One-Year Wonder Pt. 23: David Cone

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.

David Cone was one of those rare players that left the Yankees to join the Red Sox.  Of course, he was well past his prime when he did so, at 38 years of age and coming off of a season in which he was 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA.  Cone had previously been one of the top pitchers in the game, back when he was with the Mets, Royals, and Yankees.  He was a two-time 20 game winner and lead the league in strikeouts two years in a row while with the Mets.  He won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award while with the Royals in 1994, and he was an All Star five times.  He also threw a perfect game while with the Yankees.

But, as previously mentioned, Cone was 38 years old when he signed as a free agent with the Red Sox and coming off of the worst season of his career.  All that is not to mention the fact that he was hurt and would not make his debut in 2001 until mid-May.  But Dan Duquette loved reclamation projects, especially pitchers.  He had previously signed Tim Wakefield and Bret Saberhagen, who worked out, and Ramon Martinez and Steve Avery, who didn't, on the cheap.  He was looking to add David Cone to that list.

Unfortunately, this was one much more like Ramon Martinez than Bret Saberhagen.  Boston was pretty desperate for pitching help, especially after Pedro Martinez went down with an injury, leaving the rotation in the somewhat shaky hands of Hideo Nomo and Frank Castillo.  Cone went 9-7 with a 4.31 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 135.2 innings.  It was not a terrible season for Cone, but it certainly was not what the front office had in mind when bringing Cone in.  

Cone only lasted the one season in Boston.  He did not play in 2002 due to injuries.  He returned in 2003 for four games early in the season back with the Mets before retiring for good due to an ongoing hip problem.  

My First Contender for Pack Pull of the Year

I like buying packs on occasion because I like the thrill of an exciting pull.  Inserts, parallels, anything pretty much can be exciting to pull for my collection.  This is the first pull of the year that I have been very excited about, though it is not the first insert:

This is the Chrome Refractor version of David Ortiz, which is already a short-printed card.  It is serial-numbered 038/567.  It is not hugely exciting, but it is still a nice enough pull from a pack.  Currently it takes over first place for pull of the year from the Rusney Castillo Perspectives insert.  Unfortunately it was the only Red Sox card from a blaster box, and only the third Red Sox card I have pulled in two blasters and a hanger pack of Heritage so far.  I am not having the best of luck right now.

Some Random One-Card PWEs

My mailday on Saturday consisted of four PWEs, each with only one card:

Up first is a refractor of Rusney Castillo and Anthony Ranaudo.  This is the third version of this card in my collection.  The next is a Todd Benzinger card only available with the Starting Lineup.  The figure shows him with the Reds, so I did not want to get it to get this card.  The next is a 1961 Topps card of Vic Wertz.  Wertz was a decent power hitter in the 1950's and 1960's.  He hit 19 home runs for Boston in 1960.  A little bit of trivia: Vic Wertz hit the ball that Willie Mays caught over his shoulder that has been seen in so many highlight reels.  It occurred in the 1954 World Series when Wertz was with Cleveland.  Finally, the last card was seen on my blog recently and is the only card of Heinie Manush with Boston of which I am aware.

Gold Mailday

I traded two gold parallels for two other gold parallels.  Here are my new cards:

Kelly Johnson is a bit of an interesting inclusion in this set.  He was acquired from the Yankees for Stephen Drew, then one month later, he was traded again, with Michael Almanzar for Jemile Weeks and Ivan DeJesus.  He played in all of 10 games with the Red Sox and only managed four hits in 25 at bats.  I only had one card of Johnson before this trade, so I wanted to increase that number.  I love the David Ross picture, so I like to get parallels whenever I can of it.

I had a decision to make with this trade.  The other member had a bunch of other gold cards.  He had Jonathan Herrera from the same set and I had to decide between that card and these two.  I wanted Johnson because I only had one card of him.  I wanted Herrera because I only had two cards of him.  And I wanted Ross because I really like the player and I love the shot.  So I decided on Johnson and Ross.

So, I Had a Kris Bryant Snow Camo...

It did not last long.  I thought about selling it but when someone made a huge offer for it, I decided I would move it.  It took some thought before I pulled the trigger, but I think it worked out well:

Here is the first scan from the haul.  The major cards are the Brian Johnson autograph, the Bryce Brentz autograph, and the Babe Ruth Medallion card.  The Babe Ruth is the centerpiece of the haul.  It is one of those manufactured relic cards Topps has been pushing.  And of course, Babe Ruth is one of my favorite players to get cards of in my collection, along with Ted Williams, Jason Varitek, and others.  Brian Johnson is one of Boston's Top 10 prospects.  Bryce Brentz is likely trade bait.  Other than those three there are a few Blake Swihart cards, including a Bazooka insert from Topps Heritage that are somewhat harder to find.  And there is a base card of Andrew Benintendi, one of my current favorite Red Sox prospects, next to Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers.

