Kendry Morales and Mike Lowell

Yesterday's freak injury to the Angels' Kendry Morales may set of a chain reaction that will result in Mike Lowell being traded by the Red Sox. Mike Lowell wants to be traded someplace where he can play. The Red Sox want to trade Lowell and almost had a deal done with Texas for catcher Max Ramirez before an injury to Lowell's right thumb put the kibosh on the deal.

The Angels suddenly find themselves in dire need of a 1st baseman. Do you think that they haven't already called the Red Sox about Mike Lowell? Since the Red Sox have shown a penchant for trading for players named Ramirez - how about catching prospect Carlos Ramirez from the Angels?

Knowing that the Angels may be desperate may spur the Rangers to get back on the trade horse in order to beat their Californian competitor to the punch. This may also get others into the mix.

The bottom line is that I'd be surprised if Mike Lowell is still with the Red Sox this time next week.

Red Sox / Angels Live Blog

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I'll explain my absence shortly. For now I figured I'd just start typing and hopefully something amusing will come of it.

6:45 - The Red Sox have one loss in their last 11 games and of course I had bet on them that night they lost their only game while I was out in Las Vegas. I came home on a red-eye flight last Thursday and I think I picked up a bug on the plane. I've been coughing like bastard since late Friday. I've started right in taking Mucinex but I think the lack of sleep coupled with the fact that I went out on Saturday and went to the Red Sox on Monday has left me in a weakened condition. I feel like crap. I've been drinking lots of fluids and trying to get plenty of sleep but I can't help but wonder if I've got he same bug that's been plaguing the Red Sox locker room.

6:57 - In case you didn't get my Red Sox flu reference - Jason Varitek has missed the last 4 games and Dice K has to skip his regular start tonight because of the bug. Gordon Edes is also missing from the pre-game but I'm guessing that's because he's leaving the Boston Globe to move to Yahoo! Sports. It used to be that the Boston Globe had the varsity roster of sportswriters in Boston and that the Boston Herald was the JV. Now the roles are reversed. I used to read the Globe sports religiously. Now I can't tell you when the last time I went out of my way to pick up a copy of the paper. Best of luck to Gordon Edes on his new venture. He's always struck me as a class individual.

7:05 - Jon Lester gets the start tonight. Combined Lester and Clay Buchholz are 2-3 in 9 starts with a 4.94 combined ERA. That's slightly above the league average. (Gary Matthews Jr. increases that ERA with a HR to make it 1-0 Angels). Lester and Buchholz look great compared to Ian Kennedy and Philip Hughes of the Yankees who are a combined 0-5 in 7 starts with a combined 9.20 ERA. Just sayin'.

7:19 - Excellent night for watching TV in the Boston area tonight. You have the Red Sox on at 7:00 and the Celtics playing the Hawks on at 8:00 and later tonight at 11:00 one of the HBO channels has been showing Deadwood episodes each night. Is it bad that I'm actually looking forward to the Deadwood repeat more than anything else? Speaking of Deadwood - I'm still amazed that W. Earl Brown who played Dan Dority also played Mary's brother Warren in There's Something About Mary. And no - I have not seen his baseball. The Angels pick up another run to make it 2-0. The Red Sox are lucky that it's only 2-0.

7:36 - Some people would argue that the Red Sox have been lucky their whole season so far. The Red Sox are 15-7 going into tonight but according to the Pythagorean W-L they should be 12-10. I'm a fan of the Pythagorean but it's still took early in the season and the sample size still too small. Lyford does a great job breaking down the Pythagorean on a weekly basis. Julio Lugo drives in JD Drew to close the score to 2-1.

7:55 - The Angels scratch out another run to make it 3-1. And speaking of small sample sizes - I get a kick out of this comparison;

David Ortiz - .181 BA / .292 OBP / .277 SLG
Kevin Cash - .227 BA / .292 OBP / .272 SLG

And I make the comparison just as Cash gets a double to lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning.

8:02 - Cash comes in to score to make it 3-2. I should mention that Cash is a graduate of the Jack Cust school of base running.

8:17 - I meant to post something on John Smoltz getting his 3,000th strikeout last night. Is there any doubt that he's a first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher? Just saying but I'd also like to point out that Smoltz is a career 15-4 with a 2.65 ERA in the post-season. Compare that to Roger Clemens' 12-8 with a 3.75 ERA in his post season career. I'd take John Smoltz over Roger Clemens any day of the week.

8:27 - Hey - speaking of steroids guys - Gary Matthews Jr hits his second HR of the game to make it 4-2 for the Angels.

8:36 - David Ortiz tied the game with a 2-run HR and makes me $20 in the process. I have Ortiz in my HR pool with my buddy Tim. I also have Vlade and Kotchman while Tim has Manny, Youkilis and Torii Hunter for his picks.

8:48 - Casey Kotchman puts me up $40 for the night but also gives the Angels a 5-4 lead with his 6th HR of the season.

