The Twitter Explosion After The Red Sox Traded Anderson Espinoza Was Quite Entertaining
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox got their much-needed starting rotation help Thursday night as the team acquired lefty Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres. But most of the immediate reaction was not one of relief, but disbelief and anger.
Not sure what fans and followers of the Red Sox were expecting with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, but he tends to be unafraid of dealing away top prospects and it could end up being the kid you'd fallen in love with. Writer Matthew Kory was the only one who understood the situation at the time the acquisition was announced ...
the scariest time is between the announcement of a Dave Dombrowski trade and when we learn the names of all the prospects he gave up
— Matthew Kory (@mattymatty2000) July 14, 2016
And then once it was reported that the prospect Dombrowski traded away was 18-year-old starter Anderson Espinoza, the floodgates opened. Dozens of prospect man-crushes manifested themselves in the form of visceral 140-character outbursts. Here's a sampling ...
NO NO NO SAY IT AINT SO https://t.co/SjDbqJQkxB
— Dan Lifshatz (@DanLifshatz) July 14, 2016
whoa whoa whoa
— Gary Striewski (@garystriewski) July 14, 2016
I. Hate. This. Trade.
— Tony Massarotti (@TonyMassarotti) July 14, 2016
Espinoza?!?!! Maybe not so great of a deal...
— Bo (@Bo_Crane_34) July 14, 2016
I'm like seriously heartbroken right now. Espinoza has been the love of my life for two years.
— feitelberg (@FeitsBarstool) July 14, 2016
Dave Dombrowski climbing in yo windows, snatching yo people up
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) July 14, 2016
But in short order, reason, logic, and pragmatism took over. Because you really couldn't please the masses in Red Sox Nation unless it was literally Clay Buchholz's rotting corpse straight up for Jose Fernandez ...
GET PITCHING DAVE! GET PITCHING!
— Matt (@Matt__Watts_) July 14, 2016
*gets pitching
NO DON'T TRADE THE 18 YEAR OLD!
Gotta give up something to get something gang. Espinoza is 18 and far out. Pomeranz is a 27-year-old lefty who looks like he figured it out.
— Tucker Silva (@TuckSilva) July 14, 2016
I get that Espinoza is an awesome prospect, but he's an 18 year old in A. Settle the f down.
— Paul Sporer (@sporer) July 14, 2016
Prospects are meant to be traded. When you spend like the Sox, you can trade prospects & then pay them if/when they make it to the majors.
— Billy Lanni (@BillyLanni) July 14, 2016
Take it from me. Don't trust someone you've never seen. I'll take an All Star over a kid #RedSox
— Blind Mike (@BlindMike_) July 14, 2016
Safe to say, no fan base loves their prospects and values assets more than Boston.
— Josh Deering (@J_Deer) July 14, 2016
Arguably the best part of the Twitter chaos was the handful of Detroit Tigers fans who got 13 years of Dombrowski trading away top prospects for established major-league talent.
Welcome to the Dombrowski experience. #Tigersfan
— JLH (@redwings924) July 14, 2016
Dave Dombrowski trades prospects like nobody's business. Wonder how many sawx fans are wicked mad right now. Get used to it Boston
— John Verburg (@MCB_johnverburg) July 15, 2016
Have fun with Dombrowski trading prospects @ Red Sox fans
— lit (@ytbllsy) July 14, 2016
For Red Sox fans who flipped out over Dombrowski trading away a top prospect, this should be their eventual reaction ...
Can only imagine what would have happened if Dombrowski traded away Yoan Moncada or Andrew Benintendi. Fenway might have crumbled. But this is something Red Sox Nation will have to get used to as long as Dombrowski is around; don't get attached to prospects, because they could be shipped out at any time. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.