SB Nation User Blog: Justin_Bobo

Sox trade for Hermida

Justin_Bobo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:56:50 -0000

According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (and Ken Rosenthal has confirmed) that the Red Sox have traded minor league pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez for Florida Marlins OF Jeremy Hermida.

An interesting deal, with the Sox picking up the once highly touted prospect Jeremy Hermida. Somewhat of a disappointment this year for the Marlins, Hermida, who plays both Right Field and Left Field, has averaged a lower-than-average .269 BA over his 5 major league seasons. Hermida is only 25, but even with time to grow, it seems as if the Marlins gave up on him.

A few more stats on Hermida : He's struckout over 100 times each full season he's played (only averaging about 130 games played a year), including a career high 138 in 2008. Career highs in both home runs and RBI's (which apparently doesn't matter to Theo) came in 2007, where he hit 18 and drove in 63. Last year he hit 13 and drove in 47.

Possibly could fill a Rocco Baldelli type role next year, or could just spend a year in our farm system. We shall see.

Poll

Your opinion on the Hermida trade?

Good. Let's see if he lives up to his potential.

20 votes

Bad. Waste of time, overrated at 2.55 million a year.

10 votes

30 votes | Poll has closed

Horrible Day in Boston

Justin_Bobo — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:49:35 -0000

What a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to be a Boston fan...

This day is going to stand out in memory for a long time to come. The epic fail of Jonathan Papelbon with just one strike left from going to game 4...after the offense finally awoke from hibernation. The epic fail of Tom Brady, missing wide open receivers and key plays all game, and too lose to Belicheck's mentee Josh McDaniels and the Broncos after holding a substantial lead as well.

Please...I pray for a day to come by and erase this bad day from my memory.

Poll

Worst performance of the day?

Jonathan Papelbon

48 votes

Tom Brady

28 votes

76 votes | Poll has closed

Horrible day in Boston

Justin_Bobo — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:46:04 -0000

What a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to be a Boston fan...

Please...I pray for a day to come by and erase this bad day from my memory.

Poll

Worst performance of the day?

Jonathan Papelbon

153 votes

Tom Brady

14 votes

167 votes | Poll has closed

In Honor of Tim Wakefield

Justin_Bobo — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:29:50 -0000

It seems as if Tim Wakefield may not be ready for September call-ups...and the pessimistic side of me believes we may not see him again this season. With a nerve (and/or disk) injury now affecting his lower back and his legs, this may be quite the obstacle for the 43 year old knuckleballer to overcome. With Wakefield's future in the hands of Epstein and the club (with these ridiculous 4 million dollar club options year after year, constantly leaving the fans in limbo), is it time for him to hang it up? The beginning of this season would lead us to say otherwise, but for the sake of argument, lets agree to disagree and say he hangs it up. Well, Mr Wakefield, here's an honorary article thanking you for all you have done for this franchise.

Everyone may not be the biggest fan of Tim Wakefield and his continuous 4+ ERA but he no doubt has been a mainstay and a solid contributor for his 15 major league seasons with the Boston Red Sox.

A player once released by the worst team in major league baseball (Pittsburgh Pirates), the Red Sox immediately gave him a chance by signing him as a free agent in 1995, 6 days after being released by Pittsburgh. That season he had what was arguably his best season in a Sox uniform, going 14-1 in his first 17 games, and finishing 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA.

In 1999, Wakefield again held the Red Sox on his shoulders when he not only started 17 games, but also had 15 saves during that season. After that season, Wakefield's versatility proved huge in his constant shifts from starter to bullpen to starter.

With his career possibly ending, he would finish 11 wins shy of 200 and 40 strikeouts shy of 2,000.

He was named the 1995 Comeback Player of the Year, has 2 World Series wins, and has one All-Star nomination under his belt (2009).

I'd like for this to be an open forum for discussion of Wakefield's greatest moments as a member of the Red Sox.

Poll

How do you view Tim Wakefield?

A future Hall of Famer

49 votes

A future Red Sox Hall of Famer

259 votes

An average Major League pitcher

57 votes

Overrated at best

21 votes

386 votes | Poll has closed

Sox deal Lugo to Cards for Chris Duncan

Justin_Bobo — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:41:25 -0000

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Dispatch reports the Cardinals have traded Chris Duncan for Julio Lugo. The Boston Herald is also apparently confirming the deal.

http://news.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/?p=2615

Chris Duncan, an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, has had a disappointing 2009, batting .227 with 5 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 25 runs. Duncan had just recently been demoted to AAA Memphis. Duncan was currently on an 1-31 slump.

By dealing for LaRoche earlier in the day, the Sox have added two decent left-handed bats with power, although both are having very disappointing seasons. Its reported that the Sox had to pay the rest of Lugo's contract for the trade.

Patriot's WR Preview. Who is the odd man out?

Justin_Bobo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:17:18 -0000

The Patriots continue to be relentless against letting another weak Wide Receiving corp be part of this franchise's opening day roster.

