Other options besides JD?

[BSN07]

With JD's future in Boston hanging in the balance, if he is not in RF and the 5 hole next year, then who is?

 

Alex Rios just went on the market, might take a 3rd team but I think he would be a nice player for us. Good bat, young, good D, good enough arm for RF and maybe a nice 5 hole hitter.

[TGov]

I doubt Boston will move on without Drew but if they do...

 

remember, they always have Wily Mo, He's going to develop into a start soon enough, if he can make some more contact, he could be in the 3 or 4o spot never mind the 5 spot in the lineup...

Nixon is on the market, but Id say there not way Boston will sign him as a starter...

 

Aubrey Huff, he can play RF and would be a great pick up if Drew wasnt signed, He has some pop, plays pretty good D from what I know...

 

Preston Wilson, Jeromy Burnitz and Shannon Stewart are just a few others...

[elsrbueno]

The major problem here is that Drew - power = Trot Nixon. If the injury rumors that are floating around are true (that the shoulder problem he's got could take his power away) than that's reason enough to void the contract and sign a much cheaper alternative or go after an Aubrey Huff or a lesser hitter.

 

IF Drew is not signed, Huff is probably the #1 backup plan for the Sox since they seem to have always coveted him (along with Lugo) in any trade talks with Tampa. He was a little off last year but still hit 21 homers.

 

I am not high at all on Alex Rios. They guy has has basically one good half season after huge expectations, and he slugged a whopping .411 after the all star break. He in my opinion is no #5 hitter.

 

Pena has a ton of potential but his plate discipline is horrendous. If he doesn't improve that he'll be a career .250 hitter. Sure, he may victimize the Royals and Devil Rays and end up with 30 homers, but is he adequate protection for Manny?

 

I'd rather play Pena than give up a ton of talent for Rios (like a mid-rotation starter the Blue Jays are asking for) but I'd rather have Huff or Drew (assuming Drew is the 25-30 homer threat he is when healthy) with Pena filling in for his miscellaneous injuries right now, and I think the Red Sox brass agrees (why else would they give Drew $70 million?)

[Papelbon58]

Wily Mo would be the option. Toronto would never trade Rios within the division

[Cocos Disciples]

I doubt Boston will move on without Drew but if they do...

 

remember, they always have Wily Mo, He's going to develop into a start soon enough, if he can make some more contact, he could be in the 3 or 4o spot never mind the 5 spot in the lineup...

Nixon is on the market, but Id say there not way Boston will sign him as a starter...

 

Aubrey Huff, he can play RF and would be a great pick up if Drew wasnt signed, He has some pop, plays pretty good D from what I know...

 

Preston Wilson, Jeromy Burnitz and Shannon Stewart are just a few others...

 

 

None of those options appeal at all, especially at their price. If we cannot get Drew, have WMP play, and sign a 4th outfielder if we can dump Hinske for a closer.

[Mr Crunchy]

what kind of a closer do you think a #5 outfielder who was waived last year would bring??

[Soxfan1]

what kind of a closer do you think a #5 outfielder who was waived last year would bring??

Word.

 

I say they sign Floyd.

[Cocos Disciples]

what kind of a closer do you think a #5 outfielder who was waived last year would bring??

 

There have been rumors of Hinske and a mid prospect to bring in a closer.

[ANiMAL]

id be fine with wily mo, id like to see him play for a bit... and if it doesnt work out, there would always be the possiblities of a trade at the end of the deadline... adam dunn is a potential FA in 08, so is Rowand and Milton Bradley....

 

i say if dont finalize jd drew, we should stick w/ wily mo and go from there

[RavenOfProphecy]

I actually think Aubrey Huff would be a pretty good alternative. He's got decent plate discipline, a, well, average average, and some good power, plus he's a player that the Red Sox tried to get in a few deals over the last couple years. Francona will like him because he can play all over the field, at third, right, left, and maybe first.

