Red Sox Re-Sign Hideki Okajima

I was planning on covering Okajima in an Unknown Heroes post, but since there is Okajima news today, I will just go ahead and talk about him here.

Link.

The Red Sox today brought Hideki Okajima back after non-tendering him earlier in the offseason. Okajima came over from Japan prior to the 2007 season, possibly as a way to help acclimate prized signing Daisuke Matsuzaka to the U.S. Okajima and Matsuzaka have never really been buddy-buddy though.

Okajima was a highly effective left-handed arm out of the bullpen for the 2007 World Series champs, going 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 63 strikeouts, compared to 17 walks, in 69 innings. He also racked up five saves. Okajima was effective due to an extremely deceptive pitching motion that resulted in his face not even pointing toward the batter at the end. Such movement was disorienting for hitters.

Over the next few years, his stats have gotten progressively worse, to the point that there was some question whether Okajima would be brought back this year. Luckily, he is back. Hopefully he will bounce back some. Otherwise, Rich Hill, Andrew Miller, and Felix Doubront will be ready to take his place in the bullpen.

Busts Pt. 11: Jeremy Giambi

Sometimes, offseason acquisitions work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they are spectacular failures.

JEREMY GIAMBI
Jeremy Giambi was acquired in December 2002 by Theo Epstein as part of the overhaul of the Red Sox lineup. Giambi was a high-on-base percentage player and was expected to be the starting designated hitter in the new-look offense.

Unfortunately, things did not work out. Giambi was frequently injured and struggled when he was in the lineup. He stuck around through the entire year, but only played in 50 games. Giambi, the younger brother of then-Yankee Jason Giambi, only hit .197/.342/.354/.696 with five home runs. This, a year after hitting 20 home runs.

His on-base percentage was decent enough, considering he rarely got a hit, but he was a big bust otherwise. Giambi lost his job to David Ortiz, who of course became a huge star with the Red Sox.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 12: Esteban Beltre

For whatever reason, sometimes I am only able to find one card of certain players. To be considered a One-Card Wonder, a player must have been active since 1991 (when I started paying attention).

ESTEBAN BELTRE
The only card I own of Esteban Beltre is 1997 Pacific Crown Collection. Beltre played in 27 games as a backup middle infielder in 1996, hitting .258/.299/.290/.589 with six runs batted in and one stolen base. Beltre played 13 games at third base, eight at second base, six at shortstop, and one at designated hitter. He was not a particularly good defensive player and a complete zero with the bat, so it was not surprising that he was not brought back the next year.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 13: David McCarty

David McCarty was a bit of an unusual player. He played three years with the Red Sox, from 2003 through 2005. He was picked up off of waivers in August of 2003 and played in 16 games down the stretch run between left field and first base. He was a pretty good hitter in that limited amount of time, hitting .407/.448/.630/1.078 with one home run.

The next year, McCarty began working on pitching. He pitched a few innings during Spring Training and made the team as a pitcher/backup first-baseman. He pitched left-handed so his versatility was highly valued. He hit .258/.327/.404/.731 in 89 games with four home runs. He also pitched in three games, going 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and one earned run. His ERA was 2.45. Despite the relative success, that was the only experiment with McCarty as a pitcher.

In 2005, McCarty only played in 15 games, hitting .500/.667/.500/1.167, but injuries ended his career.

Feature: WAR League Leaders

Today's feature, Red Sox players who lead the league in WAR:

POSITION PLAYERS
1995 John Valentin 8.5
1988 Wade Boggs 8.7
1987 Wade Boggs 9.1
1986 Wade Boggs 8.6
1970 Carl Yastrzemski 9.1
1968 Carl Yastrzemski 10.1
1967 Carl Yastrzemski 12.2
1951 Ted Williams 6.5
1947 Ted Williams 10.3
1946 Ted Williams 11.8
1942 Ted Williams 11.0
1941 Ted Williams 11.3
1938 Jimmie Foxx 7.5
1919 Babe Ruth 10.6
1912 Tris Speaker 11.0

What we take away from this is that John Valentin had a hell of a year that went almost completely unnoticed in 1995. Wade Boggs was a lot more valuable than people really realized, and Yaz was amazing in 1967.

