1 of 2

Write now Article Tools

Sox Come up Short?

Fire sale! That was the Florida Marlins response to the 2005 off- season, where they traded half of their team away to free up financial space. The Boston Red Sox felt the need to shop around for a "stud" starting pitcher now that Pedro Martinez had left and signed with the New York Mets. The Marlins were the perfect place to check as starting pitcher Josh Beckett was on the market. Boston wasted no time in trading for the starting pitcher, as well as receiving third baseman Mike Lowell, and relief pitcher Guillermo Mota in exchange for prospects: shortstop Hanley Ramirez, starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, and two minor league players in Jesus Delgado and Harvey Garcia. Now that it is a year after the deal was made, was it really a good decision for the Sox to acquire Beckett now that they had lost two of the games fastest rising youngsters?

Beckett's 2006 season was nothing short, nor better then average. In 33 games, Becket won sixteen while losing eleven, earning himself an ERA over five. He put fear into batters by striking out 158 of them, but also gave those hitters hope as he gave up thirty- two home runs which was the second highest for a pitcher in 2006. In simple terms, his first season did not live up to the legacy that Pedro Martinez had set during his stay in Boston. Mike Lowell became the starting third baseman for the Sox after the trade, and he faired as the best member of the deal. Lowell had over five- hundred at bats, batting .284 with twenty home runs and eighty RBI's. He led the American League with doubles and was tied for first in fielding percentage as a third baseman alongside Oakland Athletic's third baseman Eric Chavez. The relief pitcher that they received, Guillermo Mota, was traded by the Red Sox to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for outfielder Coco Crisp, relief pitcher David Riske, and catcher Josh Bard. This was a smart decision for the Sox beings they received a replacement for Johnny Damon in center field with the speedy Crisp, and Riske was a reasonable swap for Mota who traveled to the Indians and later to the Mets last season only to become the fifteenth player found in violation of the league's substance abuse policy.
While trading Mota to the Indians worked out in Boston's favor, receiving him, Lowell, and Beckett lost them two of the league's best young players. Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez played in eighteen games in 2006, winning ten with an ERA under three, which

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Should the Red Sox have traded for Josh Beckett??
We want to hear your view. Write now!