So as I was mindlessly sitting at my computer tonight after listening to the Sox win, I decided I wanted to start a blog. Twitter is good, but you can only say so much in 140 characters, and facebook? Please. I wanted a medium in which to say more. A place to let my rantings, and observations free into the world. And alas here we are.
I suppose my first topic shall be Brad Penny. Cruising through Red Sox forums and Facebook discussion boards I've become annoyed with the amount of Red Sox fans calling for a trade of the hard throwing fellow. The rationale? "We've got SMOLTZ!" Yes, yes we do. But have we seen him pitch an inning in the major leagues since last summer? No, no we have not. Realistically Smoltz is heading into the twilight of his career and you can't be certain that he'll be able to put up the numbers of yesteryear. It's harder to rebound from injury/surgery as you become older. The body is just less resiliant. So who knows what he'll be capable of doing this season for the Sox.
Further to that Dice-K has been nothing but GARBAGE this season (Thanks, Japan). Yet, people aren't calling to put him on the chopping block. Why?
Let's compare shall we.
Penny: GS 14. W-L: 6-2. ERA:4.93. IP: 76. ER:42
Matsuzaka: GS: 8. W-L: 1-5. ERA: 8.23. IP: 35. ER: 32
So to clarify, Dice K's pitched about half of what Penny has pitched and yet he's allowed just 10 less runs than Penny. Umm...an issue, no?
Further to this, Brad's gotten stronger as he's gone along. He still has that "one big inning" that Derek (Sawxblog.com) and I have both tweeted about, but if he can get that under control he'll go deeper into games and continue to make himself more valuable.
But maybe not more valuable for other teams that would likely ask for another player in the deal. I had to laugh at a few of the discussion board posts over on Fenway Faithful on facebook. One commenter said it perfectly when he said it seemed some Sox fans believe all teams in the majors make trades to help the Red Sox out and to do them favours. And I agree with him, other teams make themselves better, not us. And what would be the cost of trading Brad? Would it even be worth it to us? Likely not.
Additionally, he seems to have really got on well with the rest of the club and has personality up the wazoo. Remember the reviewed Mike Lowell blast over the Green Monster? I do. And I remember Brad Penny popping up and waving his arms at Mike to just keep running the bases and come home with a big laugh and a smile. He's not just good on the field, he's good in the clubhouse and the dugout, and for that I want Brad to stay. There's nothing wrong with having a stockpile of great pitching and with it not being known how Smoltz is going to do, and if Dice-K will be able to rebound and be the pitcher we've come to expect, trading Brad Penny makes about as much sense as cheering for the Blow (yes, Blow) Jays just because I live in Ontario.
With that said I'll leave you with this: SAVE BRAD PENNY!
