So we had the trading deadline today and waited around to find out what kind of move the Red Sox would make. They of course were tied to the biggest moves for the past week, particularly the best player available, Roy Halladay.
In the end, things probably worked out for the best (for now) with Halladay staying put (not joining a contender like NYY, LA or Anaheim) meanwhile the Sox managed to make an upgrade to their offense while obtaining a catcher who can potentially replace Tek and play for them for several more years. Meanwhile, neither big contender in the AL-East didn't do anything - amazing, considering the Yankees usually make a move at the deadline.
After polling fan reaction - that is, talking to my brother and reading the email exchange from my buddies Cliff, Cal and Jon, it seems like a good move, considering the Sox managed to get a long term catcher and didn't have to deal either of their top two pitching prospects, Bard and Buchholz.
Make no mistake, VMart's value is in his long term ability to catch as good catchers are clearly very scarce. This is a case of the Sox seizing a good opportunity for the future while marginally upgrading their team for this season.
The Sox appear to still have two major issues: shortstop and the 4-5 spots in the rotation. And their plan is apparently to shore up their offense and hope that can win them enough games to make the postseason and then ride Lester and Beckett.
In terms of who they had to deal for Martinez - I think it was a fair trade but tough to part with Masterson who really looked to be a long term potential star. VMart has a decent bat (not quite as strong a hitter as Adrian Gonzalez, the other guy they pursued... it should also be noted that Martinez is a switch hitter.
PS -Here are a couple cool pics of sunsets I took years ago when living in Brookline.
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