One-Year Wonder Pt. 12: Carlos Pena

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.

CARLOS PENA
Carlos Pena played for the Red Sox? Yep, for 18 games in 2006, the Rays nemesis was with the Red Sox. This was of course before he really became the power-hitting first baseman we think about now. The once highly-touted prospect bounced around a few times, never really finding his niche. Boston was his last stop before finally finding a home in Florida.

He was not too bad in Boston, hitting .273/.351/.424. He did hit one home run and was okay in the field. After the year, Pena was allowed to leave as a free agent. Kevin Youkilis was already firmly entrenched as the starting first-baseman, so Pena did not have a position. Too bad. The next year, he hit 46 home runs and finally became the home run threat he was always rumored to be.

Busts Pt. 17: Brad Penny

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

BRAD PENNY

Brad Penny came to Boston for the 2009 season. He was one of four low-risk, high-reward players that the Red Sox signed that were surprisingly all lauded. However, Penny and fellow starter John Smoltz were massive disappointments. Rocco Baldelli was neither good, nor bad, and only Takashi Saito really improved the club markedly.

Penny had a bad year for the Dodgers in 2008 and was hurt a lot, but the two seasons before that he won 16 games each. He was brought in on a cheap deal and was expected to fill in the fourth starter spot behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Unfortunately, other than a few starts here and there (particularly against the Yankees), Penny was pretty awful. In 24 starts, he had an ERA of 5.61 with a 1.534 WHIP. He allowed far too much contact and gave up too many home runs. His record was 7-8, but that was more due to the run support he received than effectiveness on the mound.

Penny was released by Boston in late August and caught on with the San Francisco Giants. Of course, he suddenly starting pitching well after that.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 18: Ramon Vazquez

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).RAMON VAZQUEZ
Ramon Vazquez was one of three players acquired from the San Diego Padres after the 2004 season in exchange for outfielder Dave Roberts. Vazquez was your basic run-of-the-mill backup middle infielder. His career in Boston was decidedly short as he was traded to Cleveland for Alex Cora after only 27 games.

Vazquez hit .197/.234/.230/.464. He had no home runs, two doubles, and four RBIs. His defense was not much to write home about either. It's no wonder he did not last long. None of the players Boston received in the trade really did, but Vazquez was the shortest tenured player.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 19: Tony Pena

Okay, Tony Pena was not an "unknown" per se. However, he was past his prime by the time he got to Boston and he certainly was not one of the better hitters on the team. Pena was overshadowed by Wade Boggs, Mike Greenwell, Ellis Burks, and others. But Pena's real value was his defense behind the plate.

Pena was a fun player to watch, with his unusual catching stance which involved him stretching one leg out to his side. Despite this, he was a strong thrower, throwing out between 32 and 37% of base stealers in his four years with Boston. Pena won the Gold Glove in 1991 with the Red Sox, the last Red Sox player to do so until fellow catcher Jason Varitek in 2005. That year, he lead the league in putouts and runners caught.

Unfortunately, his bat was never as impressive as his glove, particularly in 1993, his final year when he put up an embarrassing .502 OPS. He certainly was not the same player as he was with Pittsburgh and St. Louis when he was an All Star several times and widely considered one of the best hitting catchers in the league. But Boston did not bring him to the team for his offense. It was his defense they were after and Pena certainly delivered.

2011 Draft

The signing deadline for players returning to college has passed and Boston got most of their big-name draftees signed. All four first- and supplemental rounders signed right before the deadline, so we can all hoard our Matt Barnes, Blake Swihart, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Henry Owens cards. Mookie Betts was a surprise signee as well. I honestly did not expect the fifth-rounder to sign at all. But it's a good thing he did.

Unfortunately the Red Sox lost out on Senquez Golson, who was my particular favorite draftee. The speedy, potentially five-tool player decided he wanted to play football at Ole Miss instead of signing with the Red Sox. Good luck to him. I am disappointed, but I will never criticize a player for choosing to go to college. Education is very important. Hopefully if he decides to try to get back into the baseball draft, Boston can revisit with him. We'll see.

Ryan Lavarnway

Okay, I suck at making sure to post regularly. I am very sorry.

Anyway, Ryan Lavarnway was called up late last week for the Royals series. He had hit 30 home runs in the minor leagues and Boston needed an offensive boost with Kevin Youkilis hitting the D.L. and David Ortiz being slowed from a foot injury.

Lavarnway delivered.

Yes it was just against the meager Royals pitching staff but he has now played in seven games for Boston and has proved that he has a potent bat. Lavarnway has put up a line of .318/.423/.409 with three RBIs and two doubles. He has yet to hit a home run, but he has been raking in his short time with the big league club.

Here's the potential problem though. Where does he play next year? Lavarnway is capable of playing at three positions. He has been a part-time catcher and designated hitter in the minor leagues and has played at both positions since being called up from Boston (he is currently in the game at catcher tonight, I am watching it, I know). He could also potentially play first base. But all three positions are possibly locked up next year. It is true that DH David Ortiz and C Jason Varitek are both free agents after this season, but it's hard to imagine either one actually not coming back. Nor do I really want to unless Varitek retires, which he has made no announcement. In addition, Adrian Gonzalez will be at first and Jarrod Saltalamacchia has started to develop into a highly competent catcher.

So where does that leave Lavarnway? It would be a shame not to see him make it next year. I suppose the best bet would be to trade Saltalamacchia and hope that Lavarnway's improved defensive skills behind the plate are enough to keep him back there. Either that or he becomes a part-time player at all three positions. He does not have much left to prove in the minors. It's make or break time.

Red Sox Acquire Erik Bedard in Three Team Deal

Okay, first the details:

DODGERS GET:
P Juan Rodriguez
P Stephen Fife
C Tim Federowicz

MARINERS GET:
OF Trayvon Robinson
OF Chih Hsien Chiang

RED SOX GET:
P Erik Bedard
RP Josh Fields

Bedard was once a highly-accomplished left-hander with a terrific curveball who racked up a lot of strikeouts. Boston is hoping that he is over his recent injury struggles and ready to get back into being that pitcher again. At the least he has to be considered an improvement over the still raw and struggling Andrew Miller. Miller has shown flashes of reaching his potential, but those have been fleeting and he really can not be counted on down the stretch yet. Bedard will hopefully fill his role, particularly with Clay Buchholz now being out for the year. Bedard has been pretty good when healthy this year.

Josh Fields was a first round draft pick in 2008 who has struggled a bit in the minors. This acquisition was important because Bedard is not expected back in Boston next year.

The Red Sox gave up quite a few prospects to get Bedard and Fields, but few of them look like more than role-players in the Major Leagues.

Chih Hsien Chiang was the best player they gave up as he was lighting up the Eastern League. I am a little disappointed that they gave up on him, especially since Che Hsuan Lin has somewhat stalled in his development. Chiang though has never really hit that well coming into this year and is mediocre defensively, at best. There is no telling yet whether his year has been a fluke or part of his development. Disappointing, but he was hardly the best hitter in the minor league system and not likely to be more than a fourth outfielder in the Majors.

Tim Federowicz was the best defensive catcher in the Red Sox system but has been surpassed on the prospect charts by Ryan Lavarnway. Boston could only really keep one and Lavarnway's bat is special.

Stephen Fife has a chance at becoming a back-end starter. I do not know as much about him, but he is 24 and in Double A, so he was not considered that highly.

Juan Rodriguez is a young fireballer. There is not much information about him available.

I think the major reason for this trade is to open some room on the 40 man roster this winter. Chiang, Federowicz, and Fife would all have been subject to the Rule V draft if not dealt and Boston risked losing one or all of them for nothing. So they were traded.

Boston also had a trade for Rich Harden fall through due to his injury problems on Saturday.

Red Sox Acquire Mike Aviles

Link.

Hmm, not exactly the trade I thought that the team would make nearing the July 31 trade deadline. I do not understand this trade at all. Boston sent Yamaico Navarro and Kendal Volz to Kansas City for Mike Aviles.

Aviles finished fourth in the AL ROY vote in 2008 when he hit .325/.354/.480/.833 with ten home runs. He had a decent season last year, but this year he has been pretty terrible while playing backup in the infield. His defense is not terribly impressive so if this is a depth move, I just do not get it.

Navarro was in the Red Sox Top 20 prospects at the beginning of the year. He has not hit particularly well with the big league club, nor has he been terribly great defensively, but then neither is Aviles. I just don't understand trading a 23 year old cost-effective backup infielder for a 30 year old backup infielder. I doubt Boston is getting anything terribly great out of Aviles that Navarro can't provide. Boston also has Drew Sutton around who has been a productive backup infielder. So did they really need Aviles?

Still, if it was just a one for one trade, it might not be so head-scratching, but Boston included Kendal Volz in the trade. Volz is a reliever in high-A with some pretty good peripheral numbers. Sure there's lots of these players out there, but that doesn't explain why Boston packaged a pretty good one with a cheap backup infielder for another backup infielder.

The only thing I can think of is that Boston has another move in the works and needed Aviles because Marco Scutaro is going to be traded, or something like that. If this is the only move made, it's confusing and thoroughly unnecessary.

2011 All Star Game and Festivities

I wanted to get back to posting regularly here, but just have not really had the opportunity to do so. As such, I have missed a ton of stuff with the All Star Game, once one of my favorite events in baseball.

