Red Sox obtain Paul Byrd
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Aug 12, 2008 
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o great raz back in rotation now thats great
Im predicting that he won’t do well w/ the red sox
1st
Fail there by Cash should have blocked. Is he forgetting that game Byrd hurled last season that I dunno kind of ended the season.
Byrd is no good. Let them have him.
Just wonder if they’ll leak HGH stories before his starts now like they did in the ALCS last year.
Pete –
Are you saying this is waving the white flag? I have never been terribly impressed by Byrd – and I was against picking up Washburn b/c he was under a large contract for next year.
Cy Razz has not been great but he has competed. And Hughes is hopefully a week to 10 days away.
if we’re going to throw a mediocre fifth starter type out there, it might as well be OUR mediocre fifth starter type. really not a big deal here, folks.
yanks issues lie with the lineup and hitting with RISP. not blocking byrd is inconsequential…
If Kelsey grammar goes 5-0 down the stretch I want Cash’s head on a pike.
Byrd is a great pickup for them… he has playoff experience and knows how to pitch.
Of Course, Cashman is content with Rasner, Carlos Zombrano, Eric Milton, and Alfred E. Newman.
Hughes is one start away from the majors. I’d rather see what he has than give another retread a shot. If it was three weeks ago I might have thought otherwise, but at this point I really don’t see the need.
ponson should get some nice offers next year.
Will the soxs fans chant hgh? I find it funny that they picked him up considering they were the ones who leaked his use.
“Byrd is no good. Let them have him.
Just wonder if they’ll leak HGH stories before his starts now like they did in the ALCS last year.”
No silly. He is a member of the nation now! I bet hes rockin’ a sick goatee by Friday.
Byrd doesn’t impress me.Yankees need to turn it around NOW.Longoria/Crawford out plus Red Sox slump plus Manny gone Ortiz hurt/ordinary creates opportunity if we can turn it on.If we play like $hit it doesn’t matter.
Byrd was a guy who NOBODY on this blog wanted when his name was discussed at the deadline.
Now, the Yankees “missed” on him? Too funny.
How can we not c**k block this …
Hughes is one start away from the majors. I’d rather see what he has than give another retread a shot.
Exactly. About the only thing I’m looking forward to the rest of this season is seeing Hughes come back and what he does.
That and going to The Stadium one last time next month to say my goodbyes.
Paul “The Pinata” Byrd….they can have him….the yankees probably figure the sox will lose ground with him going every 5 days so they didnt block him….He is beyond awful…I have no idea why people would want him on the yankees
byrd…yawn. ERA+ of 98. He’s worse than league average.
“Of Course, Cashman is content with Rasner, Carlos Zombrano, Eric Milton, and Alfred E. Newman.”
I lol’d. That Alfred E. Newman he sure is fun to hate.
” Showalter 09
August 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Byrd is a great pickup for them… he has playoff experience and knows how to pitch.
Of Course, Cashman is content with Rasner, Carlos Zombrano, Eric Milton, and Alfred E. Newman.
”
Cashman would have certainly been content with Carlos Zambrano (if he had him)…
w/ Tek behind the plate Byrd can find himself and pitch well, remember wasn’t that long ago he pitched well in the playoffs.
“Byrd is no good. Let them have him.
Just wonder if they’ll leak HGH stories before his starts now like they did in the ALCS last year.â€
No silly. He is a member of the nation now! I bet hes rockin’ a sick goatee by Friday.
Do they have his dirty, faded Red Sox cap all ready and waiting for him?
It is a sad day, when Yankee fans are upset that paul Byrd has gone to the Red Sox.
How much lower can we sink? Pathetic.
cashman is a jerk. he just hangs on to carlos zambrano…hoping for the best…idiot…
how can anybody be upset about passing on paul byrd???….
Raz has 1 more start then it is hughes..
I would take Byrd if he could hit with RISP….
If Byrd cannot hit then he is not needed.. The sux can still score so it is a logical move for them, the Yanks cannot score PEOPLE..You need a offense that can overcome starts from the likes of Rasner the Yanks can’t because they big boys have come up SMALL.
It is not brain surgery… the big boys (all of them) have come up small………..
You mean Victor Zambrano Al, Carlos Zambrano would have played CF, hit 49 homers and have 20 wins under his belt already.
Paul Byrd to the Red Sox should in no way trigger any “What are you doing, Cashman?!?!?!”-type comments. They need a garbage 5th starter like Byrd because Clay “Better Than Joba” Buccholz flamed out as hard as IPK and Hughes this year. That storyline, of course, isn’t getting as much attention because Lester has stepped up and because Boston doesn’t currently look like a dead team walking, unlike the Yankees where nobody has stepped up and…well, yeah.
In summary, I don’t think any Yankees hitters are worrying because Byrd is going to Boston. Let’s hope they’re worrying about scoring some runs against Nick Blackburn, and will actually go about doing it tonight.
I expect us to trade Carlos Zambrano to the Mets for Pelfrey –
Francessa suggested that IPK may have pitched for the last time for the Yanks – reminds about an old expression regarding a blind squirrel.
