pedro martinez
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News Archive for August 1-15, 2002
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August 15, 2002
Martinez in fine form
Bob Hohler and Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
… Pedro Martinez disclosed that he was fined $1,000 for hitting Tampa Bay’s Ben Grieve in the back with a pitch July 25 at Fenway Park. … Martinez contended that Bob Watson, the commissioner’s disciplinarian, fined him because he refused to say he hit Grieve by accident. ”Bob Watson wanted me to say I didn’t do it on purpose,” Martinez said. ”He wanted me to lie to you guys. He wanted to make me look like a fool, and I’m not. Imagine Bob Watson doing the same thing I did and then saying, ‘Oh, no, the ball slipped out of my hands.’ … I’m the most watched guy by the umpires. It’s not the other team. Nobody complains, just the umpires and the league. I don’t know who in the league is watching me so closely. They don’t like my pants and they don’t like my jersey. I’ve seen many guys with ripped-off jersey [sleeves], but I’m the only one not allowed to have it.”
Lowe and behold: The Red Sox are coming to town
Larry Stone, Seattle Times [August 13]
When Pedro Martinez said he resided in “Wonderland” earlier this year, he meant it in an atypical literal sense … a venue of psychic uncertainty … [but] Martinez’s season has gradually taken him to the more traditional “Wonderland” … a place of wonderment … where Martinez’s complete mastery of his craft is once again on display every five or six days … Martinez’s Wonderland is reminiscent, in the words of teammate Shea Hillenbrand, of Punxsutawney, Pa., in “Groundhog Day” — the same monotonous dominance, outing after outing, just as he did in winning three Cy Young Awards before the injury that put his future as the league’s premier pitcher in doubt. “Pedro Martinez — and I mean this complimentarily — is just visiting the planet,” said Mike Port, the Red Sox interim general manager. “He’s from somewhere else, given his ability, the adjustments he makes on the mound, his professionalism.”
Red Sox defend ex-mate Offerman
David Andriesen, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Jose Offerman is a bad guy, a clubhouse cancer, a lazy, selfish punk who will ruin the Mariners’ chemistry. That’s what everybody says, right? … “It’s a surprise to me to hear people say he is a bad person,” Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez said. “Ask anyone in this clubhouse. Never once, ever, ever has he had a problem with anyone. He’s never argued with anyone. He’s never said a negative thing to anybody here. Nothing bad should be said about Offerman. He just doesn’t talk. If you don’t like him as a player, that’s fine, but don’t say that he’s a bad person, because he’s not. He’s a simple, quiet guy.” … Offerman can go an entire day without speaking to teammates, not because he’s indifferent to them but because he is profoundly shy. He spends much of the day with a cellular phone at his ear — Martinez used to call him “AT&T Offerman” — talking with his family in California and in his native Dominican Republic.
Reversing the Curse?
Mark Zuckerman, Washington Times
[No snip here, because it’s the same story you’ve read
approximately 78,502 times already …]
August 14, 2002
Labor progress encouraging
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Baseball strikes can be costly. Just ask Pedro Martinez, who was making $215,000, barely more than the minimum, and fell just eight days shy of qualifying for potentially lucrative salary arbitration after the players went on strike in 1994. Martinez figures the ’94 strike cost him as much as $2 million. … ”We cannot let [the owners] dictate what we do because we’re the ones the fans come to see,” Martinez said before last night’s game against the Mariners. ”We will do it if we have to, but we never want to be part of strike.”
Sox have fingers crossed on strike issue
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
The union surprised the media and the public by not setting a strike date. A date still could be set Friday when union leaders have a conference call if the Players Association doesn’t sense movement in the negotiations, particularly on the issue of a luxury tax. … The fact that the union did not set a strike date does not necessarily mean players aren’t willing to walk away from some lucrative paychecks. “In 1994, I was eight days short of arbitration when we went on strike,” [Pedro] Martinez said. “I was making $215,000. That was a lot for me. But it cost me a million or two (in what he could have gotten in arbitration the following year had he been eligible). But I stuck with them. I’m here now. I’ve made it up (thanks in part to the union’s subsequent contract negotiations). We never want to be part of a strike. But what we’re fighting for can help kids coming out of the Dominican. We have to protect them. Unfortunately, the fans don’t deserve a strike. I felt bad for them in ’94.”
