Red Sox Get Holdzkom Back

Good news in Grapefruit land.  The Phillies return the Sox’s middle-relief prospect, Lincoln Holdzkom, whom they had selected in the Rule 5 Draft:

The Red Sox were prompted to make the move with Schilling [placing him on the 60-day DL] on Thursday because they needed to clear a roster spot for right-handed reliever Lincoln Holdzkom, who was brought back to the organization as a free agent.

Holdzkom was selected by the Phillies in last December’s Rule 5 Draft. However, the Phils — as is their right — offered him back to the Red Sox.

But Holdzkom opted for free agency, as was his right, and the Red Sox have signed him to a Major League contract. He reported to Fort Myers on Thursday.

Holdzkom split his 2007 season between Double-A Portland (4-1, 3.47 ERA) and Triple-A Pawtucket (1-0, 1.59 ERA).

BoSox Get a Shot in the Aarm

The Red Sox acquired RHP David Aardsma from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for two long-shot prospects, righthanded pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich.  As OverTheMonster mentions, Aardsma struck out 90 and walked 55 in 96 Major League Innings.  He was drafted as a first-rounder (22d pick) by San Fran in 2003, has spent time with both Chicago franchises, and (perhaps appropriately) has an award named after him which was presented at the “2008 Recycled Baseball Items (RBI) Foundation Banquet.”

Best Second best stat on this guy?

He “is the first player listed alphabetically in the Baseball Encyclopedia, ahead of Hank Aaron ” [MLB.com Player Profile]  And you all thought that losing the HR record to Barry was rough…

 Update: Best stat on this guy?  His sister is an actress and has a saucy photo on IMDB:

Thanks to The Chief for flagging the transaction, if not the hot sister angle.

Sox lose Holdzkom in Rule 5 Draft

The Sox lost a big name at the winter meetings — no, not Buchholz, Ellsbury, Crisp, Lowrie, or Masterson.  The Phillies plucked Lincoln Holdzkom from the Red Sox in the 2007 Rule 5 Draft.  With a name like Holdzkom, you just know the guy is going to pick up the pieces when J.C. Romero’s $12M contract fails to deliver. 

In fact, with John Stevens’s permission, I propose that we refer to the hold stat as “a Holdzkom” from now on.

The History of the Loogy (THT)

For those interested in the “history” of the Loogy, I’d encourage you to check out the two part series from Steve Treder of the Hardball Times.  The Harball Times is my go-to site on a regular basis for all things statistical and fantastical.  Here’s a brief blurb from “The History of the LOOGY: Part One”:

There are differing intensities of LOOGYness, of course. But how about we come up with some broad criteria to capture the general idea. Let’s define a LOOGY season as any by a left-handed pitcher that meets the following conditions:

- At least 20 appearances
- Fewer than 1.20 innings per appearance
- Fewer than 20% Saves per appearance

It turns out that through 2004, there have been exactly 799 pitcher-seasons in major league history meeting these criteria.

The Primordial LOOGY Ooze

I’ll give you three guesses to name the first among these 799, and in what season. If you guess Tony Fossas, you’re way wrong. Jesse Orosco? Bzzzt. Steve Hamilton? I’m afraid you’re toast.

The first LOOGY season in major league history that meets our definition occurred in 1960. It was recorded by none other than Leo Kiely of the Kansas City A’s, managed by Bob Elliott, in his only year as a big league skipper. Granted, Kiely just squeaks in at the limit of the definition here, with exactly 20 appearances and 20 2/3 innings in the early months of that season. Kiely was rather effective in the role, in his soft-tossing control artist kind of way, but not enough to prevent the Athletics from letting him go in June, never to appear in the majors again. At least he went out in historic fashion.

And, yes, Leo Kiely was formerly a member of the Red Sox Caliphate (I don’t like the term Red Sox Nation, especially as the term was partially coined by the Worst Sportswriter in Baseball).

The History of the LOOGY: Part One (THT)
The History of the LOOGY: Part Two (THT)

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