[jacksonianmarch]

There have been rumors of Hinske and a mid prospect to bring in a closer.

 

rumors that have since been laughed at and urinated on.

 

In all seriousness, Huff would be a good option. He will come cheap and has an axe to grind. I think he could return to his tampa days in Boston.

[Cocos Disciples]

rumors that have since been laughed at and urinated on.

 

In all seriousness, Huff would be a good option. He will come cheap and has an axe to grind. I think he could return to his tampa days in Boston.

 

OMG I heard the Yankees might get Damaso Marte for Kevin Thompson. I don wanna do it cause Thomspons a real valuable piece. Of course its a credible source though!

[jacksonianmarch]

OMG I heard the Yankees might get Damaso Marte for Kevin Thompson. I don wanna do it cause Thomspons a real valuable piece. Of course its a credible source though!

 

The Thompson for Marte rumor was urinated on as well.

[Cocos Disciples]

Shop him for Damaso Marte.

 

Hinske > Kevin Thompson

 

Hinske is more expensive than Kevin Thompson. And after seeing both of them' date=' I am not so sure you are right.[/quote']

 

Yeah man' date=' like the Red Sox can't kick in some money to make that deal happen.[/quote']

 

Thompson offers speed while both are equally crappy at hitting. I dont know why they would want him' date=' but why the hell not.[/quote']

 

Apparently Thompson is better than Hinske. Just thought I'd point it out.

[jacksonianmarch]

right now, Thompson may have similar value. Cheaper and faster. Both cannot hit.

[exsubmariner]

The only thing this will do is change the incentives in J.D.'s contracts and maybe lower the price. Will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few days.

[jacksonianmarch]

this could be the best thing that happens to the sox in a long time. I have a feeling that the sox will be trying to dump drew halfway through his first yr in Boston. If this allows them to do that, then this signing isnt terrible after all.

[Cocos Disciples]

AVG .271 | HR 13 | RBI 34 | OBP .353 | SLG .487

 

AVG .280 | HR 7 | RBI 50 | OBP .360 | SLG .391

 

Pretty close, especially considering #2 has nearly twice as many at bats as #1. The slight edge goes to #2. This is just hitting.

 

#1 is Eric Hinske.

 

#2 is Melky Cabrera

[jacksonianmarch]

Cabrera is 22 and can play all 3 OF positions. Plus he is a rookie.

 

Hinske is declining.

[Papelbon58]

I do not think Hinske is necessarily declining noticeably, but Melky is definitely on the upswing, with a promising future. Plus, it is the Pirates. Melky is undoubtedly the better choice between those two. Heck, I would like to have Melky.

[a700hitter]

Even if the JD Drew thingt works out, the Sox should get Huff to platoon at 1B with Youklis.

[ORS]

Cabrera is 22 and can play all 3 OF positions. Plus he is a rookie.

 

Hinske is declining.

He is?

 

.846

.766

.687

.763

.840

 

Those are his OPS from ages 24-28. Looks like he's recovering from something, and at 29 next year, he's not hitting a decline age. I'm not posting this because I particularly like Hinske, but I do like pointing out the absolute fallacies of your opinions. Since you don't look s*** up, you are easy prey.

[TNS]

Cabrera is 22 and can play all 3 OF positions. Plus he is a rookie.

 

Cabrera can't hang in CF & doesn't have the power to be a regular corner OF on a contender. The only reason he is even talked about at all is because he's in New York. Considering this is predominantly a Red Sox site & this is a thread about JD Drew, I don't know why Melky's even mentioned here at all. Typical Yankee BS...

[jacksonianmarch]

Cabrera can't hang in CF & doesn't have the power to be a regular corner OF on a contender. The only reason he is even talked about at all is because he's in New York. Considering this is predominantly a Red Sox site & this is a thread about JD Drew' date=' I don't know why Melky's even mentioned here at all. Typical Yankee BS...[/quote']

 

do you have anything to offer aside from trying to start a fight?