August 13, 2002
Martinez, Lowe a dynamic duo
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Pedro Martinez doesn’t have a vote for the AL Cy Young award. Neither does Derek Lowe. But the Red Sox co-aces have made their early favorites public. “I’m pushing him,” said Martinez. “I am trying to get him to go for it. If anybody is going to win it, I want it to be D. Lowe. So far for me, he’s my Cy Young.” … Lowe recently said that, all things being equal, Martinez deserves it. He likened it to boxing, saying that the champion needs to be beaten decisively to lose his belt. … Where would the Red Sox be without Martinez and Lowe? Don’t ask. Just consider that Lowe and Martinez are a combined 32-7, and the Red Sox are 36-41 in all other games.
August 12, 2002
Little’s mind spinning regarding rotation
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
With increasing urgency, Red Sox manager Grady Little has been plotting his rotation for the coming weeks, particularly the five games against the Yankees, two at Fenway Aug. 27-28 and three in the Bronx Sept. 2-4. First, Little lined up Pedro Martinez to start the first game of each series.
August 11, 2002
It’s yet another special delivery for the masses
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
We’ve been lucky here in Boston. Nobody ever hit like Ted Williams. Nobody ever skated and shot the puck like Bobby Orr. Nobody ever blocked shots and won championships like Bill Russell. Obviously, there’s a place for Larry Bird in this pantheon, and soon it may be time to start talking about Pedro Martinez as one of the all-time greats in Boston sports.
Voting for Lowe
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
Pedro Martinez … said that he’s pulling for his teammate to win the award this year. “I am pushing him,” Martinez said. “I am trying to get him to go for it, but it’s going to be hard. Those guys are doing good in Oakland and other guys are pitching well. Right here, I am trying to push him to mentally stay strong and keep pitching like that. If he takes it, I will be very happy and proud to see D-Lowe win it. That means I am going to have the chance to go to the playoffs. I already have Cy Youngs, but if he is to lose it, I would like (to) keep it in the team.”
The top pitching combinations in Red Sox history
Springfield Union-News
1903 — Cy Young: 28-9; Tom Hughes: 20-7; Bill Dinneen: 21-13
1904 — Cy Young: 26-16; Bill Dinneen: 23-14; Jesse Tannehill: 21-11
1912 — Joe Wood: 34-5; Hugh Bedient: 20-9; Buck O’Brien: 20-13
1917 — Carl Mays: 22-9; Babe Ruth: 24-13
1935 — Wes Ferrell: 25-14; Lefty Grove: 20-12
1946 — Dave Ferriss: 25-6; Tex Hughson: 20-11
1949 — Mel Parnell: 25-7; Ellis Kinder: 23-6
2002 — Pedro Martinez 16-2; Derek Lowe 16-5 (to date)
August 10, 2002
No No. 45
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
The Red Sox had their team picture taken before batting practice yesterday. Pedro Martinez did not arrive in time for the photo shoot.
August 9, 2002
Rumblings and Grumblings
Jayson Stark, espn.com
Pedro Martinez’s recent numbers (0.55 ERA, 25 hits, 69 strikeouts in 49.1 IP since July 1) look like vintage Pedro. But one scout says that, believe it or not, he thinks Martinez is still holding back. “He doesn’t want to exert himself unless he has to,” the scout said. “Any team he can get out with breaking stuff, he does. He throws a lot of changeups. I know that.”
