Sorry

I know that I've been on hiatus for more than a month, but my computer crashed, then I took vacation (Italy, baby), then my computer got fixed about a week ago, and then I forgot about Survivng Manny, and I finlly remembered right now. So there. Accept my apology.

Red Sox acquire LaRoche, Duncan

This photograph montage is brought to you by the Red Sox on July 22nd, 2009. The photos are (from left to right) Chris Duncan, who was acquired from the Cardinals for Julio Lugo, Hunter Strickland, a minor league pitcher who was traded to Pittsburgh for Adam LaRoche, Argenis Diaz, the minor-league infielder who the Sox traded to Pittsburgh for LaRoche, and Adam LaRoche, who was just acquired by Boston. Duncan has been outrited to AAA Pawtucket Paw Sox. Lugo will likely replace Duncan on St. Louis's roster. Strickland will likley make the majors in 2011-2013, and Diaz is now on AAA Indianapolis Indians' roster.

LaRoche has yet to claim a spot on the active roster, however either Rocco Baldelli or Mark Kotsay will likely be placed on the DL without an injury to open up spot on the active roster.

Debating a Red Sox trade for Roy Halladay

Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays has recently said that he would waive his no trade clause if a trade to a certain few franchises were in order. It's likely that the best team in the American League, the Boston Red Sox, is one of those few teams.
The reasons are as follows:

Reasons For Getting Halladay

Halladay is a Cy Young award winner, who wins 20 games a year, with an ERA hovering around 3.50.

With the way John Smoltz has pitched against two light hitting teams in the Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics, he seems to only get worse, and might work better coming out of the bullpen, or maybe down in the minors.

If the Sox want a much better (and younger) pitcher than Smoltz, then Halladay is their man. Halladay would solidify an already extremely solid pitching staff.
If the Red Sox aren't already a World Series contender in someone's eyes, Halladay should quiet that doubter.

Reasons for Not Getting Halladay

Trading for Doc will probably cost the farm. Sox fans can say goodbye to Lars Anderson, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and maybe a few more prospects, making the division rival Blue Jays better in the long run.

Also, Halladay is owed a ton of money over the remainder of his contract and the Red Sox already have a lot of players owed ungodly amounts of money. Halladay would only add to that list.

Plus, Halladay's contract runs out after next season, and Halladay will be 34 at that time.
Halladay also might not be used to the large baseball market in Boston, or pitching as the third or fourth man in the rotation—behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and maybe Tim Wakefield.

Debating a Nationals trade of Josh Willingham or Adam Dunn

Rumors have been flying around Nationals sluggers Josh Willingham and Adam Dunn. Most of the rumors have Willingham and Dunn headed to Boston, Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Mets, among others.

This post hopes to break down the reasons why and why not for trading Willingham and Dunn.

Reasons for trading Dunn and Willingham: The Nationals could get some good major league talent (JD Drew and Mark Teahen have been thrown around), along with some good prospects. Dunn would likely fetch more, as he leads the Nationals in home runs with 23, and RBI with 62.

He's not leading the Nats in hitting, but Dunn is hitting a decent .266 clip. Willingham's numbers a decidedly lower, but his numbers are still solid. He's hitting a great .304, with 12 home runs (he had 15 last season), and 26 RBI.

Reasons for not trading Dunn and Willingham: The stats say it all: Willingham and Dunn are good. Why would the Nats' brass want to trade them? Willingham, Dunn, and Ryan Zimmerman could become the cornerstones of a good lineup.

And some Nats fans (me included) think that the Austin Kearns era in Washington should come to an end very soon. Kearns should be traded before Willingham and Dunn. Also, the if the Nats trade two of their three best players, I consider that forfeiting this season.

I know it's bleak for the 2009 Nats, but I just don't like seeing teams just quit before the end of the season. But that's just my opinion.

Former Red Sox pitcher Martinez signs with the Phillies

This just in to Surviving Manny, according to ESPN, the Philadelphia Phillies have come to an agreement on a contract with former Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez.