Vrsce
August 12th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
It is a sad day, when Yankee fans are upset that paul Byrd has gone to the Red Sox.
How much lower can we sink? Pathetic.
Cant agree more!
“Do they have his dirty, faded Red Sox cap all ready and waiting for him?”
LMAO. Classic I bet at the NESPN store in Bahstin they sell them with the “already sweated in” look.
Ponson >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Byrd
Andrew –
It is a shame that ESPN doesn’t have any Boston-based commentators that could shed light on the disappointing performance of Buchholz –
Darrell Rasner
Dan Giese
Sidney Ponson
Charlie Zink
Paul Byrd
Yes, friends, that’s right. This is what a combined $350M payroll will get you these days.
Whatever happened to Freddy Kreuger?
“Just wonder if they’ll leak HGH stories before his starts now like they did in the ALCS last year.”
Yeah, how bout the irony of them picking him up after that!
Paul Byrd isn’t good, certainly below avg, but his contract only running through this year makes him an advantage over someone like Washburn who is signed thru 09. Byrd is probably worse than Washburn though, and thats saying a lot.
It is a little puzzling the Yanks neither tried to pick him up nor block him from their rivals, but I dont think this is a fail on Cash’s part or him waving the white flag or anything. He just thinks what he has in house is better (Hughes, Raz and I guess Pavano at some pt, haha) and he might well be right. Here’s hoping he is and Byrd continues the suck he’s so finely cultivated in Cleveland this year.
Gerut is hitting .357 (20-for-56 with six homers, three doubles, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored over his past 15 games and .343 (24-for-70) over the last 19 games with 14 RBI. He is also hitting .308 (16-for-52) with runner in scoring position.
Gerut said he couldn’t have expected this when asked about his comeback.
“Three things needed to happen: a) performance; b) opportunity, and c) luck. All I could control was performance. I had to wait for opportunity and a little luck to get into position to perform.”
Melky for Jody Gerut pleeeeeease
“out plus Red Sox slump”
Haven’t they won 9 of their last 13 games?
Since when is this considered a slump?
Either way, I’m guessing this pickup is so he can fill in and give guys a day’s rest towards the end of the season. Can’t be much more, no way they depend on him for anything.
dear everyone who thinks you can trade melky for something of value,
no way, never possible again, dude has become a “nice fourth outfielder”
If anyone thinks Paul Byrd is what’s gonna keep the Yanks from catching Boston, they really are delusional.
Perhaps this has already been pointed out but Byrd since the all star game is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.26.
TK,
Watching the Oly last night and told my daughter that the hero of the night Alexander Artemov was a spitting image of Clay Buchholz.
So I bring up his player profile and was shocked to find that he’s 2-8 with an ERA close to 7.
Of course I was a good person and refrained from telling her the laptops story. Want her to believe this is still a world where people don’t steal from children.
SJ,
I don’t particularly like Byrd, so it’s not biggie if he was claimed by Boston, but it’s dishonest to not mention that since the trade deadline, Joba got injured and IPK got rocked (in essence, the situation has changed, and not in the Yankees favor).
I guess in the end I could put it this way – the only way I’d want Byrd on the Yankees right now is if he was taking starts from Ian Kennedy or Kei Igawa. Otherwise, nah. He could pitch a good game every once in a while, but so can Ras. He really would just be an older, more expensive, HGH version of Ras.
this isn’t worth getting upset about. Like someone else said, worry about hitting Nick Blackburn tonight. Thats all that should matter now.
ray,
I heard another knuckleballer’s going tonight in place of Wakefield. What’s the story? He did well in AAA, no?
We sure do like complaining on this blog. How much of an uproar do we think there would be if the Yankees took Byrd?
Certainly Bucholtz has not pitched well this year but to say he has been as bad as Hughes and Kennedy simply is not the case.
He has pitched well at times and has something that neither Hughes nor Kennedy have this year……a single victory.
I’m a little surprised about this pickup by the Sox. I look at it as insurance in case Colon’s rehab does not progress, Wakefield’s shoulder does not fully heal and/or Buchholz continues to struggle. I believe that Charlie Zink and David Pauley can provide decent spot starts, but I do understand why Epstein and Francona would want a tested veteran like Byrd (who does throw strikes and make opposing lineups beat him) for the stretch run.
Jeff
http://www.soxandpinstripes.com
Ray, he’s garbage, buddy.
Like I said, he’s a nice pickup to spell a Beckett or a Matsuwhatever, but he’s hardly a piece to their puzzle. Buchholz is rapidly approaching his innings cap, and has stunk pretty bad this year anyhow. They were lucky to be able to let him pitch through the bumps and bruises, but Paul Byrd is definitely not in their plans, as he should not have been in NY’s.
charlie zink is one of the better AAA pitchers out there. he’s got funky stuff and that’s what he lives on.
mel – charlie zink.
