RedSoxRooter

I like everything you said. My only change would be to have Youk leading off and Loretta second. Loretta is a perfect #2 and of all the moving pieces, Youk makes more sense to me as leadoff. Actually, I remember when Jed/Ben were talking during the Damon press conference. They made a point of saying "there are different kinds of leadoff hitters, different ways to get on base". Youk could easily have the power numbers of Damon. His career OBP is .376, SLG .411 (Damon was .366/.439 in 2005 and both numbers were higher than his career numbers). This of course means that Youk can get on base about as much as Damon, therefore score for Ortiz and Manny. Speed's a huge difference on the bases but Loretta can bunt. I'm a little worried about Youk at 1b, but I'll give him a shot. Anyway, that makes more sense to me.

I don't mind Dinardo, and his stats are suprisingly good, but I just don't think he's that great. Being a lefty makes him more valuable, but even so he's not as good as Arroyo. I don't think he's starter quality. He may be the lefty we need in the bullpen.

This is great news - if it pans out... I feel like we just upgraded and we didn't actually do anything! Now lets get Tejada. In the last part of the articles, Manny says something and I'll try to translate. "Alex es norteamericano. Hay que entenderlo y apoyar su decisión", dijo Ramírez." "Alex is North American. He is really gay but I respect his decision", said Ramirez." Is that correct?????

I wonder how long Brady plays this week?? http://bellsouthpwp.net/c/h/chinigor/talksox/tom.gif

His number should be retired by the Sox anyway.

That's pretty cool. On a side note, has anyone ever tried to glue Thurman Munson's plane back together??? :harhar:

It's dark in here, but thankfully Manny stops by every once in a while to say "Hey". I live in Atlanta, so I don't know how it is in Boston. If it's anything like CT (where I was last week), then it SUCKS. Yes to Theo No to Tejada

Man. I'd crack that plastic anytime.... mmmm mmmmm mmmmm :damon:

Actually, of all the IFs, that's the one that worries me the least. At least the Sox can control that, unlike Schill and Foulke (who I do not believe can again be the closer).

Matt Waxman - Sports Illustrated Don't fret Red Sox nation, Boston will be just fine Posted: Thursday December 29, 2005 12:09PM; Updated: Thursday December 29, 2005 12:09PM Red Sox nation is flocking like lemmings to the edge of the Green Monster. "Abysmal" is the word I'm hearing most often to describe the team's offseason, with "dreadful" and "atrocious" close behind. Listening to the masses, you'd think the team was going to take the field on Opening Day with still unresolved issues regarding centerfield and shortstop, that Manny Ramirez's and David Wells' trade requests were still pending and that the third place team in the division had started printing its own Loonies. Some of them even agree with those dimwitted scribes who have suggested the Red Sox are (mouth trembling)... rebuilding. That Johnny Damon's defection to the Yankees was the anvil that broke the camel's back. Relax. It's not that bad. Other than the fact that he'll be 37 at the end of the contract, has no arm, doesn't steal bases anymore and was breaking down last season, Damon was a steal for the Yankees. Yes, he'll help the Bronx Bombers immensely next year, but on the back end of that deal, they'll basically be dealing with Bernie Williams redux. If I was GM of the Red Sox (and with a mastery of statistics and an Ivy League diploma, I probably could be), I would have two theorems written on my wall: 1) Sign players on the way up, not on the way down; 2) It's the pitching, stupid. Theorem 1 explains how letting Damon go showed prudence. When building a team that can survive the rigors of 162 games in 183 days, think Van Wilder and not Van Winkle. The Sox and Yanks were both running on fumes in last season's playoffs and it showed. This theorem also explains why Edgar "Stone Hands" Renteria (a league-leading 30 errors in '05), Kevin Millar (HRs down from 25 to 18 to 9 in the last three years) and Bill Mueller (decent player, but he's 34-years-old) were not retained. Conversely, you could make an argument that the Yankees have but two players (Robinson Cano and Chien-Ming Wang) on their 25-man roster whose best years are ahead of them. Theorem 2 explains why trading for Josh Beckett was a heist. Let us not forget that if Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke give the team anything in 2006, that'll be an improvement over their contributions to last year's team, which still made the playoffs. Whether young Theo returns on his white horse or not, the Sox will be more than fine. They're getting younger, their pitching is improved and their farm system is finally producing fruits for the big club. Conversely, the Yankees average age keeps going up like George Steinbrenner's blood pressure every year his team doesn't win the World Series. New York's rotation is a strained back and a pulled oblique away from being in shambles. As long as the Sox don't give in to Manny's trade request, I'd say they will be on their way to their first American League East title since 1995. ======================= Well, if we can fill SS/1B/CF without letting go of prospects and pray Schill and Foulke return at 100%, then ok, it will be close. I guess it could happen........

Oh god no. I hate Chipper. Why would the Brave do that anyway?

Strange request, but sure!

:D

Typical Texas move. They'll be trying to unload him in 2 years and have to eat 10 million of that contract...

"The Yankees had the highest average salary for the seventh straight season, setting a record at $7,391,168." Ummm. Yeah.

If we bring Kevin Millar back, we'd have a 1b, backup LF/RF/DH. FOR CHEAP!!!!!!!! :damon:

And that's fine. But there are also a lot of great players who don't have Boras as an agent. Pedro? Mueller? Nomar? Sure, other agents can be *******s too, but Boras is just a pigf***er.

Sorry, but I still don't think that Tek is worth 10M/year. I think they overpaid to keep him.