PITCHERS
2000 Pedro Martinez 10.1
1999 Pedro Martinez 8.4
1992 Roger Clemens 7.9
1991 Roger Clemens 7.5
1990 Roger Clemens 9.5
1987 Roger Clemens 8.4
1979 Dennis Eckersley 6.8
1966 Earl Wilson 5.3 (pitched with Detroit as well)
1957 Frank Sullivan 6.3
1949 Mel Parnell 8.0
1942 Tex Hughson 5.6
1936 Lefty Grove 8.9
1935 Lefty Grove 7.7
1902 Cy Young 8.9
1901 Cy Young 11.2

Pedro Martinez was as good as we suspected and Roger Clemens was better. I was surprised that Clemens did not lead in 1986, his 24-4 season. The big surprise here is Frank Sullivan, an underrated pitcher in the 1950's. I am also surprised by the absence of Babe Ruth and Smoky Joe Wood.

OVERALL LEAGUE LEADERS
1999 Pedro Martinez (lead Majors)
1995 John Valentin
1992 Roger Clemens
1988 Wade Boggs (lead Majors)
1987 Wade Boggs (lead Majors)
1986 Wade Boggs (lead Majors)
1970 Carl Yastrzemski
1968 Carl Yastrzemski
1967 Carl Yastrzemski (lead Majors)
1951 Ted Williams
1949 Ted Williams
1947 Ted Williams (lead Majors)
1946 Ted Williams (lead Majors)
1942 Ted Williams (lead Majors)
1941 Ted Williams (lead Majors)
1938 Jimmie Foxx
1919 Babe Ruth (lead Majors)
1916 Babe Ruth
1903 Cy Young
1901 Cy Young (lead Majors)

For three years, Wade Boggs was the best player in the Major Leagues, that's kind of surprising.

Hall of Fame Worthy? Pt. 11: Curt Schilling

The Hall of Fame has inducted many players who were borderline choices, and many players who deserve induction have been on the outside looking in. I want to look at some players to determine if they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

CURT SCHILLING
It will be a few more years before Schilling is eligible for the Hall of Fame. But when he is, there should be little question that he belongs, despite what Dan Shaughnessy says.

Curt Schilling does not have a sparkling record. His 216-146 mark is not eye-popping, but his other numbers make up for it. Schilling's career ERA is 3.46, pretty decent for the era in which he pitched. He also racked up 3,116 strikeouts, compared to just 711 walks. His career WHIP is 1.137. Most pitchers are not that good at preventing baserunners over the course of just one season, much less their entire careers. His career WAR is 69.7, well ahead of several pitchers already in the Hall.

Some would point to his lack of awards as a negative against his career, but Schilling was a six time All Star and finished second in the Cy Young vote three times and fourth once. He finished in the top ten in the MVP vote twice. Schilling was clearly one of the best pitchers in the league several times. He won 20 games three times and struck out 300 or more batters three times.

Schilling was also a great postseason pitcher. He won the co-World Series MVP along with Randy Johnson in 2001 and of course, there's the Bloody Sock.

THE VERDICT
He's in, clearly. The only question is which hat he should wear and my feeling is that it should be a Red Sox cap, due to the Bloody Sock and 2004.

Busts Pt. 10: Tony Clark

Sometimes, offseason acquisitions work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they are spectacular failures.

TONY CLARK
Tony Clark was an All Star in 2001, the year before he played for Boston. His home runs were down, but he had played on a bad Detroit team and his slash line was still very good. Before that, he had hit more than 25 home runs in four seasons. Nevertheless, Detroit placed him on waivers after the 2001 season and Boston snatched him up quickly. It looked like a steal, a former All Star the year before who had four seasons of more than 25 home runs under his belt.

Unfortunately, it did not work out that way. Clark was a complete waste in Boston his one season there. He hit .207/.265/.291/.556 with only three home runs and 29 RBIs in 90 games. He was done as a regular after that but was able to resurrect his career as a valuable bench player.

So what happened? My theory is that as the Players' Representative during the 2002 labor talks, Clark had too much outside stuff on his mind and was not able to concentrate on baseball. Just a theory though.

It's a good thing Brian Daubach was still around to take over.

Failed Prospects Pt. 11: Charlie Zink

Since I have been a fan, there have been several players with huge expectations in the Red Sox minor league system. Some of these players, such as Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon, Jon Lester, and others meet those expectations. Others are not as fortunate.
CHARLIE ZINK
Another prospect that I was disappointed never turned out. Zink was a knuckleballer who threw a decent fastball and what was called a hard knuckleball. Zink pitched reasonably well in the minor leagues, with a decent record some years, but higher ERAs. Being a knuckleballer though, not much was expected. Nevertheless, Zink has, to date, only pitched in one Major League game.

Zink was brought up to start a game in 2008. He pitched 4.1 innings, giving up eight runs. He had one strikeout and one walk. That has been the extent of Zink's career thus far, but he is still in the minors, most recently in Minnesota's system.

Knuckleballers have a long shelf life, so there is still a chance Zink could make it to the Majors, but I am surprised, at 30 years old, that he is not discouraged and has decided to retire yet.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 11: Joe Oliver

For whatever reason, sometimes I am only able to find one card of certain players. To be considered a One-Card Wonder, a player must have been active since 1991 (when I started paying attention).
JOE OLIVER
Sometimes it's a mystery, other times it makes sense. Joe Oliver was a well-respected starting catcher in the early 1990's with the Cincinnati Reds. By the late 1990's, he was a backup. Oliver started 2001 with the Yankees and was released. He then signed with the Red Sox.

In 2001, the Red Sox suffered through a major injury to starter Jason Varitek and Scott Hatteberg was not a good option defensively. They picked up Doug Mirabelli to play a big role and then later brought Oliver up.

Joe Oliver only made it into five games with the Red Sox, with 13 at bats. He had three hits, including one double. This is the only existing card of Oliver with the Red Sox.

One-Year Wonder Pt. 12: Jim Leyritz

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.
JIM LEYRITZ
I liked Jim Leyritz and was excited when he was acquired. Leyritz was acquired in a trade with the Rangers along with Damon Buford for Aaron Sele, Mark Brandenburg, and Bill Haselman.

Leyritz was initially going to platoon at catcher with Scott Hatteberg and DH with Reggie Jefferson. The emergence of Jason Varitek and the good year by Reggie Jefferson limited his playing time though and he complained his way into a trade to San Diego.

It was unfortunate though, because Leyritz was having a great year. He hit .287/.385/.519/.904 in 52 games with eight home runs and 24 RBIs. Leyritz also played at first base.

Leyritz was traded in June for Carlos Reyes, Dario Veras, and Mandy Romero. Reyes was a decent bullpen arm, but neither of the other two did anything of consequence.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 12: Kevin Millar

I was so excited about the acquisition of Kevin Millar in 2003 that I even wrote a term paper for my Conflicts Resolution class about the negotiation process. For those that do not know or remember, the Florida Marlins sold Millar's contract to the Chunichi Dragons in Japan. In order to send him to Japan though, they had to pass him through waivers. It was an unspoken rule that Major League teams would not interfere in other teams' deals with Japan, but new Red Sox GM Theo Epstein claimed Millar anyway.

Millar spent three years with the Red Sox and brought a new attitude and levity to the Red Sox clubhouse that had not been seen in years. Millar was instrumental in the "Cowboy Up" slogan in 2003 and the "Idiots" in 2004.

