Apropos of Nothing

When Kason Gabbard, and minor leaguers David Murphy and 17 year old Engel Beltre where shipped to Texas in return for a 3 month rental of reliever Eric Gagne, Red Sox Nation collectively applauded the wisdom of the deal. Without going into the pros and cons of the trade--that will be saved for another Red Sox Rant from China--and with Jon Lester struggling mightily against the Angels tonight in Anaheim (he left the game in the 4th inning with the Red Sox trailing 5-4 after throwing 93 pitches), let's take an early look at how the deal has panned-out to date.

In two starts since joining the Rangers, Gabbard is 1-1. He lasted 5.2 innings in a loss against Cleveland on August 2nd and gave up 8 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk and stuck out 4. On August 7th against Oakland, Gabbard got the victory while going 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 3 walks and striking out 4.

On August 3rd, Jon Lester had a no decision in the Red Sox 7-4 loss against Seattle. Lester went 5 innings giving up 8 hits, 4 earned runs and 2 walks while striking out 4. Against the Angels tonight--the game is currently in progress--Lester was removed after 3.1 innings. He gave up 8 hits, 5 earned runs, walked 3 and stuck out 3. Both Lester and Gabbard have each given up a total of 1 home run over their past two starts.

So to bring this all together, since the trade, Gabbard is 1-1 over 11.2 innings, has given up 13 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks and stuck out 8. He has a 4.63 ERA since being traded. Lester has 2 no decisions over 8.1 innings, has given up 16 hits, 9 earned runs, 5 walks and stuck out 7. He has a 7.20 ERA since the trade. Almost as an afterthought, Eric Gagne has made two appearances for the Red Sox going 1 inning twice in games against Baltimore and Seattle. Against the O's in a non-save situation in the 9th inning, Gagne allowed 2 hits, 1 earned run, walked none and struck out 2. Against Seattle in the 8th inning, Gagne allowed 3 hits, 1 earned run, no walks and struck out 1. He earned a hold against Seattle.