Useless Information
Jayson Stark, espn.com
Pedro Martinez Note of the Week: The amazing Pedro won 78 of his first 100 decisions after joining the Red Sox. And according to Elias, that’s the best record by any pitcher ever in his first 100 decisions with a team. He broke a record that had merely withstood challenges by every single pitcher in baseball for the last 105 years. The top five all-time:
Pedro Martinez, Red Sox 78-22 (1998-2002)
Bill Hoffer, Orioles 76-24 (1895-1897)
Cy Young, Red Sox 75-25 (1901-1903)
Whitey Ford, Yankees 74-26 (1950-1956)
Dwight Gooden, Mets 74-26 (1984-1988)
August 8, 2002
Pedro/Derek Lowe discussion at Baseball Primer’s Sox Therapy
Posted 1:11 p.m., August 5, 2002 – JBH
Pedro is having the quietest historically great season ever. Since opening day, his ERA+ is 238, which would be 11th all time. As it is, with that crummy start, he’s going to “only” finish in the 25-30 range, among the likes of Ron Guidry’s best season, Roger Clemens’ second best season and ahead of anything Randy Johnson or Sandy Koufax ever put up.
Still talking a good game
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
”This is about money again, with the owners trying to find a method to reduce future payroll,” says [Marvin] Miller. ”If you depended on the media, you’d never realize that every dispute for the last 30 years has been a result of owner issues. The last one that was generated by the players was our pension dispute of 1972. Even though the issues today have different names, they really are always the same. It’s always, ‘What kind of gimmick will be effective in cutting into salaries without saying that is what they are doing?”’ … Will another strike kill baseball? ”I don’t have a crystal ball, but if you use the past to judge the future, that’s nonsense.”
Long tackles tough issues
Mike Shalin, Boston Herald
The toughest part about Terrence Long’s game-ending catch at Fenway Park last night just might have been what happened to the Oakland A’s center fielder after he took Manny Ramirez’ drive out of the Red Sox bullpen. … “Billy (Koch, the A’s closer who had run out from the mound) gave me a hug. Somebody kissed me – I gotta find out who it was. It was right here (pointed near his mouth), that’s too close.” Said Koch: “I was near his neck. I thought about kissing him, but I didn’t want to leave a hickey or anything.”
A walk in the park for Schilling
Mark Kram, Philadelphia Daily News
Curt Schilling of the defending World Champion Diamondbacks continues to amaze with his incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio. He is currently on pace to strike out 330 men and walk only 27. These numbers are beyond imagination … Here are the top strikeout seasons since 1900. Following the strikeout number is the amount of walks issued by the pitcher:
Nolan Ryan, 1973: 383-162
Sandy Koufax, 1965: 382- 71
Randy Johnson, 2001: 372- 71
Nolan Ryan, 1974: 367-202
Randy Johnson, 1999: 364- 70
Rube Waddell, 1904, 349- 91
Bob Feller, 1946: 348-153
Randy Johnson, 2000: 347- 76
Nolan Ryan, 1977: 341-204
Curt Schilling, 2002: 330- 27* (projected)
The Daily Prospectus: Flushing $32 Million
Joe Sheehan, Baseball Prospectus
Mark Prior threw 135 pitches [August 4]. It was worth it, though, because it pulled the Cubs to within 12½ games of first place in the NL Central and to within 14 games of the Dodgers in the wild-card race. Look, I’ve made this argument before, so I’m not going to waste a column on it again today. Letting your nominal franchise pitcher throw 135 pitches in a meaningless game is inconsistent with any kind of plan for success. Letting him bat in the bottom of the eighth having thrown 119 pitches is grounds for firing.
August 7, 2002
Accountant said 28 of 30 teams projected net losses
Associated Press
The 30 major league teams began the year projecting an operating loss of $220 million in 2002, down $12 million from last year, according to minutes of an owners’ meeting. The projection was given to owners at a Jan. 16 owners meeting by accountant Robert Starkey, a consultant to the commissioner’s office. … Starkey told the owners that 28 of the 30 teams projected a net loss for this year. The teams were not identified.
August 6, 2002
Pedro won over: Count Martinez as convert to 115-pitch limit
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
After his dazzling start against the Rangers on Sunday night in Texas, Pedro Martinez said he is now a total convert to the idea of being lifted from a game at the 115-pitch limit. Of course, were Martinez to be in the midst of throwing a no-hitter or perfect game, one might assume he would favor making an exception. Guess again. …
Close call on Lowe or Pedro
Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald
They have won an equal number of games and pitched exactly the same number of innings, held opposing hitters to nearly identical batting averages and posted virtually the same ERA. And if the baseball season ended today, Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez would finish first and second in the American League Cy Young Award balloting. But for a Red Sox team that has fallen into line behind two dominating pitchers, that’s where things get fuzzy.
