The trade deadline has come and gone and my work here is done. Petey might check in this weekend, but I am out till Monday. As always, check back bright and early Monday morning for the Red Sox Weekly Recap.

Have a great weekend! Go Sox!

All in all, today was a very successful day for the Boston Red Sox. We got a power hitting middle of the order bat that we desperately needed; we swapped LaRoche for a younger, cheaper, version of himself with more potential, and a better glove; and the Yankees and Rays both basically remained the same (the Yankees added Jerry Hairston Jr.). Lets break it down.

As I have said before, Victor Martinez was the least desirable of the big three rumors going around this week. Because of that, it was also the most logical deal to get done seeing the ridiculous asking prices for Halladay and Gonzalez. I have been saying all along that we wouldn’t trade Buchholz for him, and if that was the price it wasn’t happening. Cleveland ultimately came down on their asking price as they really had no choice after dealing Cliff Lee earlier this week.

Martinez has been slumping recently, but on the season he is batting .284 with 15 HR and 67 RBI. Last season he had injury problems, but thus far, 2009 has been a healthy year for him. He will spell Varitek behind the plate on some nights and split time between first and DH on others. Lowell and Varitek will see a decrease in playing time as a result of the move, and will definitely benefit from the increased rest for the last two months. We gave up a couple of promising arms in Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson, but our pitching depth in the minors is so deep, that it really is not effected too much. After hearing for weeks that it would take at least Clay Buchholz, if not more, this deal comes out looking like a steal. Martinez is signed through next season, and projects as a Type A player, meaning we would be compensated with two first round picks if he leaves via free agency.

The Casey Kotchman/Adam LaRoche deal still confuses me. LaRoche came up with the Braves but left when he entered his free agent years. Kotchman was the center piece of a deal last summer in which they traded Mark Teixera. Now, they trade that same guy for someone older, with less potential, that they let go years before? Sounds good to me. Both are left handed first basemen. LaRoche has a bit more pop, but Kotchman hits for better average. Kotchman is 26 while LaRoche is 29 and will be a free agent at the end of the season. Kotchman, however, has a much better glove, something the Red Sox will definitely take advantage of late in games as their defense as a whole has been below average.

In what might be the biggest move today, the Yankees and Rays basically did nothing. The Yanks got Hairston, as I said before, but that really is not an impact move. Both teams have been on a tear recently and apparently felt good where they are. Only two of the three teams can make the playoffs in the end, and the Red Sox today did their best to make sure that they are one of these teams.

- Chris

Gordon Edes of Yahoo Sports says LaRoche has been shipped back to Atlanta in exchange for Casey Kotchman. Can Theo please slip into the coffee of J.P. Ricciardi whatever he gave to Atlanta, because this is a steal an a half. Kotchman is younger and better than LaRoche in every single way. Just wow.

- Chris

USA Today is reporting that the Red Sox are about to acquire Victor Martinez. 

Fox Sports is reporting that Daniel Bard and Clay Buchholz are not involved. 

MLB.com is reporting that Nick Hagadone and Justin Masterson are involved.

Peter Gammons is reporting that Hagadone and Masterson are indeed involved, but that the deal is not done yet.

MLB.com says it is a done deal, with Bryan Price being the last piece to go to Cleveland.

Stay tuned for further details.

- Chris

While many teams have been up front about their reluctance to sign Michael Vick, the Patriots have not ruled it out. When asked, Belichick responded by saying “You know I think we would consider…” then backed off. Rumors are swirling that Vick was spotted at Logan and BarstoolSports.com claims that he is in Foxboro now. Stay tuned.

UPDATE – 4:30 – Looks like thats all she wrote. Joel Sherman of the NY Post reports Halladay has not been traded. The dust seems to be settling and all moves seem to have been reported.

UPDATE – 3:45 – Rolen has been dealt to the Reds, so much for competing. This is just me throwing out ideas but how about Buchholz, Bowden, Kotchman, Lowrie, and Lars Anderson for Halladay? I would do it.

UPDATE – 3:08 – If Victor Martinez is indeed heading to Boston, you can expect all talks between the Padres and Sox to be over. There is still a possibility of Roy Halladay as the Sox didn’t trade any of there major pieces to get Martinez, but don’t hold your breath. With Martinez here, the Sox will spend the last hour looking to find a spot for Adam LaRoche, who is no expendable. Peter Gammons has said that this deal is not done yet, but don’t expect anything to get in the way between now and 4pm.

