Braves Sign Wagner

The Atlanta Braves reportedly have landed Billy Wagner to be their new closer.

FoxSports.com says that Wagner, who finished last season with the Boston Red Sox, has reached preliminary agreement on a one-year, $7 million deal with a vesting option for 2011. ESPN

I don't know if the asking price was too much, or he wasn't interested in being a set up man, but I really liked Billy Wagner last year for the Sox even though I was very skeptical of him at first. With the Sox losing Wagner, and potentially Saito, they better start making moves soon. Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano are both available from ATL, we should probably sign them both so we can focus on more important things like offense and getting Roy Halladay.


BMack's Take:


"The Atlanta Braves have reached agreement on a one-year contract with veteran reliever Billy Wagner pending a physical exam, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com. The deal, which was first reported by FoxSports.com, will pay Wagner $7 million in 2010 and includes a $6.5 million vesting option for 2011 (ESPN)."

This is great news. Wagner wants the chance to close, and Atlanta has signed him in case they can't bring back Rafael Soriano (which I am not sure they can), but the real reason I love this is for the Sox. Boston will now receive a first-round draft pick plus a supplemental pick as compensation, since they offered Wagner arbitration. Once again the Sox are doing a good job of stock piling young talent. It probably won't pay off for 3-4 years, but we could look back at this and think of what a steal it was to get Wagner from the Mets (poor Mets).

Wagner To Tampa Bay?

I have been saying this from the beginning, but I still don't see the Rays giving up draft picks...

"The Rays need a closer and Billy Wagner needs a place to pitch. Could it be the perfect match? Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes in his mailbag that while both sides will talk, there are variables such as money and Wagner's health. Wagner created a stir right after the season when he told the New York Post he is planning to retire rather than pursue a closer's job for next season. But ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney then heard from Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, saying that Wagner has no intentions of retiring (ESPN)."

Tampa Bay needs a guy like this. Their weakness was their bullpen and a lot of that came from uncertainty about the closer position. If Wagner is 100% (as he looked for most of his time with the Sox) then the Rays have to take a look. Still, if the Sox offer him arbitration then I don't see the Rays giving up draft picks for a 1-2 year rental...

That Was Quick: Wagner Coming Back

"Is Billy Wagner planning to call it quits? The veteran reliever told the New York Post he is planning to retire rather than pursue a closer's job for next season. "I don't plan on talking to nobody," Wagner said when asked where he might pitch in 2010. But ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney received a text message from Wagner's agent, Bean Stringfellow, saying that Wagner has no intentions of retiring. So perhaps Wagner, who is 15 saves shy of 400, was speaking out of frustration. His comments came after he was charged with a pair of runs in Boston's devastating loss to the Angels on Sunday. The buzz over the summer had Wagner pursuing a closer's job near his Virginia home next season (Buster Olney)."

I said it yesterday that this whole retiring thing didn't make a lot of sense. Only a couple months ago Wagner was talking about how much he wanted to close again, and wanted to break 400 saves. There are a lot of teams that would be interested in this guy, but the question is who is willing to give up draft picks?

Wagner To Retire?

"Billy Wagner has 385 saves in his major league career, and he's said before that 400 is a milestone he hopes to achieve. Perhaps it's not a major priority for him after all. According to a report in the New York Post this morning, the 38-year-old lefthander, who was acquired by the Red Sox from the New York Mets on August 25, is considering retiring rather than pursuing a closer's job with another club next season.

"I don't plan on talking to nobody," Wagner said, when asked by Post reporter Mike Puma which teams he might consider pitching for.

"Why wouldn't I [consider retirement]?" he added. "I've got nothing else to [accomplish] (Boston.com)."

I don't believe this. Wagner is good enough to close for a lot of teams. What will hurt him is that anyone who goes after him is going to have to give up draft picks. Still, if a team could work around that they could/should sign him, and Wagner can get to 400 saves. How bad could a team like the Rays use a guy like this?

Angels 4 Red Sox 3

The Red Sox and Angels will most likely meet in the 1st round of the playoffs once again this year. After Boston took the first 2 games of the series the Angels really need a win. Not that it affects their playoffs hopes, but it just seems like Boston is always kicking the shit out of them.

Last night it was Boston's offense that let them down. Beckett went 8 innings allowing 3 runs, but with the Sox only scoring 3 runs all game (all in the 4th inning) it just wasn't good enough to win. It was a tie game going into the 9th inning when the Sox brought in Billy Wagner, who had been lights out for the Sox since being traded from the Mets, walked Juan Rivera to lead off the ninth, then pinch-hitter Reggie Willits sacrifice bunted him to second. Kendrick blooped his third hit of the night over the second baseman's head to make it 4-3. Boston didn't do anything in the bottom of the 9th and the Angels avoided the sweep.

