Your 2013 Red Sox

[Bellhorn04]

Jeez, is it really necessary to keep abusing poor Nava? Even with his slide he ended the year with a .770 OPS, and that, my friends, is still higher than the league average of .735. I guess the average major league ballplayers we're watching have no talent.

[a700hitter]

Jeez' date=' is it really necessary to keep abusing poor Nava? Even with his slide he ended the year with a .770 OPS, and that, my friends, is still higher than the league average of .735. I guess the average major league ballplayers we're watching have no talent.[/quote']I don't think anyone is picking on Nava. He did a lot with very little in physical skills. He was very helpful to the team when he was called on. However, he can only play LF and he does not hit for enough power to hold down a starting job and bench players need to be more versatile. He just doesn't have the tools to be more versatile.

[jacksonianmarch]

The funny thing is, the sox have a team who wants Aviles in Oakland, but apparently the sox asking price is sky high. For what?

[a700hitter]

In the meant time, I am thinking that my rooting efforts should be shifted to the Yankees losing the division lead possibly causing them to miss the playoffs. IMO, there is more chance that this happens than the Red Sox making the playoffs.

[SoxSport]

Hart- VP of team operations. New GM, new manager, new head trainer.

Lucchino in charge of selling tickets and non-team matters (his old job).

 

If ever a team was in desperate need of reorganization, it is the current Red Sox.

[SoxSport]

The funny thing is' date=' the sox have a team who wants Aviles in Oakland, but apparently the sox asking price is sky high. For what?[/quote']

 

Maybe because Cherington wants to stick it to Bobby V, and keep Iggy in the minors.

[a700hitter]

Hart- VP of team operations. New GM, new manager, new head trainer.

Lucchino in charge of selling tickets and non-team matters (his old job).

 

If ever a team was in desperate need of reorganization, it is the current Red Sox.

When a business turns bad like this, there can be no sacred cows. The only part of the organization that has continued to do a good job is the marketing department.

[Keyser Soze]

Too bad Farrell still has a year left on his deal with Toronto.

[BornToRun]

Too bad Farrell still has a year left on his deal with Toronto.

 

The majority of this fanbase went 86 years without seeing a world series. I think we can live thru another year of this to kill time in between us trying to land farrel.

[Orange Juiced]

The majority of this fanbase went 86 years without seeing a world series. I think we can live thru another year of this to kill time in between us trying to land farrel.

 

The first part of your statement is why I am perfectly ok with the Red Sox taking a long-term approach to build a fun and exciting winner. I'm fine with them selling off a bunch of veterans and acquiring quality prospects. In three years, I would love to watch a team that featured:

 

C - Lavarnway

1b - Gonzalez (he ain't going anywhere)

2b - Pedroia

3b - Middlebrooks

SS - Bogaerts

LF - Crawford

CF - Bradley, Jr.

RF - Brentz

Subs - Jacobs, Swihart, etc.

 

SP - Buchholz, Barnes, Britton, Workman, and hopefully a young stud that they acquire as a prospect that emerges

RP - Wilson, Bailey, Aceves, Doubront, Owens, Bard (assuming they get him fixed)

 

That team wouldn't cost a lot of money, it would be brimming with talent, and there are a bunch of exciting players there. Plus, it always seems more fun to root for kids that have come up through the system.

 

So deal away Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Ellsbury, and Saltalamacchia and get back a bunch of quality prospects that you could add to the mix above. I think it would be a lot of fun rooting for that bunch.

[3rdManOut]

The first part of your statement is why I am perfectly ok with the Red Sox taking a long-term approach to build a fun and exciting winner. I'm fine with them selling off a bunch of veterans and acquiring quality prospects. In three years, I would love to watch a team that featured:

 

C - Lavarnway

1b - Gonzalez (he ain't going anywhere)

2b - Pedroia

3b - Middlebrooks

SS - Bogaerts

LF - Crawford

CF - Bradley, Jr.

RF - Brentz

Subs - Jacobs, Swihart,

 

SP - Buchholz, Barnes, Britton, Workman, and hopefully a young stud that they acquire as a prospect that emerges

RP - Wilson, Bailey, Aceves, Workman, Owens, Bard (assuming they get him fixed)

 

That team wouldn't cost a lot of money, it would be brimming with talent, and there are a bunch of exciting players there. Plus, it always seems more fun to root for kids that have come up through the system.