- Chris

UPDATE – 1:47 pm – Jason Stark is reporting that the Padres are asking price is “astronomical, three times the asking price on Halladay.” If this is the case, don’t expect him to go anywhere because the price on Halladay is already very high.

- Chris

UPDATE – 1:33 pm  – The Red Sox were one of six teams who inquired about Seattles Felix Hernandez. Nothing will happen there though, I can almost gaurantee it. The Sox and Padres remain far off on a deal for Gonzalez, but they have been talking. Likely players to be involved are Buchholz, Bowden, Anderson, Lowrie, and Ryan Westmoreland. MLB.com thinks the chances of V Mart being dealt are 50/50.

- Chris

UPDATE – 12:55 pm – The Rangers are said to be out of the Halladay sweepstakes as the two teams stopped talking about an hour ago. At this point it doesn’t look like Halladay is going anywhere. Have fun “competing” next year for last place with the Orioles. Even with Halladay, the Blue Jays have no chance next year. Seeing as he is going to leave anyways, they are idiots for not trading him.

- Chris

UPDATE – 11:30 am - According to ESPN Radio, Jarrod Washburn has been dealt from Seattle to the Tigers. As you may know, Washburn was someone the Yankees were targeting. Does this mean they shift their focus to Halladay? Doubtful, but the last time the Yankees were this quiet was before they swooped in and stole Mark Teixeira. More to come.

- Chris

UPDATE  – 11:26 am - As every minute passes a Roy Halladay trade becomes less likely. Ricciardi seems hell bent on trying to contend next year rather than trade him now. Again, this could just be a leverage move, but he told the NY Post that a trade is highly unlikely.

Yahoo Sports reports that the Red Sox were going to spend the morning talking to the Blue Jays about Halladay and if talks were going no where spend the afternoon on Adrian Gonzalez and Victor Martinez.

- Chris

With the trade deadline less than 8 hours away, we will be continuously updating the latest rumors on what the Sox might do. So far it has just been the usual suspects, but that could all change very quickly, here is a recap of what has happened so far.

Roy Halladay: Things seem to have quieted down on this front. JP Ricciardi has leaked more info to the media in the last four days than Theo Espstein has in his life. He claims he is perfectly content holding onto Halladay, but I think he is just trying to gain leverage. The Rangers appear to be in the lead, but according to many sources no one is close to matching the Blue Jays price. Ultimately, there is really no way the Jays can keep him at this point. The relationship is ruined, and the team is in dire financial trouble. Look for Halladay to be dealt at 3:59 today to whoever the highest bidder is at the time. Will it be the Red Sox? If they don’t strike a deal for Adrian Gonzalez by that point, than I think it might be. Chance he ends up at Fenway: 30%

Victor Martinez: Last night the two clubs were supposedly trying to involve a third team to get this thing done. What it still boils down to is the Indians want Buchholz and the Sox will not give him up for just V Mart alone. Also, in any V Mart trade, the Sox would want to move Adam LaRoche at the same time. While Martinez is the least desirable of the three big names out there, it has the best chance of getting done. Chance he comes to Fenway: 50%

Adrian Gonzalez: I have been saying this all along, this is the guy I want, this is the guy they should get, and they seem to be really trying. Only problem is, the Padres don’t seem to be to interested in moving him. The two sides have been talking extensively since Tuesday night, and they seem to be making progress, but there are still obstacles to jump over. A new development in this one is that the Red Sox may be able to add Heath Bell to the mix as well if Daniel Bard were to be included. No other teams have been rumored to be going after Gonzalez, so hopefully Theo and Kevin Towers can hash something out today. Chance he ends up in Fenway: 20%

Look back throughout the day as this post will be updated as much as possible with the latest news.

- Chris

Quick little update while I’m at work, figured I should get this out there…

Both their names were released today as members of the “Busted in 03″ club and guess what, as a Yankee fan let me just say, I don’t give a rats ass. Everyone did roids, get over it. The best of the best are still the best of the best, but PED’s are a part of the world we live in, so everyone better get used to it. If you don’t think tons of guys are still taking HGH cause they can’t test for it, you’re crazy.

Over 100 names were on that list, and those are just the guys that were taking it at that time and got caught, imagine all the other people that werent taking roids at that moment and didn’t test positive. Everyone always talks about how Conseco was telling the truth all along and has been the only one upfront about all of this. Well Conseco has also said he thinks something like 90% of pro athletes were taking roids, so why are we still surprised when another name drops.

