Requiem for a shortstop: Marco Scutaro

Scutaro's next dirty jersey will read, "COLORADO."

The Hot Stove season is no season at all. It’s the worst of all worlds, a thick stew of rumors, trades, worries and superstitions without the one piece of the game that makes all that nonsense manageable — actual baseball games.

I actively avoid rumors at this time. I’m not interested in who might sign where as much as I am when I actually do. Then, weighing lineups and juggling batting orders can bring a lift in the dead of winter between Bruins games.

But one bit of business for the Red Sox, coming off back-to-back third place finishes, struck a somber chord with this fan — Marco Scutaro, pencilled in as 2012’s starting shortstop, was off to the Colorado Rockies for a relief pitcher and salary help. With him goes one of the few old-world ball players the Red Sox have had in recent years, outside of Dustin Pedroia.

 

Let the A’s move to San Jose

Baseball was better when the A's didn't have to send their best players away every year.

This week, the Oakland A’s made a trade, sending their best starting pitcher, Gio Gonzalez, to the Washington Nationals for four prospects. A couple of days later, they sent their All-Star closer, Andrew Bailey, along with outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the Boston Red Sox for Josh Reddick and two more young players.

Gonzalez and Bailey, you see, were arbitration eligible and in line to get big raises. But the A’s don’t do big raises. They can’t with their payroll essentially maxed-out at $66 million. That dollar figure is expected to drop, and keep dropping unless the A’s can increase revenue streams.

They play in a stadium unsuited for baseball, in a relatively poor part of California’s Bay Area. But that could change if they’re allowed to move and build a new park in San Jose.

And if it weren’t for the Giants, claiming territory rights on San Jose, a region 50 miles from the San Francisco park, the A’s might have been able to do it by now.

 

In defense of Yuniesky Betancourt

Say Hey! Yuniesky is back in Kansas City... or something.

Yuniesky Betancourt is not a great player. By most accounts, he’s not even a good player, or slightly below average. He’s in competition for the coveted title of  “Worst Everyday Player in Baseball.”

His 2011 numbers with Milwaukee back that up. in 152 games, all at shortstop save for a few pinch hits, Betancourt hit .252 for a .652 OPS, which adjusts down to a 75 OPS+. He did hit 13 home runs, but walked only 16 times. He’s a slap hitter with signs of pop but no real discipline, and he’ll be 30 years old before Opening Day. If he hits a peak, he probably already has.

With that in mind, it’s not hard to understand the outrage with the Royals signing him to a contract for 2012, if there can be such a feeling regarding the signing of an infielder in Kansas City. Even when that infielder has recently been underwhelming in the same uniform. And the “underwhelming” tag comes without much in the way of initial expectations.

 

Shoppach signals the end of the Varitek era

The Captain.

The Red Sox’ offseason has been an exercise in plugging small holes. The core of the team is intact and, in terms of the roster, the team has happily recognized that September was more fluke than disease, and are working in filling in the gaps around the important parts — Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury, and so on.

Jonathan Papelbon is out, but Mark Melancon is in to fill his spot in the bullpen. Nick Punto replaces the traded Jed Lowrie in the infield. Daniel Bard will shift to the starting rotation.

And, following stops in Cleveland and Tampa, Kelly Shoppach returns to Boston. He also marks the closing of the book on the captain.

 

Bases Loaded 3

I was asked ever-so-nicely to contribute to Baseball-Prose.com this offseason, and I have a piece up there today outlining how I channeled my baseball obsession through the little-discussed Bases Loaded 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Included: my customized Red Sox, the mythical Bases Loaded 3 league and notes from the 1990s, all working to chronicle how much time I had on my hands as a 15-year-old.

So, please, read and enjoy.