Why the Sox Were Winners at the Trading Deadline

Why the Sox Were Winners at the Trading Deadline

First, a disclaimer. I know that the Red Sox as presently constituted are not a perfect team, particularly when compared to last year’s stacked squad. The bullpen is a major question mark. Keith Foulke appears to be nearing to a return which would move Curt Schilling back into the rotation. Obviously, Foulke is an unknown commodity at this point. If healthy and anywhere near his form from the 2004 post-season, Foulke is a battle-tested closer capable of pitching loads of innings. If his knee is still acting up and he can’t add a few mph to his fastball, the Sox might as well put Dick Radatz out there.
Regardless of whether Schilling or Foulke is closing, there isn’t the 6-7-8 inning bridge that the Sox enjoyed last season with Scott Williamson, Alan Embree and Mike Timlin. Timlin is the only one of the three left and though he has battled his way out of some tough situations, he has really struggled when entering situations with inherited runners. Mike Myers has looked good as a lefty specialist but he is a one-batter pitcher, incapable of getting out right-handed hitters.
The bullpen’s problems and Schilling’s closer cameo haven’t helped the starting rotation. Matt Clement, Tim Wakefield, David Wells, Wade Miller and Bronson Arroyo have all been very good to decent but it is hard to imagine a dominant one-two punch ala Schilling-Martinez from that quintet capable of shutting down the White Sox, Yankees, Angels or A’s in the playoffs.
In addition, the Sox bench still has some holes, particularly if the newest Red Sox, Jose Cruz, Jr.’s back problems are serious, and Gabe Kapler suddenly becomes an everyday player.
There, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get to the reality of the situation: The Red Sox are still arguably the best team in the American League. Let’s not kid ourselves and pretend that just because the White Sox have the league’s best record that they are the American League’s best team. The White Sox play in the AL’s worst division and have pillaged their divisional rivals like its Poland in 1939.
As much as the Red Sox are flawed, the American League’s other top teams have as many question marks, holes or Kevin Browns. Here are some major question marks facing the American League’s other contenders.
• Yankees’ starting pitching. The Yankees have used 13-different starting pitchers this season, a number that seems likely to go up considering some of the abysmal arms Brian Cashman has imported recently. Sure, the Yanks’ offense is loaded but to win in the post-season, New York may have to consistently put up 6 or 7 runs which may be too much to ask over a seven game series.
• White Sox inexperience. Sure, they were the winningest team in the AL during the regular season. Congrats, South Siders. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s time for the real season to begin. Baseball’s playoffs are a grind, not quite as tough as the NHL but the pressure of the games takes it toll on players. With a lunatic manager ready to shiv them if they make a mistake, the Sox seem destined to crack under the pressure of their first taste of post-season baseball.
• Angels’ Offense. Vlad Guerrero. After that there isn’t a whole lot to worry about in the Halo’s lineup. The biggest kink in the Los Angeles/Anaheim/Bakersfield/Orange County’s armor is their on-base percentage. As a team, the Angels have the major league’s 27th best on-base percentage, ahead of such juggernauts as the Pirates, Royals and Mariners.
• Jason Giambi. Manzo, it’s not going to last. Put away the Giambino pillowcases. Along with the soon-to-cool-off Giambi, the bottom half of the Yankees’ lineup doesn’t have the same “Dear God, how is Paul O’Neil batting eighth” terror-inducing balance. Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez and the decaying Bernie Williams aren’t nearly as scary as they were a few years ago and anytime Tony Womack is in the lineup, it’s 4 at-bats that the opposing pitcher can take off.
• Oakland’s lack of pop. For a Moneyball team, the A’s surprisingly lack power. Only Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher have double digit homeruns and the team has the major’s 21st ranked slugging percentage. The A’s have an offense a lot like the White Sox. Though the Sox certainly play more small ball, neither has a middle of the lineup that ruins a pitcher’s night.
• Raffy on Roids. If anyone was still under the illusion that the Orioles were going to be a factor down the stretch, the announcement that Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids officially ended Baltimore’s quaint struggle to wrest control of the AL East from Boston and New York. And has any guy ever been so completely emasculated as Palmeiro- not only does he have to cheat at baseball but he has to cheat at erections, too. That’s just un-American.

Were there players out there that Theo could have tried to get that would have helped the Sox? Absolutely. But why trade away the future of the franchise when the Sox are in first place and the teams that they will probably face in the playoffs have as many if not more questions than the Sox do? Theo made the right call in not decimating the Sox’s farm system and after watching Jon Papelbon and Manny Delcarmen, how can anyone argue that holding pat wasn’t the prudent move? In a very strange season in which every American League contender has serious question marks, the Sox look ready to once again compete for the pennant.

Jamie Chisholm