ESPN.com's Keith Law is smoking crack again

From his Insider page on the Lohse trade:

"This is a sensible need-for-need deal: The Reds needed more pitching, and the Twins needed to get rid of Kyle Lohse in the worst way.

Lohse had been out of favor in Minnesota for some time, due in no small part to his awful performance as a starter at the beginning of this season, but he's pitched effectively out of the bullpen for the past two months and could fill a similar role for the Reds. He does have four average or better pitches, with a plus cutter. And if his command improves -- perhaps the switch to the weaker league will help -- he could even give the Reds some help in their rotation. One caveat is that he's another flyball pitcher coming to the Great American Home Run Park.

The Twins get a good return for a player they didn't want. Zach Ward, the Reds' third-round pick from 2005, has a very good arm, with a sinking fastball up to 94 mph, a solid-average slider, and a funky delivery that creates good deception but that he finds hard to repeat, leading to command problems. He's pitched well, but not extremely so, for low-A Dayton this year. As a college product he should probably be challenged with high-A competition immediately."

I really have no idea what makes Law think Ward hasn't pitched extremely well this year:

20 games (18 starts), 114 IP, 74 hits, 37 walks, 0.97 WHIP, 95 Ks, 2.29 ERA, 2 HR (TWO!!!!).

In addition, last year at Gardner-Webb college, Ward gave up 18 extra base hits in 429 at-bats, had a .238 batting average against, a .328 slugging against, and their web site made him out to have a 95 mph fastball and an 87 mph slurve.

What GM of any team that plays in a HR haven, gives up a guy who's allowed two home runs in 114 innings for anything less than Mariano Rivera?

More worrisome is what the Reds do to the bullpen now. Exchanging Watson for Cormier leaves them with 12 pitchers. Assuming Lohse(r) is a reliever, then one of Bray, Coffey, Cormier, Guardado, Majewski, Shackelford, Standridge or Weathers has to go. And another one has to go by Saturday when Claussen will pitch.

As badly as he's pitched, Majewski could use a week or two in Louisville, but then who? Shackelford, since there would still be three lefties in the bullpen, I guess.

It's probably too much to hope for a D.F.A. for D.F. Weathers ...