The next scan from the haul features a Green Refractor auto of Edwin Escobar as the centerpiece.  Escobar is still in the Red Sox system and could help out in the bullpen.  The Mookie Betts card in the top left corner is numbered to 50.  The Blake Swihart, the fourth in the package is a short print.  And then there are some random inserts and parallels to fill it out.

And finally we have the last of the new cards for my collection.  There is a buyback of a 1966 Topps Dave Morehead card.  Morehead pitched a no-hitter in 1965.  The Desert Shield card of Carlos Quintana is one of the few needed Quintana cards out there.  And finally, Sam Travis may be Boston's best first base prospect since Anthony Rizzo.

There were a few doubles in the package as well, including an autograph and another manufactured relic.  All in all, I am pretty happy with this package.

A Panda Jersey and Some Wantlist Hits

The mailday train keeps rolling.  This package brought a bunch of wantlist hits to close out the Topps Heritage High Numbers update set and knocked off a bunch of Stadium Club needs.

Here is the first card:

This is my second Sandoval relic.  I am hoping that Sandoval will come back from his bad season in 2015.  He has hit well in the past in a bad hitter's park, so he should be able to hit well in Fenway Park.

And here are the wantlist hits:

I am adding all of the needed Stadium Club base cards to my wantlist.  There are only really a handful of ones from before 2008 which were not already on my wantlist.  The photos from Stadium Club have always been the big draw to Stadium Club and there are some great ones here for Brock Holt, Mookie Betts, and David Ortiz.  The cards of Rick Porcello, Pablo Sandoval, and Matt Barnes are not quite as interesting.

The other three cards are from Heritage High Numbers and include an insert of the up-and-coming Blake Swihart, and base cards of free agent bust Justin Masterson, and terrific rookie Eduardo Rodriguez.

Another Trade Package

I am kind of running out of titles for trade posts when they are not remarkably exciting.  Don't get me wrong, I love getting Red Sox cards in the mail, but I have no idea what to call this post.  There are some nice photos in this thing though.

1.  Jacoby Ellsbury.  This is one of the 1989 Bowman is Back inserts from 2014.  I will always appreciate Ellsbury for being Boston's first 30/30 man and setting the team record for stolen bases in a season.  I just wish he had been healthier and had not missed so much time in 2010 and 2012 or he might have set the career stolen base record.  That record is held by Harry Hooper with 300.  Ellsbury had 241.  He was a rare Red Sox player blessed with speed.

2.  Jackie Bradley Jr.  I love this photo of JBJ laying all out to catch a ball.  Bradley is expected to be Boston's starting center-fielder this season and he is terrific defensively.  He also had a very impressive month at one point last year.  Hopefully he can be at least an average hitter, his defense will make him a very valuable player.

3.  Craig Breslow.  Breslow has not caught on with another team yet after struggling for the last two seasons.  He is a left-handed reliever so he should be able to find some work somewhere.  If he does not return to Boston, his performance in the ALDS and ALCS in 2013 will always stick out in my mind.

4.  Brock Holt.  Holt is one of my favorite players because of his versatility and durability.  He hit for the cycle in a game last year, becoming the first Red Sox player to do so since 1996 when John Valentin did it.  Holt was also Boston's only All Star last year.  He is not likely to repeat that as utility players frequently don't make All Star teams.

5.  Alfredo Aceves.  I love this photo too.  It is not as clear with this card as the base card.  But Aceves has just converted a save and is celebrating with catcher Kelly Shoppach.  Aceves lead the team in saves in 2012 with 25.

6.  Ted Williams.  This is the Rarities insert and I apologize that it can't really be seen that well.  This card celebrates his home run in his final at-bat in 1960.

7.  Ted Williams.  And this card celebrates the 530 foot home run he hit to right field that broke a spectator's straw hat.

8.  David Ortiz.  Ortiz is entering what is likely to be his final season of his career.  It has been a hell of a career.  He has been responsible for a lot of my favorite moments in Red Sox history: Game 3 of the ALDS in 2004, Game 4 and 5 of the 2004 ALCS, Game of the 2013 ALCS, and the 2013 World Series when he was unstoppable.  Ortiz will be missed.

9.  Rusney Castillo.  This is apparently a short-printed variation.  I did not even know there were such things in last year's Diamond Kings set.

10.  Christian Vazquez.  He is coming back from Tommy John surgery and will hopefully be ready to step back into the Major League club.  He is a terrific defensive catcher, something Boston does not have too often.

Wantlist Hit Surprise

I received a package recently with three cards, all of which knocked stuff off of my wantlist.  I was a little surprised by it though because I was not really sure what a couple of the cards were when I worked out the trade for them.  I will explain after the picture:

The David Ortiz is one of the patterns from last year's High Tek.  I am not collecting all of the patterns for each of the Red Sox players, but I would like a sampling of a lot of them among each player.  I don't focus as much on the Red Sox players in Tek as I do with Sandy Alomar Jr., but I do like to get one of each player.  The Henry Owens and Anthony Ranaudo cards were the surprises.  When I worked out the trade I thought these were just mini Bowman Chrome cards, I did not know they were the Top 5 organizational inserts.  I needed three of those still when I worked out the trade.  That is two of them right there.