The one and only thing that does annoy me about all of this is that Papi was so adamant about not taking roids and penalties that people who test positive should receive. A few months back talking about how guys should get a year ban and there should be more testing. I wish every athlete would get off their high horse and stop acting like they’re better than everyone else when they’re not. Just once I want someone who tests positive to come out, admit they did it along with everyone else, and tell everyone to shut up and deal with it because it was/is a part of the game.  Nothing would please me more than to see someone like Schilling’s name come up on one of those tests, not to discredit his career, simply to show everyone what a scumbag he is for his stance on the matter all these years.

And for the record, sorry if this sounds like i’m rambling or rushed, but i’m at work and just trying to get something up, so deal with it.

-NYPulse

*Update* – Seems Chris beat me to the punch… you bastard!  *grumbles* stupid work

**Update by Chris** – I was at work too and still beat you, is there anything NY can beat Boston at these days

***Update*** – Damn steriods enhancing Chris’ performance… maybe if you guys would stop taking them we’d be able to beat you!

Daisuke Matsuzaka came out today and publicly criticized the Red Sox required routine for pitchers, “If I’m forced to continue to train in this environment, I may no longer be able to pitch like I did in Japan. The only reason why I managed to win games during the first and second years [in the United States] was because I used the savings of the shoulder I built up in Japan. Since I came to the Major Leagues, I couldn’t train in my own way, so now I’ve lost all those savings.” While I do agree with him to a certain extent, I still have this to get off my chest, STFU! This is Boston, you don’t go around saying shit like that to the media. If that is how you feel bring it up privately to the management, not some Japanese web site.

Now that I got that out of the way, they really should just let Dice K be Dice K. The Red Sox have tried to change pitchers on three occasions that stand out to me, in all three cases, the pitcher ended up dropping what the Red Sox had changed and was better off after.

Michael Bowden – He has a very compact delivery and relies more on arm strength than a total body effort. When he was drafted, the Red Sox immediately tried to change it, for fear of injury in later years. The Red Sox very quickly scrapped this idea and let Bowden continue the way he was. Bowden is now one of the Red Sox top prospects has made a couple appearances on the major league squad.

Daniel Bard – When things were going bad for Bard, the Red Sox were tinkering with his mechanics. They tried changing his arm slot in an attempt to gain more movement on his fast ball and also add some deception to his pitches. After his disastrous 2007 season he went to play in the Hawaiian Fall League and reverted back to his old mechanics. He posted a 1.08 era in 16.2 innings that fall and has since taken off to dominate at every level.

Clay Buchholz – Last but certainly not least. Before the 2008 season, one filled with great expectations for Clay, the Red Sox changed the arm slot for Buchholz much like they did with Bard. They felt the change would cause less wear and tear on his shoulder over the long run. If you don’t remember, Buchholz sucked last year, real bad. He posted a 6.75 era in 76 innings and was demoted back to the minors. Once in the minors, he went back to his normal mechanics and success shortly followed. While he still hasn’t put it together quite like Bard has, but he is still in a much better place than he was last year.

So, while the Red Sox have done a very good job drafting and developing pitchers, changing their mechanics has not always worked out in their favor. Even last year when Daisuke had 18 wins, he still wasn’t the pitcher that everyone talked about coming over here. I say let him get back on his regular routine and just see what happens, it can’t be any worse than what happened this year.

- Chris

Hey Guys,

Great work with the site so far. I have really enjoyed it. Do you think Clay Buchholz is losing some of his trade value with these last two starts? He hasn’t been very sharp in either of his outings so far. I think we should trade him now before everyone loses interest

- John

Thanks for the note John. The short answer to your question is no, I do not think he is losing ANY trade value, if anything he is gaining value. While he hasn’t been his best in his last two outings, he still has only given up four earned runs and has almost a strike out an inning. He has shown the ability to wiggle out of jams and stay composed under pressure, a key quality for a rookie to have. Watching Clay, it seems like he has been hanging around Dice K too much. He is trying to be too perfect with his pitches. He is going deep into the counts a lot and is getting in trouble by leaving pitches up in the zone. This is typical of a rookie pitcher and he will soon figure it out. His stuff is just unbelievable, it is just a matter of him hanging less pitches. Last night his fastball was touching 97 and his change up was as low as 81. That is something you do not see every day.

Remember, send us your e-mails at BostonSportsPulse@gmail.com and if we like your question, you will get a post on the home page.

- Chris