Millar had a very good year in 2003, and a similar year in 2004. He slumped badly in 2005 and was let go at the end of the year. In 2003, Millar hit .276/.348/.472/.820 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs. In 2004, he hit .297/.383/.474/.857 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs.

Millar was part of the group of acquisitions designed to focus on improving the team's on-base percentage, something he was successful at. Millar also provided leadership and somewhat steady defense.

Millar was a lot of fun and was one of the more colorful characters in recent Red Sox history. Not many players could pull off throwing out the first pitch in a World Series game while still being active with a rival team, but Millar did it in 2007.

Feature: Red Sox Stars from 1920-1932

The Red Sox were pretty terrible in the years 1920 through 1932. That was the year after the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees through the year before Tom Yawkey took over the team. It was a time of inconsistency, although Boston did have some bright spots.

Here are some of the best individual seasons from the years 1920-1932.

1920: Boston finished fifth (72-81)
OF Harry Hooper: .312/.411/.470/.881 with seven home runs, 16 stolen bases, 17 triples, and 53 RBIs
C/OF Wally Schang: .305/.413/.450/.862 with four home runs, 51 RBIs
OF Tim Hendryx: .328/.400/.413/.814 with 73 RBIs
OF Mike Menosky: .297/.383/.393/.776 with three home runs, 23 stolen bases, and 71 RBIs
SP Herb Pennock: 16-13 with a 3.68 ER

1921: 75-79 (fifth)
2B Del Pratt: .324/.378/.461/.839 with five home runs, 102 stolen bases, and only ten strikeouts
SP Sad Sam Jones: 23-16 with a 3.22 ERA
SP Bullet Joe Bush: 16-9 with a 3.50 ERA

1922: 61-93 (eighth)
OF Joe Harris: .316/.364/.478/.842 with six home runs and 54 RBIs
2B Del Pratt: .301/.361/.427/.788 with six home runs, 86 RBIs
1B George Burns: .306/.341/.446/.787 with 12 home runs, 73 RBIs
SP Jack Quinn: 13-16 with 3.48 ERA
SP Rip Collins: 14-11 with 3.76 ERA

1923: 61-91 (eighth)
OF Joe Harris: .335/.406/.520/.925 with 13 home runs, 76 RBIs
1B George Burns: .328/.386/.470/.856 with seven home runs, 82 RBIs
OF Ira Flagstead: .312/.380/.455/.835 with eight home runs, 53 RBIs
SP Howard Ehmke: 20-17 with 3.78 ERA, 121 strikeouts
SP Jack Quinn: 13-17 with 3.89 ERA

1924: 67-87 (seventh)
OF Ike Boone: .337/.404/.497/.901 with 13 home runs, 98 RBIs
1B Joe Harris: .301/.406/.430/.835 with three home runs, 77 RBIs
OF Ira Flagstead: .307/.401/.421/.823 with five home runs, 43 RBIs
OF Bobby Veach: .295/.359/.426/.785 with five home runs, 99 RBIs
SP Howard Ehmke: 19-17, 3.46 ERA, 119 strikeouts
SP Jack Quinn: 12-13, 3.27 ERA
SP Alex Ferguson: 14-17, 3.79 ERA

1925: 47-105 (eighth)
OF Ike Boone: .330/.406/.479/.885, nine home runs, 68 RBIs
OF Roy Carlyle: .326/.365/.496/.862, seven home runs, 49 RBIs
SP Howard Ehmke: 9-20, 3.73 ERA

1926: 46-107 (eighth)
OF Ira Flagstead: .299/.363/.429/.792, three home runs, 31 RBIs
SS Topper Rigney: .270/.395/.377/.772, four home runs, 53 RBIs, 103 BBs

1927: 51-103 (eighth)
OF Ira Flagstead: .285/.374/.401/.775, four home runs, 69 RBIs
SP Slim Harriss: 14-21, 4.18 ERA

1928: 57-96 (eighth)
OF Doug Taitt: .299/.350/.434/.784, three home runs, 61 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, 14 triples
3B Buddy Myer: .313/.379/.390/.769, one home run, 44 RBIs, 30 stolen bases
OF Ken Williams: .303/.356/.413/.769, eight home runs, 67 RBIs
OF Ira Flagstead: .290/.366/.392/.758, one home run, 39 RBIs, 12 stolen bases
SP Ed Morris: 19-15, 3.53 ERA, 104 strikeouts
SP Red Ruffing: 10-25, 3.89 ERA, 118 strikeouts
SP Jack Russell: 11-14, 3.84 ERA

1929: 58-96 (eighth)
OF Jack Rothrock: .300/.361/.408/.769, six home runs, 59 RBIs, 24 stolen bases
SP Danny MacFayden: 10-18, 3.62 ERA
SP Milt Gaston: 12-19, 3.73 ERA

1930: 52-102 (eighth)
OF Earl Webb: .323/.385/.523/.908, 16 home runs, 66 RBIs
SP Milt Gaston: 13-20, 3.92 ERA, 99 strikeouts

1931: 62-90 (sixth)
OF Earl Webb: .333/.404/.528/.932, 14 home runs, 103 RBIs, 67 doubles (record)
SP Danny MacFayden: 16-12, 4.02 ERA, 74 strikeouts

1932: 43-111 (eighth)
1B Dale Alexander: .372/.454/.524/.978, eight home runs, 56 RBIs
OF Roy Johnson: .298/.378/.484/.862, 11 home runs, 47 RBIs
OF Smead Jolley: .309/.345/.480/.825, 18 home runs, 99 RBIs

In addition, 1B Phil Todt had some decent power and led the team in home runs during this time period. Todt hit 52 home runs for the Red Sox from 1924 through 1930 and was the best power threat in those years. His other numbers were not as impressive though.

Boston had some decent hitters and a few decent pitchers, but this was a very lean time. While the Yankees were lead by power hitters such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, the top home run season for the Red Sox during this time was Smead Jolley's 18.

R.I.P. Walt Dropo

Walt Dropo died today. Dropo was the first Red Sox player to win the Rookie of the Year Award in 1950 when he batted .322/.378/.583/.961 with 34 home runs and lead the league with 144 RBIs. Dropo never hit quite so well again, but enjoyed a long career.

R.I.P.

Goodbye Bill Hall

I was originally planning on covering Bill Hall in an Unknown Heroes post, but this will work. Hall yesterday signed with the Houston Astros to be their main second-baseman. Good for him, I am happy he found a way to be a regular again. Last year, Hall was something of a jack of all trades for the Red Sox, and he was productive too.

Hall played in 119 games at a variety of positions. He hit .247/.316/.456/.772 with 18 home runs and 46 RBIs. He also stole nine bases. Hall has never been a great threat to get on base, but he has enough pop in his bat to be a decent option off the bench.

Hall played 55 games in left field, 51 at second base, nine in right field, seven in center field, six at shortstop, five at third base, and even one game pitching. He pitched one inning and faced three batters, getting all three out.

Hall was a good superutility player, but he found a starting job, there was no chance at Boston matching that.

New Bullpen Arms

Link.

What the above link says is that the Red Sox have now agreed to sign Dan Wheeler. He and Bobby Jenks are the major new acquisitions in the Red Sox bullpen, but the team has signed numerous other players in the last couple of weeks that will be given the opportunity to make the team out of Spring Training.

BOBBY JENKS
Bobby Jenks is the most intriguing name as he is a former closer with the White Sox. Jenks was 1-3 with a 4.44 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 52.2 innings. He saved 27 games.