Someone To Look Up To — Martinez, Lowe Drive Each Other To Greater Heights As Sox Tag Along
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
A year ago at this time, Pedro Martinez was on the disabled list with an ailing right shoulder and Derek Lowe was on the naughty list with Red Sox fans. One pitcher was receiving “get well” wishes, the other hate mail with an occasional death threat. Now look at them. Martinez is 15-2 with a 2.25 ERA, and opponents are hitting .191 against him. Lowe is 15-5 with a 2.13 ERA and opponents are hitting .190 off him. Besides being Cy Young Award favorites, one or the other could emerge as a strong MVP candidate. …
Some of the credit should go to Red Sox assistant trainer Chris Correnti, who designed conditioning programs for Martinez and Lowe. Both worked with Correnti over the winter. It has worked wonders for both, especially Martinez. … “I believe all the work that we did over the winter gave me a stronger body,” said Martinez, who came to spring training at about 195 pounds and is about 10 pounds lighter than that now. “I used to be 170 to 175. All that work, all that rehab I had for my shoulder, I guess it’s working out. … I don’t know what’s out there for me still. But so far, knocking on wood and thanking God, I’m feeling great. I’m gaining confidence every time that I go out.”
Test pattern on screen — Sox are staring at difficult stretch
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Fasten your seatbelts. With little more than a third of the season to play, the Red Sox tonight enter a critical passage in their quest to escape the franchise’s 84-year championship famine. … [Tonight] the Sox will open a stretch 12 games in 13 days against the A’s, Twins, and Mariners, including a trek through Seattle and Minnesota. The stretch leads toward a final five-game showdown between the Sox and Yankees at the end of the month. … If the Sox are still standing after their five games with the Yankees (Aug. 27-28 in Boston, Sept. 2-4 in New York), they could be on Easy Street. The play their last 24 games of the season against teams that entered last night with records below .500: the Blue Jays, Devil Rays, Orioles, Indians, and White Sox.
August 5, 2002
Stories about Pedro’s start against Texas can be found here.
August 4, 2002
Bowden compared possible strike to terrorist attacks
Associated Press
Reds general manager Jim Bowden compared a potential baseball strike with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, then apologized for the remark. … “If players want to strike, they ought to just pick Sept. 11, because that’s what it’s going to do to the game. I don’t think there’s going to be a work stoppage. I don’t think anybody’s that dumb. If they do walk out, make sure it’s Sept. 11. Be symbolic. Let Donald Fehr drive the plane right into the building, if that’s what they want to do.”
The day Bowden lost all perspective — Ill-chosen metaphor defies explanation
Paul Daughtery, Cincinnati Enquirer
I spoke to Bowden late in the game Thursday. Maybe he’d thought about what he’d said. A strike on 9-11? Symbolic? Of what? Donald Fehr? Airplane? Oh, Jim. Maybe he’d had a change of heart. Maybe not. Bowden discussed his statements calmly. I could have been asking him if the Reds still needed pitching help.
“In retrospect, do you think what you said this morning about a possible strike was inappropriate?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“The analogy.”
“My point, which a lot of players have made, is the game can’t handle a work stoppage,” Bowden said. Oh.
Later, the Reds issued a statement from Bowden. It made him sound a lot more contrite. Believe what you want.
August 3, 2002
Showing Their Hand — Lowe Is Red Sox’s Second Ace
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
It could end up being the debate of the summer in New England, one the Red Sox would love to see carry into October. Derek Lowe and Pedro Martinez have similar numbers … both have emerged as Cy Young candidates. … Opponents are hitting .190 against Lowe and .195 against Martinez … “I actually had a great conversation with [Martinez] in Detroit about how you get through the last two months because I’ve never been here,” Lowe said. “You have to be mentally stronger than your opponent because everyone’s going to be tired, everyone’s going to have small injuries. You have to mentally grind it out.”
