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In that senario, who leads off vs lefties? Loretta I guess.

He also said during the press conference that he told the new guys (Lowell, Loretta, Crisp, etc) that they may need a diaper for their first game at Fenway. Hilarious.

Long term, Papelbon is definately a starter in the minds of the Sox' front office. Like ORS said, the need for the team right now is as a closer because he's dominant, and Foulke pitched 3 times in Spring Training. Theo and the trio (I think) are counting on Foulke to return to form this season and become the closer, which will open the door for Papelbon to be a spot starter or one of the best setup men in the game. Come 2007, he's a starter for sure with Wells and potentially Schilling (isn't he only signed for one more year?) gone. Papelbon will make far more relief appearances this season than starts unless someone gets injured.

In which case there would be 29 other teams also making offers for. The Only advantage the Yankees have as far as acquiring Willis is concerned is that if they stumble, Steinbrenner may FORCE Cashman to deal whatever it takes to get a top of the line pitcher. The Red Sox have more restraint than that. The Yankees simply don't have the talent required to pull him in. That having been said, if there's a bidding war for Willis' services, the Dodgers and Angels are deeper in talent, and the Diamondbacks could put together a pretty decent package of prospects as well. I seriously doubt the Red Sox would get something done here. I wouldn't be shocked if the A's went after him after 2006. They might lose Zito, have a pretty decent farm system, and Billy's got the balls to pull the trigger on a massive deal.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/news/26945.html According to Baseball America, opening day rosters for the Red Sox and all of their affiliates. In case you're curious where your favorite prospect is starting..... you can find it here. I tried to copy and paste it in but the formatting was unreadable.

Keep in mind though that you're looking at At least 10 days. He's going to be re-evaluated after 10 days in a splint. The Red Sox have got to DL him (if you ask me) and let him recover the requisite 15 days because to me it's going to be at least that. Call up Willie Harris or another guy who can play the outfield. Personally I hope Adam Stern gets the playing time in centerfield and at the top of the order. He was hot in Spring Training, kicked a$$ in the WBC, and contributed yesterday with a couple hits. He's no Coco, but he's (IMO) the best CF Option we have without Crisp.

Bullpen is so valuable that you'd imagine there would be a market for Foulke IF the Red Sox ate a portion of his salary. Keep in mind that the Red Sox paid him the most money, meaning not many other teams would give take him at present cost, especially coming off of last year and having no proof that he can be the same pitcher he was last year. I support Papelbon as the temporary closer, but I don't see him as a long term option. By long term, I mean beyond 2006. If the Red Sox stay healthy, the rotation of Schilling-Wake-Beckett-Clement-Wells can hold it down but I'd rather have Papelbon stretched out a bit if he's the #6. Granted, Lenny DiNardo might be that man if they're depending on Papelbon to close games, but in a pinch, who'd you rather get 6 innings from, DiNardo or Papelbon? The bottom line as far as last night's game is concerned is that the environment in Boston is not conducive to letting Foulke regain his form at the cost of losing games. If this was the Marlins or even about 25 other teams Foulke would have been in there last night. BUT, Red Sox fans are so rabid and the media is so saturated that there is no margin for error. Foulke had I think 3 appearances in Spring Training and one opening day and was not sharp. I don't think we'll see Foulke in a close game until he proves he can do it in meaningless games first.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060406&content_id=1386772&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Nobody's saying he's the next David or Manny, but it's a neat article. Can't possibly hurt the kid to have those 2 as mentors.

From mlbtraderumors.com I don't give this website much credit because they called a bunch of offseason trades that never happened BUT I thought I'd toss it out there. If Terry Ryan called me and expressed interest in Mike Lowell I'd listen.

I was one of Bronson's biggest fans, in fact I argued (maybe here maybe somewhere else) that he'd likely have just as good a season (if not better) than David Wells in 2006. He did seem to struggle in spring training. When the trade went down, I was saying the same thing as Boomer: "Wrong guy." Sticking with the not arguing about the trade theme, I hope Wily Mo becomes the next Ortiz, and Bronson wins 20! (not that it's going to help the Reds much anyway). Good luck Bronson, you will be missed.

