The timing and circumstances of this are bizarre, considering Sweeney had actually contributed to the Sunday win over the Yankees, and this was a freaking single that he got robbed of...not to mention the trade deadline thing.
My attitude about Beckett has been vacillating between Sweet Chin Music's and Born to Run's all year. Now I'm just tired of all the trade rumor crap. I want July 31 over and I want this team to start playing some real baseball. Every now and then they give signs of being able to do it.
Sell the farm for Shields? He's not that good. He has a career ERA+ of 1.04. Away from the TropDump he has a career ERA of 4.66. His main strength is as an innings eater.
This team is configured to allow everybody to blame somebody else for the mess. Cherries can blame Henry and Lucchino for not giving him more money. Henry and Lucchino can blame Epstein for the bad deals he locked them into. Valentine can blame his bosses for not giving him more control and Francona for leaving the clubhouse in a mess. The hitters can blame the starting pitchers. And the starting pitchers can blame McClure, Salty and the left side of the infield.