The Advanced Scout – Cleveland Indians

The Advanced Scout pores over statistics of the California Penal League and analyzes the Cleveland Indians

All-Aughts Team of the Decade RP5: Rich Garces

A bullpen tends to have a lot of turnover given the volatility of the position. The truly excellent relievers tend to graduate to being a closer, while major leaguers with an average baseline of talent can find themselves out of baseball after a season or two of terrible luck. The fact that Rich Garces spent seven years with Boston is a testament, then, to his durability. The only sad thing is: his major league career ended in 2002 at just age 31. The pictures don't do quite the job of capturing how large Guapo is. At times, he seemed larger than life with his positive attitude and brimming smile. For the first couple years of Guapo's tenure, he shuttled between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket. Beginning in 1998, flashes started showing that Garces could be an impact reliever. Then 1999 arrived.

My favorite Red Sox players

Pedro - drgandy

On Friday, the Boston Globe ran down the worst breakups in Red Sox history going around the diamond by position. It's a nice (and sobering) read.

It made me ask myself "who would be on my personal 'favorite Red Sox' team?" My list is here and includes famous names such as Pedro Martinez and obscure names such as Jeff Frye