One-Card Wonder Pt. 25: James Loney

James Loney was the only veteran Major Leaguer Boston acquired in the trade colloquially known as the "Nick Punto Trade".  For those who are not Red Sox or Dodgers followers and don't remember, Boston sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, and Nick Punto to the Dodgers in exchange for James Loney and four minor leaguers.  The Dodgers picked up most of the salary for the four players they acquired, over 200 million dollars.  The minor leaguers Boston picked up were Ivan DeJesus, Jerry Sands, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa, all of whom were later traded away for Joel Hanrahan, Brock Holt, and Wade Miley.  The trade was mostly made to knock a bunch of money off of the books for Boston for years to come.

Loney immediately took over for the newly-departed Adrian Gonzalez, but was not expected to stick around.  He was a free agent after the year and he did not really perform all that well for Boston.  Loney only hit .230/.264/.310 with two home runs and just eight runs batted in in 30 games.  Not exactly impressive numbers.  Loney has been much better since signing on with the Rays after the season.

This card is one of the ultra short-printed variations from the 2012 Topps Update set.  There were a number of these cards, commemorating some of the big-name players who switched teams during the season, including all of the players that went to LA (including Nick Punto who never managed to appear on a card in a Red Sox uniform), Kevin Youkilis (who was also traded by Boston), and Jim Thome.  The cards were very hard to find and expensive.  It took quite a while for me to find this card at a reasonable price.  I never did, technically, I just decided to splurge on it to add to my collection.

None of these cards had parallels available and Loney was gone after the season.  He did not appear in any other sets with Boston.  This is the only card of Loney with the Red Sox, unless he goes back at some point, which seems unlikely.

The New Red Sox

Now that Spring Training games have begun, it is time to look at the new players wearing a Red Sox uniform this year:

DAVID PRICE:
This is the big one.  Boston signed him to the biggest contract in team history.  Price is just turning 30 this year and coming off an 18 win season in which he lead the league in ERA.  He is the ace Boston missed so much last year.  By the way, I just got this card in recently, my first card of Price with Boston.  Yes it is photoshopped, but I don't care.

CRAIG KIMBREL:
I am not thrilled with this trade personally.  I am happy Boston got a great closer, but they gave up four good prospects to get him.  They gave up Manuel Margot, Javy Guerra, Carlos Asuaje, and Logan Allen.  Kimbrel will be with the team for a couple of years, but that prospect haul hurts.  And Boston has bad luck trading for closers.  They have previously acquired Andrew Bailey, Mark Melancon, and Joel Hanrahan in trades, none of whom worked out.  The players they gave up included Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, and Mark Melancon, who became an All Star after he was traded away.  Kimbrel is better than all three of those closers, but the history gives me pause.  Kimbrel's first card will appear in Topps Heritage.

CHRIS YOUNG:
A rare player who left the Yankees to join the Red Sox, Young is expected to be the fourth outfielder after Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Rusney Castillo.  Young does quite well against left-handers.

ROENIS ELIAS:
Acquired in a trade with the Mariners for Wade Miley, Elias is a young left-hander with some potential.  He could easily step into Miley's shoes, or find a place in the bullpen.  I think it is more likely that he starts out in the bullpen and then pitches his way into more playing time.

CARSON SMITH:
Smith was the key piece Boston picked up in the Wade Miley trade.  Smith was dominant in the bullpen in 2015, striking out 92 in 70 innings.  He joins an already impressive back end of the bullpen with Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, and Junichi Tazawa.  It is not as strong as the Yankees' bullpen, but it should be a strength this year.  Smith has been announced to be in the Topps Heritage set.

More Parallel Madness

Well, most of these are parallels anyway.  This was part of a fairly large trade that I pulled off recently.  The main piece to the trade almost held up the whole deal though.  Just for the hell of it, let's look at each of the players involved:

-Carlton Fisk.  This is the first Red Sox player to be named to the Hall of Fame since I have been collecting.

-Junichi Tazawa.  He has been quietly sneaking into more and more sets lately.  I still only have 17 cards of him though.

-Will Middlebrooks.  Man, his career has really stalled.  In 2012 he looked like a future star.  In 2013, he lost his job to Xander Bogaerts.  In 2014, he fell off the depth chart and was banished to the minors.  In 2015, he was traded to San Diego for Ryan Hanigan.  Now, this year he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Brewers.

-Tzu-Wei Lin.  Speaking of falling off the depth chart.  Lin does not hit, but is a very good defensive shortstop.  He is still just 22 and in Double A, so there is still some time.

