[BluesDuke]

I wouldn't exactly rate Lyle for Cater as the worst trade in Red Sox history. (Hel-loooo, Babe Ruth and a mortgage on Fenway Park for some Broadway musicals; hel-looooo, Dennis Eckersley for Bill Buckner.) As it turned out, Lyle didn't last all that long afterward, and at least when he retired it made the clubhouse safe for birthday and other cakes again...

[Dales]

And as I mentioned above, while not in the Ruth category, in recent years it is hard to beat Jeff Bagwell for a quarter of a year of Larry Andersen.