Turn of events — This blowout goes to Sox, Lowe
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Sure, it’s only August, but the debate over the American League Cy Young Award winner already is shaping up as a doozy. Too bad someone has to lose because two Red Sox stars – Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe – are poised to rank among the favorites. … Lowe has not surrendered an earned run in his last 24 innings. … Lowe became the first Sox pitcher other than Martinez and Roger Clemens to win 15 games as early as Aug. 2 since Luis Tiant in 1974.
Suspensions from brawl stun and anger players
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Barely stifling their anger, the Red Sox last night reacted to news that three of their players – All-Star pitcher Derek Lowe, catcher Jason Varitek, and second baseman Rey Sanchez – were suspended and four others were fined for their roles in last Sunday’s bean brawl with the Orioles … “You almost think they’re targeting the Red Sox or treating us unfairly,” said Shea Hillenbrand, one of four Red Sox players who were fined $500 each by Major League Baseball. “I basically got fined $500 for getting my butt whupped by David Segui.” The other Sox players who were fined $500 were Carlos Baerga, Doug Mirabelli, and Ugueth Urbina. … No problem, Baerga said. “Manny is going to pay for the whole thing,” he said, turning to Ramirez. “He’s making a lot of money. Get the checkbook out.”
Hot July
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
For the seventh time in four years, Pedro Martinez was named American League pitcher of the month, this time after going 5-0 with an 0.64 ERA over six starts in July. The span included eight innings of a shutout of the Blue Jays, a 4-2 victory over the Yankees, and back-to-back, eight-inning, two-hit outings against Tampa Bay and Anaheim. He struck out 59 batters and walked nine in 42.1 innings in the month, holding opponents to a .154 batting average (22 for 143).
Problem with Offerman
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
[L]ast Sunday at Fenway against the Orioles, Offerman refused to come in the game as a pinch-runner … His friend, starter Pedro Martinez, had not spoken to Offerman since he left the team but said he would try last night. In a restrained voice, Martinez said, “It’s bad the way they told him in the end. They didn’t have to let him come here and embarrass himself.” Asked if Offerman had been unhappy here, Martinez said, “He was OK, but he wanted to play a little bit more. He’s not used to sitting down all that time. But, the game is a business. There’s nothing you can do. It’s always hard to lose a guy like Offerman. He’s a good player, he’s just had some rough years the last two years. It’s tough to see him go because he’s one of my closest friends on the team.”
August 2, 2002
Relative tells a grand tale
Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe
Herbert ”Chink” Holmes, McDaniels’s grandfather, was a pitcher/shortstop for the Boston Royal Giants, one of the many semipro Negro League teams here in the Hub in the first half of the 20th century. … [A]fter Chink Holmes died in a Roxbury old-age home in January 1995, McDaniels and his mother went about the somber business of sorting out his worldly possessions. … Most of the tangible goods he left behind fit comfortably into a foot locker at the home. Buried in the bottom of the trunk, folded up neatly, was the Royal Giants uniform Holmes had worn some 50 years earlier. It was made of heavy, prickly wool and dyed gray, with ”BOSTON” lettered across the chest and ”RG” up around the left shoulder. Chink Holmes wore No. 2.
Offerman loses cool in clubhouse — Upset that Red Sox designated him for assignment
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Jose Offerman erupted in the visitor’s locker room at The Ballpark before Thursday night’s game … walked to his locker and flipped over his chair. Then he threw his bag in anger, moved several feet forward and punched out a water cooler. … Interim Red Sox GM Mike Port, who flew in from Boston to personally inform Offerman of the decision, got an ear full from the switch-hitting infielder in the middle of the clubhouse. “You’re full of (expletive),” Offerman told Port. … Offerman didn’t feel the Boston media treated him well during his time with the Red Sox, and refused to grant an interview after getting the bad news. “I ain’t got nothing to say,” Offerman said. “You guys (messed) me up, that’s what I have to say.”
