March moodiness
Mar 15th, 2007 by Rob Bradford
Was in the middle of watching the Boston College game, taking in all the scores from around the tournament, and realized something was missing. Alas, believe or not I’m the only person with a television set and a semblance of a gambling bone not to have filled out a tourney bracket. You don’t know what you had until it’s gone, as was evidenced in my inexplicable lack of interest in the Maryland/Davidson game.
Looking for Red Sox connections for the NCAA Tournament, here’s one: Red Sox draft choice Dustin Richardson. This from The Eagle-Tribune (June 11) …
Sox get dose of reality (TV)
Perhaps the most intriguing pick of the Red Sox’s draft was their fifth-round selection, Texas Tech pitcher Dustin Richardson.
Richardson, a 6-foot-6 lefty who can get his fastball up to the mid-90s, has already shown an innate ability to survive. This past fall, the hurler participated in the ESPN reality show, “Knight School,” in which Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight chose from 16 candidates to make the Red Raiders hoop team as a walk-on.
The Newton, Kan., native made it to the contest’s final elimination, consisting of himself and Tyler Hoffmeister. And, according to Richardson, if not for his commitment to the Texas Tech baseball team, Knight’s choice wasn’t necessarily whom ESPN ultimately presented.
“Coach Knight said on television that he wished he could have picked us both, but because of baseball he had to go with Tyler,” said Richardson, who has already signed with the Sox and will report to Lowell this week. “But after the show, he called me in his office and said I would have been his natural pick and everything, but because of baseball circumstances he couldn’t pick me. That was pretty cool. He took me as far as he could.”
Richardson said the show, which was filmed over 21/2 months, offered a fair presentation of what happened (save for a few rolled ankles that went unreported).
“I felt I was (portrayed) as unathletic at times, and they gave me the nickname of ‘Cool Breeze’,” he said. “But I still outcompeted the other guys, so whatever.” And if nothing else, he made an unlikely new friend in Knight.
“Knowing he is a reference I can use later on in life is pretty awesome,” Richardson said. “I didn’t want to create drama, and I was there just to play basketball. What you saw was pretty accurate.”
Our discussion on Fox Sports New England last night was mentioned in one of the comments, which centered around Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett. The jumping off point was John Henry’s comment in which he said his first inclination was to sign Burnett instead of executing the Beckett deal.
“I made the point that one could argue that signing A.J. (Burnett) to a long-term contract was potentially cheaper than giving up a number of prospects and acquiring the players we acquired.” — John Henry, The Eagle-Tribune, Dec. 6, 2005.
This is how I would summarize my thoughts on the two pitchers and how everything shook out:
1. Florida general manager Larry Beinfest deserves a great deal of credit for identifying the right guys to get in return. Not only did both Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez turn out to be major league-ready, but both Harvey Garcia and Jesus Delgado have been identified by some as eventual end-of-the-game relievers. So good for Beinfest.
2. The Burnett contract, I believe, will prove to be a good one. There was a definite hurdle the pitcher had to get over at the beginning last year (both mentally and physically), but talking to some Toronto people this spring they say Burnett is in a good place. Five years for $55 million in this day and age of desperately seeking top of the rotation pitching is a good deal.
3. Once you get past the success of who the Red Sox gave up, I think it is important to appreciate the fact that Boston has secured a pitcher like Beckett for the next three years at $10 million a season. I think he has figured some things out and will have a very good year this season, but even if we want to simply go off the potential it is worth having him around to develop. Especially considering he doesn’t have to be the No. 1, but could very well be in the not so distant future.
4. Who who I rather have? I will say this, there are few pitchers in the big leagues who can be as dominant at Burnett. But, that said, knowing Beckett’s mentality, the fact he has gotten over the 200 inning hurdle, and his current approach/state of mind, the Red Sox hurler can be as valuable as anyone in the league if all goes right. My answer is I would take either, although the success of Burnett might have a bigger influence on the A.L. East race just because the Jays have to rely on him more than the Sox have to with Beckett.
