Crisp and Matsuzaka Coming Around

I guess Coco wasn't quite dead. Sure, it took until late June but Coco Crisp is in fact beginning to kick. Well, that's not completely true. To be fair, Crisp began hitting when June began. He went 4-10 against the Yankees June 1st, 2nd and 3rd and has hit .333 in the month of June. Throughout his career, Crisp has been somewhat of a second half player. Similar to Johnny Damon, Crisp's career average after the All-Star break is actually .015 points higher than the one he has in the first half of the season.

Speaking of our old friend Johnny "Who?", Epstein looks pretty smart right now for not signing him. In year two of his contract with the Yankees, Johnny Damon's already breaking down. Over the next 3 years, the Yankees are on the hook for $39 million for a player who can barely field his position a few days a week. Coco Crisp isn't any Ichiro but he's one of the best fielding center fielders in the league and is both out-hitting and out-slugging the guy he replaced. Did I mention Crisp costs something like $10 million less?

Fortunately for the Red Sox (and Theo Epstein) the $103 million man is also starting to come around. It would be unfair to say that Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn't done well. But with analysts claiming he could contend for the Cy Young in his first major league year, anything short is bound to be a disappointment.

When the Red Sox signed Matsuzaka, I said I'd be happy if ecstatic if he posted anything lower than a 4.00 ERA in his first season in the AL East. As we approach the half way point of the season, he's almost there. After tonight's win, Matsuzaka is now 9-5 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. I think it's rather clear however, that he has the ability to be much more dominant.

Through his first 98.2 major league innings, Matsuzaka has allowed only 93 hits while striking out 102. His biggest issue to this point has been his control. His BB/9 innings pitched of 3.19 isn't bad, but it's nowhere near the control he exhibited in Japan.

Whether it's adjusting to a 5-man-rotation, major league umpires or a new workout regiment, Daisuke's BB/9 innings pitched is up significantly from the 1.64 he posted last year in Japan. Such lapses in control are rather normal for pitchers transitioning to the major leagues and they almost always go down. Other than the walks, he's pitched relatively similar to the way he did last year. His K/9 IP ratio has gone down by only 0.36.

Clement Rehabbing

Matt Clement was actually spotted getting in some throwing lately. Here is an exclusive photo. Unfortunately, he looked like the same old Clement...

Red Sox Showcasing Murphy

The Red Sox today called up center fielder David Murphy, to replace the injured Curt Schilling on their roster. The Red Sox have better outfield prospects in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brandon Moss, but it's David Murphy that's drawn the most interest from other clubs. Perhaps it's because he's the only center fielder who the Red Sox would be willing to part with.

Murphy has drawn interest from both Florida and Houston, but San Diego would be a logical landing spot for him as well. Not only are the Red Sox calling Murphy up for their series this weekend in San Diego, but the Padres are in need of a center fielder. Their current center fielder, light-hitting Mike Cameron, is being paid $7 million in the last year of his contract.

The Padres could save quite a bit of money replacing Cameron with David Murphy. Murphy could also probably provide some extra offensive production for a team likely to be in contention for the playoffs. While Cameron is hitting .260/.318/.425 at the major league level, Murphy is hitting .283/.362/.423 at the Triple-A level.

If the Padres are interested in Murphy, they could attempt to deal him straight up for Mike Cameron. Such a deal seems unlikely however given that Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp has finally begun to come around offensively and has been solid on the defensive side of the ball all season. What would make more sense would be for the Padres to send a relief arm to the Red Sox.

The San Diego Padres currently have the best bullpen ERA in the majors. It's possible that the Red Sox would want Cla Meredith back, but he's actually been one of the least effective Padres relievers this season. The Red Sox could use a righty power arm for the back of their bullpen and either Linebrink or Bell would fit the bill. They should be warry about picking up NL West relievers though after the performances of Rudy Seanez and Luis Vizcaino in the AL East.

A trade with the Houston Astros seems unlikely as their young center fielder Hunter Pence has been a revelation. They are however looking to unload relief arms. And if they were looking to upgrade their right field situation, Pawtucket Red Sox outfielder Brandon Moss would make sense. Moss has hit .298/.397/.539 in 70 games at the Triple-A level this year. His power has been impressive with 24 doubles, a triple and 12 home runs in 258 at bats.

Welcome to Dirty Water

If you are one of the fortunate ones to find this site, congratulations. Given that we just created this site, chances are you've been wandering a long time threw the wilderness that is the internet, before finally arriving upon the candy cabin that is Dirty Water. We hope you find the site to be entertaining and informative. We will all do our best to rise to all of your lofty standards, and above all, be consummate professionals. Make sure you say hi to our welcome mascot, Coco Crisp.