I was considering selling my soul for tix to the Jets/Pats game, anyone wanna go halfies.
paul byrd? c’mon that barely rates a mention let alone a post of its own. he sucks
we are one start from getting phil back, probably 10 days from joba and carl pavano.
mel –
That sounds like a tough call – I personally may have erred on the side of pointing out the craven evil that is the RSN (except for our friend ray, that is
)
I personally think the yanks failed here. They hve a responsibility to make sure no one in the division gets better than them at this point in the year and with a chance to block the deal they dropped the ball.
Breaking News
Former Cleveland Indians RHP, Paul Byrd, was arrested this afternoon for beating up innocent black people. When asked what caused the sudden outburst of violence and hatred towards the black race, Byrd replied..”havent you heard, I got traded to the red sox”
Hey, Frits – Byrd’s +98 (really +96) is better than the following: Pettitte=+97; Rasner=+80; IPK=+52; Ponson=+89; Hughes=+47. Doesn’t look so bad when taken in the context of the Yankees starting rotation…
If Hughes is ready to go after tonight, I’d rather see what he can do at this point than Paul Byrd.
Its as if everybody has a kneejerk reaction when another team acquires a player. They automatically believe that player will “make a difference”.
If Wakefield didn’t get hurt and Buchholz wasn’t so awful, the Sox wouldn’t be taking a flyer on Paul Byrd.
If the Yankees are going to take a flyer on somebody, I’d rather it be Hughes. We need to know what Hughes can do at the ML level more than we need to acquire Paul Byrd.
It’s Victor Zambrano not Carlos that is in the Yankees minors…jeez.
don’t overhype zink. he’s 29 and he posted a 5.89 ERA in 40+ IP in AAA last year…a 3.98 ERA in AA over 92 IP in 07…and a 4.03 in 110 IP in 2006.
http://www.soxprospects.com/pl.....harlie.htm
I agree with Ray about Buchholz. He has posted some solid starts. Right now, though, he has no confidence. Unlike Ian Kennedy, Buchholz has a great arsenal of pitches and he will emerge into a reliable big league starter. It just won’t be this year. Next season – since the Sox will likely go after Sabathia, Sheets or perhaps Yu Darvish (if he is available – Buchholz will probably start the year at Pawtucket along with fellow phenom Michael Bowden.
Jeff
http://www.soxandpinstripes.com
Perhaps this has already been pointed out but Byrd since the all star game is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.26.
And Justin Christian has handled left handed pitchers really well.
Small sample sizes rule!
Yeah, his ERA will stay that low in Fenway.
yes we know which zambrano it is, move on
“but it’s dishonest to not mention that since the trade deadline, Joba got injured and IPK got rocked (in essence, the situation has changed, and not in the Yankees favor).”
Maybe, but it’s also not providing the whole picture not to mention that Cashman has two starters rehabbing in the minors, perhaps he just thinks they will be better than Paul Byrd.
Paul Byrd is garbage.
But, I agree. Only getting NESN, I’ve watched many of the games, and he has pitched well, but he makes rookie mistakes that just kill him.
PS – this is a great blog. Glad I stumbled in, but I’m getting the feeling it’s a glass half empty (or completely empty) type of joint.
Yeah, we stink, but we’re not all fans just because they’re always good and win every year. At least I’m not.
4-0 with an ERA of 1.26 isnt much of a “small sample” in the american league. but hey you must know a lot since you are the original!
“Breaking News
Former Cleveland Indians RHP, Paul Byrd, was arrested this afternoon for beating up innocent black people. When asked what caused the sudden outburst of violence and hatred towards the black race, Byrd replied..â€havent you heard, I got traded to the red soxâ€
Hahahaha!
Zink in his last 25 starts at AAA is 13-4 with an ERA of 2.89.
Nerfherder – sure, it is important in context. but paul byrd isn’t going to replace pettitte or ponson, and IPK is in AAA. paul byrd would have replaced rasner, i suppose, and that spot is only being kept warm until we can see what hughes is capable of (again).
not saying he would be awful on our team. not saying all our guys are better than byrd. just saying that in terms of impact, byrd is below league average, so i’m not terribly worried.
“Certainly Bucholtz has not pitched well this year but to say he has been as bad as Hughes and Kennedy simply is not the case.”
He has a 6.32 ERA and has pitched 72.2 innings. The big thing to me is the number of innings he’s taken up at the major league level. When your ERA is that high, you hope it’s a very small sample size. For comparison, IPK and Hughes have thrown a combined 61.2 innings.
ray,
You don’t need to point out the flaws of Ian, we can take care of that.
But don’t you dare say a bad thing about Hughes. We protect our own.
are hughes and pavano upgrades over byrd?
yeah
are they ready now, when it’s needed?
no.
prolly could have used byrd and dfa’d him if it didnt work out and the other guys were ready. it’s not a make or break, but i don’t understand why you don’t claim him just to block him going to boston.
Hey, Dre – If Paul Byrd is garbage, what does that make the 5 or so Yankees starters whom Byrd has been better than this year??
I wish we could all get on the same page. The Yankees are NOT making the playoffs, we all knew that 14 straight PO appearances streak would have to stop eventually and this is the year. Let Tampa(ughh) and the Sux lose to the halos in the PO’s for once it wont be us getting owned in the LDS.
