Is It about the trade or the production?

Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein has been an iconic hero to Red Sox fans all over this great land.  For me it started when he visited Curt Schilling at his Arizona home back on Thanksgiving of 2003 and refused to leave until Schilling agreed to be part of the ole town team.  With two World Series titles under his belt i still have to wonder if Theo is more interested in getting a diamond in the rough in a deal then the production of his baseball club.  Now reading that last sentence most will say “what?” and rightfully so when it comes to acquiring players around the trading deadline.  However Epstein seems to really enjoy looking at young talent and seeing the “upside” in a trade.  The Willie Mo Pena for Bronson Arroyo deal was the first time I noticed this.  He saw the raw power of Pena attached that to the green monster at Fenway Park and had to do the deal. Well as we know now and kind of knew then, Willie Mo was more like Pedro Cerrano in the film Major League then a prospect with an upside.  That brings me to the Jeremy Hermida deal. The lefty outfielder has that same great upside and is a nice prospect but really can’t stay healthy. He hasn’t played more than 142 ball games in the past three years. Well when an all-star like Jason Bay maybe heading to greener ($$$) pastures, I am hoping the front office on Yawkey Way has a back up plan besides Hermida.  Fans reading this will react with “come on Bill, have a little faith”. Well, this trade takes Garrett Anderson off the table, Bobby Abreu just signed a two year deal with the Angels. Do we really want to roll the dice on Matt Holliday and whether or not his power numbers were aided by the Colorado air? It’s clear the free agent options are limited. Hermida is a good 4th outfielder option, but with J.D. Drew and his high maintenance health I don’t think Red Sox nation wants another health issue in the outfield.  Here’s to hoping Jason Bay takes what the Red Sox offer him because the 2010 team has all the issues ready to happen like 2005 and 2006 did.