Aug252009
For Red Sox, some good news
Filed under Front Office, Red Sox, closers, player personnel by alan greenwood at 3:28 pm
The mating dance with aging Mets reliever Billy Wagner is ending, Daisuke Matsuzaka may actually be ready to pitch in September and October and Josh Beckett’s recent woes look fixable. Toss in Monday night’s thrashing of White Sox has-been Jose Contreras and there is nothing but good news this morning for the Red Sox.
Having claimed Wagner off waivers last week it seemed all-but certain that the Red Sox would work out a deal with the Mets for the 38-year-old left-hander. Apparently, Wagner’s vanity and greed got in the way. He wanted no part of being a set-up man for Jonathan Papelbon and insisted that the Red Sox not exercise an option to keep him through 2010. He’s counting on getting more than the $8 million salary on the option year once he hits the free agent market. Sad to say, but there’s probably a sucker out there who will oblige him.
Considering his attitude and the fact that he’s coming off Tommy John surgery, the Red Sox are better off in the long run without Wagner.
Meanwhile, Matsuzaka worked in a real game on Monday for the first time in two months, throwing 37 pitches for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in Fort Myers, Fla. with no ill effects to his right shoulder.
And Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell says that there is nothing wrong with Beckett beyond some mechanical flaws in his delivery that are easily repaired.
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