Here we go. August 1. Two months of baseball left. The Yankees said goodbye to July with an eight home run barrage against the White Sox. In fact, they scored 202 runs in the month of July alone. The team appears loose, the stretch run is on. The deficit, once 14 1/2 is now seven. The odds still favor Boston but its doable.
Well, I would be feeling good if I were you too. But let's play the games anyway, just for the hell of it. :wink:
Boston must be baseball's version of the hydra-headed monster. That the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball is just a Bo Sox set up man makes me think that they might as well cancel the season and declare Boston the winner of the 2007 World Series. 8)
Heck Bob, they didn't get him because they needed him, they just needed him not on the Yank roster. Sure they're giving up some potentially good players but they can always go shoping in Japan. Let's hear it for the Yellow Sox!
Sox already have a good bullpen, but Gagne could be a great addition. They didn't give up any of their best prospects, either.
Let's hear it for the real MVP: Gagne's agent Scott Boras. Gagne was paid millions to pitch for the Rangers, which he's getting. In addition to that, he also wangled 2.1 million from the Red Sox to waive his no-trade clause. This makes him a non-Yankee for 8 weeks, at which time he becomes a free agent again... Red Sox land top reliever, set title course By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | August 1, 2007 Less than 24 hours after Yankees closer Mariano Rivera uncharacteristically went on the radio and appealed to his employers to get him some bullpen help, the Red Sox substantially upgraded their pen by acquiring closer Eric Gagne from the Texas Rangers, offering him sufficient financial inducement ($2.1 million) to waive his no-trade clause and accept a shared setup role with Hideki Okajima on the Red Sox. The Yankees, who also had sought Gagne, not only failed to add relief but subtracted a pitcher, Scott Proctor, sending him to the Dodgers for infielder Wilson Betemit. Gagne is expected to arrive in time for tonight's game against Baltimore. "The bullpen is already a strength of the club," Sox general manager Theo Epstein said yesterday, "but acquiring a pitcher the caliber of Eric Gagne only makes us stronger and helps give us what we hope will be a truly dominant bullpen for the remainder of the year."
The Proctor trade was a "nothing" trade. The Yankees have made the long overdue decision to use their minor league pipeline for its original intention. Proctor is very spotty. As far as Rivera, His biggest problem is that he is rarely used because the Yankees have score so many runs he is not in many save situations. Gagne is a gun for hire. He could be everything the red Sox expect or his arm could blow up with the next pitch. The Red Sox will have to deal with Boras again in the off season. They made the typical decision that the Yankees have made too many times in the past. There is a subtle role reversal that has been going on between the Red Sox and Yankees for about two years now. The Yankees have PLENTY of talent to win out. Whether they can overcome the Boston lead is debatable but the wild card is very, very possible. That article is one sided and uninformed.
I see that as usual the Yankees never score any runs when Roger pitches, that was the same deal for him at Houston. He'd have won 20 games in 04 and 05 if the Astros would have scored when he was pitching, would have won 12 games in 1/2 season last year. I wonder what it is that when he's out there that his teamates forget how to hit.
Proctor is happy to be here 'Any time you get a chance to be on a first-place team, that's exciting,' the new Dodgers reliever says. By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 2, 2007 It's not often that a player leaves the New York Yankees and improves his chance at playing in the postseason, but that's the situation Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor may have found himself in while introducing himself to his new teammates Wednesday afternoon. "I'm excited," said Proctor, traded from the second-place Yankees to the then division-leading Dodgers just before the trade deadline Tuesday. "Any time you get a chance to be on a first-place team, that's exciting. Hopefully I can pick up some key situations and get [some] big outs." Manager Grady Little said Proctor, 2-5 with a 3.81 ERA in 52 games with New York, will be used in middle relief. "I let it be known to him that he's going to get used a lot," said Little, whose club sent Wilson Betemit to the Yankees to get Proctor. "He'll be a big help for us in that part of the bullpen. Right now we're scuffling a little bit but we will get it back on track and maybe this guy will be just what we need to get it going." Proctor, a 30-year-old right-hander, wore No. 43 in New York but never asked for that number -- which belongs to injured reliever Yhency Brazoban -- with the Dodgers. "It's just a number," said Proctor, who will wear No. 45. "I'm just hoping to fit in anyway I can. And whatever I'm asked to do, do it the best I can."
I'm sure you will. The Yankees overused him for two years. He throws hard and has a good curveball which, this year for unknown reasons, he was reluctant to throw. His control this year was not good. I've seen him very good. Perhaps a change in scenery will revitalize him.
Big road trip starts for the Sox today in Seattle, where they haven't won a series since Labor Day weekend in '99...
I see where Scott Proctor is giving the Dodgers a walk per inning and and ERA over 5.00. Not exactly what you wanted in a reliever and exactly what he was giving the Yankees. Wilson Betemit, in his fourth game is batting .625 with 7 RBIs and he played three positions... so far. I also noticed that Eric Gagne is sporting a 9.00 ERA so far with the Sox. I think Papelbon's job is safe.
The Yankees edged Toronto today 5-4 in the first game of their road trip. Mariano Rivera struck out Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas to earn the 9th inning save. Nice and neat!
re: Scott Proctor Proctor is no surprise to us. He came up through the Dodger organization and he was traded to the Yankees in the Robin Ventura deal. He's fine. He's not here to close. He's here to take some of the pressure off and compliment our early setup man Joe Biemel. He's doing fine and we're glad to have him... re: Wilson Betemit There is no doubt that he can hit and hit with power lefthanded. He was traded by both the Braves and Dodgers, because he was projected to be a switch-hitting superstar in both places and he's not that. What he really can become is a valuable role player who can pinch-hit and play multiple positions. If you read one of my earlier posts, you'd see that I expressed my belief that the Yankees would use him that way and that he would be successful if used properly... I think this was a good trade for both teams and both players...