Why don't the Sox just take a stand and not deal with Scott Boras? Think about it. If the Sox said "We don't deal with Boras" then players would have a choice and their intentions would be obvious. If Ortiz switches to Boras as his agent in 2007, then we (as fans) already know he has no intention of returning. If you want to join the Sox, much like asking for a no-trade, you can't have Boras as your agent. Boras clients are only in it for the rediculous money, so let all his clients go to the Yankees or Mets. He may represent the biggest stars in the game, but stars don't win you a WS (see yankees).... If the Sox are looking to create the "team is more important than the star" mentality, like the Patriots, then just don't deal with a guy like Boras.

Well, if there is one thing to look forward to in the coming days, it's the banning of all the new trolls.

Why would anyone play for less in Boston?

Heeeeeeere's Johnny Yanks sign Damon for centerfield BY JON HEYMAN STAFF WRITER December 20, 2005, 10:47 PM EST Johnny Damon and the Yankees have agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal, Newsday has learned. Damon, who played the last four season with the Boston Red Sox, will replace Yankees veteran Bernie Williams in centerfield. He also gives the Yankees a natural leadoff hitter and allows Derek Jeter to hit in the No. 2 spot. The left-handed hitting Damon turned down the salary arbitration offer from the Red Sox earlier in the day, thus freeing him to negotiate with any team, including the Red Sox. Damon hit .316 with 10 home runs and 75 RBIs last season and stole 18 bases.

They had to go that high to get the shorter years.

4 years/ 52 million. Channel 4 and Newsday confirm. I'll find a link. http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_354222357.html

Wow.. I thought the media in Boston, Philly and NY was tough... Nomar's going to love it in LA. http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-simers20dec20,1,4798221.column?coll=la-headlines-sports-mlb-dodger T.J. Simers: LA Times Clearly, He'll Never Give a Dodger Fan an Even Break When you begin with a base of 3.6 million suckers willing to buy tickets to watch a bunch of no-name players with no names on the back of their jerseys lose 91 games, you know it's not going to take much to get Dodger fans really excited. Well, mission accomplished. On Monday the Dodgers introduced their new first baseman, Nomar Garciaparra, returning to the position he last played in Little League, and a quick check of the ESPN Sports Nation fan poll later in the day indicated 65% now believe the Dodgers will make the playoffs. Page 2 reader Steve Abrams e-mailed right away to say "even your cynical self must admit this is an improved team," and the way the Dodgers played a year ago, signing a dead man to play first base would've been an upgrade. I know how smart Dodger fans can be, rocking the stadium a year ago with "Hee-Seop Choi" chants — usually just before he struck out — and now they're going to get Garciaparra, stepping out of the batter's box after each pitch, bringing the game to a halt, tightening, retightening and then tightening again his batting gloves — making Dodger games last another agonizing 20 minutes. As a public service I asked Garciaparra if he knows how annoying he can be, much like golfer Sergio Garcia and his extended waggle before Jack Nicklaus told him to knock it off, and Garciaparra said, "Annoying to you maybe, but now everyone in Little League is doing it." What's one more bad role model in the Dodger clubhouse? Which reminds me, Derek Lowe was at the Garciaparra news conference along with companion and former TV journalist Carolyn Hughes, which probably explains why Garciaparra's wife, Mia Hamm, didn't leave her husband's side. I TOOK a look, but construction hasn't begun on the "Think Red" hillside sign, although the Dodgers now have a Boston Parking Lot Attendant as owner, the Massachusetts governor's son as director of marketing, and a former Red Sox manager, third baseman, first baseman and starting pitcher. (They also have a two-time drunk driver from Atlanta at short, but given the earlier reports that the Red Sox used to take a nip before each game leading up to the World Series, we know he would've fit right in with Boston.) The great thing about additions like Bill Mueller and Garciaparra is that three or four years ago they were really something — kind of like the Senior tour in golf, giving Dodger fans names they might now recognize. The Kings tried the same thing with Jeremy Roenick and Luc Robitaille, and you can see how well that's turned out. When I suggested to Garciaparra it appears he's on the downward side of his career, he disagreed, saying he wouldn't have been in demand if that was true. "No one wanted you to play shortstop," I said, "which would indicate you've lost something," and once again he disagreed, saying several teams wanted him to play shortstop. "Name them," I said, and he declined. Garciaparra then told the media that when he walked through the Dodger clubhouse looking at the names above each locker, he concluded this team can win the World Series. I guess they've already taken down Jason Phillips' name plate. I asked him to repeat that just to make sure he's not some kind of practical joker, and he did — like he really believed it — so I asked him what would he know about winning a World Series? He said he won a World Series, the one the Red Sox won three months after they traded him to the Cubs — although the record shows Boston went 56-46 with Garciaparra, and 42-18 to finish the regular season after trading him. In fact when the Red Sox traded Garciaparra, Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy wrote, "Thank the baseball god, he's gone. We no longer have to watch Garciaparra pretend he cares about the fortunes of the Red Sox. … He had to go. He was more miserable than any athlete I have ever seen." Jeff Kent and Garciaparra on the same team — yeah, this is going to be fun. I THOUGHT it might be the $6 million and the chance to stay near his Manhattan Beach home that brought him here, but Garciaparra said the thing "that sent me over the top was childhood memories" of Dodger Stadium. Garciaparra has one hit — a home run — in 11 lifetime at-bats in Dodger Stadium, but he couldn't remember the details. "So your childhood memories of Dodger Stadium sent you over the top," I said, "but you can't remember your only hit in Dodger Stadium — a home run?" (I have a feeling Kent is going to catch a break this season, as I'll probably be spending most of my time trying to cut through Garciaparra's baloney.) Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to seeing who plays more: Garciaparra or J. D. Drew. Drew didn't play much last year, but he still had more at-bats than Garciaparra — for the second year in a row — which obviously doesn't matter right now because Dodger fans think their team has gotten a lot better. Suckers.