Quick Word of Advice to the Sox Brass
Get them done. Sign JD Drew, sign Julio Lugo. Bite the bullet and move on. In a market where Juan Pierre, he of the 81 OPS+ in 2006, commands $45MM over 5 years there are no bargains to be had, no values to be found. So just make sure that the dollars you do commit go to actual good players.
Fun fact (ok, maybe not so fun for Dodger fans): In 152 career plate appearances at Chavez Ravine, Pierre has hit .281/.333/.331.
And yet, in this LA Times story, Ned Colletti has the stones to come out with this quote:
“This man gets on base an awful lot…”
No Ned, but JD Drew sure gets on base “an awful lot.”
Touche!
What are the odds Bill Plaschke actually calls Colletti out on this terrible signing? A million to one? A billion to one?
This makes the Soriano deal look like larceny by comparison.
I have to be honest. In some perverse way, I am really looking forward to Plaschke’s take on this thing.
Lugo of the lifetime 340 OBP and 400 SLG and over-30ness is an ‘actual good player’? At the price he’ll command, I’ll pass.
NBarnes: The Sox need a SS. Have a look around the league, look at the current roster and farm system and make an alternative suggestion.
Notwithstanding a rough go of it with the Dodgers this year, Lugo has been a pretty good player now for the better part of three seasons. He seems to be a reliable quantity, an above average SS whose hitting style may be very much suited to Fenway, where he is a career .384/.496 hitter in 127 PA’s. The thinking being that you can more or less pencil in “average” with the potential to get yourself a top 5-to-7 SS if he thrives in Fenway like he might be able to.
As I said, in this market where you’re going to have to throw money around regardless, at least go and get yourself a ballplayer.