Projecting Hee Seop Choi to David Ortiz status is dangerous, just because he came out of nowhere and EXPLODED in Boston. That having been said, Hee Seop is a smart pickup for Boston. He's cheap, he's solid offensively, and he's got POTENTIAL. He didn't cost them a damn thing. Our current left handed backup first baseman hit .275/.343/.365 last year. Hee Seop hit .253/.336/.453. Snow's marginally better with the average and on base percentage, but Hee Seop had more power despite playing in Los Angeles, a pitchers' park. I just wanted to throw another stat line out there for comparison. This is Carlos Pena's 2005 MLB stats (in 260 ABs): .235 .325 .477 He's got the most power of any of the three, but he also strikes out the most (95 K's in 250 ABs). That having been said, Detroit is also a pitchers' park and he seems to have better plate discipline than Snow. Choi has the best eye (based on the stats), Pena has the best power numbers (but not by much), and Snow had a decent average but his power production was pretty sad. He's obviously here as a defensive replacement for Youkilis who's going to get an occasional start against tough righties. I don't know anything about Pena or Choi's defense, but if either one are above average they're probably just as good as Snow at this point in his career. I can see Snow in town to help tutor Youkilis on the position, but I could see if Snow doesn't produce Choi getting a callup. On that note I wouldn't mind snagging Pena and DHing one of those 2 in Pawtucket. Pena tore up AAA last season (4-A player?) and could be another option in case of injury or ineffectiveness. In my mind, depth is rarely a PROBLEM. Especially with Lowell, and Youkilis huge question marks going into the season as far as offensive production.

I read somewhere that Kapler can't be activated until May 1st. Some rule that has to do with the fact that we let him go then brought him back in the offseason-- not sure EXACTLY how that works. However, given his injury, I don't imagine he'd be ready on May 1st anyway. He's still got a long way to go. The concern I have with the Sox' is the bullpen. I'm not convinced that they have the one dominant guy (the relief ace) but they are very deep and much better than last year. This is a concern that would obviously go away if Foulke comes back to form, but until he does.... I'll be worried. The rest is going to have to play itself out. Lowell's the third baseman, Youkilis is the first baseman, I'm fine with that. Youk deserves a chance to prove what he can do. If he sucks, I imagine there will be talks about potential bats near the deadline.... I'm still a little surprised that Wells is still here. Considering the fact that he's so intent on leaving, and the fact that no matter how old/fat he gets, he still gets OUTS. I wouldn't mind him as the Sox' #4, but I also wouldn't mind if he's dealt for some young arms. Of course, he's got to prove that he's healthy first (after offseason surgery), which is PROBABLY the reason why he's still here. I don't think the Red Sox need to DO anything just yet. They need to start playing games and find out what they've got. I think it was Billy Beane who said something to the effect of you spend the first 2 months figuring out what you're weaknesses are, the middle two months filling them, and the final two months chasing the playoffs. This is probably a good strategy for the Sox to take right now.

My apologies on that latest post-- I miscalculated Pena's age. As a matter of fact, at age 23, Wily Mo and Alfonso were almost the same player offensively. The park still favors Pena and Soriano is faster, so unless Pena develops plate discipline he's destined to be a slow version of Alfonso Soriano.

In all fairness, Alfonso put up BETTER numbers at age 24 than Wily Mo. WMP: .259/.316/.527 AGS: .300/.332/.547 Of course, Alfonso's 23 YO season, he was strikingly similar to Wily Mo at 24: .268/.304/.432 Alfonso was playing in a tougher park for hitters at the time, too. See Park factors (data from Here) Team R H 2B HR BB SO Cincinnati 1.02 1.00 1.04 1.16 0.96 1.02 New York 1.00 1.02 0.88 1.06 0.94 1.02 As much as I hate to say this, Wily Mo hasn't even earned comparisons to Alfonso Soriano yet.

The Red Sox would be absolutely retarded NOT to keep Stern on the roster for the first couple weeks. First of all, he needs 17 days of service time at the major league level or else the Sox have to offer him back to the Braves for something like $25,000. After all the effort they spent last season, why not give him the 17 days then send him to AAA if he's not cutting it? Second, he's putting on a show on a pretty big stage and looks to be AT LEAST a great late inning defensive replacement/pinch runner. Third, the way the schedule works in April the team can usually get away with carrying one less pitcher. Adam Stern probably isn't the next Jim Edmonds or anything like that. He's 26 and has yet to really dominate at any level. However, he's absolutely worth keeping (IMO) on the active roster to start the season.