DAN WHEELER
Dan Wheeler has pitched the last three and a half years for the Rays, making him battle-tested in the AL East. He went 2-4 with a 3.35 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 48.1 innings.

Matt Albers, Andrew Miller, Brandon Duckworth, Jason Bergmann, Clevelan Santeliz, Randy Williams, Rich Hill, and Ryan Harvey will also compete. Suddenly, the Red Sox bullpen looks pretty strong.

Hall of Fame Worthy? Pt. 10: Bret Saberhagen

The Hall of Fame has inducted many players who were borderline choices, and many players who deserve induction have been on the outside looking in. I want to look at some players to determine if they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

BRET SABERHAGEN
If only Bret Saberhagen had stayed healthy. Saberhagen was one of the best pitchers in the game in the mid to late 1980's. He won the Cy Young Award in both 1985 and 1989, winning 20 games each year.

Saberhagen was still a good pitcher in the early 1990's and may have deserved to win the NL Cy Young Award in 1994. But the injuries took their toll and Saberhagen missed large portions of the seasons 1990 through 1993. Even after 1994, Saberhagen still had issues. He only pitched in 25 games in 1995 and was out the entire year in 1996.

The Red Sox signed Bret Saberhagen to a low-cost, high-reward contract prior to the 1997 season. Saberhagen was still suffering through injuries in 1997 and only pitched in six games that year. But in 1998, Saberhagen made a great comeback, winning 15 games with a 3.96 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 175 innings. The next year, his ERA was 2.95, but he won only 10 games, as he again suffered injuries. He missed all of 2000 and then only pitched in three games in 2001.

Saberhagen's career record was 167-117 with a 3.34 ERA and 1,715 strikeouts. His career WAR was 54.4. Certainly, Saberhagen had some great years, and his career WAR was higher than Hall of Famers Dazzy Vance, Stan Coveleski, Rube Waddell, Waite Hoyt, and Dizzy Dean.

THE VERDICT
Saberhagen would be a stronger candidate if he had not missed major parts of the seasons from 1990-1993, 1996-1997, and 2000-2001. Other than those seasons, he would be a good candidate.

Busts Pt. 9: Rolando Arrojo

Sometimes, offseason acquisitions work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they are spectacular failures.

ROLANDO ARROJO
In 2000, the Red Sox were still seeking more rotation help. They swung a deal with the Colorado Rockies for Rolando Arrojo, who looked like a potentially decent starting pitcher. The Red Sox were able to make the deal because they were willing to take on Mike Lansing's bad contract.

Arrojo, who won 14 games with a 3.52 ERA and was an All Star in his rookie season with Tampa Bay in 1998, managed to win five games in 13 starts for the Red Sox that year, but he had a 5.05 ERA and only 44 strikeouts in 71.1 innings.

In 2001, Arrojo went 5-4 with a better ERA as an arm out of the bullpen. His strikeout rate was up. The next year, he had a similar role.

Arrojo was not a huge bust, but he was not the solid starter that he was expected to be when Boston picked him up.

Failed Prospects Pt. 10: Abe Alvarez

Since I have been a fan, there have been several players with huge expectations in the Red Sox minor league system. Some of these players, such as Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra, Trot Nixon, Jon Lester, and others meet those expectations. Others are not as fortunate.

ABE ALVAREZ
I really wanted Abe Alvarez to succeed. He had such an interesting story. He was legally blind in one eye and wore his baseball cap to the side to shade the light from that eye in order to see better. He pitched reasonably well in the minor leagues, but he was not able to succeed at the Major League level.

Alvarez only pitched in four games with the Red Sox in three seasons. He was 0-1 with a 11.32 ERA and five strikeouts in 10.1 innings. Very unfortunate.

Currently, Alvarez is pitching in an independent league. I really wanted Alvarez to succeed. It's a shame.

News and Notes

Bullpen and catching edition.