-Jarrod Saltalamacchia.  He recently signed a deal with the Tigers.  His career has kind of fallen on hard times too.

-Koji Uehara.  Now a setup man with the acquisition of Craig Kimbrel, Uehara is one of my favorite current players.

-Daisuke Matsuzaka.  After a couple of good seasons early on and a sort of resurrection with the Mets, Dice-K is headed back to Japan.

-J.D. Drew.  I still think Drew was worth his contract.

-Dustin Pedroia.  This card almost held up the trade, but I am very glad it worked out.  This is one of the many manufactured relic cards Topps has been saturating the market with.  I don't get too many of them, but I enjoy them when I do.

Snowblind

I love that song.  I saw Black Sabbath live a few weeks ago and they were terrific.  Or rather, the band was.  Ozzy had a bit of a rough night.  But why am I posting a Black Sabbath song?  Isn't that for my other blog?  No, it is being done to show off my first Snow Camo parallel:

I actually pulled a Kris Bryant from a pack, which was traded for a huge haul that I am expecting any day now.  This is the card for my permanent Red Sox collection though.

Red Sox in Cooperstown Pt. 15: Heinie Manush

HEINIE MANUSH
Years with Boston: 1936 (.291/.329/.371, 45 RBIs, 15 doubles, 5 triples in 82 games)
Best Year in Boston: 1936 (.291/.329/.371, 45 RBIs, 15 doubles, 5 triples in 82 games)

Heinie Manush was the fifth future Hall of Famer acquired by Tom Yawkey within just a few years of buying the Red Sox.  Manush was 34 years old though and his best years were behind him.  He had already solidified his Hall of Fame case with the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators when he was acquired by Boston.  Boston gave up Roy Johnson and Carl Reynolds to get Manush, two players who had been pretty good with Boston.  None of the three players involved in the trade did much afterwards.

The idea in acquiring Manush was to solidify the outfield by manning left field.  The Red Sox outfield that season mostly consisted of Doc Cramer, Mel Almada, and Dusty Cooke, as injuries and less than stellar hitting stats kept Manush from contributing much to the team.  Manush's batting average was not bad, but it was significantly lower than his career average and he provided no power or speed.  He also only made it into 82 games, 72 in the field.

Manush was released after the season and caught on with Brooklyn for whom he had a nice comeback season in 1937.  He played two more years after that, but his days as a regular were gone.

Manush did not have a good season for Boston, one of the worst seasons in his career.  His time in Boston is mostly irrelevant to his Hall of Fame case.

Unknown Heroes Pt. 40: Jonny Gomes

Jonny Gomes is one of those players that has a ton of intangible qualities that are hard to measure.  He is a terrific clubhouse presence and keeps things loose.  His teams generally perform better after he is brought in.

Gomes had been with Tampa Bay for quite some time, and been a player that Boston had some trouble with, particularly during brawls.  In 2013, he was brought to Boston on a short, two-year free agent deal.  Immediately he brought a lot of levity to the team.  He was one of the principal players to start the whole beard-growing trend that took over the team.  Gomes hit .247/.344/.426 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs in 2013.  He was in a semi-platoon with Daniel Nava for most of the season.  He generally had more power, but Nava was better at getting on base and much better defensively.  Gomes though, had a flair for the dramatic.  He walked off with a home run on a couple of occasions, usually doing something humorous, like drop-kicking his helmet, upon reaching home plate.

In the World Series, Gomes contributed a very important three-run home run in Game 4 that eventually won the game for Boston, tying the World Series and putting Boston back in control after losing Games 2 and 3 and struggling most of Game 4.

Gomes's numbers declined a bit in 2014, and so did his playing time.  He was eventually traded at the trading deadline along with Jon Lester to Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes.  Oakland made it to the postseason.  After the season, Gomes signed with the Braves and was traded to Kansas City late in the year.  So Gomes got his second World Championship.

My First Strata Card, and More

Keeping going with a bunch of recent trades, I had a recent package of stuff come in on Friday with a lot of 2015 cards that I needed.  Unfortunately I am not making much headway on my wantlist.  Only one of the following 11 cards was on my wantlist.

Here is the first batch, with a Coco Crisp parallel leading things off, as he often did for the Red Sox in his three years with the club.  Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury are the subjects of cards celebrating their first home runs, both with Boston obviously.  Then there are various cards of Matt Barnes, Brock Holt, and Rick Porcello to round things out.

The Brock Holt All Star Access card is the card that knocked a card off my wantlist.  Holt was Boston's only All Star in 2015 and stole a base in the game.  After that we have cards of Rookie Sensations Dustin Pedroia and Ted Williams.  I still think Sandy Alomar Jr. should have been in this set.  Then there is a Mookie Betts card.  Betts is quite possibly going to break out into a Top 5 player in the game this season.  And finally we have the promised Strata card.  Strata is a bit out of my price range for buying boxes.  But getting a card in a trade is much cheaper.  This is a fairly decent sized jersey piece and an on-card autograph of Rick Porcello.  Not a bad card, hopefully Porcello will pitch better this season.