After being told he’s out, Offerman goes off — Port and media targeted in tirade
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
As soon as he arrived at the park, Offerman was summoned to Little’s office. And as soon as he learned of the move, he bolted back into the clubhouse with Port trailing behind. As Offerman flung his bat bag and other Sox property, he blasted Port with a stream of expletives, mostly centering on having to make the overnight flight just to be sent home. … [T]he more his production declined, the more embittered Offerman appeared to become, particularly toward the media. He lashed out at reporters during spring training and generally refused to speak to them during the regular season.
Offerman assessment too kind
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
I was much too kind to Jose Offerman. Piece of junk? Too kind. He’s the piece de resistance. He’s everything that’s wrong with big-league sports – an overpaid athlete who loses his skills, mails in his performance, quits on his teammates, then blames everyone else for his inability to perform. … Hooray for the new management team of the Sox … they released this useless ballplayer and agreed to eat the rest of his ridiculous salary. … This piece of you-know-what … he was completely without skills and appeared disinterested … He wouldn’t try to bunt when asked to bunt. … clueless at the plate … forgot how many outs there were when he was on the basepaths. … dropped balls on defense. On Monday night, he refused to enter a game as a pinch runner. … an aging infielder who couldn’t turn the double play, couldn’t run, couldn’t hit for power, and seemed to do his best work talking on his cellphone in the clubhouse … Friday is trash/recycling day on Yawkey Way in the Fenway section of Boston. And Jose Offerman, the ballplayer, has been put in a bin on the curb where he belongs.
[Embittered towards the media? Didn’t feel the media treated him well?
Gee, where did he get that idea? In his March 26 column, Shaughnessy referred to Offerman
a “piece of junk” — which generated such anger among readers that on June 3, the Globe’s
ombudsman printed an apology. Now, fairly bursting with glee about Offerman’s misfortune,
Shaughnessy redoubles his efforts and masterfully displayed the depth of his meanness and
pettiness. Shaughnessy suggested that maybe his wording on March 26 was “inexact.”
There is no mistaking him this time.]
Surprise, surprise
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Two surprises out of the commissioner’s office. First, Frank Castillo has been fined $750 for his part in the beanball episode between the Sox and Devil Rays July 18 at Tampa Bay. Castillo hit Brent Abernathy with a pitch as retribution for Tanyon Sturtze plunking Ramirez. Both teams were warned after Abernathy was hit. Sturtze also was fined $750, but Esteban Yan, who drilled Ramirez after the warning was issued, received no penalty. It marked the third time this year Castillo has been disciplined. And this one really riled him. ”This time it’s [expletive] ridiculous,” Castillo said. ”The [expletive] guy who is doing this, he must have it in for me or something because it’s a [expletive] joke. That’s outrageous. The [expletive] guy is a [expletive] idiot.”
Floyd just wants to fit in — and win it all
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
“I know one thing — they want you to beat the Yankees,” he said with a smile. “And if you mess up, they’ll let you know about it. … I’m very excited. My only goal is to win a World Series — that’s it. I’ve been smiling the whole time [since he got news of the deal]. I’m just looking to protect my man [Ramirez] and try to win games. I’m not trying to be the man. I can’t wait. I’m happy to be part of this. I’m here to fit in.”
August 1, 2002
Floyd fit for a conspiracy theory
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
The grassy-knoll set is already having a field day with this one. Cliff Floyd had barely taken off his Montreal uniform for the last time, and the phone lines were already in full-throated conspiracy mode. And before it’s over, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner may be the loudest voice claiming it’s all a commish plot.
For Red Sox fans ecstatic that the Sox picked up a lefthanded slugger that the Yankees wanted and didn’t get, there’s no reason to view the Floyd trade through paranoia-tinted glasses. … think about it. There are the alleged co-conspirators: the Sox, the Expos, and the Florida Marlins, the same three teams involved in the musical chairs that climaxed with John W. Henry sitting in the catbird seat in Boston, former Expos owner Jeffrey Loria owning the Marlins, and the Expos essentially run as a ward of Major League Baseball, as mandated by commissioner Bud Selig. Selig, of course, is also the same person who is held as the one who jerry-rigged the Sox sale for the benefit of the Henry group. …
[I]f the Expos were going to roll over for the Sox, why didn’t they give Boston pitcher Bartolo Colon, too? ”We banged on the door about as loudly as anyone is allowed in civilized society to bang on the door,” Lucchino said of the efforts to land Colon. ”And there was no response.”
