#ESPN baseball writers blow it (again) on Peavy to #Cardinals rumors

Only yesterday, ESPN was fanning the flames of rumors that the Red Sox were going to move Jake Peavy to St. Louis and that, according to Jayson Stark, the move could "happen quick."

First, fans who know the Cards know they need an OF bat more than anything. And, that with Joe Kelly coming back from the DL sooner than expected, a rotation of Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez and Kelly had no room at the inn for an end-of-the-line Peavy.

Indeed, non-Cardinal fans also questioned the reality of this, figuring it was as much a salary dump move by Boston as anything, while perhaps trying to fan the flames of rumor, which on teh Twitter said that the Braves and Brewers both might be interested. (As for the idea that a GM wouldn't try that? Tosh ... and gentlemen do read each other's letters, and emails today, contra Henry Stimson.)

Yes, Peavy was scouted by the Cards last week; so was the whole Red Sox team, as the two play in August.

Underscoring the salary dump angle? The fact that the Sox just gave A.J. Pierzynski his DFA walking papers shows that the Peavy talk, from Boston's part, is at least half salary dump.

Yes, Peavy's long indicated interest in the Cardinals. But, an ERA+ of just 86 (with an FIP of 4.81 showing it is that bad) and a WHIP of 1.437? Peavy is replacing AA (now AAA) callup prospect Marco Gonzales with those numbers, but nothing more. He's not been above average, if that, the last two years, and been a very good or better pitcher since his Padres days. 

But, there is yet more.

As for ESPN's blatantly wrong overtouting of Peavy-to-Cards rumors, I want to take a look at this piece by the Post-Dispatch's Derrick Gould:

That does not resonate with the Cardinals who are "looking for offense" at this point and not a pitcher like Peavy, a source with knowledge of the team's strategy said.

The Cardinals have had an eye on the available pitchers for at least a month leading up to July and the trade deadline because they wanted to see if an upgrade for the rotation was possible, one that would create a trickle-down that also strengthened the bullpen. Their search has expanded to include starters who could also offer the team innings especially if the injuries persisted.

There's a bunch of stuff to unpack here.

First, note "the source." That could be Mo himself, speaking off the record so as not to piss off the Red Sox too much.

My guess is that Mo did a bit of "kick the tires" stuff, but nothing heavy at this time. And he certainly didn't plan on giving the Sox Allen Craig. Peter Bourjos, maybe. But Craig, for a pitcher who couldn't currently start for St. Louis, and would be a No. 5 only if Kelly weren't back? Not a chance. And, he got pissed that somebody in Boston nudged Jayston Stark and Gordon Edes over at ESPN to running something, and something that named the Cardinals first.

Second, note the timetable of "The Cardinals have had an eye on the available pitchers for at least a month leading up to July." Why? Because Kelly's self-believed Bo Jackson hamstring was taking longer to heal than expected, No. 1. No. 2, the Cards had some inkling of Wacha's problems by mid-June, and maybe knew something about Miller's back by then.

Well, Kelly's back, and Miller's back is no worse, at least. Carlos Martinez is continuing to stretch out his innings/pitches per start. So, that last sentence, the "Their search has expanded to include starters who could also offer the team innings especially if the injuries persisted," is pretty close to null and void.

And, the Red Sox knew that as of yesterday. So did Stark and Edes of ESPN, who started this.

Teh brilliants of ESPN swing and miss again!