A Look Back at In-Season Moves

6/15/06

Acquired RHP David Riske from the Boston Red Sox for LHP Javier Lopez

This move looked like a smart one from the start, but now I’m not so certain. We were dealing from a position of strength when it came to LHPs; we had Cotts, Thornton, Boone Logan, and Tyler Lumsden , but Riske closed the season poorly. When he first came to the Sox he pitched pretty well. He was decent to good for most of the season, but allowed 7 runs in his last 7 IP. Lopez on the other hand had a 2.70 ERA in 27 games and 16.2 IP for the Sawx. The ERA is nice, but he didn’t exactly get in a lot of work.

Verdict: Hung jury

7/23/06

Acquired C Sandy Alomar Jr. from the Dodgers for RHP B.J. LaMura

Being the optimist that I am, I looked at this deal as a chance for Buehrle to turn his season around. I presumed that having pitched to Sandy before, Sandy may be able to unlock the Buehrle of old. Boy was I wrong. Sandy brought us nothing. He didn’t call games well and he didn’t hit well. The fact that we gave anything up for him is upsetting.

Verdict: Bad move, again. (I hope I never see the words “Acquired Sandy Alomar Jr.” again.

7/24/06

Acquired RHP Mike MacDougal from the Kansas City Royals for LHP Tyler Lumsden and RHP Daniel Cortes

Mike Mac was out best reliever down the stretch, and had a sparkling 1.55 ERA in 29 games. As long as MacDougal can stay healthy we made a good trade. His mechanics are ugly and he is injury prone so I’m knocking on wood and hoping we get a full season out of him. Again, we were trading from our reserve of lefty relievers, so I don’t really have any regret about losing Lumsden.

Verdict: Good trade