Red Sox Trade For Another Closer From A Bad Team, Good Luck Joel Hanrahan

For the second off-season in a row, the Red Sox have proceeded forward with the idea that closers on inferior teams should be able to make a smooth transition to the rigors of the AL East. How did that work out last season for Mark Melancon (formerly of the Astros) and Andrew Bailey (formerly of the A's)?

After much talk about the possible trade last week, it was made official today as Boston traded Melancon along with minor leaguers Stolmy Pimentel (pitcher), Ivan De Jesus (infielder) and Jerry Sands (first baseman/outfielder) to PIttsburgh for closer Jack Hanrahan and minor league second baseman Brock Holt.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice move for the Red Sox since Hanrahan is a two-time All-Star in the National League (2011, 2012) and they didn't give up much in return. Melancon was a complete disaster in 2012 (0-2, 6.20 ERA in 41 appearances) and who knows if Pimentel, De Jesus and Sands will pan out. Pimentel was in Portland (Double A) last season while De Jesus and Sands came over in the huge trade with the Dodgers. None of them were any of the Red Sox' elite prospects by any means.

Hanrahan is not young, he turned 31 in October and made his major league debut for the Nationals in 2007. After 2.5 years with Washington, he's spent the last 3.5 in Pittsburgh. So that means he played for two of the worst teams in baseball (this was before the Nationals were competitive) and hasn't sniffed a playoff spot let alone played meaningful games in September and October.

He had 40 saves in 2011 and 36 last season. In 2012, he was 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 63 appearances. In 59.2 innings, he allowed 40 hits, 18 earned runs and eight home runs with 67 strikeouts and 36 walks. Hanrahan is a big guy (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) so he's a power pitcher. It makes you wonder what Boston plans to do with Bailey (7.04 ERA, 6 saves, 3 blown saves in 19 appearances) who was injured most of last season then terrible when he finally was activated late in the miserable campaign for all involved.

There is still over two months before spring training starts so expect the Red Sox to continue making moves to bolster a roster which as it stands, still appears to be the fifth best in the AL East. Pennants aren't won in November and December but it's hard to argue with all the improvements made by the Blue Jays. The Yankees, Orioles and Rays haven't done much but they were better teams than the Red Sox to begin with so I don't think that has changed.

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The Red Sox Finally Start To Learn From Their Mistakes Over The Last Few Years

If only there was a way the Dodgers could take John Lackey and deploy Bobby Valentine as a clubhouse attendant-a job that's much more his speed these days. Still, getting rid of $262.5 million owed to Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto means that Boston is finally admitting that they needed a big change in terms of players.

James Loney is an average MLB first baseman and who knows if right-hand pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa or outfielder Jerry Sands will pan out for the Red Sox at the Major League level. That's besides the point and obviously, on paper in terms of talent the players that the Red Sox gave up are on a whole other level than the Dodgers.

No, this was a salary dump as the stubborn Red Sox owners and front office were able to get rid of the team's biggest pain in the ass-Beckett. Gonzalez is a fine player but he proved in his year and a half here that he's not East Coast material. He's not a leader and he seems like a guy that only really cares about his personal numbers. If the team wins or loses, well that doesn't matter as much. Bottom line, he's not a winner. He is one of the most skilled first basemen in MLB but that doesn't make him clutch or likable for that matter. He never understood that we care way too much about the Red Sox and we overanalyze everything. He's from California so I'm sure he'll be comfortable in LA. The fans (when they show up) just want to be seen there and have fun, that's all they care about.

As for Crawford, his signing even more than Gonzalez in that ill-fated week in December of 2010 never made much sense. The Red Sox already had a center fielder and leadoff hitter-Jacoby Ellsbury-that is a better all-around player than Crawford. He was wildly overpaid and clearly pressed from day one to try and justify it. Unlike Beckett who is an asshole or Gonzalez who is clueless, Crawford is a decent guy. He wanted fans to like him and with his salary and lack of production, that was probably never going to happen. After last season's nightmare, he couldn't stay healthy this season. I honestly hope he is healthy next season with the Dodgers so he can get back to the player he used to be with the Rays.

What is there left to say about the Texas Toughguy? He morphed into a super villain, the likes of which I can never recall on the Boston sports scene. He kept digging himself into a deeper hole with his terrible performances capped off by ridiculous comments to the media and general surliness. In the last year, he has dragged down many teammates around him, notably Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. By shipping him out of town and hopefully getting rid of Lackey this winter, there is hope that the Red Sox will start to get part of their soul back.

Maybe the failure of these big-ticket players, along with Daisuke Matsuzaka whose career in Boston is quickly winding down, will make the Red Sox change how they evaluate free agents going forward. It is one thing to have good numbers in Tampa Bay, Florida (now Miami) or San Diego. Those markets are nothing like Boston and the inherit pressures you get by playing here. Boston now has plenty of money to use the next few offseasons. This was a huge step in the right direction, by also moving on from Lackey and Dice-K while (please God) not bringing back Bobby Valentine, the fans will return. We can live with some rebuilding if the team suddenly is likable easy to cheer for again.

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