I am not as huge a fan of the All Star Game anymore, but do still watch it. This year the Red Sox had six players selected: Adrian Gonzalez (who is having an MVP season), Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, and Jon Lester. Beckett and Lester were both hurt, so they did not play, but the other four did. Gonzalez hit a home run and Youkilis had a single, but that's it for good performances.

Gonzalez and Ortiz each participated in Monday's Home Run Derby with Gonzalez losing to Robinson Cano by one home run. Cano just looked unstoppable on Monday.

The big news of the Game was the players not present. I do not recall another year when such a big deal was made out of players choosing not to attend the All Star Game. Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez refused to attend several times while with the Red Sox, but all of a sudden, this year it was a big deal. The reason: Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Alex Rodriguez. Those three players along with C.C. Sabathia all from the Yankees were no-shows at the Game. Rodriguez I kind of understand. After all, he did just have surgery. I don't really care if the players show up or not in the end, but I'm surprised that it has suddenly become a hot button issue. If it were not for Derek Jeter, I am sure it wouldn't be.

See Ya Mike Cameron

Mike Cameron has been designated for assignment.

This actually makes me kind of sad. I really liked Mike Cameron, but it was clear he was not the player he once was. He also dealt with a lot of injuries in his brief time with the Red Sox. Cameron was not expected to be a starter, but he was supposed to get a lot of at-bats, platooning with J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury on occasion. But last year, in his first year in Boston, he only made it into 48 games, hitting .259/.328/.401/.729 with only four home runs. This year, it was worse, hitting .149/.212/.266/.477 with three home runs in 33 games.

The Red Sox have ten days to trade or release Cameron. Here's hoping he is traded.

Yamaico Navarro was recalled to take his place.

Busts Pt. 16: John Smoltz

Sometimes, offseason acquisitions work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they are spectacular failures.JOHN SMOLTZ
John Smoltz will be in the Hall of Fame some day. But that has absolutely nothing to do with his short time with the Boston Red Sox. Smoltz had proven his ability as both a terrific starter and an excellent closer during his time with the Braves. He wanted to return to Atlanta for his final season in 2009, but felt like the team did not want him, so he spurned their offer and signed a contract with the Red Sox.

With Boston, Smoltz really showed his age. The 42 year old pitched to a record of 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA in eight games. He did strike out 33 against only nine walks in 40 innings, but it was clear he was not going to be much help in the rotation for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox decided to eat his contract and cut him loose. He did catch on with the Cardinals and improved somewhat, but retired at the end of the season.

Smoltz will go down as one of those pitchers who hung on just a little longer than he should have and played with some teams that will be forgotten about in a few years.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 17: Joe Nelson

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 NELSON
Joe Nelson pitched in exactly three games for the Red Sox in 2004. And he did not really pitch well either, accumulating a 16.88 ERA, while walking three in 2 2/3 innings, but he did strike out five. So, it was not much of a surprise that he did not re-emerge in the majors until 2006 when he pitched in 43 games for the pitching-starved Royals. He then became a serviceable middle reliever for the Marlins and Rays in 2008 and 2009 respectively and returned to the Red Sox in 2010, for whom he once again flopped, pitching in eight games with an ERA above 9.00.

J.D. Drew

"Is It Time for Theo to Break Out the Sunk-Cost Diaries?"

I know, I know. I have been terrible about posting for quite some time. I have been working on opening up my own law office, planning a wedding, and moving. Now that the office is running relatively smoothly, the wedding and honeymoon have passed, and life is beginning to seem somewhat normal, I figure I can get back to things here.

Anyway, on June 22, Boston Dirt Dogs posted that question regarding J.D. Drew. I think the bashing that Drew gets is completely unwarranted. I understand that there is just something that fans hate about Drew, but I never totally understood it. Even before he was a Red Sox player, I never got the hate. Sure Phillies fans hate him because he refused to sign a contract with them when he was drafted. Sure Dodgers fans hate him because he opted out of his contract to leave the team, but why in the hell do Red Sox fans hate J.D. Drew?

Drew is having a bad year this year, and I do not think he will be back next year as the team has two up and coming players in Josh Reddick and Ryan Kalish who are capable of replacing him. But, his time in Boston has been impressive. He put up OPS+ numbers of 105, 137, 133, and 110 in his first four years in Boston, which included a dramatic grand slam in the ALCS against Cleveland in 2007, helping to propel the team to the World Series, and an All Star Game MVP Award in 2008. He has been a consistently good hitter with a terrific on base percentage up until last year and has been a good defensive player.

I think the thing that fans hate about him is that he is so effortless. He just plays like it's the most natural thing in the world. He does not get too emotional about things and he does not really stand out. He is being paid a lot of money, but to me, he has been worth it up until this year.