Underrated Player of the Year: 2013

In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.

Hey, I haven't done one of these in a long while.  Daniel Nava was always one of my favorite under-the-radar players, ever since making a huge splash by hitting a grand slam on the very first pitch he saw as a Major Leaguer.  He has such an interesting story, due to his size he was never really a highly sought-after player in high school, he walked on to his college team, then played in an independent league until Boston took notice and signed him for very little money.  He was always underestimated, yet he eventually proved that hard work pays off by making it to the Major Leagues.

In 2013, Nava had a terrific season, hitting .303/.385/.445 as a regular in the outfield and at first base.  His defense was very strong and he also contributed 12 home runs and 66 RBIs.  It was quietly a terrific season.  

Nava was never really a star on the team, and even had some trouble getting playing time over the likes of Jonny Gomes, who showed a flair for clutch hits, but when he was in the lineup, he produced.  He was an inspirational player who proved you did not have to be the most athletic person as long as you have a strong work ethic.  Daniel Nava will always be one of my favorite players for his brief time in Boston, and in particular for his contributions to the 2013 World Champion Red Sox.

Why I am Not a Prospect Collector (The Red Sox and the Draft)

I have been thinking about this quite a bit with the recent issues with players not getting signed who have qualified offers from their previous clubs.  Drafting players is such a crapshoot.  I have been thinking a lot about Boston's top picks in the draft over the years and there are only a handful of players that really panned out that well.  And only one of those top picks really stands much of a shot at a Hall of Fame career.

That has lead me to rank the top picks Boston has had from 1990 (the year before I started collecting) through 2012 by their contributions to the Red Sox, either through their own stats or the player they were traded for.  I did not rank the players since 2013 because none of them have made it to the Majors yet or been traded away.  Their records are too incomplete.  This is a completely subjective ranking based entirely on my own opinions.

1.  DUSTIN PEDROIA (2nd Round, 2004)

His stats may not be as gaudy as #2's, but Pedroia stands the best chance at being inducted into the Hall of Fame when all is said and done.  He has been with Boston since 2006, won the Rookie of the Year in 2007 and the AL MVP in 2008.  He has been to the All Star Game four times, won four Gold Gloves, and one Silver Slugger, and he has been a part of two World Championship teams.  He needs a few more good seasons but he looks to be on his way.  Pedroia, by the way, was a second round pick but was Boston's first pick because they signed Keith Foulke from the Athletics.  Sometimes those second-rounders are just as good as the first-rounders.

2.  NOMAR GARCIAPARRA (1st Round, 1994)

If only he hadn't completely broken down, Nomar might be looking at a better Hall of Fame argument.  He was a monster in Boston, winning two batting titles, the 1997 Rookie of the Year, and making the All Star team five times, but injuries decimated his career and he was traded a few months before Boston finally won the World Series.  The trade worked out well for Boston, getting Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz, who solidified Boston's defense.  He will always be a personal favorite of mine, but he falls just short of #1 on this list due to Pedroia's tenure and two World Championships.

3.  JON LESTER (2nd Round, 2002)

Boston lost their first round pick to Oakland in 2002 as well after signing away Johnny Damon.  Lester made it to Boston in 2006 and was instrumental in helping Boston win World Championships in 2007 and 2013.  Lester was a three-time All Star and finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting in 2010 and 2014 (when he was traded to Oakland at the trading deadline).  Boston acquired Yoenis Cespedes in trade from Oakland for Lester.

4.  JACOBY ELLSBURY (1st Round, 2005)

Ellsbury was a monster in 2011 and probably should have won the MVP with his 30/30 season (the first ever by a Red Sox player).  But that was his only real great season, and most other years he was merely decent.  He did help Boston to two World Championships though and set a Red Sox record for stolen bases in a season with 70.  Ellsbury lead the league in stolen bases three times.  

5.  TROT NIXON (1st Round, 1993)

Nixon was actually a very good player for a number of years, but might have been better had he been able to hit left-handers and not been injured as often.  Nixon put together some terrific years in the early 2000's and helped Boston immensely in the postseason.  An underrated player, Nixon's contributions were often lost in the shadow of players like Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz.

6.  AARON SELE (1st Round, 1991)

You can tell we are already circling the drain here.  Sele finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote in 1993 and was an injury-prone and inconsistent starter for Boston through the 1997 season.  He looked like a star early on, but injuries derailed him in 1995.  He was traded to Texas for Damon Buford and Jim Leyritz prior to the 1998 season and blossomed into a pretty decent starter for Texas and Seattle.

