Wishing well

For as long as I can ever remember, I've always looked at Fenway adding a minimum of 10pts to almost anybody's batting average when we traded or even contemplated trading for them. So I guess that would mean actually a 20+pt higher on a home vs. away spread. For example, when we brought on Mike Lowell and I looked at his atrocious average of .236 the previous year and his career average of around .270 at the time and then I thought...OK, worst case scenario is he gives us .246 to .250 because he is a dead pull guy and Fenway will help him more than others so I gave him .250 as a minimum. Given his career was .270 I thought his upside was .285. I think we can all agree he’s exceeded his upside.

My point is that Holliday, while having Fenway numbers on steroids in Colorado, would be probably only come in about .30 points light off of his Coors Field average if he came to Fenway. That’s actually a .50 pt swing since most guys I give +20. So if you combined his projected Fenway numbers with his current away stats, that will still put him at almost every All Star game, especially with “The Nation’s” voting bloc. In fact, if you run with this scenario…his numbers, BA, HR, OPS, etc are gonna come in right about where Youkilis is this season…. Now what is that worth to ya? …especially when you know its gonna be A LOT more consistent level of production than a so far career best year Youkilis. Me thinks that’s a pretty safe bet and that we ought to highly consider taking a Colorado Holliday for a vacancy.
As an aside…I must say, Chad when you comforted us on the Rays still not being quite there this year, I never thought they’d then go and lose the next 6 straight just to make you look like the great prognosticator once again…. Good call.

My point is

Bobby Murcer was my favorite Yankee ever.I loved his batting style.I didn't realize I hated the Yankees in the late 60's because they were never a threat.
Now my Favorite Yankees are guys like Drew Henson and Jeret Wright.

"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard."

Thanks for the sanity check, CF. :-)

Fuentes would be my main objective......I want Manny here for atleast 3 more years.We need another RHP in the bullpen.......Hanson is too immature Delcarmen is inconsistent and Timlin is burnt

I'm not quite 33 and I well remember The Hardline According to . . .

One of my favorites, too, because he didn't hit well against us, particularly in Fenway

matt holiday is a redsox type hitter who would flourish in fenway,it isnt like he needs colorado to hit hrs,he has a ton of power,and he is young!

It's hard for me to believe that Bobby Mercer was 62. It seems like yeasterday he was going to keep the Ruth, Dimaggio Mantle line going.
He must have been a very nice guy, because based on the expectations for him, he was a major disappointment...but I never heard alot of griping about it. He was ALWAYS a fan favorite.
Paul

matt holiday is a redsox type hitter who would flourish in fenway,it isnt like he needs colorado to hit hrs,he has a ton of power,and he is young!

There is no need to trade for anyone. Ortiz comes back, the pitching stays intact(maybe put Masterson in the pen) Keep Manny--forget Holliday..

Here's hoping the Sox dont do anything drastic at the deadline that costs us some young talent. We have one of the top 3 teams in baseball as it is (sorry Tampa, your not one of them). Nice job with the Terence Trent D'arby name drop to go with the headline.

Take care of the bullpen situation in house. Relievers are so erratic and volatile - changes in roles, changes in leagues is all it takes for these guys to implode like Eric Gagne.

Shhh. Don't look now, but your Boston Red Sox have slipped back into first place at the All Star Break. How scary is this team when they haven't even played their best baseball and have played 6-7 weeks without #34?

David, two-thirds of Holliday's career homers have come at Colorado. He has 39 road homers in 4 1/2 seasons. There's a good chance he does need Coors Field to be a legitimate slugger.

I'm 33 and unfortunately remember Terrence Trent Barbie, I mean D'Arby.

Don't insult my intelligence (or memory or knowledge of popular music)!! I am 28 and very much remember Terrence Trent D'Arby... I even remember his songs and the lyrics.. So there!

I think I was closer when I tabbed D'Arby to be "a poor man's Lenny Kravitz."

I'm hoping the Sox make a minor deal AT MOST. Unless they get bad news on Papi, this team is poised to improve without a move.

He's a butcher in the field, and he probably wouldn't age well, but 40% of Adam Dunn's plate appearances end up in something other than outs. That's a rare commodity. IF and ONLY IF Ortiz was done for the year, he'd be a perfectly suitable replacement at DH for half a season. He's a gloveless Mark Bellhorn (c.2004) with a 500+ slg%.

Re: Matt H. An astute poster at Sons of Sam Horn noted the following. He has improved steadily year by year away from Coors Lite Field. As of a few days ago for 2008, these were his year-by-year OPS numbers:
2004: .654
2005: .728
2006: .819
2007: .860
2008: .893

I would be thrilled to see this guy swinging for the Sox later this year, next year, or in 2010.
Bonds? That whole cheating thing worked out real well for the Pats, didn't it? Sox owners are way too smart to tarnish their brand with that nonsense.

Come on. Everyone knows that the ultimate three true outcomes player is Rob Deer.

