Because the world needs another sports blog ...

What about Andy?

	Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

"The Red Sox were able to acquire one of the top two or three prospects in the whole game in Andy Marte." -- Theo Epstein on Boston radio

"A National League scout on Boston third-base prospect Andy Marte, whom the Indians have hotly pursued in a deal for [Coco] Crisp: 'He's the best prospect I've scouted in 10 years, hands down. He reminds me of a young Manny Ramirez, but with a steadier personality.'" -- Cleveland Plain-Dealer

For nearly two months, we haven't stopped hearing about what an incredible player Andy Marte will become. Comparisons to Ramirez and Chipper Jones have been drawn. Give it another week and Marte will be the second coming of the Babe. The problem with all of this hype is if Marte really is that special, if he is "one of the five players you would want to start a ballclub with," as a senior Red Sox official boasted in December, then why would he be traded twice in the same offseason when he's on the verge of big league stardom?

And why, when he gets traded the second time, does it happen in a deal for a player (Crisp) who can best be described as Johnny Damon Lite? Crisp is a fine ballplayer who won't be overpaid for a few years to come, but how much better is he than the guy the Indians are replacing him with: Philly's Jason Michaels? Compare their batting lines for 2005:

Crisp -- .300 Avg., .345 OBP, .465 Slg., .810 OPS
Michaels -- .304 Avg., .399 OBP, .415 Slg., .814 OPS

Granted, Crisp's defense and speed make him more valuable on the whole, but if Michaels gives the Indians a .380 on-base percentage (that's his career rate) for 500 plate appearances, the Tribe won't be complaining much. Guys like Crisp and Damon are valuable players who fill important roles, but they don't win you pennants the way the Mannys and (supposedly) Martes of the world do.

Back to the wunderkind, Marte. Until a guy does it consistently at the major league level, it's best to steer clear of any premature beatification. What we can say for Marte is that he has more than proven himself at every tier of the minor leagues. He has been named best defensive third baseman in his league four times, and last season he hit 20 home runs in 389 at-bats for Class AAA Richmond, which plays its home games in a pitcher-friendly environment. If the Indians are serious about winning this season, they should bench Aaron Boone (we know what he can do and, frankly, it's not that impressive) and play Marte right away. Or they can wait a few weeks to lessen the pressure on the youngster. Either way, Marte should get the bulk of the at-bats at the hot corner this season.

And not to upset Red Sox fans anymore, but they had better hope Mike Lowell doesn't stink it up at the plate like he did in 2005. Enjoy that Alex Gonzalez-Lowell combo on the left side of the infield. It could be this year's version of Cristian Guzman and Vinny Castilla, who combined to make almost 800 outs at the plate for the Nationals in '05.

-- Jacob Luft (3:00 p.m.)

Yeah tell me again what was Andy Marte's average during winter ball? I believe it was an abysmal .220 and he has a rumored elbow problem. A lot of question marks still if you ask me.
-- Blake Hunt, Pewaukee (3:36 p.m.)

If you believe half the hot air coming out of Boston, you'd think they showed incredible restraint in the Damon negotiations, cut their losses with Renteria and got younger in center field. What they really did was create two holes in elite positions at CF and SS by being stubborn and panicky, and then had to pay a premium to solve one of their problems and quell a fan rebellion in Sawx Nation.
-- Bill O., Hartford, Conn. (3:41 p.m.)

As a dedicated Yankee fan, I even think you are being a bit too rough on the Sox. I do agree with your assessment that guys like Damon and Crisp aren't game changers, though they are important, if not crucial, pieces to championship teams. Hey, if Marte is this great, lets sit back and watch him impress. Until he does, all he'll be is hype.
-- Ben, Pleasantville, N.Y. (3:46 p.m.)

I couldn't agree with you more on this being a questionable move. What irks me more is that Tampa got a bad rap as being impossible to deal with because they wanted Marte and a pitcher from Boston for Lugo and Gathright/Huff. How can Tampa be criticized when Boston turns right around and makes the trade Tampa wanted with Cleveland, for players who are really no better than what the Sox would have gotten from the Rays and fill equal needs?
-- Brandt, Lakeland, Fla. (3:46 p.m.)