7.  MATT BARNES (1st Round, 2011)

This is optimistic because Barnes has not done much, but he has done more than the next few guys and he is still with the team with the chance to make the bullpen in 2016.  Boston had four picks early in the 2011 draft and the worst of them was Barnes (the others were Jackie Bradley Jr., Blake Swihart, and Henry Owens).  Barnes made it to the Majors briefly in 2014 and then made it into 32 games in 2015 and showed flashes of brilliance.  He is a dark horse candidate to crack Boston's bullpen this year.

8.  KELLY SHOPPACH (2nd Round, 2001)

And now we are running into players who spent very little time in Boston before getting traded away.  Shoppach was Boston's top pick in 2001 because they lost their first-round pick to Cleveland after signing Manny Ramirez.  Shoppach made it to Boston for all of nine games in 2005 before being traded to Cleveland (oddly) in the Coco Crisp trade.  Shoppach though made it back to Boston after being signed as a free agent to be their backup catcher in 2012 and did fairly well before being traded to the Mets.

9.  DAVID MURPHY (1st Round, 2003)

I grappled with the #8 and #9 picks quite a bit before deciding on their rankings.  Shoppach came back to Boston and played well, whereas Murphy only had his pre-trade stats to go on, and Shoppach's trade resulted in a better player coming to Boston.  Murphy made it into 20 games in 2006 and hit a home run with a .227/.346/.409 line and then came back for three games in 2007.  He was one of the pieces sent to Texas for Eric Gagne (ugh).

10.  DEVEN MARRERO (1st Round, 2012)

Marrero made his Major League debut in 2015 and played in 25 games.  He has a chance to make it back to Boston as a utility player, but is most likely blocked in that department by Brock Holt.  He is blocked around the infield at virtually every position.  He is most likely a defensive specialist, though he did hit a home run last year.  He has the potential to climb this list a little bit.

11.  FRANKIE RODRIGUEZ (2nd Round, 1990)

I remember Rodriguez being a huge deal when I started collecting.  He was supposed to be the next big Red Sox star.  Well, it did not quite work out that way.  Rodriguez made it to the Major Leagues in 1995 and pitched in nine games for Boston, going 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in just over 15 innings.  He was traded at the trading deadline for Rick Aguilera, who helped solidify Boston's bullpen.

12.  CASEY KELLY (1st Round, 2008)
And now we are getting into players who never actually played for Boston.  Kelly was a very good prospect and looked ready to make the leap to the Major Leagues after the 2010 season, but then he was traded to San Diego in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.  The injuries slowed things down a little bit.  He has made it to the Majors finally but has failed to impress so far.  But he did get Boston one terrific season of Adrian Gonzalez and one half of another good season as well.  That trade also cost Boston Anthony Rizzo though.

14.  NICK HAGADONE (1st Round, 2007)
Hagadone was technically a supplemental first rounder.  Boston lost their top pick to the Dodgers for signing away J.D. Drew.  Not much was ever really expected of Hagadone but he has turned into a fairly reliable middle reliever.  Of course that has occurred after being traded away in midseason 2009 to Cleveland in exchange for Victor Martinez.  That trade also worked out pretty well for Boston.

14.  REYMOND FUENTES (1st Round, 2009)

I never really thought much of Fuentes.  I was taken aback when I saw that Boston drafted him with their first pick.  Unfortunately Mike Trout was taken just two picks ahead of Fuentes.  Tanner Scheppers, Chris Owings, Garrett Richards, and Brad Boxberger were all drafted after Fuentes.  But Fuentes was also used in the Adrian Gonzalez trade, which worked out reasonably well for Boston.  Fuentes made it to the Majors briefly in 2013 but has not made it back since and is now in the Kansas City system.

15.  ADAM EVERETT (1st Round, 1998)

Weirdly, Adam was traded for another Everett, Carl Everett, before the 2000 season.  He was never much of an offensive player, being an elite defensive shortstop, though he never won a Gold Glove.  Everett never played in the Majors before being traded to Houston, but spent several seasons in the big leagues.  Carl Everett though was an All Star in 2000 and then terrible in 2001 and was a bit of a distraction the whole time.

16.  PHIL DUMATRAIT (1st Round, 2000)

Dumatrait was traded to the Reds during the 2003 season in order to acquire Scott Williamson.  Williamson was lights-out in the postseason during the 2003 season, in particular against the Yankees in the ALCS, but had trouble staying healthy.  Dumatrait finally made his Major League debut in 2007 with the Reds and then spent some time in the Majors with the Pirates and Twins.

17.  RICK ASADOORIAN (1st Round, 1999)

Boston's first round pick in 1999 didn't last long in their system before being sent off to St. Louis in a trade for Dustin Hermanson.  Asadoorian was not exactly ripping the cover off the ball and never really came around.  He bounced around the minors for years and eventually started pitching.  But he never did make it to the Major Leagues.  Hermanson pitched in 12 games for Boston in 2002 with a 7.77 ERA.