 

So deal away Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Ellsbury, and Saltalamacchia and get back a bunch of quality prospects that you could add to the mix above. I think it would be a lot of fun rooting for that bunch.

 

Would you have your starting rotation be the order that you listed above? Would you have Buchholz starting at the top? Just asking?

[Orange Juiced]

Would you have your starting rotation be the order that you listed above? Would you have Buchholz starting at the top? Just asking?

 

After the first time or two through it wouldn't matter, as they end up getting all jumbled up anyway due to rainouts, injuries, etc.

 

But Buchholz is the best pitcher of the group at this point, so yeah, I guess.

[DocHolliday]

The first part of your statement is why I am perfectly ok with the Red Sox taking a long-term approach to build a fun and exciting winner. I'm fine with them selling off a bunch of veterans and acquiring quality prospects. In three years, I would love to watch a team that featured:

 

C - Lavarnway

1b - Gonzalez (he ain't going anywhere)

2b - Pedroia

3b - Middlebrooks

SS - Bogaerts

LF - Crawford

CF - Bradley, Jr.

RF - Brentz

Subs - Jacobs, Swihart, etc.

 

SP - Buchholz, Barnes, Britton, Workman, and hopefully a young stud that they acquire as a prospect that emerges

RP - Wilson, Bailey, Aceves, Doubront, Owens, Bard (assuming they get him fixed)

 

That team wouldn't cost a lot of money, it would be brimming with talent, and there are a bunch of exciting players there. Plus, it always seems more fun to root for kids that have come up through the system.

 

So deal away Lester, Beckett, Lackey, Ellsbury, and Saltalamacchia and get back a bunch of quality prospects that you could add to the mix above. I think it would be a lot of fun rooting for that bunch.

 

I like the idea of going with younger talent in the rotation. However, I think there needs to be an effective veteran thrown into that group - one who truly sets the example for the rest of the staff.

 

What are the thoughts of signing a guy like a James Shields when he hits free agency (this offseason or next, depending on whether the Rays pick up his option)? Unlike former free agent busts in SP (Lackey, DiceK), Shields is atleast a proven commodity in the AL East, has a good work ethic, and doesn't seem to show any signs of age in his recent future. Assuming the Rays don't win a WS in his time there, this will also be a guy who should be motivated to do whatever it takes to win and not be satisfied by past glory and glutttonous behavior (Beckett).

 

Not sure what his price tag would be- but would likely not be as high as others in this year's class.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Too bad Farrell still has a year left on his deal with Toronto.

 

It sucks that I have to ban you, because the username is awesome. :dunno:

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Um, am i missing something? Was he a former poster?

[Youk Of The Nation]

Yeah

[SoxSport]

Too bad Farrell still has a year left on his deal with Toronto.

 

Farrell is no big deal. Toronto is last, last time I looked. Though they have had injuries in their starting pitching.

 

They need leadership higher up on the baseball side, and an experienced manager who has been successful enough to control the players--and who doesn't blabber to the media all the time.

 

The other thing they could use is a good PR person to keep the media at bay. Henry and Lucchino suck talking to the media. So does Valentine. And the players should shut up, too.

[jung]

I am not sure that the Sox are all that high on Farrell at this point. They would have fallen all over themselves to get him at one point. Now I am not so sure they would be that interested.

 

I actually do not know who would take this job at this point. Would you feel confident coming in that you would actually have a shot here between changing diapers on some of the players every day and dealing with the whacky upper management that we have here? I suspect that if there is any effort at all to keep V past this year it will be out of an inability to get anybody worthwhile to come in here.

[mvp 78]

BV was hired to be cannon fodder and I think he knew that when he signed on.

 

The next manager should be more long term.

[jung]

The next manager should be longer term. They did not extend Tito's contract at a time when that likely sent the wrong message to a group of players that seem so focused on their individual contract agenda's that it would appear to have had an impact on his ability to manage the team. A two year contract for V likely sent the same message.

 

I guess I could believe that V could be kept around here for one more year cause they can't find somebody they want for this job especially since it really has to be someone they give a long term contract.

[3rdManOut]

A 2 year contract doesnt seem like a real lot to do anything real with a team (especially in our case). Why only the 2 years? I would say keep BV until his contract is up that way I feel it would be more justified in getting rid of him if they really felt the need to.

