Sunday Thoughts: No I haven’t been in prison...

After my abrupt reappearance yesterday, I actually received a couple of emails (you mean people actually read this site?) wondering whether I’d been incarcerated, which fortunately I haven’t.

Made me laugh though.

So anyway, the All Star break is almost upon, a time to take stock and see just where the hell we are, moving towards the all important stretch run, and the trade deadline that precedes it. The Sox are in first place, by two games after last night, but like every other team they have some question marks and that bare keeping a closer eye on; after all the MFY are never too far away...

What’s wrong with the bullpen?

Over the last two weeks, the Sox pen has coughed up a 6.21 ERA, allowing 26 earned runs over 37.2 innings, highlighted by last night’s disaster, in which Justin Masterson was battered for 5 runs in 0.1 of an inning and neither Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima couldn’t get it done, leaving Daniel Bard to sort out the damage.

Bard is filthy hot right now which has helped immensely since Masterson seems to have imploded over the past couple of weeks. For the month of July, though only eleven days old, Masterson has pitched four innings and allowed seven earned runs, ballooning his ERA up to 4.98. Youth may play a part but his form is concerning since the Sox rely on him, right or wrongly, to clean up a lot of messy situations, although admittedly this was not one of them.

The signs are there that Masterson and Ramon Ramirez are getting overworked and the results bear that out; the bullpen is this teams great strength and it needs to be nurtured ready for (hopefully) an extended postseason run. I think its high time Takashi Saito was put into a few more high pressure situations, it’s not like he’s a little kid, and it’s time to test him out when it matters.

Should the Sox be trading for a hitter?

In a word, no.

Mike Lowell may be on the DL but he is on his way back and frankly, the line-up is doing well enough for the FO to stay their hand for the time being; I’m intrigued by what Aaron Bates can bring to the plate (first hit last night) since the young first baseman has shown the ability to get on base and hit for good average in the minors, and also because I have a fetish for prospects making it at the big club. Sure he’s struck out in over half his at bats but let’s see what the kid can do before rushing into a stupid trade for Garret Atkins, who is having a terrible year, or Victor Martinez, who would cost half the farm; there’s also the fact that Jed Lowrie will be back with us in the near future as well.

Fortunately Theo has never really be inclined to move a number of top prospects for any player and he isn’t likely to know; we all like the idea of blockbuster trades but the Sox simply need don’t need one which leads me neatly onto the next question...

Should the Sox trade for Roy Halladay?

Don’t even think about it.

As Tony Maz has pointed out, the Sox could ring up the Jays FO today and make the deal; they have the combination of money, prospects and status as one of the games foremost winning clubs that would get a trade done in ten minutes flat.

The question has never been whether the Sox have the goods to make a deal; it’s whether they want to. Remember, it has been suggested that Theo was against the Josh Beckett trade that was made in his semi-absence and I find it pretty unlikely he would deal in a number of top prospects given that Halladay is older, costlier and nearer to free agency than Beckett was in 2006.

Think of the cost in talent that it would take to acquire Halladay; something along the lines of Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Bard and Lars Anderson would probably get it done.

Think that’s likely?

If you say yes than you simply haven’t been paying attention; the Sox wouldn’t give up that package for Johan Santana so they ain’t going to do it for a division rival, although with the way the Jays are being mismanaged it wouldn’t matter a whole lot if we gave them Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester; JP Riccardi would still find a way of fucking it up.

And finally...

Should the Sox release Julio Lugo?

The moment Jed Lowrie is activated.