MisterB
05-10-2002, 01:40 AM
From Baseball Prospectus via ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/bp/1380412.html
The White Sox traded Kip Wells, Sean Lowe and Josh Fogg to the Pirates for Todd Ritchie and Lee Evans.
It was an easy trade to criticize: Kenny Williams once again trading away the fruit of a productive farm system for a veteran innings-muncher without much upside. Ritchie was just a few years removed from the waiver wire, and even at his best hadn't been much more than a mid-rotation guy. To get him, the Sox gave up Sean Lowe -- who sure looked a lot like Todd Ritchie, circa 1999 -- and two of their better young pitchers in Wells and Fogg.
To Williams' credit, Ritchie has been done exactly what the Sox needed him to do, taking the ball every fifth day and keeping the team in games. For a team trying to win a division, that's a valuable asset. While Williams' frequent moves to add veterans haven't been successful as a whole, this move in particular has worked out as well as could be expected.
That's not to say that the Pirates are displeased. This was a perfect deal for the Bucs, who needed to accumulate as much talent as possible, given the state of their organization. While Lowe has been a disappointment (and at that, has peripheral numbers that don't match his 7.71 ERA), Josh Fogg has been an ace, with a 2.45 ERA in six starts, and Kip Wells has shown signs of being a top starter. This is easily the best move of Dave Littlefield's brief career as GM, and a blueprint for what he needs to do going forward.
Winner: Pirates, but it's close.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/bp/1380412.html
The White Sox traded Kip Wells, Sean Lowe and Josh Fogg to the Pirates for Todd Ritchie and Lee Evans.
It was an easy trade to criticize: Kenny Williams once again trading away the fruit of a productive farm system for a veteran innings-muncher without much upside. Ritchie was just a few years removed from the waiver wire, and even at his best hadn't been much more than a mid-rotation guy. To get him, the Sox gave up Sean Lowe -- who sure looked a lot like Todd Ritchie, circa 1999 -- and two of their better young pitchers in Wells and Fogg.
To Williams' credit, Ritchie has been done exactly what the Sox needed him to do, taking the ball every fifth day and keeping the team in games. For a team trying to win a division, that's a valuable asset. While Williams' frequent moves to add veterans haven't been successful as a whole, this move in particular has worked out as well as could be expected.
That's not to say that the Pirates are displeased. This was a perfect deal for the Bucs, who needed to accumulate as much talent as possible, given the state of their organization. While Lowe has been a disappointment (and at that, has peripheral numbers that don't match his 7.71 ERA), Josh Fogg has been an ace, with a 2.45 ERA in six starts, and Kip Wells has shown signs of being a top starter. This is easily the best move of Dave Littlefield's brief career as GM, and a blueprint for what he needs to do going forward.
Winner: Pirates, but it's close.