Brandon's gone

Today, Bronson Arroyo was traded from the Red Sox to the Cincinnati Reds for Wily Mo Pena. And while this trade may have been necessary for the betterment of the Sox, we at Son of Yhency are in mourning.

An integral member of the Sox' rotation and bullpen for the last three years, as well as one of only a few white guys that have ever been daring enough to wear their hair in cornrows, Bronson was a central figure to some of the Sox' key moments during their World Series run in 2004. And what do you know, two of those moments involved Fruit-Rod!!

First, there was Arroyo's 70 mph, hanging curveball that hit Rodriguez on July 24 and prompted V-Tek's alleged "We don't throw at .260 hitters" comment, which led to the brawl that featured a certain Pedro Martinez side-stepping a bumbling Don Zimmer (notice I said "side-stepping" and not "threw down", which is what happened) and Papi swinging his arms like a wild man over Gabe Kapler and Tanyon Sturtze as they went at it. Some say it was that brawl coupled with their dramatic come-from-behind victory against Mariano Rivera later in that game that sparked the Sox onto World Series glory.

Second, there was that zany ALCS Game 6 in the Bronx that featured two – count 'em – two overturned calls in the Sox' favor. (How many times can you say that ever happened in a playoff game for the Sox?) First was Mark Bellhorn's home run over the left field wall. And second was Fruit-Rod's slap on Arroyo's glove as he tried to tag him running down the first base line. Following that call being overturned, Yankees fans showed their class by showering the field with trash, thus forcing police to line the field for the rest of the game, turning Yankee Stadium into something resembling a war zone.

Not the best pitchers on the Sox by any means, but how can you turn away from some of these memories?

I keep on telling myself this trade was necessary. It was, really. The Sox are loaded with pitching. They need a fourth outfielder because we're only a month away from Trot pulling a hammy. Really. It was necessary. Needed that extra outfielder. Glad we nabbed him. Some have even called Wily the next Sammy Sosa (although I'm not sure that's a good thing). Very necessary. Yes yes. Necessary. Undoubtedly. Good pick-up. Like it. A lot.