Red Sox - Dodgers Mega Deal

First the details:

Dodgers get:
Josh Beckett
Carl Crawford
Adrian Gonzalez
Nick Punto
12 million dollars

Red Sox get:
James Loney
Allen Webster
Rubby De La Rosa
Ivan De Jesus
Jerry Sands

Now this is mostly a sign that the Red Sox are blowing up the team and starting over.  Beckett, Crawford, and Gonzalez were their three highest-paid players and potentially all had bad contracts moving forward.  The players the Red Sox received are not stars, though Webster and De La Rosa both have potential.  This was a way for Boston to clear a ton of salary.  The Red Sox will only pay $12 million of the contracts on the four players they are moving, thus saving nearly $260 million through 2017.

This is bittersweet for me.  On the one hand, I am happy they are doing something to move forward.  On the other, I have never seen the Red Sox pull this kind of thing before.  A complete rebuilding without clear replacements for the players lost.  Loney will take over at first, but his numbers are not impressive and he will be a free agent after the season.  Boston does not have a clear first base prospect in the minors after trading Anthony Rizzo for Gonzalez and Lars Anderson earlier this season.  Ryan Lavarnway or Jarrod Saltalamacchia could spend some time there and Mike Napoli will be on the market this offseason.

Search for BoSox Pt. 3

Yesterday, I bought a box of 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter's. I pulled two Red Sox, one of which I already owned, Clay Buchholz. The other was a nifty insert: This Day in History Josh Beckett. Decent. I would have liked more cards, but I won't be too upset over pulling an insert. The hit of the box was an Ivan Rodriguez jersey card.

Searching for BoSox

I will do these once in awhile. I bought some stuff at the local Target. I only buy cards looking for Red Sox.

Here's what I bought:
2010 Topps Series 2 Jumbo Pack
2010 Topps Chrome Value Pack
2009 UD Icons Retail Blaster

Time for a live break:

2010 TOPPS SERIES 2 JUMBO PACK
PACK 1:
Wandy Rodriguez Astros
Texas Rangers TL w/ Kinsler and Hamilton (I'm rooting for Texas in the ALCS)
Brandon Wood Angels
Joel Pineiro Angels (former Red Sox don't count)
Andy Marte Indians (a Red Sox for about 5 seconds)
Dusty Hughes Royals RC
Jesse English Nationals RC
Nick Markakis Orioles
Alberto Callaspo Royals
Jim Bunning The Cards Your Mom Threw Out Phillies
Derek Jeter History of the World Series Yankees (blech)
Clayton Kershaw 2020 Dodgers (this is pretty cool actually)
Aaron Hill Peak Performance Blue Jays
Joe Morgan Turkey Red Reds (I miss firejoemorgan.com)
Mark Buehrle White Sox
Emilio Bonifacio Marlins
Carlos Guillen Tigers
Mike Napoli Angels

So that was a bust.

PACK 2:
Wade LeBlanc Padres
Brandon Webb Diamondbacks
Mike Pelfrey Mets
Travis Ishikawa Giants
Clete Thomas Tigers
Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig CL Yankees
Jhoulys Chacin Rockies
Trevor Crowe Indians
Kevin Kouzmanoff Athletics
Raul Ibanez Phillies
Red Sox Team Card w/ Youkilis, Francona, Ellsbury, Varitek, Bates (of course I already have this)
Phil Hughes Yankees
Reggie Jackson Vintage Legends Yankees
Bo Jackson Royals/Justin Upton Diamondbacks Legendary Lineage
Josh Johnson Attax Marlins
Chien Ming Wang Nationals
George Sherrill Dodgers
Michael Bourn Astros
Brendan Ryan Cardinals

Another bust. One Red Sox (that I already had), too many Yankees.

TOPPS CHROME VALUE PACK
PACK 1:
Vladimir Guerrero Rangers
Chase Utley Xfractor Phillies
Nick Markakis Orioles
Aramis Ramirez Cubs

Bust. Nice Utley though.

ORANGE REFRACTOR PACK:
A.J. Burnett Yankees
Vernon Wells Blue Jays
Jason Bay Mets (damn, former Red Sox again)

Yet another Yankee. No Red Sox cards

PACK 2:
Justin Upton Diamondbacks
Wilson Ramos RC Xfractor Twins
Howie Kendrick Angels
Tommy Hanson Braves

Beginning to rethink this whole thing.

PACK 3:
Miguel Tejada Orioles
Vernon Wells Refractor Blue Jays
Derek Jeter Yankees
Shin-Soo Choo Indians

Absolutely no Red Sox in this whole thing. I could have saved myself some money.

UD ICONS
PACK 1:
Ryan Dempster Cubs
Jose Reyes Mets
Jason Giambi Athletics
Chris Young Diamondbacks
Roy Halladay Blue Jays

PACK 2:
A.J. Burnett Yankees
Josh Beckett Red Sox (finally)
Randy Johnson 20th Anniversay Retrospective Diamondbacks
David Wright Mets
Stephen Drew Diamondbacks

PACK 3:
Ervin Santana Angels
Brian McCann Braves
Alfonso Soriano Foil Cubs
Derrek Lee Cubs
Albert Pujols Cardinals

PACK 4:
Magglio Ordonez Tigers
Corey Hart Icons Jersey Brewers (the "hit" of the box)
Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners

PACK 5:
Ichiro Mariners
Kosuke Fukudome Cubs
Johan Santana Mets
Garrett Atkins Rockies
Carlos Beltran Mets

PACK 6:
Akinori Iwamura Rays
Chad Billingsley Dodgers
Willie Stargell 20th Anniversy Pirates
Matt Holliday Athletics
Hanley Ramirez Marlins (I wish the Red Sox had not traded him, but he did bring two key components to the 2007 World Series Champs)

PACK 7:
Nick Markakis Orioles (seem to be pulling a lot of him today)
Joakim Soria Royals
Carlos Quentin White Sox
Michael Young Rangers
Jay Bruce Reds

PACK 8:
Daisuke Matsuzaka Red Sox (finally)
Ryan Howard Phillies
James McDonald RC Dodgers 885/999
Cliff Lee Indians
Russell Martin Dodgers

PACK 9:
Adam Dunn Nationals (could he be a Red Sox next year?)
Joe Mauer Twins
Jon Lester Red Sox (that's three new ones, four overall)
Tim Lincecum Giants
Alfonso Soriano Cubs

PACK 10:
Dan Uggla Marlins
Ryan Zimmerman Nationals
Rudolf Giuliani 20th Anniversary (what's this doing here?)
Ryan Ludwick Cardinals
Josh Hamilton Rangers

So that's it. I should have just bought the Icons box. Three Red Sox out of less than 50 cards is a pretty good ratio. The way I figure it, I should be pulling Red Sox once out of every 30 cards for an approximate percentage of 3% of the time.

Today's ratio: 4 Red Sox out of 98 total: about 4%. A little ahead of the game. But, I pulled 7 Yankees (and generally better cards too, a refractor and a couple of inserts). Ah well. I expect these posts to keep track of how I am doing with pulling Red Sox from packs and will also keep track of the Yankees. I have a theory that Yankees cards are easier to pull.