My opinion exactly. IF you use Puckett as a barometer, the Hall of Fame itself becomes less significant because anyone can get in. Mattingly and Rice were good players but not HOF worthy. Same with Puckett. Alexander the Great-- you're exactly right. You shouldn't let someone in the hall based on what they MIGHT have done. The fact is he didn't do it. If Ken Griffey Jr didn't have a series of injuries between 2001 and 2004, we'd probably be talking about his chances to break Hank Aaron's HR record and how he was a sure-fire HOF. Now people are forced to ask: Is Ken Griffey Jr a Hall of Famer? because he was hurt and didn't put up the numbers. If Puckett makes the hall and Griffey doesn't that's a damn shame.

I honestly think putting Soriano at second and playing Loretta at another position (short, first), negates their efforts this winter to put a significant focus on defense. I seriously doubt the Red Sox place a whole lot of value on Alfonso. He doesn't take walks, he strikes out a ton, he isn't a solid defensive player, he's WAY WAY overpaid for what he brings to the table, and his home/road splits are a telling sign. I'm less worried about his power numbers than others seem to be, because he still put up some decent numbers playing half his games in Yankee stadium, but this guy seemed to always strike out when the Yankees needed him the most. His offensive potential is very interesting because he's a 30-30 guy, but he wouldn't be 30-30 in Boston because the front office likes to play it safe with baserunners. Soriano's speed would be wasted in Boston. My only interest in Alfonso is as an outfielder, and that doesn't work for 2 reasons: #1, we've already got a full outfield, and #2 he won't play the outfield.

What everybody else already said is absolutely true. Soriano is EVERYTHING the Sox management doesn't like. Ryan Church is a decent player but he ISN'T a prospect. He's 27 years old. Nick Johnson will turn 28 this season (in September so he'll be 27 most of the year) and really has had his first full season just last year. His potential in Boston would be pretty good IMO, he hit 35 doubles and 15 homers playing half his games at RFK, he could probably be a .300 hitter and slug over .500 for the Sox. I also remember him being a pain in the Sox' ass when he was on the Yankees... HOWEVER-- Church is a lefthanded hitter so he can't platoon with Trot Nixon and unless there's a trade the outfield is already pretty damn full. Also, with JT Snow and Youkilis at first, could Johnson get playing time? Youk could be traded I suppose, but then you have 2 lefthanded first baseman.... no me gusta. Nick Johnson is a player I like very much. He's a good defensive first baseman if I remember properly and could really take off in Boston and has some power potential. They're probably better off sticking with what they've got and potentially signing Nick Johnson when he becomes a free agent in a couple years because then Youkilis could shift to third (when Lowell's contract is up) The Sox are really best off trading Wells for prospects and keeping 6 starters.

Maybe he wanted to send home the fact that he was an idiot?

I agree with you there. He's not the most overpaid player in baseball, not by a long shot. My problem with Manny Ramirez (and I think I'm the only person on this site who seems to have a problem with him) is that he just doesn't care. He doesn't run out ground balls, he doesn't play good defense.... and he makes these demands despite the fact that he's UNDER CONTRACT with the Red Sox. He KNEW (or should have known) what the media was like in Boston. The $20 million he makes this year can buy him all the privacy he wants. Manny Ramirez is a tremendous hitter and having him coupled with David Ortiz as the best 1-2 punch in baseball is certainly something us Red Sox take for granted. I have no doubts that he'll produce as long as he's in the lineup, but like I've said 100,000 times on this board, the dude makes $20 million a year, the least he can do is give his full effort.

And Kevin Millar was in the best shape of his career at this time last year too.

You're right. Violence isn't the answer and that came strictly out of frustration. But someone should step up as a leader and to at least get Manny to put some effort into it. For cripes' sake Gabe Kapler blew out his achilles and he came to camp EARLY.

we're also stuck with his crappy defense, his crappy attitude, and his huge salary.

EXACTLY. We're stuck with Manny Ramirez because nobody else is stupid enough to take on his contract and his attitude. I'm counting the days until his contract runs out.

I have absolutely NO tolerance for Manny Ramirez. He's a selfish prick. If I was Manny's teammate I'd probably re-arrange his face.