8:57 - During a game break they showed Matt Stairs hit 2 HR against the Rays. I have no idea where that game is being played. It certainly wasn't the Trop or the Rogers Center. Is there any player out there today in greater need of a nickname than Matt Stairs? Also in news around MLB - there is a report that Jimmy Rollins actually has a broken ankle. Meanwhile the Celtics are up by 13 in the second quarter.

9:25 - Just checking on some fantasy stats and do you realize that Dustin Pedroia is the second best fantasy 2nd baseman going behind only Chase Utley?

9:50 - Made a couple of moves in one of my fantasy leagues. I dropped James Loney and picked up Casey Kotchman. I also dropped Manny Corpas (I have two good closers ahead of him) and picked up Rich Hill. I'm just picking up Hill because he's got 2 starts next week. I hope I don't get burned by that move. Speaking of being burned by a move - I still contend that the Yankees were burned badly by their decision to pick up Gary Sheffield instead of Vlade Guerrero when they had the chance. If they signed Vlade then they would have won at least one World Series these past 4 years. Angels pick up an insurance run to lead 6-4.

9:58 - Red Sox go quietly in the 9th and lose for just the 2nd time in a dozen games.

Baseball Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous baseball thoughts and observations.

It will be interesting to watch how the Atlanta Braves starting rotation shakes out. John Smoltz could be an ace on any team if he remains healthy and avoids arm trouble. Tom Glavine is going to be a great story going back to Atlanta and he's almost guaranteed to give you 200 IP. Tim Hudson seems to have rebounded last year and looks like an ace again. Mike Hampton? Well the thing the Braves have going for them with Hampton is the fact that this is a contract year for Hampton (no way the Braves pick up the $20 million 2009 option) and its funny how a player always seems to come through in his option year. Chuck James is an interesting player. Can he be a frontline starter with a sub 4.00 ERA or will he devolve into a long relief man? If Jair Jurrjens gets a nod in the starting rotation and performs like some people think he can - then the Edgar Renteria deal could be a real steal for the Braves. Yes - the Braves starting rotation will be very interesting to watch this season... When the Angels traded for Jon Garland and then signed Torii Hunter people were "crowning their ass" as the defacto AL West champs. I'm having my doubts. I don't think John Lackey can repeat his 2008 performance. Maybe its just how poorly he's done against the Red Sox that colors my perspective but I just don't see him as a team ace. Then you have Kelvim Escobar's pitching shoulder issues which will keep him out the start of the season. You can almost feel the snowball going down hill for the Angels... Speaking of John Smoltz - it will be interesting if he and Curt Schilling are up for the Hall of Fame at the same time. Both pitchers will have over 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts and a resume of being two of the best postseason pitchers in history. Smoltz probably has the better shot since it looks like he will outlast Schilling and besides probably having more wins at the end of his career - Smoltz will also have those 154 saves... It seems everyone is saying how the Orioles duped the Astros by trading them Miguel Tejada right before the Mitchell Report came out and I have been one of the people who have been more than willing to point out Tejada's decline over the years and question whether his peak was due to "enhancers". Having said that - I can see Tejada coming back with a 30+ HR, 100+ RBI season this year. He'll be facing NL pitching and Minutemaid Park could be just what the doctor ordered for his HR totals...

An Open Letter to Those Who Do Baseball Power Rankings

Dear Sir/Madam,

Can you please explain to me the reason you chose to disrespect the Boston Red Sox? Most of you had the Red Sox listed at number 1 in your "Power Rankings" until about a month ago. That was when many of you decided to move the Red Sox to number 2 and insert the Angels as the new number 1 team. This move was made even though the Angels did not have a better record than the Red Sox. In fact during all this time that you have had the Angels ranked above the Red Sox in your power rankings - there was just one day (one single stinking day!) when the Angels had a better overall record than the Red Sox.

Let me also remind you that the Angels and Red Sox played one series so far this season. A series which the Red Sox swept 3 games to ZERO and in which they scored 25 runs while allowing the Angels just 3.

Still you have the Angels ranked above the Red Sox.

Now many of you have compounded the insult by putting the Red Sox behind not just the Angels but also behind the Cleveland Indians. These are the same Indians who look great at home but who have a losing record on the road (20-21). The Red Sox have also had one series against the Indians this season and they won that series 2 games to 1.

The Red Sox start the post All-Star game schedule with 11 straight games at home. None of those games are against teams with a winning record. By the end of that stretch the Red Sox will have cemented the best record in baseball by a wide margin and if you still have them ranked second (or worse) in your power rankings - you will look like a cement head who refuses to see the truth.

Sincerely,

Chris Lynch

EDIT: I just checked John Donovan's Power Rankings at SI.com and he's got the Red Sox ranked FOURTH behind the Angels, Indians and the freaking Tigers. I demand that John Donovan be drug tested at once. He is definitely smoking something.