La Roche gets flipped

I called it in a previous post. I had a feeling LaRoche was going to be flipped. LaRoche was traded to the Atlanta Braves today for another 1st baseman- Casey Kotchman. NESN.com suggests that it is possible that Kotchman could be flipped if another deal was agreed upon before the 4 PM deadline.

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LaRoche Talks About Joining Red Sox - Video

Adam LaRoche answers questions about what it is like to join the greatest franchise is sports. Watch below:

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The 411 on LaRoche

We asked our friends from the Pirates blog: Raise the Jolly Roger to give us a scouting report on the newly acquired Adam LaRoche. Here's the report:





Adam LaRoche: Bats L / Throws L / Age 29 / 6-3 / 203 lbs/ stats

Bat:
Until this season, Adam would routinely start off the season in a miserable slump, then turn things on in the second half so much that his numbers would make him appear like a league-average first baseman. That never helped the Pirates, though, because for the Bucs pretty much every game after Memorial Day is irrelevant. This year, although he wasn't as awful in April and May, LaRoche hasn't gotten hot yet. He's a streaky hitter with a big long, loopy swing that will drive you Red Sox fans nuts at times--and other times he makes it look remarkably easy to drive the ball out of the park. His pitch selection and approach often make no sense at all (the other day, with the Bucs down 1 in the 8th, he hit into an inning ending DP on a 3-0 pitch), but he usually still takes his fair share of walks.

Glove:
I've seen some talk today about Adam playing poor defense--ignore it. He's a very good defensive first baseman. LaRoche is certainly not fleet of foot, but he makes picks with ease, is very reliable on routine plays, and can still dazzle you with the occasional diving stop.

Other:
LaRoche can be a strange character. He rarely shows any emotion, leading some to believe he may not be hustling or may not care about the game. All accounts from within the team (obviously) are that it's false, but I figured I'd throw it out there. He does have a history with ADD for what it's worth. Oh, and he's ridiculously obsessed with hunting.

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Adam LaRoche Traded to Red Sox

The Red Sox have acquired Adam LaRoche from the Pirates. More from WEEI.com:

the Pirates will receive shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland when the deal is finalized. Diaz is known as a gifted defensive player, but there are questions about his bat. The 22-year-old Diaz is hitting .253/.309/.310 with Double-A Portland this year. Strickland, an 18th round pick in 2007, is 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA for the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League this year. The 6-foot-5 20-year-old has shown excellent command for the Drive, with a 51-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 83.1 innings this year.

LaRoche will be a free agent after the season.

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