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August 1, 2007
Sean McAdam and Mike McDermott discuss the latest Red Sox news today on projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the full audio file. Today, the topics of conversation include the Eric Gagne trade and what it means going forward; the end of Brendan Donnelly's season; the team's remaining options for upgrading the offense and trading Wily Mo Pena; potential waiver deals around the league; Baltimore's winning strategy against Josh Beckett; and the Orioles' unusual move to stress the fundamentals.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
The Gagne trade: "I think they upgraded smartly and efficiently, and I think that Gagne helps in one of two ways. Number one, he gives them another viable closing option on nights when Papelbon is unable to take the ball in the ninth inning, and given that Papelbon has the shoulder that they have to be careful about in terms of workload, I think that's a nice backup plan for them. Secondly and most obviously, he gives them another setup option, along with Okajima, for the seventh and eighth innings. They used Okajima an awful lot through the first two-thirds of the season and as spectacular as he's been, I think there's a little bit of concern that they may be pushing it a little bit when it comes to his use."
On potential offensive options: "[Just-released Oakland outfielder Bobby] Kielty has had very good success against left-handed pitching, and that's something that would help them in any sort of platoon with J.D. Drew. Whether they can find a taker for Pena, I would imagine they could. ... it's more a matter of what expectations are, in terms of what they could get in return. I think someone would take a chance on him, and he'd surely get through waivers, but I wouldn't be expecting a big bundle of talent coming back this way if someone does take him."
Baltimore now takes infield practice. Why did this routine basically die out in the majors? "It's probably in the last 10 years you've seen it disappear. Teams just through time and effort had to sacrifice something in their day, and it seemed like infield was what got sacrificed. ... There are a lot of old-time baseball people that would like to see that come back, and see more of an emphasis on defense and fundamentals and paying attention to the little things, because they can add up."
Posted by Mike McDermott 
at 11:13 AM to McAdam
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