Saturday, July 18, 2009

Dear Roy Halladay, come to Boston.


Before I begin, let's get one thing straight. The Boston Red Sox don't NEED to make a deal to win the 2009 World Series. With the current roster in place, there is at least a 30% and maybe a 40 or 50% chance for Boston to win their third title in six seasons. They have a top-3 bullpen, top-3 rotation and top-5 lineup. And they have the best home-field advantage in the game. Tough to beat.

And as recently as 10 minutes ago, before I tuned into Baseball Tonight, I was on the "Why would you make a trade? The team is stacked as is!" train. Well, I caught another one. Thanks, Tim Kurkjian.

If Boston was to send Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard north of the border in exchange for perennial All-Star Roy Halladay, it would all but guarantee the Sox the 2009 championship. What lineup, save for the nine greatest position players in history, could go through the righty-lefty-righty threesome of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Roy Halladay? Send up Mantle, Maris and the Bambino in the heart of your order. I don't care. Good luck winning four of seven versus a team you haven't beaten in eight tries this season, especially when they roll out that rotation.

Whether Boston deems that sacrificing the future for Halladay justifies one guaranteed title remains to be seen. But Beckett and Halladay become free agents together after the 2010 season and the Sox will almost be forced to let one go (ideally Halladay based strictly on age), so any potential trade will mean the Sox are looking only to the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Yes, the farm system is stocked, but Boston could get a handful of prospects and/or proven position players for the Bard/Buchholz tandem in another potential deal.

If you asked me on Friday whether I would want the BoSox to make a deal for Halladay, I would have adamantly said 'no.' But with a 3-game lead in the AL East, and a 6.5 game lead for the Wild Card, Boston can clinch a playoff berth and most likely a World Series appearance with a trade for Halladay.

After an 86-year drought for one, a third title in six seasons sounds pretty good. Bring it on and bring Roy Halladay to Beantown.

No comments: