It's inevitable, and fun. The Sox get eliminated and for a week (or more) all you can think about are the possible acquisitions for the next year's campaign. And the big name being bandied about is Felix Hernandez, a.k.a. King Felix.
Hernandez turns 24 in April. No typo, he'll only be 24. He was 19-5 for a mediocre Seattle squad this year, and registered a 2.49 ERA. He's got 58 career wins in the bank, and has the potential for 200+ more.
Yet people will not want to trade their precious prospects for this potential Pedro Jr. But Hernandez is worth almost the entire Red Sox minor league system. He's younger than some of the guys people here in Boston don't want to use to acquire him. But he's an Ace.
And if you have a rotation of Hernandez-Beckett-Lester-Matsuzaka-Buchholz, you're in the LCS without even trying.
The local morons will disagree with me. "The Sox lost because they didn't score enough runs. We need bats. We have enough pitching. So don't sell the farm to get Hernandez." And while that seems true on the surface, think about this: Did the Sox lose because they didn't have enough offensive might, OR did the Angels win because THEY had great pitching?
Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. Pitching wins. No beer and no TV make Homer go crazy.
Felix Hernandez is worth Jacoby Ellsbury. He's worth several Jacoby Ellsburies. He's worth Bowden, Bard, and all the "untouchable" prospects the Sox have in their nursery.
He might struggle in a more competitive environment. His track record of success is very short. He might not be able to handle postseason baseball. But like I said earlier, he's got the potential to put up 200 more W's in his career. And that's what it's all about.
Source:
Baseball-Reference.com
