Now batting for the Red Sox, Adrian Gonz…Oh shit, I mean Adam Laroche. Ya know, I think I'm in love with this move. Adam Laroche, not a big name guy but someone who can get the job done. He is a notorious second half hitter, his lifetime BA is around .270 (respectable) hits 25 HRs/yr (delightful), and drives in about 80-85/yr(downright reasonable). What's not to like about a lefty who can provide some thump in the Six hole? JD Drew sure as hell isn't cutting it. How does this affect the lineup you ask? Well I would love to tell you! What this means is that Lowell will essentially platoon with Laroche both of them playing 3-4 games per week. When Laroche plays, obviously, Youkilis will slide over to third and Laroche will play first against right handers ONLY. Lowell will handle the left handers. What this also means is that if Papi scuffles, and let's face it he's still batting in the .220's, Laroche can also provide some pop and slide into the DH role to give the Big Father some rest. I'm going to rate this move a solid 8 out of 10, the reason being we gave up no one. Hunter Strickland was NEVER going to play for the Red Sox (Sorry Hunter). And Argenis Diaz although a great glove had a BELOW average bat. So we gave up nothing for a 25 HR 85 RBI, slick fielding 1B. I LIKE IT!
The 2nd and most exciting move of the day for me was getting rid of Julio "I wish people would cheer for me once in a while" Lugo. Now on the open market I would have thought he would have commanded maybe a bag of balls and a fungo but I guess the Cardinals really want this guy (why I don't know) and were willing to give up Chris Duncan AND a player to be named later. Julio I think I just became your biggest fan because this is the biggest contribution you've had to the team since you got here with your disgusting contract. So thank you for being a team player! Chris Duncan is going to be to the Red Sox what Mark Kotsay is/was at the end of the 2008 season. That First Base/Outfield utility man to spell drew and Rocco because they are about as fragile as the Venus de Milo. I'm going to give this trade a 9 out of 10 just for the sheer sake in getting SOMETHING for Loogey.
Here's where the fun/sneaky part comes in. I think that Theo has an ulterior motive. These furtive moves still leave him the proper pieces to land a big trade closer to the deadline. I HAVE to believe Theo has been reading BOTN and is going to adhere to my pining for Roy Halladay. He still has Buchholz, DelCarmen, Bowden, Masterson, Anderson, Kelly, Reddick, all the while bolstering the teams defense (Laroche) and offense (Laroche and Duncan). It only makes sense now with 3/5 of the rotation throwing like Chet "the Rocket" Steadman and the other 2 throwing like Steve Nebraska from "The Scout". Get Ready Sox fans, Pitching wins championships and we're about to own the best pitching tripod since Maddux, Glavine and yes our John Smoltz.
I'm not going to even touch on our 5 game losing streak and our offense similar to a 8 yr old softball team. We need to play better, get more hits and I guess we have to throw a shutout every time for our offense to have scored enough runs. Props once again to Julio Lugo for finally contributing positively to Red Sox Nation
Stay Tuned
Ryan
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