-The Red Sox have been falling short in most of their attempts at big-name bullpen arms. Koji Uehara returned to Baltimore, Matt Guerrier went to the Dodgers, Jesse Crain looks like he's headed to the White Sox, and Pedro Feliciano might be a Yankee. Brian Fuentes is still out there and David Aardsma and Justin Masterson might be available via trade. Andrew Miller, Hideki Okajima, and Taylor Buchholz are all Red Sox non-tenders that could be brought back.

-Putting a bullpen together is difficult as relievers can be very inconsistent. Just look at Ramon Ramirez last year, who was great in 2009 but not good at all in 2010. So Boston should be taking a stance on not offering huge money for relievers. Nevertheless, they need to do something.

-The Red Sox did pick up a few potential bullpen arms, but no one of any real consequence. Jason Bergmann was recently picked up from Washington, but he only pitched eight games last year. Brandon Duckworth was signed, but he has not pitched in the Majors since 2008. The Red Sox signed a former Red Sox pitcher, Lenny DiNardo from the Athletics. He also has not pitched in the Majors since 2009.

-The Red Sox look to be close to signing Dan Wheeler and Matt Albers, who at least pitched last year. Wheeler has been pretty good for Tampa Bay the last few years, so this would be a decent pickup. They still need a decent left-hander though.

-As for catching, the Red Sox appear committed to going into the season with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek. Saltalamacchia is something of an unknown quantity, so fans are nervous about this catching situation. Russell Martin was pursued, but the Yankees ultimately got him because they promised him a starting catching role. I can't really see Boston putting up decent money for another option. It's time to see if Saltalamacchia is ready. He's spent enough time in the minor leagues.

EDIT: Two new pieces of news:
-The Red Sox sent Eric Patterson to the Padres to complete the Adrian Gonzalez trade. I liked Patterson, but he was expendable.

-Bobby Jenks may be headed to Boston to help the bullpen. This is a pretty decent signing. More when it becomes official.

2ND EDIT:
-The Red Sox officially signed Matt Albers to a minor league contract.

-The Red Sox retained Andrew Miller, also to a minor league contract.

-They signed former first round pick of the Cubs, Ryan Harvey, who is making the transition from outfielder to relief pitcher.

So with all those changes, Boston may have its bullpen put together: Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Bobby Jenks, Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller, and Tim Wakefield. Brandon Duckworth, Jason Bergmann, Robert Coello, Robert Manuel, Michael Bowden, Matt Albers, and Ryan Harvey will all be available in the minors.

3RD EDIT:
-The Red Sox have also officially re-signed Rich Hill, a left-handed bullpen option, Randy Williams, and Clevelan Santeliz. Busy day, but barring a move for Brian Fuentes or Dan Wheeler, Boston appears to be done dealing with the bullpen.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 10: Calvin Pickering

For whatever reason, sometimes I am only able to find one card of certain players. To be considered a One-Card Wonder, a player must have been active since 1991 (when I started paying attention).

CALVIN PICKERING
The card this time is from 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man. Another huge set, like Topps Total and Pacific Online, this was a great set for team collectors like myself. Pickering was formerly a top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles system, who had eventually worn out his welcome with his inability to make the transition to the Major Leagues.

The Red Sox picked up the big Virgin Islands native from the Cincinnati Reds in a waiver claim near the end of the 2001 season. Pickering played in 17 games for the Red Sox down the stretch. He hit a decent .280/.379/.480/.859 in 58 at bats for the Red Sox who were out of the race. He also contributed three home runs and seven runs batted in while playing mostly first base with a couple of games as the designated hitter.

Pickering spent the entire next season in the Red Sox minor league system and was unable to make it back to the Majors that year. He was allowed to leave as a minor league free agent. Had things worked out differently, Pickering could have been David Ortiz before Ortiz joined the team.

Pickering later played for Kansas City and again produced reasonably well in limited time. I have no idea why Pickering was not able to stick. He seemed to hit just fine.