18.  JOSH GARRETT (1st Round, 1996)

And now we get to players who never played in the Majors, but were not traded before stagnating.  Garrett pitched for several seasons in the minor leagues with Boston but never made it above AA ball.  He also never won more games than he lost and other than a short time after he was drafted, never had an ERA below 4.50.  The best Red Sox player Boston drafted in 1996 was Shea Hillenbrand and Jason Marquis, who had a long career in the Majors, was picked after Garrett in the first round.

19.  JASON PLACE (1st Round, 2006)

Despite some impressive power numbers, particularly in 2008, Place just never developed enough as a hitter to make it past AA ball.  Injuries may have played a role.  Place was eventually released and picked up by the Yankees but continued to struggle and was out of baseball by 2012.  Justin Masterson and Daniel Bard (another first-rounder) are two players from the 2006 draft class that made more of an impact in Boston.  I personally wanted Boston to draft Joba Chamberlain because he was from Nebraska, but Chris Coghlan was a first-rounder who was more successful in the Majors drafted after Place.

20.  KOLBRIN VITEK (1st Round, 2010)

It is hard to imagine now but Vitek was considered an elite prospect when he was drafted.  He was one of the top college hitters available that year.  Unfortunately, after a very good season in Class A in 2011, Vitek stagnated and never made it past AA.  Boston's most successful draft pick from 2010 is Brandon Workman so far, though Sean Coyle has been impressive in the minors.  Boston missed out on Christian Yelich, Taijuan Walker, and Noah Syndergaard in picking up Vitek, though they had two other first-round and supplemental picks.  Bryce Brentz and Anthony Ranaudo have both made it to the Major Leagues, albeit not as full-time Major Leaguers, yet.

21.  JOHN CURTICE (1st Round, 1997)

Curtice was a bit of a wild child and a free spirit when he was drafted out of high school.  He also never progressed above High-A ball despite encouraging seasons in 1997 and 1998.  Injuries probably played a part in this.  He was out of baseball by 2001 at just 21 years of age.  This was a bad draft class for Boston.  Only Angel Santos spent any time with the big league club, although David Eckstein was the most successful draftee of the year for Boston.  They were pretty foolish in letting him go on waivers.  Players picked after Curtice in the first round included Adam Kennedy, Jayson Werth, and Jack Cust.

22.  TONY SHEFFIELD (2nd Round, 1992)

No relation to Gary, Tony Sheffield never made it above High-A ball.  He never stole more than 11 bases, nor hit better than .263.  He was a complete bust.  Boston lost their first-round pick to the Mets due to the free agent signing of Frank Viola.  Lou Merloni was probably Boston's best draft pick that year, which really shows how bad this draft was for Boston.  Jason Giambi was picked just two spots behind Sheffield.  Ouch.

23.  ANDY YOUNT (1st Round, 1995)
Yount might have made it, but we will never know.  After visiting the grave of a friend who died senselessly in an accident, he squeezed a bottle in anger so tightly that it shattered lacerating several tendons in his pitching hand.  Several surgeries later and Yount was eventually released.  He attempted a comeback a few years later in the Tigers system, but never made it above High-A.  He pitched in just 13 games in the Red Sox system.  Boston's most successful signee in 1995 was Paxton Crawford, so yet another bad draft.  Juan Pena looked to be a star but injuries ended his career.  Boston drafted Pat Burrell but he did not sign.  Roy Halladay was picked just two places after Yount.

Since 2012, Boston's top picks were Trey Ball, Michael Chavis, and Andrew Benintendi, respectively.  Ball and Chavis have struggled, though it is still too early to give up on them entirely.  Benintendi, on the other hand, looks like he could make it to the Majors sooner, rather than later.  It is obvious that a variety of things can happen to make drafting top talent an iffy proposition.  That is why I think teams frequently over-value their draft picks and why I don't spend a ton of time and money collecting players before they make it to the Major Leagues.

Colorful Mailday

My latest trade package arrived with some nice, colorful parallels:

We have a green Pablo Sandoval doing something he needs to do a little more often this year, hitting a home run.  Edward Mujica, who was a bit of a disappointment in Boston, nevertheless is the subject of a nice pink parallel that is numbered to just 50.  Jake Peavy checks in with a gold version, which is fitting since he helped Boston win the 2013 World Series.  The last of the colors is the black Stadium Club Hanley Ramirez card.  This is a painful reminder of just how horrifically awful Ramirez was in left field.  Hopefully he will be a better first-baseman.  Finally, we have a buyback of 2007 World Champion and All Star Hideki Okajima.  

Season in Review: 2012

Did I say "Ugh" with the 2011 season?  Well, this one was quite a bit worse.  Nothing went right in 2012, injuries decimated the team, players underperformed, and there was practically a riot against new manager Bobby Valentine at one point.  Then, of course, Boston traded away three high-paid stars for salary relief and some spare parts, most of whom were traded away just as quickly.  Valentine was not the right move for manager and was dismissed after the season.  Boston finished in last place for the first time since 1992.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS

David Ortiz
Ortiz was not immune to the injury bug in 2012.  He was having a terrific season up until that point, hitting .318/.415/.611 with 23 home runs and 60 RBIs and was the team's lone All Star.  He went down with an injury in mid July then came back for one game late in August and was shut down for the remainder of the season.

Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia was relatively healthy in 2012, only missing 21 games over the course of the season.  He turned in some pretty impressive numbers too, hitting .290/.347/.449 with 15 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases for one of his better years.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Oddly, Saltalamacchia was the Red Sox home run leader in 2012 after hitting a career high of 25.  Otherwise, the catcher's offensive stats were not terribly impressive.  He finished with a slash line of .222/.288/.454 and 59 RBIs.

Clay Buchholz
Buchholz ended up tying for the team lead with 11 wins.  Yeah, it was that kind of year for Boston.  He was dreadful early in the season but started pitching quite well in the second half with an ERA nearly two runs lower.

Jacoby Ellsbury
Ellsbury is another player whose career was cut short by injury.  He was injured early in the season and did not make it back until late in the first half.  He made it into 74 games and stole 14 bases.  It was not the best way to build on his terrific 2011 season.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Alfredo Aceves
Boston acquired two closers prior to the 2012 season, giving up talented young players Josh Reddick and Jed Lowrie in the process.  Yet it was Aceves who turned out to be the primary closer for the Red Sox, saving 25 games despite losing 10 games and having a 5.36 ERA.

Daniel Nava
Nava returned to the Majors in 2012 after not appearing in 2011 and performed reasonably well.  Nava hit .243/.352/.390 with 6 home runs and 33 RBIs in 88 games, primarily as the left-fielder.  He would build on this season with a greater 2013.

Mike Aviles
Aviles ended up being the starting shortstop after Boston (foolishly) traded both Jed Lowrie and Marco Scutaro prior to the season.  Aviles was very impressive defensively but not quite as good at the plate, though he did hit 13 home runs and steal 14 bases.

Pedro Ciriaco
Ciriaco was an under-the-radar acquisition who paid some big dividends.  Ciriaco played almost every position and had an impressive season with the bat.  He hit .293/.315/.390 and was second on the team with 16 stolen bases.

Junichi Tazawa
Tazawa started becoming one of the team's most trusted middle relievers after striking out 45 in 44 innings and ending up with a 1.43 ERA.  He solidified his spot on the roster with the terrific season, leading into becoming a very valued part of the bullpen in 2013.

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS

Cody Ross
He was not expected to be one of the team's top hitters, nor even one of the best outfielders, but Cody Ross put together a very good season quietly and may have been the team's MVP.  Ross hit .267/.326/.481 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs.

Vicente Padilla
Together with Alfredo Aceves, Boston had a very intimidating bullpen.  The general theory was that both Padilla and Aceves were a little bit nuts.  Padilla would occasionally surprise batters with an eephus-like pitch and ended up with a 4-1 record and a 4.50 ERA in 56 games.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITION

Craig Breslow
Breslow was acquired from Arizona for Matt Albers and Scott Podsednik at midseason and had a terrific stint with Boston with a 2.70 ERA in 23 games, striking out 19 and walking nine in 20 innings.  It was Breslow's second stint in Boston.  Making that trade even better for Boston is the fact that Podsednik was released by Arizona and came back to Boston.

FAVORITE ROOKIES

Felix Doubront
I went to my first Red Sox game since 2006 in 2012 and Doubront was the starter.  He did not pitch particularly well, but ended up with the win.  On the season, Doubront lead the team in strikeouts with 167 in 161 innings, and tied for the team lead in wins with 11.  It was a decent season for the southpaw.

Will Middlebrooks
The hitting star of the game I went to was Middlebrooks who took over at third base for the rapidly declining Kevin Youkilis.  Middlebrooks hit two home runs in that game and 15 home runs on the season and looked like a rising star before he too was injured.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

Jon Lester
The pitching staff was one of the biggest disappointments of the year.  John Lackey underwent Tommy John surgery, Clay Buchholz was inconsistent, and Josh Beckett was eventually traded in the big Dodgers trade.  But Lester was the biggest problem, going 9-14 with an ugly 4.82 ERA.

Andrew Bailey
As bad as the starters were, the relievers were even worse.  Boston has a bad track record in trading for relievers and this was definitely one of the bad trades.  Boston acquired Bailey and Ryan Sweeney for Josh Reddick and two minor leaguers.  Bailey had control issues and injuries and ended up 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA and only six saves.  Meanwhile, Reddick hit 32 home runs and won a Gold Glove for Oakland.

Mark Melancon
Boston made two trades for closers coming into the season and neither of them worked out.  Melancon was acquired for Jed Lowrie and immediately struggled.  He spent a lot of time in the minors and ended up 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA and one save.  Lowrie hit 16 home runs as the Astros starting shortstop.