Martinez played from 1997 to 2004 with the Red Sox, and won the 1999 All-Star Game MVP, in which he struck out 5 of the 6 batters that he face on his home field of Fenway Park.

Pedro was not resigned after the 2004 season, in which the Red Sox won the World Series, and signed with the New York Mets.

His contract with the Mets ran out after the 2008 season, and Pedro is just now being signed to a contract.

Terms of the deal with the Phillies were not disclosed.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen

Red Sox show interest in Scott Rolen

This just in to Surviving Manny, the Boston Red Sox seem to be interested in the Toronto Blue Jays thirdbaseman Scott Rolen. Rolen was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals before joining the Blue Jays. He was traded from the Cardinals to the Jays for power hitting firstbaseman Troy Glaus.

You may or may not know that the Red Sox are also interested in Blue Jays' ace pitcher Roy Halladay. It's unknown whether or not the Red Sox will pursue Rolen and Halladay in a package deal, but it will certainly take a lot of good prospects and major league talent. Red Sox fans can kiss Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Casey Kelly, and Lars Anderson goodbye.

Seriously, how many aging thirdbaseman do the Red Sox need? And does Theo Epstein really want to mortgage the club's future to a division rival?

The answer to that question better be no.

Plus, a thirdbase problem will start next spring training, when Mike Lowell and Rolen will both be vying for the same spot.

However, this season Rolen is hitting the ball a ton. So far this season, Rolen is hitting .320 with 6 home runs, and 35 RBIs. Rolen has 94 hits in 77 games.

A Potential Red Sox-Nationals Trade

This is just a trade I thought up.

I know some of you won't agree with this trade. Nationals fans and Red Sox fans alike will probably not like this trade.

But baseball isn't about making moves that people like—it's about winning. And I believe that this trade will make both the Nationals and Red Sox better.

So imagine you're in your living room, watching SportsCenter when Scott Van Pelt says something like:

"This just into SportsCenter; The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals have pulled off a trade with the Red Sox sending JD Drew and John Smoltz to the Nats for Josh Willingham and prospects Derek Norris and Mike Vento."

Now let that sink in for a minute.

The Boston Red Sox just dealt the dysfunctional JD Drew and the not-able-to-pitch-anymore John Smoltz to the Nats for slow-footed outfielder Josh Willingham and a couple of prospects.

Washington Nationals
The Nats get stud power-hitting outfielder JD Drew, who, despite needing a game off every week for phantom injuries, can still hit 20 to 30 home runs with a .270 average. The Nationals also get John Smoltz in sort of a player-coach role, coaching the young pitchers on Washington's roster.

However, Drew skips town after his contract (which is still being paid by Boston) is up. Smoltz retires after his half-season with Washington, but stays on as the Nationals' new pitching coach, and eventually Jordan Zimmermann and Shairon Martis become the best one-two pitching punch in the NL under Smoltz's stewardship, as Martis and Zimmermann lead the Nats to become a great team in the National League.

Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox get good power-hitting outfielder Josh Willingham, who is virtually JD Drew with half the attitude. Willingham hits about 15 to 25 home runs, with about a .260-.280 average.

The Sox also get good minor league hitters Mike Vento and Derek Norris. Norris and Vento are good hitters who should be the future of the Red Sox at the plate. Norris is a better power hitter and a better hitter for average who, along with No. 1 Red Sox prospect Lars Anderson, will become the Red Sox's version of Murderers Row.

So the apparent winner of the trade is the Red Sox, despite Smoltz's teachings to the Nats' pitching staff. If this trade were to go down, the Red Sox probably would be the winners.

Hey

Hi, my name is Anthony Emerson, and I'm a huge Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals fan.

In this blog, I hope to write about both teams, as well as the occasional NHL, NBA, and/or NFL post.

I'll try to maintain the blog as much as I can. Let's just see how far this thing takes me.