BBB – grow up
Hey, Drew – If Paul Byrd is garbage, what does that make the 5 or so Yankees starters whom Byrd has been better than this year??
oh brother. i thought i was responding to someone who was not a troll.
“Zink in his last 25 starts at AAA is 13-4 with an ERA of 2.89.”
So he should be considerably worse than IPK? I’ll take that!
All i know is that Green Crap in left field at the piss hole will have more baseball dents in it than it had before. Byrd Sucks!! I wonder if it will cost the Sox more to fix the damage on that wall than the remaining salary owed to Byrd.
Mel,
I actually hope that Hughes does well. I was just sticking up some for Bucholtz who is not pitching well right now but will turn out I believe to be a decent pitcher.
Byrd is an upgrade over Hughes for the same reason he is an upgrade over Buchholz. He throws strikes and makes opposing hitters beat him. Buchholz and Hughes both have bright futures, but not this season. They need more time to develop. Byrd is nothing more than a No. 5 starter, but when he is locating his pitches and keeping hitters off balance, he can give you seven or eight innings. For Boston, that is four or five innings more than Buchholz has been providing lately.
Jeff
http://www.soxandpinstripes.com
ray (sox fan)- Dude why don’t you go relish the Sux leading the card on Gammons blog or something. I personally apologize for 1919-2003, please don’t come in here and rub our noses in it.
BBB,
I don’t like Byrd, and I don’t think he’s a good fit for the Yankees IN GENERAL.
But RIGHT NOW, after Joba’s gone down and before Hughes and Pavano are available (yeah, right in the latter case), there’s a slightly more valid reason to pick-up Byrd (even if you discard him after one or two starts) than before.
Would I do it if I were Cashman?
Probably not, but I would think long and hard about it, again, with the proviso that he’s a short term rental….
I can’t help wondering why Cashman didn’t put a claim on him. How long is this team going to sit with this cast as they continue to fall further and further with less and less games to play? I’ve stayed optimistic to this point, but I’m a bit annoyed by this.
agreed, right now byrd is an upgrade cause he can actually go out there and get the job done, not in theory ala hughes and the other guy with the bruised butt and busted car/ego.
I’m sorry but how did our FO not block this? It is never a good thing when the Sox get someone they want. With Clay’s recent struggles and the iffy condition of Colon, Byrd could help them down the stretch.
Meanwhile, our rotation has two relievers converted to starters our of desperation. Then there’s Ponson. And yes, he has had a few acceptable starts, but would you want him starting a post-season game? And then Rasner, who I don’t even want to talk about. With Petitte not living up to expectations, Moose is the only guy keeping us alive.
Byrd is an upgrade over Hughes for the same reason he is an upgrade over Buchholz. He throws strikes and makes opposing hitters beat him. Buchholz and Hughes both have bright futures, but not this season. They need more time to develop. Byrd is nothing more than a No. 5 starter, but when he is locating his pitches and keeping hitters off balance, he can give you seven or eight innings. For Boston, that is four or five innings more than Buchholz has been providing lately.
In other words he can do exactly what Ponson did for us last night?
What a message the Yankees and Jeter are sending to their fans. When the going gets tough the Yankees give up. Wow how far we have come from 1998? Was Jeter even on this team? Where is the Leadership? Has ARod’s attitude totally taken over the clubhouse? The only guy who seems to give a crap is Moose.
The way we are playing and the way Byrd is pitching, and the way the Rays are playing, we’re not making the playoffs. Sucks, but we’re not. We cant win a freakin game, and we cant hit with RISP, which kills us. We’ve had numerous chances to go after a pitcher this season, with Harden, Sabathia and others that were available, and we didnt. Pudge is stinking up the place, as is Marte, and Cashman, for some reason, isnt making a move with all these players on trade waivers. If we could have landed Street, it would have been huge for us. We need another veteran starter, and another bullpen arm. And we need to learn to hit a ball when there are RISP.
Buchholz is a talented young pitcher. As is Hughes and Kennedy. Are we really trashing guys their first couple of years in the big leagues? They’re all talented – otherwise, they wouldn’t have dominated their whole lives and made it to where they are.
All young guys need time to get rocked, get up, and get back at it.
Al,
I’m not trying to talk trash in here at all or rub anyone’s nose in something.
I actually have more confidence that the Yankees will be contending for a playoff spot this year than many Yankee fans that post on here.
ray is actually a pretty good contributor here, having more than just OMG YANKS OMG YANKS OMG YANKS is refreshing. if you don’t know anything about other teams, you are pretty much a lame fan.
It is never a good thing when the Sox get someone they want.
Eric Gagne approves this message.
byrd is owed $1.8M the rest of this year. had the yankees claimed him they would have had to pay him that and probly would have had him pitch one game.
even for the yankees thats a ridiculous price.
that, and he sucks…
“Certainly Bucholtz has not pitched well this year but to say he has been as bad as Hughes and Kennedy simply is not the case.
He has pitched well at times and has something that neither Hughes nor Kennedy have this year……a single victory.”