[Behindenemylines]

If you are realistic and admit 2012 baseball season is over and start to look at 2013 there are a lot of things you can find out. If Lavarnway is the future then play him a lot. I agree Aviles is not the answer at short. Iglesias hasn't hit at AAA. I say play Ciriaco a lot down the stretch and see what you have. If you are not going to make the playoffs at least you can find out if you might have the solutions to two of our weak spots. Worse case you find out you need a catcher and a SS. To me Lavarnway has improved his defense and Ciraco is a pain to play against. Let him play to see what he can do. If CC has his elbow taken care of (now) should be ready by spring, Ellsbury don't trade unless you can get a front line starter, Ross in a platoon in right, the rest of the infield is set , and I don't think Ortiz leaves. The starting pitching has been the problem and will continue to be a problem unless bold moves are made.

[SoxFanForsyth]

If you are realistic and admit 2012 baseball season is over and start to look at 2013 there are a lot of things you can find out. If Lavarnway is the future then play him a lot. I agree Aviles is not the answer at short. Iglesias hasn't hit at AAA. I say play Ciriaco a lot down the stretch and see what you have. If you are not going to make the playoffs at least you can find out if you might have the solutions to two of our weak spots. Worse case you find out you need a catcher and a SS. To me Lavarnway has improved his defense and Ciraco is a pain to play against. Let him play to see what he can do. If CC has his elbow taken care of (now) should be ready by spring, Ellsbury don't trade unless you can get a front line starter, Ross in a platoon in right, the rest of the infield is set , and I don't think Ortiz leaves. The starting pitching has been the problem and will continue to be a problem unless bold moves are made.

 

To be fair, Iglesias is hitting .270 with a .321 OBP as of right now. Those are far from spectacular numbers, but if he can take a walk, move runners over, make productive outs, and get on base with a few bunts and bleeders, his defense will make him a very valuable player.

 

Ozzie Smith had a 4.2 WAR with a .589 OPS in 1981.

 

To put that into context, Hanley Ramirez had a 4.6 WAR in 2010 when he hit .300/.378/.475 with 21 HR, 76 RBI, and 32 SB. But his defense was atrocious.

 

Defense up the middle is absolutely critical. If we can get a .230-.250 average with a .290-.310 OBP from Iglesias, we'll have a very productive SS.

[mvp 78]

If Iggy hit .250, people would be ecstatic. The worry is he'd hit .190. He needs the oppotunity at the very least.

[DocHolliday]

From Alex Speier of WEEI:

 

John Lackey is progressing in his rehab to the point where he will probably appear in some rehab games in one of the fall leagues after the season ends. With a full year lost to Tommy John surgery, this makes his 2014 year contract at the league minimum, with approximately $16 M owed for 2013.

 

---

 

As much as many Sox fans despise Lackey, he will be very difficult to trade in this offseason unless he shows some real signs of recovery in whatever rehab outings he has. And even then, the task seems to be quite difficult. If the Sox choose to keep him, he essentially becomes an $8 M AAV pitcher over the course of the next 2 seasons (not for luxury tax purposes, but practical purposes.)

 

This will make the decision to deal Beckett in the offseason a little easier from the financial perspective. Instead of paying out close to $66 M to Beckett and Lackey over the next 2 seasons, the total amount will come out to be around $51 M with the clause in Lackey's contract. Beckett is owed $34 M over the next 2 seasons. If the Sox were willing to pick up $20 M (or $10 M per season) to have him play somewhere else, I'm sure many fans would be fine with this - even if he turns it around somewhere else. This would free up $7 M of payroll for 2013 and 2014 (not including the approximately $15 M in savings for 2014 from Lackey's contract drop).

 

This increased payroll flexibility, coupled with the end of the Dice K contract at the end of this season, should allow the Sox to pursue various avenues to improve the quality and depth of the staff while simultaneously improving the attitude of the entire clubhouse.

[jung]

Lavs looks so much better behind the plate than Salty. While it would be unrealistic to think that the rotation problems have all been Salty it is hard not to imagine that he has made a serious contribution to the abysmal rotation numbers. Scary to think that while the rotation guys have underperformed, a marginal improvement by way of a decent catcher might have made a huge difference in the actual results.

