had completely lost command of his pitching in 2012 because he had been so good in middle relief for Boston from 2009 to 2011. He is still trying to work his way back.
7. Carlton Fisk. Do I really need to talk about Fisk?
8. Jimmie Foxx. Ditto for Foxx.
9. Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval has been a disappointment so far, with a bad year in 2015 and being injured for the vast majority of this season. It will be interesting to see what happens next year when he is healthy again.
11. Rusney Castillo. I have written at length about his disappointing contract.
12. Simon Mercedes. Mercedes had a rough season this year and is likely just organizational depth at this point.
13. Manuel Margot. Margot was recently called up to the Padres, who acquired him in the deal that sent Craig Kimbrel to Boston.
14. Rafael Devers. Boston has a number of third base prospects, but Devers is the best of them, with a ton of power. The only question is how to deal with both him and Yoan Moncada.
15. Matt Barnes. Barnes has developed into a decent middle reliever this season with more than a strikeout per inning pitched and a decent strikeout to walk ratio.
16. Rusney Castillo.
17. Hanley Ramirez.
18. Pablo Sandoval.
20. David Price. Price started off slowly, but has really turned things around down the stretch and looks like the pitcher Boston hoped they were acquiring when they signed him to the richest contract in team history.
21. Henry Owens. Owens has struggled this season and will need to turn things around next season if he wants another chance at the Major Leagues.
22. Henry Owens.
23. Roger Clemens. This is the last of four cards from this insert set I needed. Clemens won the 1986 MVP as well as the Cy Young Award after a terrific 24-4 season that included a 20 strikeout game, the first such in history.
24. Xander Bogaerts. He finished second in batting average last season, but second half struggles have ensured that he will not be in the running this year.
25. Wade Boggs. This was an extra that was thrown in, and I am not complaining. Boggs was a terrific hitter who won five batting titles and had seven straight 200 hit seasons. He was my first favorite player.
And now for the trade:
2. Carlton Fisk.
3. Adrian Gonzalez. I was always disappointed that Boston did not hold onto him longer, but even moreso that they sought him out so much in the first place. Had Boston re-signed Adrian Beltre after 2010, they could have kept Kevin Youkilis at first base, prolonging his usefulness, and kept Anthony Rizzo to eventually take over. Boston could be looking at an infield of Rizzo-Pedroia-Bogaerts-Beltre this season.
4. Dustin Pedroia. Until a knee injury, Pedroia looked like he could overtake Jose Altuve for the batting lead. Unfortunately he has struggled since then.
5. Dustin Pedroia.
6. Curt Schilling. It would be nice if Schilling could hold his tongue once in awhile. He has gotten in some more trouble due to his political views earlier this week. Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame.
7. Jon Lester. Lester will go down as one of the top left-handed pitchers in team history. But where? Boston does not have a lot of good lefties, but Bruce Hurst, Mel Parnell, Bill Lee, and Babe Ruth were all terrific.
8. Daisuke Matsuzaka. Another bust, but he had a great year in 2008, going 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA. It was all downhill from there though. He tended to nibble at the corners too much and throw too many pitches. Injuries also curtailed his production. But in 2007, he was one of the biggest stories in the game, hence this Berger's Best card.
9. Dustin Pedroia.
11. Roger Clemens.
12. Jackie Bradley Jr. One of Boston's top young players, Bradley has an outside shot at hitting 30 home runs this year, and should win the Gold Glove. I don't get a ton of relic cards anymore, but once in awhile I have to make an exception.
And now, the rest of the same trade consisted of the 2010 Factory Team Set. There are still a few of these that I need, all of which are on my wantlist.
14. Victor Martinez. Martinez is a player that I did not fully appreciate while he was active. Part of that is likely due to his acquisition pushing my favorite player into a backup role, not that that wasn't the right thing to do.
15. Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon is Boston's all-time saves leader, by a rather significant margin. Bob Stanley is second.
16. Kevin Youkilis.
17. John Lackey. Lackey had been very disappointing early on in his contract but turned things around in a big way in 2013. He was the winner of the clinching game of the 2013 World Series.
18. Clay Buchholz. Buchholz is one of the great survivors in Boston. It seems like he is finished or likely to be traded every year, and he keeps making it back and producing.
19. Tim Wakefield. Speaking of survivors. Wakefield is second in all-time wins for Boston. Roger Clemens and Cy Young are tied at the top.
20. Adrian Beltre. I covered this earlier, I think Boston should have kept him. He had a terrific 2010 season after all, played great defense, and was just a lot of fun to watch.
21. Jason Varitek. There are not too many Varitek cards still out there that I need, but here was one.
23. J.D. Drew. Drew won the All Star Game MVP in 2008.
24. David Ortiz. It was only a matter of time. Ortiz pops up with a new card every day, sometimes unintentionally. I love the action shot on this card though.
25. Jacoby Ellsbury. His 2011 season will be kind of forgotten, but he was Boston's first 30/30 man, picked up 200 hits, a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, and was an All Star for the first time. He really should have been the MVP, but it was a pretty fluky season.
26. Jon Lester.
27. Daisuke Matsuzaka.
28. Daniel Bard.
29. Marco Scutaro. Scutaro had a couple of solid seasons at shortstop for Boston in 2010 and 2011. Boston traded him to Colorado for Clayton Mortenson in 2012, which was not a very good trade for the Red Sox.
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