How is it simply not the case? He was in the rotation, didn’t pitch that well, got hurt, stayed at AAA and the Red Sox were announcing that he had made adjustments after time at AAA and were bringing him back thinking he’s ready to succeed…and he stunk it up. Hmm…that sounds familiar.
Quite the burn there, Ray, on the single victory line…his 2 victories are really pushing him into that stratosphere of future front line starters.
He has pitched well at times, sure, 3-4 starts out of 14. Ian Kennedy’s ratio is 2 starts out of 9 that he pitched well in. Not that far apart, really.
Buchholz clearly has more talent and more potential than IPK, but don’t try and say it’s completely off-base to hold him in the same regard as Kennedy or Hughes.
ray,
I’m just kidding. Even though Phil has had physical issues, we think he’s very special.
Frits, how about this year: 2008 AAA-Pawtucket 13-4 2.85
Hideki Matsui’s last-ditch effort to come back without surgery on his left knee will take a major step forward Thursday.
General manager Brian Cashman said Matsui will begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment Thursday either with the Gulf Coast League team in Tampa or the Class A Tampa team, depending on the weather in Florida.
Matsui took batting practice today and has been running without a knee brace. He is scheduled to do his second round of baserunning tomorrow.
Matsui DH, Damon in CF, Melky to the bench.
Not a troll. An agent of truth and reason is more like it. Byrd is a serviceable fifth starter – better than many of the Yanks or Sox starters this year. The Sox picking him up is more than justifiable, as it would have been for the Yankees, though less so considering they already have Ponson. But it is doltish for people to call Byrd trash, a bad pick-up, etc. He is what he is. Yanks have Ponson. Now the Sox have Byrd.
Did the Red Sox and their fans go berserk when the yanks picked up Ponson? Well, Paul Byrd is now their Sidney Ponson.
Byrd’s capable of winning 4 in a row, just as he was proven to be capable of losing 6 in a row just prior to the ASG. Even with his current good fortune teams are hitting .282 against him. He’s better than Bucholz, but hardly puts them over the top.
“I was just sticking up some for Bucholtz who is not pitching well right now but will turn out I believe to be a decent pitcher.”
ray,
Question – how concerned are the sox with Bucchholz?
I really like Buccholz and really did believe he had front of the rotation stuff.
So I have no doubt that he’s going through the usual growing pains young pitchers do and he’ll be much better in the future.
But is there some concern that he might not be a #1/#2 type pitcher?
I ask because what I’ve seen from him this year is concerning (and I mean that as a baseball fan who follows the minor leagues as a whole).
When I’ve seen him it seems to me that he has a very tough problem to fix. His curve and change are so good because of the radically over the top release point he throws with. But coming so over the top really flattens out his fastball, making it very, very straight and hittable.
In the minors he pitched in reverse – with the change and curve setting up the fastball instead of the opposite. It seems like a tall order to pitch in reverse like that at the major league level. Once hitters caught on to his style of pitching they’ve really exploited the weakness in his fastball.
When he was sent down I believe the sox wanted him to try to change his arm slot a bit so it wasn’t so over the top. But I haven’t seen much difference in his fastball in terms of movement.
Perhaps I’m way off here. But it seems to me Bucchholz is going through more issues than simply adjusting to the bigs. Just wanted to know what people in boston were thinking.
Yankees are at the point in the year where its not about what other teams do anymore…..they need to win games, and a bunch of them at a very furious pace
I submit if they do that, they can be in the hunt in september
If they dont win games, who cares about Paul Byrd, starts with the game in front of them which is the only thing they can control
Meaning, if they win a bunch of games, games against Boston and Tampa and these next two will matter, if they dont it wont
Paul Byrd whatever, win tonight and start there
Cashman Must Go
Ian Kennedy dominated AAA in just about all of his starts there the past two years. How did that translate to the majors?
AAA stats are meaningless. He’s a journeyman pitcher who the Red Sox hope can hold up for a start or two. That’s it.
A league average pitcher as your #5 starter is a very good thing to have.
Byrd has been one of the hottest pitchers in the league the past month or so.
ok, so lets do it this way
the yankees claim byrd and pitch him wednesday. he’s nothing spectacular and the yankees lose b/c of lack of run support.
next time his spot comes up, hughes takes it and byrd becomes the long man, rasner sent down.
5 days after that, joba comes back and to make room they release byrd.
byrd signs a mlb min. contract with the sox, the yankees are stuck paying his salary while he pitches for the sox.
end result it cost the yankees $1.6M to have him pitch once for them and a month for the red sox.
im not down with that.
You make some good points Andrew. If I was a Yankee fan I would be feeling a lot more optimistic about Hughes than Kennedy right now.
Young pitchers have their share of ups and downs. Hughes, Kennedy, and Bucholtz all have times when they look very good and other times when they look like young, inexperienced pitchers.
Byrd’s been very good lately, a guy in my fantasy league cut him a month or so ago and my team (ironically desperate for pitching)picked him up and he has been very very good. I realize it can’t last, but Boston did well getting him.
Why are we arguing about Clay Buckholz? He hasn’t pitched well but he has been better than both Hughes and Kennedy, theres no question there. Buckholz and Hughes both have #1 or #2 starter potential and I think both will make it to that ceiling.
