Bobby Kielty's Wily Mo Valuable than Pena

The Oakland A's released outfielder Bobby Kielty today, meaning the Red Sox can help plug some of the leaks in their rickety offensive consistency even after coming up aces at the deadline this afternoon for the bullpen. Kielty isn't an All-Star and he isn't going to be a great everyday player. What he will be, though, is better than Wily Mo Peña.

Peña has been a disaster all year as a platoon player in all of the outfield positions. He's an adventure defensively, and at the plate he can't hit anything besides mid-90s, arrow-straight fastballs. He's rockin' a pretty stellar .229/.294/.407 line after showing some decency in 2006. The knock on him in Cincinnati was a lack of plate discipline, and while he claims to have rectified the situation I'm pretty sure he just goes up to the plate and alternates swinging and taking pitches. Wily Mo has managed to strike out so much (54 K in 140 AB vs. 12 BB) so frequently that he's become an automatic out. Even pitchers with average to below-average breaking and offspeed pitches can fool him.

Given that this lineup can be shut down by solid pitching, it makes sense to try and upgrade (however marginally) Peña's spot on the roster. When the big guns aren't firing, you need someone to go to the plate with some sort of approach. I honestly think Wily Mo is too dim to perform such an act.