 

Lets take an acute view of the situation just for argument's sake, just for the fun of it. Seeing how Lester and Beckett have pitched (small sample size I know) to Lavs....and looking at the giant number of games that have been lost in the rotation this year, would it be completely off the wall to think that we might have gotten ten more wins with Lavs than Salty? I don't think it is completely off the wall. Where are we with ten more wins in the bank? How does 69-53 and in the hunt sound? Ten wins to rich for your blood you say....to acute a view of the situation? OK....lets say seven wins. Now seven wins based on what we have seen with Lavs sounds like something we would believe as opposed to something we might think is just totally nuts. 66-56...ten games over 500, barking up NY's ass and up on Tampa and the O's. Still think that is ridiculous...OK lets take it down to six games dif between absolute disaster Salty and Lavs......Now you get 65-57, eight games over 500....still barking up NY's ass and right in there with Tampa and the O's.

 

Think I am totally nuts...well I have close friends and family that would be inclined to agree with you. But, if you remember about six weeks ago, we had two games very close together where the walk off runs came in off of Salty screw ups around home plate. Just in those two games, we had defensive mistakes by Salty that ended those two games, having nothing to do with his receiving...those were just outright mistakes that ended those two games...That is two of my six right there. I am not counting any of the other countless dropped pop flies, passed balls, various and sundry other sins around home plate and just saying that his receiving and handling of the pitchers has been worth anywhere from four to eight additional games plus those two walk off games.

 

You might want to counter that he has done some things with his bat that should go to the other side of the ledger....what were those...the HR's he hit late in a couple games were superseded by additional runs scored by the opposition so I am just for the sake of argument suggesting that he has won no games with his bat. So if you just want to fool around with one thing as opposed to multiple things that might have changed this whole season around I give you Salty vs any decent ML catcher. If the Sox had a decent ML catcher and maybe even the one in their system this year, we are likely right in the hunt for the division.

 

Now before I cause a riot, lets not forget that the Sox had no real plan for Felix needing a blow long before the season ended, and Bard just imploding and Morales being just to young and inexperienced especially as a starter and Cook simply needing to be to fine etc etc....while I cannot blame Felix for his youth for example, I have to say that the Sox had constructed a "plan" for the rotation that was doomed from the start. That said if they were right in the hunt maybe they do something besides twiddle their thumbs at the trade deadline. Also teams are supposed to recognize their shortcomings and pick each other up. Of course these are the Red Sox where most of the players likely know to the penny how their individual stats might contribute to their next salary negotiation but pick each other up...Christ they don't even know when one of them is down or who or what is doing what when!!!!! Regardless of whether they did something at the trade deadline or not, they would likely still struggle with these last 40 odd games but hey...right in the hunt is still right in the hunt.

 

So, the next time somebody puts the words adequate and catcher together in the same sentence regarding the impact of a good defensive catcher on run prevention, run do not walk but run in the opposite direction as fast as you can.

[Orange Juiced]

IMO (and I'm sure many here share this viewpoint), we can now turn the page from 2012 and focus on 2013. They're toast. Time to move forward. That means using the rest of this season to prepare for next year.

 

First, the contract situation.

 

Players Under Control for 2013

Gonzalez (21m)

Crawford (20m)

Lackey (15.25m)

Beckett (15.75m)

Pedroia (10m)

Buchholz (5.5m)

Lester (11.62m)

Iglesias (2.06m)

Ellsbury (arb)

Bailey (arb)

Punto (1.5m) - WHY!?!?!?

Salty (arb)

Sweeney (arb)

Bard (arb)

Aceves (arb)

Aviles (arb)

Miller (arb)

Tazawa (arb)

Morales (arb)

Hill (arb)

Melancon (pre-arb)

Atchison (arb)

Mortensen (pre-arb)

Doubront (pre-arb)

Kalish (pre-arb)

Carpenter (pre-arb)

Lavarnway (pre-arb)

Stewart (pre-arb)

Ciriaco (pre-arb)

Middlebrooks (pre-arb)

Nava (pre-arb)

Gomez (pre-arb)

Valencia (arb)

 

Players not under control for 2013

Matsuzaka

Ortiz

Ross

Padilla

Podsednik

Cook

 

Here are some things you need to find out, in no particular order:

 

(1) Is Jon Lester back to his normal self? If he is, he's a terrific pitcher and a guy you want on your team. I do not think he's an "ace", though his average for the past four years (from 2008-2011) sure screams "hey, if I'm not an ace, I'm damned close!".

 

16-8 record, 203 ip, 3.33 era, 1.24 whip, 8.7 k/9

 

Durable, downright nasty at times, those are very good numbers, especially in the AL East. Just to make the comparison, here's CC Sabathia's numbers his first three years with the Yankees, on average:

 

20-8 record, 235 ip, 3.18 era, 1.19 whip, 8.0 k/9

 

So give the edge to CC, but not by a lot, which is somewhat surprising.

 

If Lester is *not* back to his normal self, then he needs to go. This last 6 weeks are a referendum on Jon Lester for 2013.

 

(2) What are you going to do with Jacoby Ellsbury? Is the plan to try to re-sign him after he becomes a FA after 2013? Is the plan to keep him for 2013 to make one last run and then let him go after that? Or is it time to begin exploring possible trade partners? In any case, it's important that he play well for the last 6 weeks. If nothing else, you hope he regains his 2011 form so that he becomes a massive trade chip.

 

(3) What do you have in Iglesias? Is he the SS of the future or not? You have Bogaerts who is rising with a bullet. He may have, in the minds of some Sox brass, already surpassed Iglesias, but either way, it's important to know what you have in him. He's hitting .269/.321/.309/.631 for Pawtucket this season with his usual insanely good defense. Let's say a reasonable comp is Ozzie Smith in his early days. Ozzie was, obviously, a defensive genius, one of the best of all time. Everything I've read about Iglesias is that he truly is in the discussion with Ozzie defensively. Unfortunately, he's also at the same level offensively as a young Ozzie Smith. Well, let's see if that still helps the Red Sox.

 

Ozzie's first four years featured these batting lines:

.258/.311/.312/.623, 82 ops+

.211/.260/.262/.522, 48 ops+

.230/.313/.276/.589, 71 ops+

.222/.294/.256/.549, 62 ops+

 

I mean, truly horrific offensive performance. What Ozzie *did* give you was great SB ability (40, 28, 57, and 22 sb in those four years), and superlative defense. As a result, even with those awful offensive numbers, Ozzie gave the Cardinals WARs of: 3.0, 1.4, 4.9, and 0.9. As he got older, he matured as a hitter and really gave them tremendous production in all phases of the game (not power, obviously, but in total offense, defense, and baserunning).

 

Can Iglesias be what the early Ozzie Smith was? One huge difference between Iglesias and Ozzie is that Iglesias doesn't really steal bases. In 89 games this year he's stolen 13 (just 3 CS). As I mentioned above, Ozzie stole a lot of bases, and those extra bases really helped his value. But is it possible that Iglesias can give the Sox +1 to +3 WAR even with that crappy offense? I guess it is, yeah. May as well start finding out. Bring the kid up and see what he does at the major league level.

 

(4) Decide what to do with Beckett. I am somewhat of a believer in the odd/even year thing with him. I don't know why it's that way, but the pattern is striking. That means that 2013 should be a good year for him. I would like to move him but his value right now is *so* low. I wonder if he'll bounce back and then the Sox trade him after 2013. Interesting question. I just want to see him get straightened out over these last 6 weeks.

 

(5) See what the kids have. This means sitting Aviles and Valencia, and letting Crawford get his surgery, like tomorrow. Valencia is the kind of guy that is intriguing, as last year he hit 15 hr and drove in 72 runs for Minnesota at age 26. But he had an awful .294 obp and just 86 ops+. He's 27, so I don't think he qualifies as a "kid". He did come in 3rd in the ROY race in 2010, so he does have some potential. But he's not here to play 3b - that job is Middlebrooks', so I think Valencia plays in AAA next year. I let Iglesias play SS, Ciriaco play 3b, Lavarnway play the majority of time at C, Ross at DH, and some combination of Kalish, Brentz, and Bradley Jr. patrol LF and RF. The minor league season will end at the end of August, so may as well give them a month in Boston with the big club. Of course, the flip side with Brentz and Bradley is that adding them to the 40-man roster starts their arbitration clock, so maybe you don't want to do that. I might even bring up Alex Wilson and Zach Stewart to pitch a bunch of innings in September. Who knows...maybe Stewart is pretty good after all, and Wilson could be ready for the majors for 2013. Worth taking a look.