Dunn is too "inconsistent" to play for the Sox? Have you been dining with Joe Morgan lately? He of the 40-homers- and .920+ OPS-a-year should welcome with wide arms in any stadium in baseball. Honestly, Chad, go read some FJM and don't come back till you're done. Next you're going to tell me Dunn's only going to "clog the bases."

Fair point, Josh, though unlike Joe I actually spelled consistent correctly.

Dunn would be a fine No. 5 hitter, and he's great at getting on base. Never denied that. But a guy who hits .240ish is going to go through some serious slumps, and hell drive even Ken Tremendous nuts when he does.

Great stats on Holliday. I should have looked into that deeper.

In 2000, I attended a Red Sox-Yankees game in May that turned into a rainout. As my friend and I sat in the drizzle, he impulsively called one of his old students who worked for MSG. The next thing we knew, we were being escorted up to the Yankee Stadium Press Box where we had the pleasure of sitting down with both Jim Katt and Bobby Murcer for twenty minutes.

Murcer turned out to be as classy in person as he always seemed to be on the Yankee broadcasts. He was polite, cordial, and respectful of two long-time Red Sox fans who happened to also be teachers. He waxed poetic on players such as Tony C., Rico, and Yaz and claimed that Boston was always his favorite city to play in as an opposing player. At the end of the interview, he exclaimed, "Bob Shepherd is a teacher himself and loves meeting with people like you. Why don't I have you two sit down with him - it would be a pleasure for him!" Murcer then escorted us to Shepherd's little cubicle above homeplate where he chatted with us for a spell.

Bob Shepherd and Bobby Murcer truned out to be genuine bright lights for us both that evening. It's the only time I ever left a ballpark after a rainout with a skip to my step.

RIP, Mr. Murcer. You might have not turned out to be a Mantle, but you were a far greater man.

Adam Dunn on the Red Sox? No thanks. Check out his BA over the last 4 years with Runners In Scoring Position:

2008 - .224
2007 - .241
2006 - .221
2005 - .248

Imagine all the boos he'll get as he strikes out again with the tying run on third and one out in the 7th inning of an August or Sept. game vs. the Yankees. He plays in small market Cincy, where there are no expectations. How would he respond to the booing?

I don't see a Dunn acquisition working out well for the Sox.

There is no place for someone like Adam Dunn on the Boston Red Sox. The team needs guys that CARE about baseball, and LOVE the game. Like David Eckstein. You take a team of 9 Adam Dunns and I'll take a team of 9 David Ecksteins and we'll see who wins. I guaran-damn-tee that every single weak dribbler to shortstop will be a close play at first (both offensively due to their hustle and defensively due to their nonexistent arm).

I can't wait to buy a hot dog from JP Ricciardi at Fenway next year after he's unemployed.

I would appreciate the defense and the 20 homer potential that Khalil Green would bring to us over adding a Holiday or Dunn. Pack up Crisp, Delcarmen and Lowrie and send us Bell and Green. Tuck Green away in the eight hole, put up with his .240 average but sit back and enjoy his glove. The dingers he hits would be a bonus. Bell takes the 8th innings over setting up Paps.

Hitting w/RISP is about as important a stat as "hitting on Wednesdays." It considers the results of 99 plate apearances to be more important than the result of 375. Besides, Dunn's .890 OPS w/RISP and his 1.171(!!!) OPS w 2 outs and RISP don't really worry me.

Khalil Greene will make more outs in a week than Dunn will make in a month. No thanks.

Please, please tell me that your header, "Wishing Well," was not an accident, considering your TTD reference. Assuming it was intended, I love you even more than I did yesterday, and that's saying something.

9 Adam Dunns vs 9 David Ecksteins? I'm going to go with the Dunns on this one, based on the probability that Eckstein can't throw 60 ft 6 inches....

But seriously, Dunn, while on most clubs would be a boost to their offense (Arizona, LA of Anaheim, LA of Actual LA,) wouldn't really fit in with this Sox offense. Who does he replace in the lineup (no, Julio Lugo is not an option)? Is he a better bench guy than Casey? With the way Drew and Youk are playing (Sox top 2 in OPS), Dunn isn't taking their spot. Therefore, it's a decision of whether Dunn is better than a post-injury Ortiz? I'll stick with Big Papi, thank you.

I think the Eckstein reference was tongue-in-cheek. Way in cheek. At least I hope so.

And I agree there's no place for Dunn now. He'd only be viable if Ortiz was out long-term.

Uhh, yeah, the Dunn reference was tongue firmly planted in cheek. Thanks for the save Cap'n.

My post was intended to mock JP Ricciardi's "he doesn't like baseball, so he's worthless to me" comment. You know, JP Ricciardi, the guy who fills out his roster with dirt dogs and clubhouse leaders to the tune of a 528-538 career record in his tenure.

Matt Holliday would probably increase his average by .075 at Fenway since there wouldn't be all those stupid towels distracting him...