Little known fact: The Blue Jays have a full-time acupuncturist (who aids the likes of Burnett), but the Red Sox don’t. One of the reasons is that the practice is much more accepted in Canada.
Oh, and those Armando Benitez rumors … I’m feeling pretty secure (thanks in part to the Herald’s John Tomase) in saying that isn’t happening.
9 reader comments to “March moodiness”
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1Anonymous said:
RB:
You still haven’t given me your take on the likelihood of the Sox going with the closer by committee concept, even on the short term. (I feel like you’ve been dodging this one. Or you think the question has no credibility and I’m completely nuts for asking, which could well be true.)
I know it’s way out-of-the-box thinking, and it did not work the first time. But I still believe that with the right personnel it could work.
Given that they have no discernable closer right now on the roster and no changes seem imminent, is this an option, and if so, how viable?
Thanks from your most loyal reader in the Midwest.Chris Nelson
Batavia, Ill. -
2Anonymous said:
I never considered acupuncture until my DOG started being treated for back problems with it. It’s worked so well for him, I’ve now received treatments for various aches and pains ! Pretty good, eh ?
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3mouse said:
Ah, the old “Which ex-Marlin would you rather have?” question. Burnett’s contract looked pretty awful last year, but in light of the market explosion this winter, it looks better now. I’d rather pay $11 million a year to someone like Burnett than to someone like Gil Meche, that’s for sure.
There are more factors than just money and prospects in play here, though. For starters, Burnett is three years older and has an even worse track record of durability. He’s only had two seasons in his career where he’s pitched 200 innings, and even when he’s healthy he’s mostly just “above average.” His best year was 2002, when he went 12-9 with a 121 ERA+ in 204 innings; his career ERA+ is 112 and his career record is 59-58. He’s a good pitcher with an electric arm, but he’s now 30 and still hasn’t translated his stuff into real results. And again, he’s brittle.
Obviously, we’re still waiting for Beckett to post some real results too, but he has some more factors working in his favor; no major arm injuries for one, and his innings totals have steadily gone up every year he’s been in the majors. Even with last year’s yo-yo season factored in, his career ERA+ is 109 with a 57-45 record. Not a huge difference from A.J. but again, Josh is the younger of the two.
They are similar pitchers in several ways, and it’s tough to figure which one will prove to be better over the duration of his contract. But I do know one thing for certain: both of them are better values than the ex-Marlin the Yankees got! (That’s Carl Pavano for anyone who forgot.)
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4Mike said:
Rob,
I have 2 questions.
1. Have you heard anything about Dave Magadan so far?
2. The Todd Helton saga a while back. Are Red Sox fans correct in believing Charlie Monfort & the Rockies have acted like total idiots? It seems they leaked the names, and have been talking in the press as if the Red Sox are evil and to blame for everything the did/didn’t happen during those talks.
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5Anonymous said:
Mike raises a good point. Tracy Ringoldsby is the only one I know of to report this, and he did so without comment (or apparently attempt at comment) from the Red Sox. I never saw anyone else pick up on it, (not even Murray Chass). So I doubt the credibility of the report. If memory serves, it was Montfort who leaked the names, not the Red Sox. He was the one who said that the Red Sox had been offered Tavares and Lowell.
What a Mickey Mouse organ-I-zation.Chris Nelson
Batavia, Ill. -
6Ryan Lambert said:
An only tangentially related question:
Was it more valuable to the Red Sox to have Beckett pitch 200+ innings of 5+ ERA, or should they have allowed him to throw the breaking ball, potentially miss some of the season (say, 160-170+ innings) and post a lower 4.25-4.5ish ERA, and then have a replacement starter (Kyle Snyder? Jon Lester?) toss the rest of his scheduled starts?
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7mouse said:
Hey Rob; just caught your interview over at YFSF. That one and the one at SoSH this week? You’ve been busy!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to the fans, both with this blog and the interviews. I know I’m not the only one who appreciates it.
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8Brian said:
My answer is I would take either,
Did you just dodge a question you asked yourself?
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9Anonymous said:
Rob where are you?
