The Sports Beat

Some might say the Red Sox hit two byrds with one stone with their most recent trade.

I wouldn’t, because that would be a terrible pun.  However, Theo’s latest transaction follows suit with the general Boston philosophy of stockpiling cheap assets in the hopes of overcoming injuries. 

Byrd provides a semi-serviceable starter for a team that has struggled to field one in its fifth spot in the rotation and just lost its most reliable starter to, essentially, old age.  Charlie Zink is a decent option to replace his fellow knuckleballer right now but going more than start to start with him isn’t something Terry Francona’s going to want to do in the thick of a pennant race, especially with Clay Buchholz sporting an ERA rising more rapidly than gas prices. 

Whether Paul Byrd will be the guy who has dominated since the All Star Break or the pitcher whose ERA away from Jacobs Field this season is a robust 5.56 remains anyone’s guess, but his arrival means another option for the Sox.  Between Byrd, Charlie Zink, Bartolo Colon, Clay Buchholz, David Pauley, and Michael Bowden, Boston has at least given itself a solid shot in its hunt for October.

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While deals similar to the Indians sending Paul Byrd to the Red Sox for a couple coupons and a free ride on Baltic in Monopoly happen often after the July 31st trade deadline, moving a quality player like Adam Dunn occurs much more infrequently.

Dunn brings power and patience, perhaps the perfect antidote for an offense so barren these days you’d think Persephone had gone missing.  He’ll likely be nothing more than the equivalent of a summer sublet, but he’ll be the ultimate short-term pad.  The move positions Arizona for a run at the bronze medal of division titles, and gives baseball’s latest and most western fertility-drug-produced twin a nice comeback in the back-and-forth with the Motivated Mannys from L.A., who rest a mere game back of the first place Diamondbacks.

For a team that made it to the NLCS last year and has fallen on hard times despite a talented roster a move of this order fits like a classic pair of jeans.  Dunn will help keep the team afloat in the hopes that it can find its early-season form and follow its dynamic top of the rotation to a series victory or two in the playoffs before the start of the slaughter that the World Series has become.

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