Archives › Matthew Pouliot

As the blog’s resident Red Sox fan, this sucks. As someone who hates writing about steroids, this really sucks. The latest leak accusing both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz of being among the 104 major leaguers testing positive for PEDs in 2003 didn’t come as a huge surprise. I sort of made a case for…

Cubs acquire LHP John Grabow and LHP Tom Gorzelanny from the Pirates for RHP Kevin Hart, RHP Jose Ascanio and INF-OF Josh Harrison. In Grabow, the Cubs get the lefty reliever they craved, but it will up to Lou Piniella to use him correctly. Grabow is no specialist, and he didn’t become a quality pitcher…

Dodgers acquire LHP George Sherrill from the Orioles for 3B Josh Bell and RHP Steve Johnson So much for the thought that the Orioles would have to be overwhelmed to move their closer. Sherrill can’t be considered an elite reliever when his career high for innings is 53 1/3, but he’s as effective against lefties…

I sort of called this one on the old twitter feed a couple of days ago. At least I was hoping that the reason the Reds weren’t calling up Chris Heisey was because they were getting ready to pick up an outfielder. This actually looks like a Jim Bowden move for Cincinnati. Balentien isn’t a…

Phillies acquire LHP Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco from the Indians for RHP Carlos Carrasco, C Lou Marson, RHP Jason Knapp, INF Jason Donald Not much figuring out to do here. The only question is whether the Indians got enough in return for the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner. Lee isn’t looked at…

OK, I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one. What better way to do that than by writing about it. Mariners acquire RHP Ian Snell, SS Jack Wilson and cash from the Pirates for C-1B Jeff Clement, INF Ronny Cedeno, RHP Brett Lorin, RHP Aaron Pribanic and RHP Nathan Adcock. Snell was a…

Giants acquire 2B Freddy Sanchez from the Pirates for RHP Tim Alderson The price was quite a bit higher than expected, though I think Alderson’s rep is a bit overblown. The Pirates still did far better here than the Diamondbacks did in the Felipe Lopez trade. Sanchez fills a big need for the Giants, who…

Twitter is broken for me and a bunch of other new users, so let’s post some quick notes here: – Hopefully, Tuesday’s ninth inning will bring an end to manager Terry Francona’s attempts to keep Nick Green in the shortstop mix for the Red Sox. Green did better than expected as a stopgap in place…

In what will hopefully be the first of multiple moves to upgrade their offense, the Giants picked up Ryan Garko from the Indians for left-hander Scott Barnes. The 29-year-old Garko was hitting .285/.362/.464 this season and is a career .283/.355/.450 hitter. On the surface, that makes him a perfectly adequate stopgap at first base. However,…

- The Red Sox have decided to place Mike Lowell on the disabled list to give him additional time to recover after having his hip drained and receiving an injection Monday. Lowell’s play had fallen off over the last month, and it might be for the best that he rests through the All-Star break. The…

I liked this line from Tim Brown’s Yahoo column over the weekend: Matt Capps’ ERA is pretty ugly these days, but more than one scout believes he could be miscast in the closer role and could be very useful as a setup man. The ugly ERA is right, as Capps is currently sitting at 6.00…

- Josh Beckett and Felix Hernandez both have opportunities to become the AL’s first 12-game winner tonight. Beckett goes first, and one has to like his chances with a home start against the A’s on the schedule. He beat the A’s on Oakland on July 7 and is 6-0 with a 2.44 ERA in nine…

Aaron Harang’s three-run bomb off the Cubs’ Randy Wells in the second inning of Friday’s game… … was his first in 390 career at-bats. … gave him his first run scored in 233 at-bats since Apr. 8, 2006. … bumped both his career OBP and slugging percentage over the century mark. His career line went…

- Ted Lilly, who had his first start after the break pushed back with what the Cubs called a sore knee, is slated to land on the DL with a sore shoulder. Given the Cubs’ history with when it comes to injuries and Lilly’s own past, I’m just going to assume that it was the…

- Roy Halladay could be making his last start for the Blue Jays, or he might even be moved before the game. With rumors of a Phillies deal swirling, Halladay is set to face the slumping Rays tonight. The Rays will look to bounce back after going 27 up, 27 down against Mark Buehrle on…

The Cardinals thought their offense was set when they acquired Mark DeRosa from the Indians, but DeRosa injured his wrist and neither Chris Duncan nor Rick Ankiel proved able to shake lingering injuries that have left them unable to contribute offensively. Now the team has to decide whether it’s worth mortgaging even more of the…

Mark Buehrle has led the AL in hits allowed three times and finished in the top five a total of six times, yet he now has two no-hitters to his credit after his perfect game Thursday against the Rays. Buehrle joined a group of 23 other pitchers with multiple no-hitters. The only two to do…

Because you can never trade for just one left-handed hitting, first baseman-type with a career OPS in the low 800s whose father was a former All-Star pitcher and whose brother is also a professional baseball player. Ever without the historical similarities, it is fascinating that the Red Sox traded for two such similar players in…

- As great as he is, Tim Lincecum has still won a mere 45 percent of his 76 career starts. However, he’s 5-for-5 against the Braves heading into another showdown tonight. He blanked the Braves for eight innings in his only start against them this year, that coming on May 26. Jair Jurrjens, who ranks…

Don Mattingly was considered the epitome of class during his Yankees career. His family, on the other hand, obviously has a ways to go: A former Central High School baseball standout and New York Yankees draft pick was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shoving his mother and then spitting in her face. Taylor Mattingly, 24, was…

- Sinkerballer Sergio Mitre, who underwent Tommy John surgery last year, will make his Yankees debut against the Orioles after going 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was 10-23 with a 5.36 ERA in 52 starts and 26 relief appearances for the Cubs and Marlins from 2003-07. If he…

In all of its glory, here is the brutal call at home plate that ended Monday’s Twins-Athletics game. Cuddyer is safe in scoring the game-tying run, of course, but Mike Muchlinski, a Triple-A ump filling in for a vacationing major league counterpart, got himself in lousy position and blew the call. What makes this particularly…

Mat Gamel had to know the bad news was coming the moment he heard about Felipe Lopez’s acquisition from Arizona. While he had been pretty useful as a part-timer for the last two-plus months, the Brewers appeared to be looking for an excuse to send him back down, if only until Sept. 1. They certainly…

- Jason Schmidt will make his first major league start since June 16, 2007 tonight against the Reds. Shoulder woes have made him a complete bust since Dodgers GM Ned Colletti handed him $47 million for three years in Dec. 2006. It’s unlikely that the 36-year-old will start earning that money now — he had…

Boston’s contract talks with free-agent-to-be Jason Bay have ended, one week after the Red Sox made a new offer to their left fielder. The decision was termed mutual, and Bay still seems to want to settle in Boston: “I’d still love to get something done here,” Bay told the Boston Globe. “I like it here.…