Official Red Sox offseason thread

[a700hitter]

I'd look at Myers' date=' but his actions off the field are going to prevent that.[/quote']The guy's a pig on and off the field. I don't think much of him. Our prospects are better now than he is. If they upgrade pitching through FA, it should be for a young reliable stud. There doesn't seem to be any available in this crop. Lackey is as close as it gets, and he has had too many trips to the DL for me.

[Dojji]

I'd take a flier on Bedard, actually. He should be either dominant or on the DL, one or the other, and he's proven in the past that he can handle the AL East. As a #3-4 starter he'd do very nicely indeed.

[example1]

I think the Red Sox should find a way to get Adam Dunn for 2010. He will have a year plus an option at a reasonable price. They could let him go in two years for draft picks. He could easily displace Papi as the team's DH and would really add a lot of pop for a team that gets on base a lot. He, rather than Mark Teixeira, may be the player the Sox truly missed out on last offseason.

 

This year's .282/.407/.569/.976 is comparable to Teixeira's numbers given the different leagues, pitching, etc., (Teixeira: 288/.384/.543/.921). He is an ideal DH and is only 30 so he should have some good DH'ing years in front of him. He's a bad OF, but he could man LF in Fenway in a pinch as well as Ortiz can man 1B when needed. It just seems like an easy fit. Any questions of Dunn's ability to hit a baseball should be out the window at this point in his career.

 

In terms of pitching, John Lackey is a very good pitcher. I bet that he's a better value than AJ Burnett, and he's certainly a better option than D-Lowe was last year.

[a700hitter]

I'd take a flier on Bedard' date=' actually. He should be either dominant or on the DL, one or the other, and he's proven in the past that he can handle the AL East. As a #3-4 starter he'd do very nicely indeed.[/quote']What will it take for you to learn. Bargain basement pitchers that live on the DL don't work out. You can't expect to find a horse starter in the Dollar Store.

[Dojji]

What will it take for you to learn. Bargain basement pitchers that live on the DL don't work out. You can't expect to find a horse starter in the Dollar Store.

 

Erik Bedard is hardly a bargain basement pitcher. He's injury prone but he's very talented indeed and has a great arm. If he can stay in the field he'll be a vastly superior option to what you could have reasonably expected from Smoltz and Penny.

 

If I wanted bargain basement I'd go after Ben Sheets.

[a700hitter]

Erik Bedard is hardly a bargain basement pitcher. He's injury prone but he's very talented indeed and has a great arm. If he can stay in the field he'll be a vastly superior option to what you could have reasonably expected from Smoltz and Penny.

 

If I wanted bargain basement I'd go after Ben Sheets.

He's 30 years old. He's never thrown 200 innings in a season and in the last 2 seasons, he hasn't cracked 100 innings. We don't need that.

[example1]

Bedard would only be reasonalbe on exactly the type of contract Smoltz got. Unless that's a 4th option after options 1 and 2 have paid off, I don't like it.

 

If they signed Lackey and traded for Felix, then Bedard to a reasonable deal sounds like good insurance.

[Dojji]

He's 30 years old. He's never thrown 200 innings in a season and in the last 2 seasons' date=' he hasn't cracked 100 innings. We don't need that.[/quote']

 

I'd be willing to try what the shoulder strengthening program can do for him. If it fails we haven't really lost anything, but if it bears fruit we have one heck of a rotation.

 

We can go after Bedard and also pursue other pitchers. I doubt Erik's price is particularly high.

[a700hitter]

Bedard would only be reasonalbe on exactly the type of contract Smoltz got. Unless that's a 4th option after options 1 and 2 have paid off, I don't like it.

 

If they signed Lackey and traded for Felix, then Bedard to a reasonable deal sounds like good insurance.

Using oft-injured guys as insurance usually doesn't work out that well.

[Dojji]

Because guys who have a couple years cut short by injury in the late 20's never recover or go on to become anything, right?

[a700hitter]

Because guys who have a couple years cut short by injury in the late 20's never recover or go on to become anything' date=' right?

Let the small market teams take the flyers and try catching lightning in a bottle, because it usually doesn't work out.

[example1]

You would rather have whom as your #6 starter option? A prospect?

[a700hitter]

You would rather have whom as your #6 starter option? A prospect?

Yes, but I would have him in the pen as a long man learning his craft at the major league level. If a starter goes down and he slots into the rotation, he's got some experience. I prefer that over plucking a guy from the minors and handing him a rotation spot. Taking fliers on injured guys rarely works, and the Red Sox have enough resources to upgrade their rotation with a solid reliable pitcher.

[Dojji]

if we're making crazy trade scenarios for guys like Hanley, Adrian Gonzalez and Felix Hernandez, I might as well bring up a trade target who would also be a potential impact bat and is likely to be just as accessable as those three.

 

Grady Sizemore anyone?

[ORS]

This is quickly turning into the pipedream thread.

[Dojji]

We're already talking about trading for everyone's franchise cornerstone, cheap, young, trade-this-guy-the-owner-fires-you-on-the-spot players, I don't see why my choice is any less crazy than Adrian Gonzalez.

[Cocos Disciples]

We're already talking about trading for everyone's franchise cornerstone' date=' cheap, young, trade-this-guy-the-owner-fires-you-on-the-spot players, I don't see why my choice is any less crazy than Adrian Gonzalez.[/quote']

 

That's because it's not less crazy. Gonzalez's name has already been floating around serious trade talks, Sizemore's hasn't.