[elsrbueno]

Cabrera is 22 and can play all 3 OF positions. Plus he is a rookie.

 

Hinske is declining.

 

Hinske as a rookie: .279/.365/.481 with an OPS: .846

Melky as a rookie: .280/.357/.391 with an OPS: .748

 

The fact that Melky is a rookie could actually work in his favor. He's an unfamiliar commodity which means there's no book on how to get him out. There are tons of rookies who make it to the big leagues and have 1 great year and suck after that. Melky has proven only that he can hit in a lineup full of All Stars when people would rather give him pitches to hit than walk him and face the rest of his teammates with him on first-- and before the league's figured out how to get him out. Once the league adjusts to him let's see how he does-- it's the same thing that happened to Hinske.

 

Hinske at this point in his career is 29 (hardly past his prime years) who can play first, third, and both corner outfield positions. ORS has already shown that he's not declining, he simply played his best statistical year in his rookie season, which countless others have done.

[jacksonianmarch]

elsr, then by making that single point of people not wanting to pitch around him, you are proving the point I have been trying to make all along. Melky had amazing patience last season in a lineup where he was the guy everyone was trying to get out. 50BB from this kid as a 22 yr old is very strong, and should be improved upon. I have no doubt that this kid will be a .300+ hitter one day with tons of patience, I just dont think he will have enough power to justify a corner OF slot on the yankees.

[BSN07]

Melky can't play center, doesn't put up the power numbers you want out of a corner OF, and won't hit above .275 outside of the NYY line up.

 

If he is as good as you think he is Jackson, once he leaves that lineup, his BB numbers will rise, because playing in a worse line up will allow the other team to pitch around him and go after the batters worse then him.

 

Melky= Jose Cruz JR.lite, good first couple of seasons then will quietly go into the night and by the time he is 30 will be hoping for a ST invite from some team.

 

Don't get me wrong I'm not a melky hater, hes just a product of being in one of the best lineups in the league.

[jacksonianmarch]

Melky can't play center, doesn't put up the power numbers you want out of a corner OF, and won't hit above .275 outside of the NYY line up.

 

If he is as good as you think he is Jackson, once he leaves that lineup, his BB numbers will rise, because playing in a worse line up will allow the other team to pitch around him and go after the batters worse then him.

 

Melky= Jose Cruz JR.lite, good first couple of seasons then will quietly go into the night and by the time he is 30 will be hoping for a ST invite from some team.

 

Don't get me wrong I'm not a melky hater, hes just a product of being in one of the best lineups in the league.

 

but my point is, if he is in the best lineup in baseball, and he is supposed to be pitched to, why did he have such great walk numbers? It is past anomaly here.

[BSN07]

Yes I agree Melky has a good eye, good plate dicpline, but thats really it, no power, no great glove skills, regular arm, avg. speed. He's mainly a contact hitter, which isn't bad he'll get on base at a good clip with the protection he has, but put him outside of that protection he's nothing really great just avg.

 

I just don't understand why people are so hi on him, hes decent but some talk about him as a big time up and comer, but if he leaves NY, you will see what he really is.

[jacksonianmarch]

Yes I agree Melky has a good eye, good plate dicpline, but thats really it, no power, no great glove skills, regular arm, avg. speed. He's mainly a contact hitter, which isn't bad he'll get on base at a good clip with the protection he has, but put him outside of that protection he's nothing really great just avg.

 

I just don't understand why people are so hi on him, hes decent but some talk about him as a big time up and comer, but if he leaves NY, you will see what he really is.

 

regular arm? He was the 4th ranked LFer in baseball last yr. His defense was very solid. His arm ranks highly as well. His speed is above average, not in a base stealers eschilon, but he can steal a few. He has minimal power, well below average for a corner OFer. He has plus patience at the plate and makes solid contact. One other thing I forgot to mention is that he is 22 and is a switch hitter, who hit around .280 vs both lefties and righties. He has a lot to offer, hence why it seems everyone wants him.