Haven’t you guys heard? Blocking teams is so Old Mutual.
If a player needs to be blocked by the time he gets down to the Red Sox/Yankee stratsophere he’s marginal.
They passed on Gagne, and that worked out wonderfully. Of course no one would’ve guessed that Gagne would suck that bad. Or continue to suck to this day.
I’m still laughing about Giles not wanting to go to a WS contender. Talk about being content.
“Al,
I’m not trying to talk trash in here at all or rub anyone’s nose in something.
I actually have more confidence that the Yankees will be contending for a playoff spot this year than many Yankee fans that post on here.”
I’m sorry about being attackitive my anger is directed at the Yankees offense not you ray. Not you but most Sox fans come in here to take a big crap on us Yankee fans when we are in the gutter.
angelo – yep, he’s having a good year. just putting it in context.
And, before a bunch of people post about how much more potential Buchholz has, I am in no way trying to discount that. It’s just, to me, annoying that people think the Yankees are the only team who expected pitching prospects to help this year and have since had to find other, less savory alternatives.
mel,
Are you watching the Olympics after knowing the outcome or before? I cant get myself to watch it. I keep getting the results on espn before they come on. Its like watching a new movie and knowing the ending before it happens. Sucks.
I told my family the other day that Phelps would get the World Record(didnt know it was already posted). They looked at me and bought it for a second. Cant keep a straight face.
Couple of things:
If our season is dependent upon blocking a waiver move of Paul Byrd to the red SOx then we are in a lot more trouble than I thought we were.
I am no doctor but I wonder why Matsui is taking off the brace it seems that the only time when he has had some success in the rehab has been when he has been wearing the brace.
I am outta here soon as I have tickets to see HAIR tonight in Central Park and I know it will probably be better than what will be shown on Channel 30 and I will make it back in time for the swimming which has been the best stuff I have seen on TV this week,
Nice point Bob, but who coud’ve predicted Gagne’s utter failure to throw a ball. Everyone said he would be great, add depth to the bullpen, and help the Sox win. Then he somehow forgot how to pitch.
However, the Sox still managed to win the WS that year.
Andrew,
To your point, now that IPK is gone I dare anyone to come up with a worst starting pitcher anywhere in baseball than 2-8 6.32 ERA 1.73 WHIP Clay Bucholz.
Brandon, you know, I always liked Jody Gerut. I’d be willing to take a chance on him and sit Melky down. Plus he’s a Stanford alum, so he and Moose can talk about…you know, Stanford things.
Damon CF tonight
Betemit 1B
Molian C
Okay, I’m banning “you know” from my vocab right now.
When does all the swimming stuff come on?
Seems like every time I flip to the Olympics it’s gymnastics or volleyball, neither of which I can sit thru.
Drive 4-5
August 12th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Did the Red Sox and their fans go berserk when the yanks picked up Ponson? Well, Paul Byrd is now their Sidney Ponson.
Byrd’s capable of winning 4 in a row, just as he was proven to be capable of losing 6 in a row just prior to the ASG. Even with his current good fortune teams are hitting .282 against him. He’s better than Bucholz, but hardly puts them over the top.
UMM, Puts them over the Yankees who are 5 games behind the Sox!
“end result it cost the yankees $1.6M to have him pitch once for them and a month for the red sox.
im not down with that.”
You mean he’s not a “Goodness Gracious” type of pitcher?
Damon
Jeter
Abreu
A-Rod
Giambi
Nady
Cano
Betemit
Molina
drive 4-5
mike hampton
josh fogg
homer bailey
all have higher ERAs, similar WHIPs.
its rarefied air…that’s for sure
If I could steal one pitcher away from the Sux it would be Lester hands down.
Either it’s Mleky’s day to rest, or Girardi finally realized he’s worthless.
Damon cf
Jeter ss
Abreu rf
A.Rodriguez 3b
Giambi dh
Nady lf
Cano 2b
Betemit 1b
Molina c
Mussina p
And in 2 weeks the New York Yankees will have their answer to Paul Byrd.
Ladies and gentlemen… I present to you Carl Pavano!!!
Jody Garrett – only hitting .241 with RISP, 3 outs.
SoS,
I’ve got a tape delay behind your tape delay, so I stayed off the computer yesterday.
I really got into the mens gymnastics and didn’t want to know the results. The swimming results I hear on the radio so that’s whatever.
It’s nice, though, about 11:30 pm I get to watch live indoor volleyball. Lots of former UH players. Clay Stanley doing really well for the men who are playing without their coach (his in-laws were stabbed).
CB
I would be less than truthful if I didn’t admit that there is some concern about Bucholtz among Sox circles.
When he first came back up he seemed to have a renewed sense of energy and pitched well, but that didn’t last long.
You are a more serious student of baseball than I am, and so I can’t comment about the mechanics of his delivery, but I do find your observations very interesting.
I was at Fenway a couple weeks ago when Lackey nearly no hit the Sox. Bucholtz started that game and looked very impressive the first couple of innings.
