posted on Saturday, July 28, 2007 12:51 AM
by
Jim
The White Sox get Richar, the Red Sox get richer?
One day after the Sox shipping Tadahito Iguchi to Philly (Kenny Williams said there was
a very quiet market for a second baseman), Danny Richar
will take over duties as the attempted everyday second baseman.
The thing that interests me most about Richar is that he gives the Sox a different-looking player out there.
The Cheat made a good call with
the comparison to Orlando Cabrera in terms of his swing, but even though Cabrera is a player with a fairly low ceiling, the Sox really don't have that kind of player on their roster. The Sox seem to be loaded with high-strikeout, long-swing guys (Josh Fields, Andy Gonzalez, Brian Anderson), or slow-swinging contact guys (Alex Cintron, Jerry Owens).
Richar can cover the plate (the
video I took of the 14-pitch at-bat on his scouting report is good evidence of that), he can take the occasional walk, he can hit line drives using the whole field, and he can run. I'm afraid his bat will weaken in the majors during this first sting, and he'll be lucky to get anything past the outfielders, but it'll be nice to have a different-looking ballplayer out there.
Just get ready for a defensive downgrade. Iguchi's range was never his strong suit, but
he made just about all the throws. Richar has an erratic arm, and while I didn't get to see him turn two, I wouldn't be surprised if he and Juan Uribe have some difficulties there. Hopefully, it'll only be temporary.
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An emerging contender for Jermaine Dye's services? The Boston Red Sox, says Ken Rosenthal.
The Red Sox had a three-way deal in place to acquire White Sox
outfielder Jermaine Dye earlier this week, but the trade fell through
because of an unspecified issue with a player from the third club,
according to an industry source.
It seems like every year, Theo Epstein tries cooking up a complex deal that always falls flat. I wouldn't expect this one to be any different, although it would give the Red Sox an embarrassment of riches at DH. Similarly, it'd be fun to watch Jermaine try to tame Fenway's strange right field. He's not exactly Dwight Evans.
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Looks like I'll be sinking more money into the Pale Hose later today, but maybe this time it'll help me get some cash back.
A three-year-old gelding named Mister White Socks is running
in the third race on Saratoga's card, and surprisingly enough, it's running at 5-1 odds so far.
Knowing my luck when I'm in attendance (I'm 2-10 this year, if you count Spring Training), Mister White Socks will break down coming around the first turn, and will require euthanization. My apologies in advance to his owners and trainers.
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Minor league round-up:- Buffalo 5, Charlotte 2
- Nick Masset pitched an effective four innings, allowing one run on three hits. He didn't walk anybody, and struck out two.
- Paulino Reynoso had a tremendous outing -- he walked the only three batters he faced on 16 pitches, and tossed a wild pitch to boot.
- Both Darin Erstad and Ryan Sweeney wore the collar, going 0-for-5 each. Sweeney's now 2-for-28.
- Earl Snyder hit a two-run homer to provide all Charlotte's scoring.
- West Tenn 6, Birmingham 1
- Corwin Malone pitched five scoreless innings, scattering four hits and allowing no walks while striking out four.
- Josh L. Fields let the game get away from him, giving up a grand slam in the sixth.
- The Barons had six hits scattered over six batters, with Kenny Perez driving in the lone run.
- Frederick 5, Winston-Salem 4
- Derek Rodriguez threw a quality start and struck out seven over six innings.
- Micah Schnurstein hit a two-run homer, and Paulo Orlando hit a solo shot.
- Cole Armstrong went 2-for-4, raising his July average to .324.
- Rome 8, Kannapolis 1
- Neither Carlos Perez nor Steven Spurgeon pitched well.
- Chris Carter went 1-for-3 with an RBI double; Sergio Miranda hit a triple.