 

It's essentially evaluation and try-out time for the 2013 Red Sox. At least it would be if I was running the team.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Daniel Bard has 5 wins this season. He hasn't pitched since June 3rd.

 

Josh Beckett has 5 wins this season. He has 1 win in his last 13 starts dating back to May 26th.

 

Yes. Daniel Bard. The guy who hasn't been on the big league roster since June 4th, has as many wins as Josh Beckett.

[Orange Juiced]

Ok, well, the blockbuster trade (which *has* to be the biggest waiver-period trade of all time, right?) looks like it's a done deal. Beckett and Crawford signed off on it last night, so it appears to be done. The Sox give up Beckett, Gonzalez, Crawford, and Punto (how will they ever replace him?), and get back James Loney (who I'm sure they'll let go after this season), Jerry Sands (excellent power-hitting OF prospect), Rubby De La Rosa (an outstanding pitching prospect), Allen Webster (another high level pitching prospect), and Ivan de Jesus (an OF prospect). That's four good-to-great prospects added to the stable of talent.

 

For the rest of 2013, I would like to see the Sox thusly:

 

C - Lavarnway, Salty

1b - Loney, Gomez

2b - Pedroia

3b - Ciriaco

SS - Iglesias

LF - Sands/Kalish

CF - Ellsbury

RF - Ross

DH - Ortiz

 

Let's see what the new guy, Sands, can do. Excellent power, should translate well as a RHH in Fenway. Let Iglesias play...see what he's got. May as well see if Gomez could be a competent 1b moving forward as well.

 

As for 2013, the Sox now have a significant number of quality prospects they could move in a deal for a true ace pitcher: De La Rosa, Webster, Sands, Iglesias, Brentz, Bradley Jr., Barnes, Jacobs, Bogaerts, Owens, Britton, Workman, etc. What would be required to get Felix Hernandez or Tim Lincecum (if you think Lincecum is going to bounce back)? They sure have the pieces to do it now.

 

So in the offseason you re-up Papi for 2 years, trade 5 of these prospects for Hernandez (preferring to keep De La Rosa, Bogaerts, Bradley, and Barnes....everyone else...no problem). Sign Tim Hudson (stable veteran, has had success in the AL) to a 2-year, $25 million deal (if you think you're going to contend in 2013), find a 1b, and away we go.

[a700hitter]

Ok, well, the blockbuster trade (which *has* to be the biggest waiver-period trade of all time, right?) looks like it's a done deal. Beckett and Crawford signed off on it last night, so it appears to be done. The Sox give up Beckett, Gonzalez, Crawford, and Punto (how will they ever replace him?), and get back James Loney (who I'm sure they'll let go after this season), Jerry Sands (excellent power-hitting OF prospect), Rubby De La Rosa (an outstanding pitching prospect), Allen Webster (another high level pitching prospect), and Ivan de Jesus (an OF prospect). That's four good-to-great prospects added to the stable of talent.

 

For the rest of 2013, I would like to see the Sox thusly:

 

C - Lavarnway, Salty

1b - Loney, Gomez

2b - Pedroia

3b - Ciriaco

SS - Iglesias

LF - Sands/Kalish

CF - Ellsbury

RF - Ross

DH - Ortiz

 

Let's see what the new guy, Sands, can do. Excellent power, should translate well as a RHH in Fenway. Let Iglesias play...see what he's got. May as well see if Gomez could be a competent 1b moving forward as well.

 

As for 2013, the Sox now have a significant number of quality prospects they could move in a deal for a true ace pitcher: De La Rosa, Webster, Sands, Iglesias, Brentz, Bradley Jr., Barnes, Jacobs, Bogaerts, Owens, Britton, Workman, etc. What would be required to get Felix Hernandez or Tim Lincecum (if you think Lincecum is going to bounce back)? They sure have the pieces to do it now.

 

So in the offseason you re-up Papi for 2 years, trade 5 of these prospects for Hernandez (preferring to keep De La Rosa, Bogaerts, Bradley, and Barnes....everyone else...no problem). Sign Tim Hudson (stable veteran, has had success in the AL) to a 2-year, $25 million deal (if you think you're going to contend in 2013), find a 1b, and away we go.

Why did Middlebrooks disappear off your radar?