With the losses of Jabar Gaffney to the Denver Broncos, and Kelley Washington to the Baltimore Ravens, the Patriots had some holes at the Wide Receiver position this offseason. With these offseason's acquisitions, we may actually see some fan favorite's not making the team. Not including Randy Moss and Wes Welker, here's how the WR's stack up.

Joey Galloway - After a poor season last year, the Patriots seemed to have got a steal in signing Galloway. After making 1.7 million with the Buccaneers last year, and a 1.2 million signing bonus on top of that, teams seemed to back away from dishing out money to him. However, Galloway didn't ask to increase his salary to sign with the Patriots, and got signed for 1.75 million with a 600K signing bonus.Putting up a mere 13 catches and 138 yards last season due to injuries may lead to questioning what he has left, but this player deserves a good chance. Even though he is turning 38 in November, Galloway still has blazing speed and can be used as a deep threat, an underneath route runner, and a decoy for Moss. Look for Galloway to have a very productive year this season.

Greg Lewis - After spending his first 6 seasons in the NFL, Lewis was traded to the Patriots in exchange for their 5th round draft pick. Lewis is in the last year of a 6 year, $5.885 million contract. Primarily a 3rd and 4th string receiver, Lewis will be shooting for WR 4 for the Patriots. Look for Lewis to also make an occasional impact on special teams. Greg Lewis is known for being the occasional deep threat, and for his great hands, with only one fumble in his NFL career.

Brandon Tate - The other prime candidate for the WR 4 spot, Tate hasn't been able to fully practice with the Patriots yet. Rumor has it that will most likely wind up on the PUP list to begin the season. Drafted for his ability and not his numbers, Tate doesn't have a lot behind him stat-wise to show fans he deserves a chance. However, Tate has an outstanding football IQ, and has great instincts for the ball. The ability to run routes, beat defenders, and catch-and-run, on top of being able to rush the ball (103 rushing yards against McNeese St) and excel on kick and punt returns allows for an intriguing candidate for the Patriots.

Sam Aiken - Along with a good chunk of other people, I did not know Sam Aiken was still a New England Patriot. However, he did sign a 2 year contract last offseason for 1.56 million. Aiken was not a real impact player last year, only amassing 8 catches for 101 yards (with most of that coming on a 43 yard catch against the Jets). However, Aiken was a consistent special teams player and a hard worker, and will likely see himself in the same role again this season for the Patriots.

Matthew Slater - The Patriots announced earlier this offseason that Slater will be working strictly as a Safety this season, but has already been seen working with the Quarterbacks and running routes. Belicheck likes to keep his options open, and with Slater haven't a quite disappointing season last year, he may try and find anywhere he can to show he is the quality football player he was in college.

Julian Edelman - Although drafted as a QB/WR, Edelman is yet to throw the ball in OTAs. Believed to be drafted for the Wildcat formation, Edelman is known for his sure hands when catching the ball. He is not yet a master of burning cornerbacks or perfect route running, but that can come with time. Question is, can he do it in enough time to earn a spot on this roster?

This leaves 8 Wide Receivers on the roster, with the average NFL team only carrying 6 or 7. However, this is not your ordinary team.

Poll

Who will be the odd man out?

Matt Slater

64 votes

Julian Edelman

76 votes

Brandon Tate

22 votes

Sam Aiken

75 votes

Greg Lewis

8 votes

Joey Galloway

2 votes

None

46 votes

293 votes | Poll has closed

Goodbye Manny Fernandez

Justin_Bobo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:12:21 -0000

As you may have heard, Manny Fernandez's agent has stated that he will not return to the Bruins for the '09-'10 season. Not too surprising of a move on either part.

In 2 seasons with the Bruins, after spending 6 solid seasons with the Minnesota Wild and 5 seasons before that as a back-up on the Dallas Stars, Manny Fernandez will have a new home next season. Fernandez played fairly well in a back-up role for the Bruins, posted an 18-10 record over the past 2 years and posting a fairly impressive 2.59 goals allowed average this season. However, Fernandez is the caliber-player who deserves to search for a place where he can start on a consistent basis, possibly landing on teams who love playing musical chairs with their goaltending recently, such as Colorado or Tampa Bay.

However, Fernandez will be turning 35 this August, and may not be hearing as many phone calls and high prices as he hopes to. Manny made $4.75 million last season, and teams certainly won't be looking to spend that money.

The Bruins, if they are not completely confident on having Tuukka Rask as their back-up goalie next season, may look to sign another veteran goaltender. With the likes of Kari Lehtonen, Nikolai Khabibulan, Dwayne Roloson (Manny's former partner in crime in Minnesota), Joey Macdonald, Martin Biron, Manny Legace, Curtis Joseph and Olaf Kolzig headlining a long list of upcoming free agent goaltenders, the Bruins may think twice about solidifying Rask's position.

-Justin Bobo

Poll

Who will fill the Bruin's back up goaltender postion?

Tuukka Rask

95 votes

A free agent goalie

21 votes

116 votes | Poll has closed