The Smoltz Situation

[papipapsmanny]

Alright so what happens when he returns and dice-k returns?

we cant move wake he has been amazing, and penny has had some good starts (except the Os)

what will we do? 6 man rotation?

were only like 20 days from the supposed date that he would be ready

[Tragedy]

It always settles itself. Someone will be pitching terribly so they're DL bound, or someone will get legitimately hurt.

[Destroia15]

I really wish Masterson had a chance at keeping his spot in the rotation but I don't think there's any chance of that because we're paying Penny $5 million and he can't be sent down to the minors.

[gosawks]

Not to mention the fact that those 20 days may be continually pushed back based on his performance in minor league games, etc. They said for a good portion of the off season that he'll want to pitch around May-June, but they might not even let him until later in the season.

Something will sort itself out sooner or later, and when it comes, at least we know we'll have Smoltz waiting in the wings.

[redsox0717]

we should of never signed penny

[Destroia15]

we should of never signed penny

I never liked the Penny signing, but he's done better than his numbers suggest. Two of his three starts have been quality starts. It's a little early to call him a bust. And hey, I bet there's a National League team out there who would take a chance on him even if he struggles with us.

[madtnt]

Def a nice problem, but is this a possibility of this. I have always been a Penny fan and hoped he would do good, but what is the thought about trading him a prospect for a bat around the time he is eligible ? I believe thats around the all star game. I know there is a date for trading incoming free-agents, but not too sure what it is. Regardless , if Penny does good we flip him and prospects (fielders or AA level pitchers) thus saving the incredible depth we have for Pro ready arms.

[bagwell368]

Never can have too much pitching. Remember corn rows?

madtnt and I agree - deal Penny to a contender, assuming Dice and Smolz are in good shape. Even if someone else goes downhill later (career numbers say Wake will bite big time in the summer) there is Masterson, or perhaps Buchholz or Bowden.

[Superdude]

Someone can always be trade bait for something

[KingerSox]

This is an extremely good position to be in tho at the end of the day.

[ThreeIfBaerga]

FWIW, Buchholz last night: 6ip 5h 1bb 1er 7k

[Towelie]

I think Penny will be trade bait before the end of the season.

[Osiagledknarf]

we should of never signed penny

Why not? Because excessive depth in pitching is a bad thing? He's given us 2 quality starts and 2 wins. God, what a mistake!

Buchholz is probably benefitting from a little more time in AAA, Smoltz isn't ready, and Matsuzaka got DL'ed.

Penny was a great sign, for several reasons:
-Very little guaranteed money.
-Mininal commitment from the Red Sox.
-Easily movable contract if we should need to.

Awesome. We should have signed Penny, and I'm glad we did.

As for what happens when Smoltz gets back...hmmm. I'm of the belief that these things usually sort themselves out via injury or ineffectiveness.

However, for the sake of argument, if Smoltz is ready to go and by some chance Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, Wakefield, and Penny are all still pitching well...I'd imagine they'd look to pawn Penny off to some pitching starved team for a AA player or two.

I am quite certain that they will not switch to a 6-man rotation midseason. You can't screw with pitchers and their schedules and delicate bodies that way.

That's how I see the situation, at least.

[TragicallyHip]

I have a question. How many Japanese starting pitchers have been effective for more than 3 or 4 full MLB seasons? The only one that comes to my mind is Nomo. I get the feeling that they aren't effective for that long due to the stress of the way Japanese teams treat starting pitchers.

[RedSoxtober]

I think Penny will be trade bait before the end of the season.

I totally agree. I believed at the time they signed both Penny and Smoltz that what they wanted was one season split across those two players.

Penny generally pitches well enough in the first half to be an enticing trade target for a team on the bubble.

More importantly, Theo made comments about the tightening market when Penny was signed, stating specifically that they expected to pick up extra arms and be sellers in that tight market.