Even with the loss Boston is still 6 games up in the Wild Card race.

Red Sox 6 Rays 3

Finally the Sox had some success at Tropicana. Last night Buchholz pitched very well letting up 3 runs over 6 innings with 3 Ks. Boston is really going to need him to step up over the final month or so if they want to nail down the Wild Card.

Jason Bay continued his tear as he hit a 2 run double that put the Red Sox ahead 2-0 in the 1st inning. Tampa quickly responded with 2 runs of their own in the same inning, when Longoria (who just kills the Sox) and Zobrist got RBIs. Baldelli hit a HR in the 2nd, but an RBI by Zaun (another Red Sox killer) tied the game. Lowell put the Sox up for good in the 6th with a soc fly, and Boston was able to put the game out of reach in the 7th with 2 runs.

The key to this game was the fact that the Sox were able to get to the Tampa bullpen early in the game. Price was only able to go 5 1/3 innings, and the Rays bullpen is so bad that you just knew the Sox were going to win.

Boston's bullpen on the other hand was fantastic. Wagner pitched another scoreless inning striking out 2. Then Bard and Papelbon closed it out with 2 scoreless innings of their own.

With the win Boston is still just 2 1/2 games up on Texas for the Wild Card spot.

Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0

After a 10 month hiatus, Paul Byrd's return to the Sox rotation was more than impressive. He scattered 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 shutout innings, and helped propel the Red Sox past Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays. The victory gave the Sox their first series sweep since they took 3 from Baltimore in Camden Yards at the start of August.

Alex Gonzalez is having the hot-streak of his life. He's 10 for his last 23 (.435). He's hit 3 HR and knocked in 11 RBI in only 15 games with the Sox. He was 2 for 3 this afternoon with a double and a triple.

It's just one start, and it was against a weak offense that wasn't prepared to face him, but if Byrd can come up with some Brad-Penny-in-April kind of starts, then things aren't so dodgy at the bottom end of the rotation.

It was apparently Old Timers Day at Fenway. Not only did 38 year old Paul Byrd look solid, 38 year old Billy Wagner was lights out in his Sox debut. He threw 16 pitches, 11 strikes, allowed 1 hit, and struck out the side in the 8th.



The Sox have Monday off before starting a HUGE 3 game series down in Tampa Bay. The Rays lost today, so the Sox are 5 games ahead of them in the loss column. Taking 2 of 3 down there would be a killer blow to the Rays.

Texas also lost, so the Sox have a 3.5 game lead over the Rangers.

-The Commodore

Cashman A Thorn In The Red Sox Side

Sox tried to put Chris Carter through waivers to make him the player to be named later in the Wagner trade. Cashman claimed him, forcing the Sox to basically keep Carter on their 40 man at least until the end of the year. Mets will still be able to acquire him over the winter, but now the Sox roster flexibility is a little less than it would be. Someone else will have to be taken off the 40 man in order to put Byrd on.

Man this this fucking annoying. It is a good move by the Yankees, and you would have to think Theo is just fucking pissed, but I respect it...

September Run?

As the 2009 season heads toward September I still don’t feel as though the Red Sox have gained a real identity. Actually, more to the point, their perceived strengths have changed from month to month and we don’t really know what this team is capable of down the stretch. Is this a team that can strike fear into the Yankees if they meet up? Will they even make the playoffs? Let’s take a look at the three areas that have fluctuated at different points for the Sox.

Early on, the Sox’ superior rotation depth was supposed to leave them with a conundrum in June when future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz would be waiting in the wings and Clay Buchholz ready if everything went south. Now as of August 27, everything went wrong and (great start from Tim Wakefield aside) he could be considered the third starter. I wish I had an answer to why Brad Penny and John Smoltz failed so badly in Boston or why Dice-K’s high-wire act from 2008 finally dissolved. The last time I was this wrong about a rotation was when I thought Jeff Suppan was the answer in 2003. We’ll have a better idea of whether this team will be making a deep run in October when we see how Dice-K looks upon his return and if Wakefield can stay healthy.

Next was the Jason Bay-led offense (despite the absence of David Ortiz). Bay had 15 home runs and 49 RBI by the end of May and that dreadlocked guy who used to reside in left field was no longer a fixture in WEEI conversation. A .230 June and .192 July from Bay shed light on the fact that not only is this offense not deep enough to succeed with its RBI man in a bad slump, but makes you wonder how it was able to produce runs early on in the season. Maybe Bay getting hot in the playoffs and pushing the Rays to a game 7 combined with the good start gave us the illusion this offense was just fine without Manny or Mark Teixeira.