Floyd: Inside job: MLB, Sox work a trade show that looks crooked
Michael Gee, Boston Herald
Baseball’s not a legitimate business. If it were, commissioner Bud Selig would be having a photo-op this morning with his hat held over his face outside a federal courtroom. And Red Sox controlling partner John Henry would be doing the same perp walk at Selig’s side. … There are more conflicts of interest in Floyd’s coming to the Sox than exist in the whole state legislature. Let’s review the bid-rigging, er, bidding.
Boss: Floyd Deal Helps Sox
George King, New York Post
George Steinbrenner thinks there is something funny about Cliff Floyd wearing a Red Sox uniform. “If Major League Baseball owns Montreal and they get [Floyd] and [three] weeks later they trade him to our biggest competitor, that’s hard to believe,” Steinbrenner told The Post yesterday. “What’s that say?” Steinbrenner … wonders why the criticism that is fired at the Yankees for adding payroll doesn’t make its way to other teams. … “It’s a helluva deal for the Red Sox, but what’s the difference between what they did and what we did?” The Boss asked. “They still owe a lot on the team. It’s a very good move. I don’t know how smart it is but certainly a good deal.” … Noting that Floyd can be a free agent at the end of the season, Steinbrenner referred to former Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey’s mantra being disregarded by the team’s current management. “Yawkey used to say, ‘You can’t buy a pennant,’ ” Steinbrenner said.
All-star Floyd to fill huge Sox void
John Tomase, Eagle Tribune
The Red Sox scored one of their biggest deadline deals ever last night by doing what the Yankees could not — acquiring Montreal Expos slugger Cliff Floyd for a pair of minor leaguer pitchers. … “I’d like to remind everyone that a certain team to the south of us was trying very, very hard to acquire this player,” Port said. “They were unable to at that point in time, and I’m proud to say the Red Sox were the ones who were able to get the job done.” …
As for the prospects the Red Sox surrendered, Baseball America named the 22-year-old Song Boston’s best prospect last season after he posted a 1.90 ERA at Single A, second lowest in the minors to Marlins superb prospect Josh Beckett. Song struggled in his Double-A debut before settling down. He’s 7-7 with a 4.39 ERA and 116 strikeouts in 108 innings. His stamina has come into question because he’s averaging just over five innings a start. The right-handed Kim is 4-2 with a 3.18 at Triple-A Pawtucket. The 24-year-old posted a 7.45 ERA in 15 appearances with the Red Sox, including two starts.
July 31, 2002
Pedro deals, then discusses deal — Pitcher discusses Sox trade after shutout
Rob Miech, mlb.com
“I would rather have Bartolo Colon,” Martinez said. “Our offense has been good. Not taking anything away from Floyd, he’ll make things easier for us. But I think we’re in more need of Bartolo Colon, or someone like that, than probably another bat like Cliff Floyd. I’m not taking anything away from … maybe Cliff will take the team to a different level. But I believe (we) need another starting pitcher with experience, another big pitcher. … We need a big-name pitcher like Bartolo, someone like that. Someone with experience to deal with the situation of going into the playoffs and facing a big team like the Yankees, or Angels, someone like that … Seattle. We need a big-name pitcher, if we can get him. If not, we’ll go with what we have. And you never know in baseball. We are willing to compete with anybody, the same way we have all year. We’re still pretty close to everybody, and we haven’t added all that much.” …
About that World Series championship ring that Floyd owns? “His ring doesn’t mean anything,” Martinez said. “The one we’re about to get is the one that’s gonna mean something. We’re not thinking about his. His is his. We need to get ours.”
Transaction gets seals of approval
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe
Pedro Martinez found out about the Cliff Floyd trade while he was still pitching last night, informed in the seventh inning that his former Expos teammate was coming to the Sox. … [Martinez] used to call Floyd ”Sleepy” after the former NBA player [and] also called him ”Papaya Head,” a nickname without apparent precedent in the big leagues.
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