I for one, will be sorry to see J.D. Drew leave after this year.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 18: Billy Hatcher

Billy Hatcher was a World Series hero with the Cincinnati Reds in 1990. He was picked up in a trade by the Red Sox during the 1992 season for pitcher Tom Bolton. Hatcher immediately brought some value to the team by being one of the few players with any sort of speed. Hatcher even pulled off a straight steal of home early on in his Red Sox tenure.

1993 was the best season of his Red Sox career, when he hit .287/.336/.400/.736 with nine home runs, 57 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. Hatcher began the 1994 season with Boston but was traded early on to Philadelphia for Wes Chamberlain.

Red Sox Sign Alfredo Aceves

Sorry about the lateness of this post. The Red Sox added another arm recently by picking up the former Yankee right-hander. The Red Sox apparently want to convert Aceves to a starter. Aceves has had success at the Major League level for the Yankees, but it was in the bullpen. An interesting, low-risk, high-reward type signing.

Red Sox Agree to Sign Dennys Reyes

Link.

Sorry for the hiatus. I just finished moving.

Anyway, the Red Sox signed Dennys Reyes, a large left-hander, to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. Reyes is 34 and pitched for St. Louis last year, going 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 38 innings. He is just another left-handed relief option the Red Sox are bringing in searching for a good LOOGY.

Arbitration Results

Arbitration this year was not painful. Only Jacoby Ellsbury and Jonathan Papelbon were still needing a new contract and both players agreed yesterday.

Jacoby Ellsbury agreed to a $2.4 million contract for one year. He will remain arbitration-eligible for a couple more years. Ellsbury had an injury-ravaged season last year, but he will hopefully be ready for action in Spring Training. He and new teammate Carl Crawford could steal 100 bases between them.

Jonathan Papelbon agreed to a $12 million contract. He will be eligible for free agency after the season. He had his worst year of his career last year and if he can not reverse the trend, Boston almost certainly will not bring him back.

Busts Pt. 15: Eric Gagne

Sometimes, offseason acquisitions work out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they are spectacular failures.
ERIC GAGNE
Wow, this one is a massive bust. Eric Gagne was supposed to come in and solidify the bullpen in 2007. He was acquired at the trading deadline in a large trade in which the Red Sox gave up former first round draft pick David Murphy, Kason Gabbard, and minor league slugger Engel Beltre. Boy, does this trade look awful now, with Murphy being a solid regular in the outfield and Beltre being one of Texas's top prospects.

Gagne was having a pretty good year in Texas in 2007, his first year away from Los Angeles, for whom he won the 2003 Cy Young Award. At the time of the trade, he had pitched in 34 games, saving 16, with a 2.16 ERA and 29 strikeouts and 12 walks in 33.1 innings. He went to Boston and was only supposed to be a setup man to young closer Jonathan Papelbon. He pitched in 20 games for Boston, but his ERA was 5.75 and he was 2-2 with three blown saves.

He also pitched badly in four games in the playoffs against American League teams, giving up three earned runs and two walks in 3.1 innings. He did pitch a perfect inning against Colorado in the World Series, but that was his only playoff success that year.

For costing the Red Sox two good young players and pitching horribly for two months, Gagne is one of the biggest trade deadline busts in recent memory.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 16: Ernest Riles

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).

ERNEST RILES
The only Red Sox card of Ernest Riles in existence is this 1994 Fleer card. Riles spent one year with the Red Sox in 1993. He was a utility infielder, spending time at second base, third base, first base, and designated hitter, and he was used a pinch hitter and pinch runner. Riles was a steady defender, but was not much with the bat. He did manage to pop five home runs, but his slash line was .189/.292/.350/.641. Riles made it into 94 games that season, but only had 170 plate appearances. He bounced around the minors for a couple more seasons after 1993 before calling it a career.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 17: Wily Mo Pena

Wily Mo Pena was acquired in a trade with the Reds for Bronson Arroyo. Mistakenly believing that they had too much pitching, GM Theo Epstein decided he needed some outfield depth and acquired the power-hitting outfielder who hit 19 home runs the prior year and 26 the year before that in part-time work.

Pena actually had a decent year in 2006, although he was hurt a lot and was otherwise a part-time player. He hit .301/.349/.489/.838 with 11 home runs. He played right field and center field most of the time, while also playing in left field and designated hitter. He did show a tendency toward laziness in the outfield and did not walk much though. I saw him in two games that year and in the game in Kansas City, he hit a ball that landed on the roof of the concession stand out in left field, the longest home run I have ever seen.

The next year, Pena had even more injury problems and did not hit when he was in the lineup. He was traded to Washington near the end of the year for Chris Carter who was later traded in the Billy Wagner trade.