For all the complaining about the FO's mistakes the last 2 years (much of it legitimate, in my opinion), will we see any of the "Henry/Theo sucks!" crowd admit that maybe Boston was right not to sign Pedro? He's now out for the postseason (which the New York Times hilariously says was unexpected), and that very well may be it for his career.
Assuming it is (of course, I'm really hoping it's not), he's had 54 starts for the Mets, coming out to almost exactly $1M/start. His ERA the last 2 years is 3.45...in the NL East. Adjusted to the AL East (add ~1 point of ERA), and the fact that plenty of people here feel we should have outbid the Mets, a multiyear contract with Boston becomes a pretty scary thought. Don't get me wrong, I miss Pedro a lot, and him pitching even half of this season in Boston would have helped the 2006 Sox immensely...but 2007 and 2008 would've been not-so-fun, for everyone involved.
(Of course, if we're going to talk about what might have been, Derek Lowe's been quite good these 2 years, with a 3.62 ERA in 79 starts...He's pitched 90 more innings that Pedro, shown no injury problems, and was $17M cheaper than Pedro. Signing Clement rather than him was pretty clearly a mistake...)
ReplyDeleteThat being said, remember Derek Lowe is one weekend/one girlfriend away from a T.O. like drug incident. I think the FO moved on from D. Lowe because of those concerns.
ReplyDeletePS - check this out http://www.gys.fr/en/index.asp - What are Homologations?
Allegations of homosexuality. As in, "My flirtations with the waiter led to a number of homologations by my friends."
ReplyDeleteSeriously, from wikipedia: "The word is used within the European Union in those papers that are direct translations from French to refer to the processes of making trade standards and laws consistent throughout the whole of the union. British journalists usually prefer to use the term 'harmonisation' for this purpose rather than homologation."
I wouldn’t be so quick to anoint D-Lowe as one who got away. True, he has been a horse. But that 3.60 ERA is not only in the NL, but in the NL West. He pitches in Dodger Stadium for home games – a severe pitchers park. And is in the NL west – home to SD and SF also severe parks. And his ERA+ last year was 113, so he was slightly better than league average. In comparison to Clement, that $9MM might be worth it. But $9MM for a league average pitcher? I guess he could have had a good year in Boston with the improved IF defense. But as Dino points out – serious headcase. In LA, no one cares.
ReplyDeleteNo, I certainly dont view him as "the one who got away". Just a better deal than Clement.
ReplyDelete(Can you imagine if the Sox "won" the Pavano sweepstakes?)