ESPN baseball writer Jerry Crasnick joined the Dale & Holley show Friday morning and talked about the upcoming trade deadline. Like many of his other baseball writing brethren, Crasnick noted that the Red Sox will need to be patient before they can decide what type of role they will play in this season’s trade market.

“For a team like the Red Sox, they have to wait until the very end to throw up the flag, so I think that’s what’s going to happen,” Crasnick said. “They’ve had guys hurt. They’re on a tough trip right now. They really have to see where they stand at the end of this trip and then decide, ‘Look, are we going to pull the trigger on something momentous? Or maybe could we do some selective selling?’ ”

Crasnick, who will be headed down to Cooperstown next weekend to cover the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, also discussed the possibility of Johnny Damon entering the Hall of Fame.

“He ran the bases. He played on winning teams, and if he got to 3,000 hits, I, to be honest with you, would have a hard time keeping him out,” Crasnick said.

What follows are more highlights from the interview. To hear the entire interview, go to the Dale & Holley audio on demand page.

Isn’t it possible, with all of the teams in contention, that we’ll see less dealing at the deadline rather than more?

It’s really difficult. People tend to try to read these things. I think usually it’s going to be disappointing. It always seems to be a little bit less than people expect. The other thing this year obviously is the economic situation and how many big contracts teams are prepared to take on, and that’s always a big factor, too. Read the rest of this entry »