Mirabelli's Back in Town

ESPN reported a short while ago that the Red Sox and Padres are about to swap backup catchers, with Doug Mirabelli returning to Boston in time to catch Tim Wakefield tonight against the Yankees. In exchange, San Diego is said to be receiving the knuckleball-beleaguered Josh Bard, Pawtucket righthander Cla Meredith, and a satchel full of cash.

This move notwithstanding, I’m still not willing to blame Bard for Tim Wakefield’s losing record. Sure, his 10 passed balls led directly to runs against, and undoubtedly gave Wakefield distractions he didn’t need. But they had nothing to do with the Sox’s inability to score runs of their own, and for me, therein lay the rub.

Having said this, I am happy to see Mirabelli back at Fenway, for he should require little or no time to climb back atop the learning curve. I'm also pleased to read that the Yankees apparently also made a bid for Mirabelli just to keep him out of the Sox's hands. But every deal comes at a price, and I do feel some regret in watching Meredith go, not because he performed so well for the BoSox in his brief appearance with them (he didn’t), but because one of our Cape League favorites, Will Rhymes (now playing A ball for Detroit), told us just how “filthy” Meredith’s stuff truly is. Ah, well, such are the fortunes of baseball!