Iglesias Traded for Jake Peavy as Sox Defeat Mariners (7/30/13)

Well....they did it. They finally did it, Jose Iglesias is gone for good. The man the Sox never wanted has been shipped off to the Detroit Tigers (who are about to lose Jhonny Peralta for the season due to an upcoming PED suspension) while shipping prospects (one of them the popular JB Wendelken) to the White Sox for former ace Jake Peavy. The Sox sacrificed the future of Sox defense for an aging, broken down ace looking for that one shot at the World Series. The good news was they didn't give up Xander Bogaerts, Henry Owens, Anthony Raunado, Jamie Callahan or other prime prospects but someone had to go and it was Iglesias. I feel bad for Jose because he fought as hard as he could to crack the team. He was being buried in Pawtucket while Will Middlebrooks was swinging at air and Pedro Ciriaco was bobbling grounders at an alarming rate. Then an injury to Drew gave Jose his shot and he took advantage, leapfrogging Ciriaco (who was traded) and then Middlebrooks when Drew came back (Will demoted to Pawtucket). Now he's gone, replaced not by Middlebrooks but by Brock Holt. The Sox needed an ace to pair with Lester since Buchholz seems like he's never coming back but Peavy is 32 with a shaky injury history. He hasn't been the dominating pitcher he was from 2005-08 and may never be again. Sox general manager Ben Cherrington has made his choice, he's going to try to win it this season. Now he needs to get a slugger and a power arm in the bullpen that can get right handed batters out. He's got one day to do it.

                                             Goodbye Jose, sorry you weren't appreciated

                                                 Welcome back Brock

                                                Welcome to Boston Jake Peavy


Before the game started the Red Sox paid tribute to Joe Morgan and the 1988 Red Sox, 25th year anniversary of Morgan Magic. For those who don't know, the 1988 Red Sox were falling apart in the middle of the season. It had been 2 years removed from the tragic 1988 World Series and they were a team in transition. Wade Boggs had become enveloped in a sex scandal and was involving his teammates. Eventually he and others got into a fight on the team bus and manager John McNamara had lost control. Owner Jean Yawkey fired McNamara during the all-star break with the Sox 43-42 at the time and replaced him with Joe Morgan. Under Morgan, the Sox won 12 in a row and 19 out of 20 to get back in the race. Then the Sox pulled off a trade that sent minor leaguers Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling (yes, THAT Curt Schilling) to the Baltimore Orioles for starter Mike Boddicker. Boddicker gave the Sox 3 aces (to go with Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst) and the Sox won the 1988 AL East. 2 years later with a group of ragtags they managed to do it again to win the 1990 AL East flag. They also came close in 1991, suffering a heartbreaking loss to (as usual) the Yankees in late September to knock them out. It was called Morgan Magic and its been 25 years since it started.

                                                 Rocket Roger, Dewey and others salute Joe Morgan

Ironically tonight's trade and Morgan Magic can ironically be paired together. The 88 Sox were still feeling the fallout from the 86 World Series plus the Margo Adams scandal when they came roaring back. This year's team is still feeling the fallout from 2011's collapse and 2012's reign of error. Both years a big trade was made with prospects involve. Looking back on the 1988 trade of Schilling and Anderson for Boddicker, a lot of people say it was a bad trade because of the names of the players and what they accomplished in their careers. Looking closely, it was the right move to make. Schilling floundered in Baltimore a few years and was an unsuccessful reliever for the Houston Astros before a surprise tongue lashing during the 1991 off-season by Roger Clemens got him motivated, becoming a dominant starter for the Philadelphia Phillies. Brady Anderson was an average player but eventually became an all-star culminating with a 50 homer season in 1996. Both players took years to develop while Boddicker helped the Sox to two LCS appearances. This year the Sox are rising from the ashes of 2012 and just got their version of Mike Boddicker (we hope) in exchange for Jose Iglesias. Hopefully the trade doesn't come back to bite them.


As for the game itself....didn't see it, however here are the stats.


THE GOOD:

Hero of the night goes to rookie pitcher Brandon Workman. In the heat of a tight pennant race, Workman stepped up to toss 6 innings of 1 run ball with NINE strikeouts, earning his first major league victory.

                                                     Hero of the Night

Shane Victorino was 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 including his 7th home run of the season and 3 rbi's total. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was also 2 for 4 with a two run blast. Jose Iglesias was 1 for 3 in his final game for the Red Sox before being relieved of duty by Brandon Snyder. Should have known something was up when Brandon Snyder takes over defensively for Jose Iglesias. Craig Breslow and Matt Thornton each tossed scoreless innings of relief.


THE BAD:

Not much here. PU Drew was 0 for 4 with a strikeout and Pedro Beato allowed a run in the 9th inning during mop-up duty.


THE UGLY:

Jacoby Ellsbury was just 1 for 4 but made it count, launching his 5th home run of the season in the second inning. David Ortiz was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run. Mike Napoli was 1 for 4 but scored a run. Jonny Gomes was 0 for 3 but walked.


Final Thoughts:

What more can be said really. The Sox rival Morgan Magic 88 by trading for a third starter hoping it pays dividends at the end of the season. Jose Iglesias fought his way into the lineup only to be traded for his troubles. Now with Jose gone, the Sox have to go with Brock Holt, Will Middlebrooks or 21 year old Anthony Bogaerts at third base. Hopefully Middlebrooks has corrected his mistakes in Pawtucket so the one that bashed 15 home runs last season in 3 months comes back. The win moved the Sox up to 64-44, still a half game behind Tampa Bay. Tomorrow John Lackey looks to rebound against Hisashi Iwakuma.