The Red Sox panicked -- end of story. Larry Lucchino screwed up the negotiations with Theo Epstein, they totally misread Johnny Damon and the Yankees, and they were desperate to make some noise and change the vibe. So, they ended up overpaying for Coco Crisp -- a nice ballplayer who comes in with huge expectations. Good luck with that. Plus, the Sox need Lowell, Schilling, and Foulke to all bounce back, they need Beckett's shoulder to remain intact, they need Matt Clement to pitch consistently, and they need to do all of this while playing the Yankees and suddenly re-energized Blue Jays 19 times a year. Ugh.
-- Matt, Boston (3:56 p.m.)

Bill O. of hartford is just another hot-headed Yankees fan jealous because our center fielder is younger and has far more potential than Damon ever showed.
-- Ian Kingsbury, Marblehead (3:56 p.m.)

Marte has been labeled as a star for years, yet his production never seems to match his tool set. How often does Braves GM John Schuerholz made a lopsided trade? That alone leads me to believe Marte is not going to be a superstar.
-- Chris M., Charlotte, N.C. (4:01 p.m.)

The real question is, How many cops will Michaels hit in Cleveland?
-- Ron Kaczmarek, Warminster, Pa. (4:07 p.m.)

As a Yankee fan, I got nervous when the Red Sox spent some time holding on to Marte. Eventually, they got themselves into a mess that cost them a prospect they (had) to trade. Crisp comes at a good price until, I believe, 2010. They put themselves in a situation where they couldn't be creative and had to fill that hole in center. The Beckett trade was a bad trade. If they had Hanley Ramirez and Marte, side by side, that would scare me. Even with the lack of a major league track record, they both look a lot better than Lowell and a question mark. It's all a product of the power struggle and time spent on front office egos.
-- Nick Lentino, Hartford, Conn. (4:07 p.m.)

Lugo would have been a one-year, free-agent rental. Crisp is a long-term solution. The Tampa front office is nuts until they prove otherwise.
-- Rob, Watertown (4:07 p.m.)

Ian K. of Marblehead is your classic Red Sox fan: The second a star leaves town (Damon) they were never very good to start with.
-- Mike Osborne, Saint John, NB (4:16 p.m.)

Like with the economy and politics, when it comes to baseball, it's all about pitching and defense, stupid. Defensively, Renteria was a joke and Damon was coming undone. In Lowell, Crisp and (likely) Gonzalez, the Sox are finally built around those tenants.
-- Bumpo, Swellesley (4:21 p.m.)

Crisp is Johnny Damon Lite? I find that interesting given that Crisp had a better OPS, a similar number of steals, and is just entering his prime. Add in the fact that he has a somewhat better arm and I can only assume the "Lite" part refers to number of endorsement deals.
-- Chris Henderson, Cleveland (4:26 p.m.)

If Marte is so great, why did the Braves, a smart organization, trade him for Edgar Renteria (who made 30 errors last season)? Yes, Renteria might play better when he is out of Boston, but the Braves could have held onto Marte and signed Alex Gonzalez or traded for Orlando Cabrerra, who the Angels have apparently offered around for peanuts. The standard answer -- that the Braves are loaded at the positions that Marte could play and they have a bunch of young players already -- doesn't make sense. If the Braves thought that Marte had big time potential, the would have found a way to make it work. Bottom line, the Sox operate with a budget that is about $70 million less than the Yankees' "limit" and they reasonably decided that paying Johnny Damon, as good as he is, $52 million over four years didn't make sense when they could make a series of moves that would essentially net them Coco Crisp for Edgar Renteria. Makes sense to me and, as a Sox fan, I am not worried that Marte will turn into a star. If he does, he does. I'm focused on what Crisp will do for the Sox.
-- Mike, New York City (4:31 p.m.)

Marte was called up for a few weeks by Atlanta last year when Chipper Jones was hurt and Marte couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. He was the only one of a bunch of callups who didn't produce. They finally sent him back down and plugged Wilson Betemit, another long-time "can't miss" player in at third base until Jones came back ... As somebody else said, Schuerholz doesn't have a track record of trading away young stars.
-- DP, Atlanta (4:41 p.m.)

Comparing Crisp and Michaels directly is a little disingenuous. It's nice that you use numbers that are all essentially percentages, because they don't show that Michaels had about 300 fewer at-bats. It's a little harder to maintain the same rate of production over a whole season. You also obscure the fact that Michaels is four years older than Crisp and has never been a starting outfielder in the majors. All things considered, yeah Crisp really is that much better.
-- Mike Geiger, Cambridge, Mass. (4:56 p.m.)