While having Victor Martinez in the picture makes this lineup much more dangerous and I believe Kevin Youkilis to be the team’s MVP because of his versatility and consistent month-to-month numbers (at least 4 HR and 13 RBI in every month so far), it’s clear Jason Bay holds the key to this offense. The stats support the obvious result of him driving in runs as the Sox are 10-3 since July 26 when Bay drives in a run but when he’s hot it gives Youkilis, Martinez and Mike Lowell better pitches to hit.

The solid, consistent numbers from this bullpen would lead you to believe this could be its identity. I’ll ask you this, though: are you confident in these young guys in the playoffs? Daniel Bard’s eighth inning implosion on Sunday Night Baseball on August 9 in Yankee Stadium scared the hell out of me . I had visions of the Yankee magic of old when he gave up those bombs to Damon and Teixeira. He’s a young guy with some of the best stuff on the staff and I want to have confidence in him in that situation because it very well could present itself again in October. Bard’s bad outing aside, Ramon Ramirez has never pitched in the playoffs (even though he was on that ’07 Rockies team) and Manny Delcarmen hasn’t proven himself in the playoffs either.

Jonathan Papelbon hasn’t been exactly bullet-proof in 2009. He already has more walks this year than ’07 and ’08 combined. Needless to say, his command is a concern but he gets it done come October. Along with Papelbon, Hideki Okajima has been a rock for this team both in the playoffs and regular season. His value can’t be dismissed. I hope Billy Wagner is anything close to the guy with a 2.39 ERA but he’s spent his whole career in the NL and he isn’t exactly Sean Casey in the clubhouse.

The fact that this team hasn’t found a niche isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A rotation of Beckett, Lester, Wakefield, Buchholz and Tazawa/Dice-K/Bowden could be very good and Wagner could make an already deep bullpen the best in the majors. I think this offense has finally found itself and will be clicking in September. Terry Francona will earn his money in September as he juggles the offensive impact a Lowell/Martinez lineup has vs. the game calling and defense Jason Varitek brings. Good luck, Tito.

A few side notes:

-Look for a huge September from Dustin Pedroia. He’s been driving the ball again recently and I’d be shocked if he didn’t start showing more power soon.

-So long, Brad Penny. I won’t miss watching your John Wasdin-eqsue fastballs and overall d-bag mannerisms on the mound.

-How dumb is Tony Pena for locating his slider to Ortiz in the same exact spot he struck Youkilis out on? If I were a White Sox fan I’d take my nearest Ron Karkovice card and rip it to shreds.

-Shut up, Milton Bradley. No one likes you and you aren’t a good enough player for anything that you say or do to be considered real news.

-A .291 batting average with 2 homers and 9 RBI in August for Manny Ramirez in August. Feel free to make your own joke about Manny’s empty stats during a time in which his team has let the Rockies crawl to within 3 games of the division lead. Good stuff.

-Joe Mauer is a .373-hitting catcher with 25 home runs and more walks than strikeouts (52-49). I don’t care if the Twins are in the playoff hunt or not, he’s the AL MVP.

-Aaron Hill has 30 home runs. With a huge September he could be the fourth second baseman ever to hit 40 bombs. The others? Ryne Sandberg, Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson. Jay Bell came close with 38 in 1999 but no one has done it since Sandberg hit 40 in 1990.

-Chris Carpenter’s comeback has been impressive. If anything, he’s better than before.

Papelbon To Be Traded?

"In a long analysis in his blog today on the ramifications of Boston acquiring Billy Wagner, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney concludes something significant. To quote: "The bet here: Wagner returns to Boston for 2010, and the Red Sox trade Jonathan Papelbon." This brings up a few issues. For one, Papelbon has said he wants to be, essentially, the best-paid closer in the game. However, some teams might also see a guy capable of being stretched into a starter. Then, lingering in the background is the fact that Mariano Rivera isn't getting any younger, and earlier this year, Papelbon mentioned that hey, it would be a possibility that he could pitch in the Bronx someday (ESPN)."

I don't believe this for one second. After Papelbon's contract is up I think the Sox will let him walk and Bard will most likely be the closer, but they are not going to trade this guy and put Wagner as the closer. It just isn't going to happen, this is typical ESPN trying to start shit where there isn't anything going on. This is what the Sox saw...

1. A hard throwing lefty, which the Sox didn't have.
2. A guy who in the offseason will look for a new team, and the Sox will get draft picks.

THAT IS ALL!!!

Oh the lighter side of things here is what Theo had to say about all this...

"I think Pap feels he was misunderstood," Epstein said. "He's not a Rhodes Scholar to begin with."

