I'm convinced that Jeff Francouer is the answer. He costs 2.5 million this year, 4 million option next year. Perfect timeline to get Kalish ready for the spot. Kills lefties with a near 1.000 OPS, and is bad enough against righties that he won't be too expensive. His defense should be fine for Fenway, which is more than you can say about a lot of these other trade candidates.
They gave Ellsbury-- who is probably leading the league in PA-- a day off after a 16 inning game. I think that's a pretty good reason to me. EDIT: On WEEI Tito said the same exact thing.
Reddick is trade bait. After all the whining in the gamethreads about Mcdonald getting more ABs, I realized that they're killing Mcdonald's average in order to showcase Reddick against pitchers he is more likely to do well against. Look at the pitchers he has gotten opportunities against. He hasn't faced many lefthanded pitchers.
I didn't watch the game, but the stat sheet absolutely stunned me. This team absolutely killed the ball... and Drew went 0-3. Then Drew was pinch hit for, and even Mcdonald got a hit. Drew is as good as done. He's hit .202 with a .297 OBP since May 1st, and that's practically as a platoon player. What on earth is JD Drew good for if he can't get on base?
Context my friend, context.
By your logic, I also dissed the New England Patriots in the same sentence:lol:
There just aren't any good college sports franchises around the northeast, that's what I was trying to get at.
I understand what you're saying. But I really hate to see guys brought up too early. If he's the team's future at SS, I'd rather let him figure it out before bringing him up to the big stage and potentially set him back months of development.
After the win last night, the Red Sox pushed Tampa Bay to 7 games behind in the division standings. Also, over the course of the seasons, the Red Sox are 26-11 in the AL East, for a 71% winning percentage against their divisional rivals.
Apparently balls in the dirt that will put Ellsbury on base are strikes. You'd think the umpires would start closing their strikezones tonight, not widening them. I swear, this time I am going to bed. Good luck Sox.