I'm not sure how Marte is going to pan out has a big-leaguer. What I do know is Crisp has a below-average arm, is a bad baserunner and makes too many mistakes in the outfield. On top of that, the guy has no clue how to bunt. Boston, this is your new leadoff hitter. The Indians' farm system is loaded with talented outfielders (Guierrez, Snyder to name a couple) and now they possibly have the right-handed, power hitting third baseman they were searching for.
-- Russ, Cleveland (5:16 p.m.)

Here's what I know: the Red Sox got their replacement for Johnny Damon, albeit a younger and less charismatic player. In effect, they lost their third baseman for this year, next year, and probably the next 10 years. They lost what scouts are calling a once in a generation talent, a slick fielding, power hitting talent. The Red Sox may be better this year, but their future is much cloudier after having a net result of losing a stud position prospect.
-- David Berger, New York (5:36 p.m.)

Andy Marte? At best, he is a poor man's Aramis Ramirez. Whoopie.
-- Mike, Santa Maria Dei Poppalo (6:41 p.m.)

Intriguing takes. Most people fail to note that the two major acquisitions (Beckett and Crisp) are what, 24 and 26, respectively? Red Sox brass got great value for both the near term AND the long term at an affordable price. They are also focusing on pitching (bullpen stocking) and defense (Lowell, Gonzalez, Loretta, Crisp, J.T. Snow). That's how you win championships (see: White Sox).
-- John Kearns, Las Vegas (3:06 a.m., Tuesday)

Can you say "Panic Moves"? Trading a Top 10 prospect, a good reliever and money for a guy who was a fourth string outfielder and was moved out of center field and the leadoff spot? And signing a shortstop with a good glove and a .300 OBP? I guess Bill James lost his authority.
-- Bob, Syosset, N.Y. (8:56 a.m., Tuesday)

If you think about it, this offseason the Red Sox essentially traded away Johnny Damon and Edgar Renteria for Alex Gonzalez and Coco Crisp. If the Yankees had made the same type of move the Boston airwaves would be full of fans ripping on the move. Bottom line is the Sox get cheaper and less talented, yet still manage to keep the highest ticket prices in baseball.
-- Kyle, Boston (8:56 a.m., Tuesday)

What the offseason comes to for the Red Sox is that they received Beckett, Lowell, Crisp, Riske and Bard for Renteria, Hanley Ramirez and Kelly Shoppach. I'm not saying they are going to win the World Series, but it seems like the biggest mistake they made in everyone's eyes this year was hyping Marte (which they had to do in order to get the best value for him). What were they supposed to do, say he was garbage and they were going to trade him?
-- Bret, Tallahassee (9:01 a.m., Tuesday)

Good organizations know the strengths and weaknesses of the players in their systems. The Braves are a quality organization. And smart. When you win, you deal from a position of strength. You hype your prospects, and the media listens, because you are winning. Remember when the Yankees had both Gerald and Bernie Williams? You never heard much about Bernie. But the Yanks knew what they had, so they traded Gerald for a pitcher(Graeme Lloyd) who became a left-handed specialist on a couple of pretty good teams. Gerald is almost out of baseball having been traded at least five times. Bernie is one of the greatest postseason players of all time. That is what the Braves have done. Trade a hyped kid for a solid veteran. Does it always work? Of course not. But until Marte does something more than .220 with little power at the big league level, take a look at how the consistently good teams are run.
-- Kevin Johnson, Charleston, S.C. (11:07 a.m., Tuesday)

I tend to agree that way too much hype is placed on young, unproven prospects today. Who is to blame for this? The media is partially responsible for sensationalizing unsubstantiated claims, just to sell their product. Blame can also be placed on club officials, who spread propaganda designed to inflate their prospects value before attempting to move them. Boston did exactly this. They acquired Marte as a bargaining chip and talked him up to inflate his value in the trade market.
-- Gerry Nason, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (11:27 a.m., Tuesday)

It doesn't make sense. Crisp wasn't good enough to bat leadoff and play center for the Indians. Now that he's been traded to Boston, all the sudden he's the second coming of Willie Mays? Come on. The Indians tried to make him their center fielder and leadoff guy and he failed. I think the Red Sox really overvalued Crisp. Also, Bard won't make the team and Riske will continue to give up the long ball. If Marte is half of what scouts say he will be this will have been a great trade.
-- Alan, Medina (12:21 p.m., Tuesday)