CalvnHobs6

Absolutely right. Wake's value comes from his longevity, flexibility, consistent inconsistencies, etc. He's not a shut-down reliever, or even a middle reliever. If you put him in the game, maybe he'll strike out the side, maybe he'll give up a couple of bombs. And while I suppose that can go for any pitcher, it seems like Wake is far more volatile in that way. Wakefield's role is spot starter and mop-up duty. I know it's probably not his preference, but that's how it has to be.

Pete Abraham did an awesome breakdown of the payroll for the next two years. From Extra Bases (http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/)

You sure about that? Speier posted his article at 7:05 AM, Heyman questioning wasn't until about noon.

Jon Heyman just twatted 8 years for $161 million will be the framework. A bargain, I say! I was expecting 7 for $160, not eight.

I am so excited about this trade. Think about this core of players for years to come: SP: Lester, Lackey, Beckett, Buchholz. Set for years. Infield: Youkilis, Pedroia, Gonzalez, and Iglesias. Set for years. Not to mention the young outfield as well as Salty, depending on how they all progress.

Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is HOV. H to the O-V. I used to move snowflakes by the OZ. You get the idea.

Alex Speier, Pete Abraham, and Gordon Edes were very level headed throughout the near-fiasco yesterday. Speier knew it was all about luxury tax before the extension negotiations had even started.

Haha, I saw yeszir over the weekend, and that combined with Gonzalez and very little to do at the office brought me on back.

I don't know. For short term, teams have been overpaying for relief help. I think it's worth getting a few $3-4 million dollar guys.

My hope is that they'll take that money and use it on short-term bullpen help. I think that with the addition of Gonzo, and then full, hopefully healthy seasons from Youk, Pedroia, and Ellsbury brings the lineup to where it needs to be offensively.

I think it should be Jed Lowrie, and I'm probably not alone. Even with the smaller sample size from 2010, Lowrie is clearly a more valuable player, had superior statistics, and has much higher upside. With Marco Scutaro, we know at this point what to expect - he's a #9 hitter at best and a below average fielder. What's the harm in installing Lowrie at short and keeping Scutaro on the bench? Additionally, starting Jed Lowrie and getting a full season under his belt would definitely up his trade value for when Iglesias is ready to start in a year or so, if that's the direction they choose to go in.

Sweet Jesus!

It's been a pretty exciting few days. Plus, there seems to be notably less bickering around here.