But then the infield made an error behind him and it seemed to me that rattled him. Gave up a couple hits right after that.
This is just my opinion….but I don’t think that he has that mental toughness that pitchers need. The kind of toughness that won’t let things beyond one’s control get to them.
I see Joba and Mussina (after his first few starts) and Beckett have that toughness, but not Bucholtz.
“To your point, now that IPK is gone I dare anyone to come up with a worst starting pitcher anywhere in baseball than 2-8 6.32 ERA 1.73 WHIP Clay Bucholz.”
Well, there is 6-14 5.55 ERA 1.74 WHIP Barry Zito. I think he’s a lot worse than Buccholz, considering a) that he once won the Cy Young/20 games, b) he’s paid a disgusting amount of money to be that awful and come nowhere close to those previous years in Oakland.
“If our season is dependent upon blocking a waiver move of Paul Byrd to the red SOx then we are in a lot more trouble than I thought we were.”
Amen.
Wow. What a weird season it has been and continues to be. No Wang, no Georgie, no Matsui. The two kid pitchers fall flat and the pen goes from the sublime to the ridiculous. The two best pitchers are Sir Sidney and the Moose and the starting catcher is Pudge Rodriguez. Cano and Melky are in a season long slump and nobody can knock a man in from second, assuming anybody gets that far.
It’s the Bizarro Yankees.
Guys every red sux prospect is great you did not know that?
I laugh at Yankee fans that say we overrate our prospects boston are the king of that.
Zink is 29 he is 2 yrs younger then Giese, he has never pitched in the majors.
Byrd is a good move for the sux for 1 reason they can score the yanks cannot…But byrd stinks, the yanks will be making a pitching move this sunday.. Hughes will be back.. If Matsui(please g-d) goes well in rehab expect him back on about Monday.
I know it is big if’s but if those 2 guys(hughes and Matsui) are back then that will help this feeble team a lot…
Damon cannot play CF everyday….
Buchholtz obviously has potential but at present he looks terrible.. his fastball is very very hittable and he rely’s so much on his off speed stuff… He does have more upside then IPK obviously but I think Hughes will be better, but we will see in about 3 yrs or so.
again why would a sux fan post here? I will never get it.. If the Yanks are toast there is almost no chance I will watch a sux whitesux or twins series…
Bob,
At night. One of the last things on. Im in the west coast. So it comes on around 9:30/10. Thats the finals. Prelims earlier in the day.
Here’s another thought – I would much rather have Clay pitching than Byrd. Clay is getting beat up every time he goes out to pitch. It’s pretty much an auto loss for the Sux when he starts.
Now that Byrd will probably take over for him, Clay can go back to the minors and fix his problems. All in all, Byrd will be gone by the end of the year with a few wins and Clay will emerge in 2009 as a better pitcher.
I’m praying Moose offers us some hope tonight. I really need a good Yankee win.
A few weeks ago Cashman was the MAN, now you guys want his “head on the pike”? ARE U KIDDING ME? For your information Cashman doesn’t play and doesn’t coach this team. He gave Girardi all needed puzzles (maybe except 5-6th starter but who knew Kennedy will suck big time?). It’s up to the manager to put it together. Obviously, Joe cannot do it and manages terribly. Leave Cash alone. He’s done his job.
By the way Paul Byrd in the last One month after he made adjustments is 4-0, 1.80 ERA, 1.19 WHIP
Angelo,
Paul Byrd is very, very hittable. Alsys has been, always will be. Unless at age 37 he’s suddenly found “The Answer”. Let’s hope and pray Paul Byrd pitches against the Rangers this week. He ran his record up against the weak hitting Jays, Twins and dysfunctional Tigers. He did beat the Angels, but so should have Dan Giese.
I’d rather save the rotation spot for Phil Hughes in 2 weeks.
Thome hit a homerun off Buchholtz the other day that went about 480 feet. It was a meatball right down the middle… the Quentin HR was not a terrbile pitch but the Thome HR was like Mujica of Cleveland to gabe gross the other day in the blow up…
people think positive hughes and matsui come back and can play that helps a lot…..
matsui in the lineup really helps and he is a pro hitter.. he can hit with RISp and against good pitchers also….
mel,
Didnt know you follow the University of Hawaii indoor volleyball team. Not sure if you have for awhile but i dated a girl that went their in a volleyball scholarship. Jennifer Lopez ring a bell(not the one with the hump)?
ray,
I wouldn’t worry about the mental toughness issue to much at all on Buchholz. Not at all.
That’s the kind of stuff that’s really not too surprising.
He doesn’t have that much experience as a pitcher as a whole given how late he converted to the position from short stop.
And the thing that Buchholz has almost no experience with – at all – as a pitcher is failure. No experience at all with dealing with adversity.
That’s actually not that uncommon for elite prospect pitchers. They are just so much better than the competition that they never get into trouble until the big leagues. Then they don’t know how to handle it.
That’s probably the biggest issue for Kennedy right now.
That’s the kind of thing experience will help fix with Buchholz. I wouldn’t worry about that much at all.
Though the caveat to that is that once fans and the media pick up on that theme it can spiral out of control quickly making it tough for a young pitcher to succeed.
