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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Even supposedly smart people (teams) can do dumb things…
Boston acquired Byrd from the Indians. I am not sure if they gave anything up. Byrd is a replacement level starter with no value whatsoever, unless you believe in a veteran influence I suppose (and I am not here to debate that point).
He is going to replace Clay Bucholz in the rotation. Buchholz is a terrific young pitcher. Last year, in relief I think, his NERC (normalized component ERA) was 2.79 and his DIPS NERC was 2.90. This year, as a starter, it is 4.63 and 3.74. 4.00 is defined as an average pitcher.
Byrd on the other hand, has an NERC of 4.98 this year with a DIPS NERC of 5.28. Last year, it was 4.99 and 4.47. The year before, it was 4.90 and 4.20. He is almost 39 years old and has nothing left in the tank.
Why would Boston replace one pitcher in the rotation with another who is probably a run worse? Because they have a case of the stupids! Buchholz is 0-5 and Byrd has been “pitching well lately.” Boston is doing something that a team like CIN or SEA would be doing. Whose decision was this?
This is not a dumb thing to do. It is a REALLY dumb thing to do.