Some Red Sox ‘Ones’ that Got Away

– Four Arms, a Catcher, and a Shortstop Who Might Have Made a Difference –

Consider the accomplishments this season of the following players, who either were Red Sox farmhands at the end of last season or were with the club when it broke camp back in March:

- Anibal Sanchez, now with the Florida Marlins, last night threw the major league’s first no-hitter in more than two years.

- Hanley Ramirez, also now a Marlin, is hitting .283 to this point in the season and has 44 stolen bases to his credit.

- Bronson Arroyo, now with the Cincinnati Reds, is 12-9, boasts an ERA of 3.33, has notched more than 200 innings pitched, and just threw a complete-game shutout against the San Francisco Giants.

- Cla Meredith, now with the San Diego Padres, has pitched 29 consecutive innings without allowing a run, setting a team record for a reliever.

- Josh Bard, also now with the Padres, currently is hitting .319, has an on-base percentage of .400, and has established himself as a big-league receiver. But who knows if his 'Tim Wakefield disease' would have allowed him to perform this well at Fenway?

- David Wells, newly-arrived in San Diego, pitched six innings of one-run ball in his ’06 debut with the Friars. But then, we knew he was going well even before the wheels fell off the Sox’s season and the club granted his wish to return home to SoCal.

Three quality starters, a bullpen star-in-the-making, and a catcher and shortstop for the future. Why can’t we get guys like that?