The only concern I have with Buchholz is his fastball – movement and command. The other stuff will iron itself out.
It’s unfair to project any prospect as a front of the line starter, so that’s heavy burden to bear. He’ll be at least a good major leaguer. The mental stuff will sort itself out.
Andrew and frits,
You guys sure did have to did deep into the barrell of poop to find anyone as bad as Bucholz! lol
What I like about this is that it may mean Boston isn’t so sure about Wakefield’s return. I much prefer to see Paul Byrd in their rotation than Wakefield.
Cashman = FAIL. Even if you don’t really want him, you make a claim. Worst case, you get stuck with the last couple months of his contract and you buy a slight upgrade for your rotation. Unless the Yankees have given up on the season, this was foolish. See how the Sox blocked Giles from going to the Rays? That’s how it’s done. So Cash will do his usual thing – cling to overrated pitching prospects, overpay LF/1B/DH types, and pay 200M for 90 wins, and we’ll all kiss his A. We deserve better…
“No experience at all with dealing with adversity.” Unless getting caught stealing laptops doesnt count as adversity:)
Paul Byrd will not be the reason we don’t make it.Our own incompetence will be.
deezer
obviously cashman does not see Byrd as a upgrade, does not to want to blow $1 mill or so bucks, and thinks hughes will be back on SUnday..
it is that simple…
i too was hoping we might get Byrd…we need someone. But it is possible the front office, though they would never say, might think it already is too late.
He ran his record up against the weak hitting Jays, Twins
The same Twins team we got shut out by last night!
Carl Pavano will win more games the rest of this year than Byrd.
Byrd will be a good fit for Boston as they can hit and we can’t.
mark
August 12th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Jody Garrett – only hitting .241 with RISP, 3 outs.
What ?
2008
RISP: .313/.389/.604
Tie game: .301/.343/.527
down 1: .298/.346/.503
down 2: .301/.369/.469
8th and 9th ining: out of 52 ABs he’s batting .346
I’m willing to bet that’s better than Melky
Gerut is hitting .357 (20-for-56 with six homers, three doubles, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored over his past 15 games and .343 (24-for-70) over the last 19 games with 14 RBI. He is also hitting .308 (16-for-52) with runner in scoring position.
he’s been batting .315 since June
hates to say it, but it’s a great pickup by the Sox.
It seems a lot of people here have forgotten that Byrd pitched the Yanks right out of the playoffs last year, and went on to beat the Sox a week later…point is, the dude can pitch when the chips are down, and Schilling isn’t exactly walkin’ through that door (ever) again.
tip your caps and shut up. Yanks need to win tonight, that’s all.
Hughes can be a #1 or #2 if he develops a 3rd pitch. A fastball and curve (both plus pitches) will not be enough to get through the order a few times. His changeup is average at best. His slider could be it. Or if what they say is true, then it may be with a cutter. If he develops either to the same consistency as his fb and curve, he will be dominant.
Not all that worried about the Sox getting Byrd. He will likely spend most of his time in Beantown looking at nudie books and pleasuring himself.
I hate to say it but the Yankees should have grabbed Byrd. Apparently the Indians gave him away so it’s very low risk (if any at all). I’d rather have Byrd than Rasner or Ponson. The Yankees can’t assume Hughes will be ready to contribute. I guess they are throwing in the towel.
p.s. what has Byrd done over the last month? I believe he has done very well.
Paul Byrd pitched a 9 inning CG agaianst Toronto , last outing. Would I like to sign him, when he becomes a FA-NO!
Would I have picked him up now-Yes! He was a much better deal for the Yankees than Washburn, and now I’m convinced that the front office is basically saying to the team-we are done trying to reinforce this underachieving lackluster team.
Incidentally Sheffield was placed on waivers.
I saw footage of Byrd pitching yesterday that looked like he’s favoring his arm a little bit. Might be hiding an injury: http://tinyurl.com/6jb7l6
Cashman was asleep at the switch on this one. Anybody here who would prefer Rasner to Byrd is an idiot.
This thread will be an amusing bit of history in 2-3 years when Buchholz and Hughes are gunning for the Cy. Both fantastic talents who haven’t figured it all out yet.
Arguing about who’s worse based on this year’s stats is ridiculous. They’re both getting pounded.
I’m surprised Cash didn’t at least try the block, the Sox starting pitching depth problems are no secret. Bringing up a rookie knuckleballer in August isn’t exactly the move most teams want to make when they’re 4 back.
And, really, aren’t you just holding your breath every time Ponson’s out there, wondering when he turns back into the batting practice pitcher he’s been most of the last several years?
didn’t read all these comments, but i remember a lot of folks here saying no to byrd. then joba got hurt. and then a lot of folks wanted him.
whatever… i’m not complaining. we have better options, IMO
I have been trying to figure out why the Yankees didnt block on Paul Byrd and Google got me here–am I mistaken, or did he not beat both Yankees and Sox in playoffs last year? Also, Yankees are relying on Ponson and maybe Pavano!?I predict that Byrd will help us down the stretch.
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