Arroyo vs. Fogg

I must say that I find Bronson Arroyo to be a tad over-rated. And last year I think his on-field performance was hurt by his being distracted by his music. Let's compare the soon to be 29 Arroyo to another pitcher - Josh Fogg free agent, 29 years old, formerly of the Pirates and originally of Lynn, Mass (Lynn, Lynn - the city of sin - you never come out the way you went in):

Arroyo 33-33 / 4.59 ERA / 1.36 WHIP / .267 BAA / 588.1 IP
Fogg - 39-42 / 4.74 ERA / 1.43 WHIP / .282 BAA / 697.1 IP

Arroyo's numbers do look superior to Fogg but you have to take into account that Fogg was piling up those numbers with pretty crappy Pirates teams while most of Arroyo's numbers came with one of the most winning clubs in baseball. I should also note that some of Arroyo's numbers are skewered by his 2003 debut with Boston where he worked out of the bullpen only. If you take away those innings - then Arroyo's ERA goes to 4.66 (his WHIP and BAA also go up).

Why would the Red Sox want a Pirates castoff like Fogg? Well remember that Arroyo was also a Pirates castoff (Red Sox picked him off waivers). If Arroyo could get you a Jeremy Reed or a Brad Wilkerson in a trade - I say do it right now and sign Fogg to take Arroyo's spot on the pitching staff.