Basically, you are an idiot Papelbon...shut the fuck up.

Buster Olney's Take On Wagner Trade

A lot of people are saying how they don't like this deal, but I don't get it. Am I sold that he is going to be great for the Sox? No, but who cares? If he sucks the Red Sox will have him ride the pine, and then in the offseason they will offer arbitration and get picks for him. If he ends up somehow staying then you get a guy who should be 100% next year, throwing in the high 90's, and is a lefty. Seems like a win, win to me. Papelbon is not the Red Sox GM, and I am glad they don't give a fuck about what he thinks...

Wagner Deal All But Dead (UPDATE: Maybe Not?) (UPDATE: Wagner Is A Red Sox)

"The deal that would send Mets reliever Billy Wagner to the Sox appears to be coming to a halt. After Wagner threw a scoreless inning yesterday in New York (with Sox assistant general manager Allard Baird present, according to The New York Times), Wagner said he believes he will stay put. "My gut tells me I'm going to Florida now," Wagner told reporters in New York, a reference to the Mets' next road trip. "Unless something changes, I'll probably be a Met." The Sox have a deadline to complete the waiver transaction by 1:30 p.m. today (Boston.com)."

Wagner is going to use his no trade clause, because the Red Sox will not guarantee that they won't pick up his option or offer him salary arbitration. If they were to offer him arbitration that would mean any team that tries to sign him would have to give the Sox draft picks, which would hurt his value. Wagner wants to get to 400 saves, and does not want to be a setup guy next season. This is really too bad, because I think a hard throwing lefty would fit in perfectly to the Sox bullpen. The deadline is at 1:30pm today, so we'll keep you posted if anything changes...


***UPDATE***

"With just minutes remaining approaching a 1:30 p.m. deadline, a source familiar with the Red Sox pursuit of Billy Wagner said a short time ago that talks are still alive and that Wagner is now considering accepting a deal to Boston (Boston.com)."

There is only 1/2 hour to get this deal done, but it seems like it is much more alive then it was this morning. Check back in around 1:30 and we should have another update...


***UPDATE 2***

It is really starting to look like Wagner is coming to the Sox. A major league source told the Globe's Nick Cafardo that a trade sending Billy Wagner to the Red Sox is "looking good".

Then Newsday's David Lennon tweeted this...

"Announcement coming shortly on Wagner. Looks like the trade to Boston is going to happen."

We'll let you know when/if it becomes official.


***UPDATE 3***

Welcome to the Red Sox Billy Wagner...

"A major league source told the Globe's Tony Massarotti that the Red Sox and Mets have agreed in principle on a deal that would bring Wagner to Boston for two players to be named later. The Red Sox will not pick up Wagner's $8 million option for 2010 but will retain the right to offer Wagner arbitration, meaning they would get two compensatory draft (Boston.com)."

I think this is a great move for the Sox. They have basically 0 risk, and now they have a hard throwing left hander. Hopefully Papelbon doesn't go off about this, but fuck him. He should just keep his mouth shut.

Sounds Like Wagner Isn't Coming To Red Sox

"If Jonathan Papelbon still has any concerns about Billy Wagner replacing someone in the Red Sox' bullpen, they may prove moot, since it's looking increasingly unlikely that the 38-year-old lefthander will be coming to Boston. According to a report by FoxSports' Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox chances of acquiring Wagner, whom they claimed on waivers from the Mets on Friday, are in "serious jeopardy" after the club rejected Wagner's two conditions for waiving his no-trade clause (Boston.com)."

There are basically 2 things that Wagner wanted from the Sox...

1. Assurance that the Red Sox will not pick up his $8 million club option for next season.
2. Red Sox not offer salary arbitration, thus making him a more appealing option as free agent since the team signing him would not be required to forfeit draft picks.

The Sox have reportedly shot down those request. The deal still could get done, but you have to wonder if Papelbon and Delcarmen's bitching had something to do with this. Listen, if Wagner is healthy, how could he not help the Sox. Boston only has 1 lefty in the bullpen, but I am sorry I would take Wagner rather then adding someone like Lopez. I think Papelbon needs to keep his fucking mouth shut, and that goes for Delcarmen too. If Delcarmen was pitching better then maybe they wouldn't have to go out looking for help. I would like to see this get done, if the Sox don't have to give up much...

Billy Wagner Done For Season

New York Mets closer Billy Wagner might be done for the season with pain and swelling in his pitching elbow.

I don't believe that this will be a big deal for the Mets because their bullpen has been shaky at best all season. Wagner does have a 2.30 era with 27 saves but has had his blow up moments this year. Their options are moving either Oliver Perez or John Maine to the closers role, or going after a closer that cleared waivers.