Some Sad Salary Facts

One little fact that demonstrates how messed up this team is. Last night, Ryan Lavarnway was hitting 5th. JD Drew was hitting 6th, and Carl Crawford was hitting 8th. Lavarnway is a rookie, who started the year in AA Portland. The 24 year old catcher had 35 career MLB at-bats coming into last night's game. Yet he was hitting ahead of two veteran outfielders making $14 million and $14.9 million, respectively. And nobody seemed to think that it was a bad idea. That's how disappointing and overpaid Drew and Crawford are. Against a righthanded starter, these two lefties were below a righty, rookie catcher.

Another sad fact was the Sox' alleged effort to acquire Bruce Chen to pitch in Game 163. It might have been just rumors, but instead of putting a $16,000,000 pitcher on the mound (Lackey), the Sox were apparently trying to get a $2 million man from Kansas City.

-The Commodore

Bruce Chen: Captain's Thoughts

If there is a 163rd game tomorrow afternoon, the Red Sox might be starting someone new. Bruce Chen's name has been thrown around as a possible starter for the Sox. At the moment, it would be John Lackey who takes the mound.

Not only does Lackey suck, he'd be pitching on 3 days rest. Chen would be on 5 days rest. Chen actually had a decent year with the Royals, going 12-8 with a 3.98 ERA.

Chen didn't face the Rays at all this year, but in 2010, he started against them once and it was a complete game, 2 hit shutout. But in '09 against them, he had a 6.2 inning, 2 earned run game in which he allowed 5 hits and 3 walks.

The current Rays aren't too familiar with him, as they only have 64 total at-bats facing him. 28 of those at-bats belong to Johnny Damon, who hits .464 off him. BJ Upton is 1/12 in his career against Chen. Other than that, though, no Ray has more than 5 at-bats against him. No Ray has more than 1 hit, either. Pitchers tend to have the advantage when hitters aren't familiar with them.

The Rays are more familiar with Lackey (235 total at-bats). They hit .294 off him. Damon is 22 for 60 (.367), Ben Zobrist is 8 for 20 (.400). Lackey was 1-2 vs. Tampa Bay this season, with a 6.46 ERA. Last year he was 2-2, with a 6.26 ERA. This isn't a good matchup for him.

Chen was hit or miss in September. On the 18th, he made a 5.1 inning, 4 earned run start against the White Sox. Then on the 23rd, he went 8 innings against the same White Sox, allowing only 1 run off 2 hits. He was 2-3 in the month, with a pair of brilliant 8 inning starts, and 3 mediocre 4+ run starts.

Lackey has hardly been better down the stretch. 0-2 record with a 9.13 ERA in the month. He had a 3 inning, 5 earned run start against the Rays on the 9th. Like Chen, he was inconsistent. Unlike Chen, he made 3 atrocious starts in September, not 3 mediocre starts. And his 2 "good" starts were just good, not excellent, which Chen's were.

It's not that Bruce Chen is a good pitcher. It's just that John Lackey sucks. I know the entire pitching staff will be available in the bullpen in case Lackey falters, but I think Chen is less likely to outright blow the game. And with Chen, there's at least a possibility of a very good start.

Neither option is very pleasant, but I feel like Chen is the lesser of two evils.

-The Commodore

Bruce Chen To The Rescue?

DP eluded to the fact the Red Sox are looking around the MLB for someone to make one start for the Red Sox if they have to play a one game playoff against the Rays tomorrow. As of now Lackey will pitch the game, but there are rumors the Red Sox have contacted the Royals about Bruce Chen.

Chen has a decent year with a 3.98 ERA, so he is better then Lackey, who is going to do down as the worst starting pitcher to win 12 game ever. I can't believe I am writing a post about Bruce Chen. He's a guy when I see my fantasy pitcher going against him I think... "In the bag". Yet, at this point the Red Sox have to consider it.

What kills the deal (as MLBTradeRumors.com points out) is that Chen projects as a Type B free agent, which means the Royals would get a draft pick if they hold on to him and someone else picks him up. That means the Sox would have to give up more then they wanted to for 1 game. Yes, it is an important game, but does anyone feel that much better with Bruce Chen taking the hill? I don't. I say play it out with the guys you got.