[The_Destroyah]

I think A-Gonz and even HanRam at this point are more likely than Sizemore, they are all similar and I think A-Gonz is honestly the most likely to happen and honestly the one Id like most, but Adam Dunn would be a nice DH with the ability to adequately man a few positions if we needed it and he is much cheaper than the others as far as depleting the farm goes. but at this point they are all somewhat pipe dreams until we actually see progress in the off season given Theo's past history.

[SCM33]

Troy Tulowitzki......I would like to see him solve our SS problems. Might have some trouble getting him since COL is contending this season, and may be unwilling to part with him.

[The_Destroyah]

If we can get a good defensive SS who is young then Ill be happy even if he has a little league bat I imagine he will end up being backup for Lowrie and Pedroia assuming we dont trade away Lowrie for one...dont know who is out there, but it shouldnt be too hard to find a glovey mcnoodlebat for cheap but I can deal with living with the bat if he shows FAR superior D than what Green does.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

This is quickly turning into the pipedream thread.

Did it have any other destination (considering the time at which it was created)?

[Dojji]

Troy Tulowitzki......I would like to see him solve our SS problems. Might have some trouble getting him since COL is contending this season' date=' and may be unwilling to part with him.[/quote']

 

Now we ARE talking pipe dreams. Tulo may not have developed into the offensive dynamo he might have, but the Rockies have no reason whatsoever to deal him. Much like Alex, Felix or Grady.

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

Wanted him last offseason. But if we do get him, everyone will complaining about his lack of a bat by June.

[The_Destroyah]

Now we ARE talking pipe dreams. Tulo may not have developed into the offensive dynami he might have' date=' but the Rockies have no reason whatsoever to deal him. Much like Alex, Felix or grady.[/quote']

 

Or Hanley Ramirez he is as unattainable as the rest of the names listed.

[Dojji]

If we can get a good defensive SS who is young then Ill be happy even if he has a little league bat I imagine he will end up being backup for Lowrie and Pedroia assuming we dont trade away Lowrie for one...dont know who is out there' date=' but it shouldnt be too hard to find a glovey mcnoodlebat for cheap but I can deal with living with the bat if he shows FAR superior D than what Green does.[/quote']

 

The problem is it isn't as easy as you'd think to find a Glovy McNoodlebat who's really good defensively rather than just overrated because of a handful of athletic plays.

[SCM33]

Now we ARE talking pipe dreams. Tulo may not have developed into the offensive dynamo he might have' date=' but the Rockies have no reason whatsoever to deal him. Much like Alex, Felix or Grady.[/quote']

 

So basically, you are agreeing with me, with saying you want him....but then insulting me calling it a pipedream stating that they prob wont deal him, AFTER I already said they might be unwilling to deal him.

 

Do me a favor, if you dont like something I say, please resist your urge to smear me when you agree youd like the player, and also agree it might be difficult to make a deal.

 

You agreed with everything I said, yet still managed to smear me.

[Dojji]

Basically there's no particular reason to bring up Tulowitzki and the Sox in the same sentence unless you're talking about the 2007 world series.

 

The shortstops we're most likely to sniff around on in the offseason are Jhonny Peralta and Michael Young. Both might be available and both would represent large upgrades on what we have right now. Of the two, my preference is Young, since he's a Gold Glove winner with good average and power who we might get for a reasonable haul of prospects because of his huge contract.

[Dipre]

Basically there's no particular reason to bring up Tulowitzki and the Sox in the same sentence unless you're talking about the 2007 world series.

 

The shortstops we're most likely to sniff around on in the offseason are Jhonny Peralta and Michael Young. Both might be available and both would represent large upgrades on what we have right now. Of the two, my preference is Young, since he's a Gold Glove winner with good average and power who we might get for a reasonable haul of prospects because of his huge contract.

 

Michael.Young.Is.Not.A.Shortstop.

[Dojji]

Michael.Young.Is.Not.A.Shortstop.

 

He's faked it pretty convincingly for about 5 years then. His arm is pretty mediocre but he does have decent range.

 

We're not going to get the cream of other teams. Anyone you acquire is going to have his share of flaws. Young has fewer of them than most of the guys you can get.

 

Play him at short for a season and if that isn't good enough for you slide him to third when Lowell goes and move on to the next solution.

 

is it possible that part of the problem Theo is having getting a good SS is because OUR standards are too high? .800OPS shortstops don't grow on trees, but before the whole fiasco with Nomar in '04, we'd been treated to some excepional shortstop play for more than a decade, between Nomar and his predecessor, the underrated John Valentin.

[Dipre]

He's faked it pretty convincingly for about 5 years then. His arm is pretty mediocre but he does have decent range.

 

We're not going to get the cream of other teams. Anyone you acquire is going to have his share of flaws. Young has fewer of them than most of the guys you can get.

 

Play him at short for a season and if that isn't good enough for you slide him to third when Lowell goes and move on to the next solution.

 

is it possible that part of the problem Theo is having getting a good SS is because OUR standards are too high? .800OPS shortstops don't grow on trees, but before the whole fiasco with Nomar in '04, we'd been treated to some excepional shortstop play for more than a decade, between Nomar and his predecessor, the underrated John Valentin.

 

If you're gonna get a SS who has his share of flaws, let the least of said flaws be defensive.

 

He's had a UZR no better than -5.2 as a SS.