Checking in with Old Friends

5/1/06 seemed like a glorious day for Red Sox nation. Josh Bard, after 6 starts with total of 10 passed balls as Tim Wakefield's personal catcher, was traded to the San Diego Padres, along with Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli. The trade took place the same day Wakefield was slated to take the mound against the Yankees. After a police escort, Mirabelli arrived at Fenway Park, suited up and ready to catch just minutes before the first pitch. Mirabelli allowed no passed balls in the game and the Red Sox defeated the Evil Empire 7-3.

Mirabelli went on to start in 44 more games for the Red Sox, catching all of Wake's starts,and allowing 11 passed balls. While his defense behind the plate was fine, Doug was terrible in the batter's box hitting .193/.261/.342. Was the then 35 year old really worth Bard, a 28 year old backstop, known for his defensive prowess,and Meredith, a Triple A pitcher with a whole lot of upside, but a damaged psyche? The answer to the aforemention question, at the time was, no. Bard's bat was better than Mirabelli's and he most likely would have gotten used to catching Wakefield's knuckleball. Bard was and still is a better overall defensive catcher than Mirabelli.

Meredith alone was not even worth Mirabelli. Cla showed the potential to become a lights out setupman after dominating the minors in early 2005, an accomplishment that earned him a big league call up. In his Major League debut, Cla gave up a grand slam to Richie Sexson that looped around Pesky's Pole and was immediately shuttled back to Pawtucket. Meredith's performance suffered after his demotion from the big league club, but the sidewinder still showed great deception and good stuff.

Meredith and Bard each flourished in San Diego after the trade, which Theo Epstein has publicly admitted that he made a mistake pulling the trigger on. Bard did a fantastic job in 93 games for the Padres, handling the pitching staff well, allowing no passed balls, and hitting .338/.506/.337. Meredith was arguably the top reliever in the National League. The then 23 year old went 5-1 with a 1.07 ERA and .71 whip in 50.2 innings pitched. Meredith had a K/BB ratio of 6 and a ridiculous GO/AO (ground out/air out) of 3.37.

Currently all 3 of these players, play for the same teams and are set to make appearances in this weekend's Red Sox vs. Padres match up. Up to this point in the season the Bard to Mirabelli comparison favors Bard:


BARD: GS:44 AVG.257 OBP .337 SLG .351
MIRRABELLI: 17 .194 .254 .306

While Bard hasn't put up great offensive numbers, they are still much better than Mirabelli's. One might argue that Mirabelli's job is to catch Wake and that he is doing a great job doing it. The problem with that argument is that Bard, with his defensive prowess, most likely would have adjusted to Wakefield. Although Mirabelli does a fine job catching Wake, he is an automatic out in our lineup. Bard is not a great hitter, but he is far from an automatic out. Bard is a 29 year old, entering his prime, who could have stuck with the team for years, while Mirabelli is a 36 year old, whose best days are long gone. I do not understand the logic of trading a better, younger player along with a prospect for a worse, older player.

Oh, and then there is Meredith. Cla is not having as dominant of a year in 07 as he did in 06, but he has still been a solid setupman for Trevor Hoffman. Meredith is 2-5 with a 3.50 ERA and 1.44 whip. He has shown even better ground ball tendencies with a GO/AO of 4.80. If Cla were still with the Sox he would be competing with Manny Delcarmen for the final relief spot and may still be in Triple A. He was expendable and most likely still would be, but not at the price of Mirabelli. Then again, it isn't the first time the Red Sox traded a young pitcher that turned into a stud setupman for Mirabelli. Boston traded Justin Duscherer to the Rangers in exchange for Mirabelli in 2001. At least none of these trades were as bad as Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen.