Snapshot Poll: Will the Sox Acquire a Front Line Starter by the Trading Deadline?

[Bellhorn04]

So Hamels has had 2 horrific starts in a row, and Cueto looked today like there might be something wrong with his arm.

[Kimmi]

They eventually leave TalkSox, never to return?

 

I wonder why that is.

[Kimmi]

I guess some Sox fans are gluttons for punishment.

 

Leake, or someone comparable, would be an improvement over what we've had so far this year. He would be an upgrade in the rotation, and perhaps spare the pen some innings.

[Spitball]

And spit, if you want to play the game, you have to pay the fare. Getting an ace forces you to either develop an ace, which means years of watching success and failure until consistency develops, or signing one to big money usually at a concerning age or dealing away prospect loads for one. You have to pick one if you want an ace

 

I think the Red Sox are going to gamble on the "develop an ace" or at least "competent rotation" route. It will involve successes and failures, but the failures will not be expensive. Bellhorn says Cueto looked like something was wrong with him today. Ace pitchers are always an injury away from losing their edge. Btw, if Cueto is hurt, the Reds screwed themselves by not trading him after his shutout two weeks ago.

[Northern Star]

Leake, or someone comparable, would be an improvement over what we've had so far this year. He would be an upgrade in the rotation, and perhaps spare the pen some innings.

 

Are you suggesting the Red Sox should take a leak? Because Ben's already pissed away so much....

[jacksonianmarch]

Cueto was throwing mid 90s yesterday, so I doubt he was hurt. This is a tough time for guys on the block. Boone was talking about it last week or so on the radio. You know you're gonna get dealt, you don't know where and you have 72 hours to pack your s*** and get there. The mental aspect is the toughest

[jacksonianmarch]

Nice NS, nice, lol

[cp176]

The Red sox might help themselves by culling their farm system a bit by getting rid of some of the guys who really don't look (or who the sox don't think will be) like they will have much future at the next level. If anybody was willing to trade someone like Leake to us for someone like Marrerro, which I really doubt they would, why would that not be a good deal for us? It doesn't really address the major issues but it might give us a reason to start forgetting about some of the 4's and 5's in the program already. Change can be good.

[Kimmi]

Are you suggesting the Red Sox should take a leak? Because Ben's already pissed away so much....

 

Ha!

 

Who needs Yankees fans when we have Sox fans who can put the team down even more than they do?

[Kimmi]

The Red sox might help themselves by culling their farm system a bit by getting rid of some of the guys who really don't look (or who the sox don't think will be) like they will have much future at the next level. If anybody was willing to trade someone like Leake to us for someone like Marrerro, which I really doubt they would, why would that not be a good deal for us? It doesn't really address the major issues but it might give us a reason to start forgetting about some of the 4's and 5's in the program already. Change can be good.

 

Well said. I have no idea what the Reds want for Leake, or what other teams want for similar pitchers, but a trade like this is not going to hurt the Sox short term or long term and may surprisingly even help more than some think.

[Spitball]

Cueto was throwing mid 90s yesterday, so I doubt he was hurt. This is a tough time for guys on the block. Boone was talking about it last week or so on the radio. You know you're gonna get dealt, you don't know where and you have 72 hours to pack your s*** and get there. The mental aspect is the toughest

 

I watched Hamel's and Cueto's performances on the "Recent Games" option on MLB.com. Hamels was wild in the zone and was getting hammered. I haven't seen him pitch real often so I couldn't tell much.

 

Cueto is one of my favorites because of his Tiant style, and I have watched him often. He was definitely opening up too soon on a lot of deliveries which had his control off. He almost always has excellent control but walked six in four innings.

 

His fastball was sitting about 91-92 and only reached as high as 94 twice that I observed. I believe he is usually in the mid-90s. The announcers kept questioning why he was going to his change up so often. He was getting hit very hard.

 

I know he threw 122 pitches in a complete game, 11 strikeout, shutout victory over Scherzer on July 7. Since that outing he hasn't been the same. He lasted five against Miami on July 12 giving up five runs. In his last 9 innings he has walked seven and struck out four. I think the guy is hurting.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Spitball