Random Thoughts (July 11, 2008)

It has been said many times but after a five-hit performance in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers last night, I am going to take a second to chime in on a certain trade that was consumated November 24, 2005 that has been a success for both teams. On that night, the Red Sox front office, operating without Theo Epstein, sent prospects Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Harvey Garcia and Jesus Delgado to the Marlins for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and Guillermo Mota. Beckett and Lowell have both taken trips to the All-Star Game since donning the Boston uniform and were critical contributors to the 2007 World Series champions. Mota was sent to the Indians in a trade that brought back center fielder Coco Crisp. The Marlins have enjoyed nearly as much success -- minus the World Series trophy -- that the Red Sox did from the trade. Hanley Ramirez is a S-T-A-R. As a rookie in 2006, Ramirez batted .292, hit 17 homeruns, drove in 59 runs and sported an OPS of .833 in winning the Rookie of the Year. He avoided the "sophomore slump" in 2007, posting .332/29/81/.948 and through 91 games in 2008, he has MVP-like numbers (.312/23/45/.959) for a young Florida team that is 1.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. His five hits last night, including the game winning homerun in the eleventh inning, gave the Marlins an important victory. Before getting hurt last year, Sanchez was 10-3 with 2.83 ERA (including a no-hitter against Arizona) in 2006 and was 2-1 last year before having surgery to fix his shoulder. Despite the injury, Sanchez is still a solid starting pitching prospect. Garcia was a September call up in '07 for the Marlins and is currently on the 60-day disabled list. Delgado is currently at Double-A Carolina. Very rarely does a trade work out so well for both teams. This one did... A very interesting rumor, one that makes a lot of sense, is that the starting pitcher for the American League All-Stars will be Yankee Mariano Rivera. Starting Rivera will be a great move for many reasons. He is one of the great all-time Yankees and with the game in Yankee Stadium, which will be retired after 2008, it would be a nice tribute to Rivera, the Yankees and Yankee fans. It also makes sense because with six relievers on his roster, it won't kill AL manager Terry Francona to use the future Hall of Fame closer as a starter. Francona will also have Jonathan Papelbon, Frankie Rodriguez and Joe Nathan, all dominant closers in their own right, at his disposal at the end of the night. Finally, Rivera is having another great season. He has 23 saves (out of 49 Yankee victories) and has WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.638 in 42 1/3 innings (23 hits, 4 walks). The AL roster does not have one truly dominant starting pitcher other than Roy Halladay, so it's not like Rivera is pushing out a more deserving pitcher. Make the right call Tito... There is a lot of talk and a lot of words being wasted on Elton Brand. Brand, who optioned out of his contract with the Clippers and signed a free agent deal with the 76ers, is being called many names that link him to famous traitors such as Benedict Arnold, the Rosenbergs and Johnny Damon. To make a long story short, Brand has been accused by the Clippers of going back on his promise. Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy is publicly saying that Brand gave his word to return to the Los Angeles if the Clippers signed free agent guard Baron Davis. The Clippers signed Davis only to see Brand bolt for Philadelphia. I have no problem with Brand's move. After playing for mediocre Clipper teams for the last seven years, Brand is going to a rising team in Philly. Brand will team with Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller to form the nucleus of a solid playoff contender. If he had stayed in LA, Brand was facing a bright future with Davis, center Chris Kaman and rookie guard Eric Gordon but also the reality of losing 22.1 points per game scorer Corey Maggette (who went to Davis' former team, the Warriors). This is a move made by a player who seems focused on winning. Even if he had stayed with the Clippers, Brand knows better than anyone that Donald Sterling, the Clippers eccentric and thrifty owner, would probably not do much to help him, Davis, Kaman and Gordon. By taking the money from Philly, Brand has a real chance to compete for an NBA championship in the next three or four years (that is, unless restricted free agent Iguodala leaves Philadelphia for greener pastures). It's a business people... James Posey is still unsigned. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I take that as good news for Posey's chances to re-sign with Boston... Enjoy Clay Buchholz tonight...