elsrbueno

My $0.02: 1. I'm not sure the Yankees receive draft picks in A-Rod's case. Did the Dodgers get a compensation pick when Drew opted out? Did they even get the CHANCE to offer him arbritration? I'm not as well versed in the rules as I could be, but for some reason I think this is different and the same rules don't necessarily apply. 2. I honestly don't think this is about money. Sure, Scott Boras is a smart man and he knows more about the industry than I do, but if what we've read is true, that the Yankees were going to extend him for 30-ish million per season for 5 seasons I just don't see him getting MORE somewhere else. I also don't buy the BS about A-Rod being in doubt about Mo/Posada/Pettite I think that's just a convenient excuse-- the Yankees will contend next year. I think this is a pride thing. A-Rod was pissed that he was the best player in New York but didn't get the same respect as Rivera, Jeter, and countless others. My guess is that he'd like to sign somewhere where he can get paid big bucks and play shortstop. Unfortunatley like some others I don't know if A-Rod can be an elite shortstop again after not having played there and bulked up a bit, but we all know front offices don't always think logically. Personally I think the Angels makes the most sense (they need another bat, Moreno likes to spend money and take away attention from the Dodgers). Cabrera's got 1 more season on his contract, so he could be traded if A-Rod insists on playing short. 3. I can't see the Yankees rebuilding. If Cashman called the shots I'd say yes, but Hank Steinbrenner's made way too many "my team" comments to believe he's going to let Cashman make too many decisions. I think that's why Torre's gone and why the Yankees will attempt to add veterans rather than go through a rebuilding stage. 4. I'm not sure the Yankees are out of it. If I'm right about #3, and the Yankees take a "win now" mentality, they will see that there are very simply no players on the free agent market that will replace A-Rod's production. In a lineup that has a lot of declining players (Damon, Abreu, Giambi, Matsui) they could really use A-Rod's pop. I know Hank's saying goodbye but until he signs elsewhere I don't think the Yankees are truly giving up.

The only thing that sucks about the Red Sox winning 2 championships in 4 years is that now all of a sudden we've got what seems like twice as many fans. I know some people who were born Yankee fans can understand this and it's frustrating. I'm not saying this about anyone here because frankly I don't spend that much time here anymore so I don't know anyone-- but I had to vent that somewhere. Congratulations to anyone who called themselves a Red Sox fan BEFORE they started winning. That having been said, the Rockies looked completely and totally overmatched in this series. I heard on the telecast that they had lead in only 3 INNINGS in 4 games. That's pretty amazing. I think they've got a nice core of offensive players but the pitching didn't keep them in games. Should be a fun offseason and looking forward to next year. Let the hot stove season..... begin!

For what it's worth, the Angels' pitchers against Red Sox' hitting this year. (Courtesy of ESPN) http://www.18eaststreet.com/laastats.JPG What's strange is that it looks like Escobar hasn't faced the Sox this year. My memory isn't what it used to be, so I'll have to trust ESPN on this one. What does show up pretty plainly here though is that the Angels' starters haven't had a ton of success against the Sox this year. Lackey's 0-2 with an ERA over 8 and Weaver's 0-1 in 2 starts with an ERA of almost 7. Shields and Speier haven't faired well against Boston and it looks like the only pitchers with any kind of success are K-Rod (obviously) and Joe Saunders. I imagine Saunders is the #4 pitcher (maybe the Angels will pitch him in game 3 given his success against them this year)? and if the Red Sox get to K-Rod they're probably in trouble anyway. Limited sample sizes here but the Red Sox' players don't seem to be intimidated by the Angels' pitching staff.

If the Dodgers are unloading Matt Kemp, the Red Sox have to inquire. I saw this on Yahoo! today. Ned Coletti is a retard. The reason his team is out of it is because they wasted too many ABs on the likes of Gonzalez, Hillenbrand, and Nomar and didn't just let the kids (who are way more talented) play. Veteran leadership is one thing, but give the talented players a chance to play.

Kilo, Your logic makes sense as to why Wakefield isn't a lock, but I think the fact that he's been with the team so long and has done it in the playoffs in the past (03 and 04 against the Yankees) gives him the edge over Lester. I also think Cora's a lock because he's the only guy on the roster able to backup the middle infield. I also don't think Delcarmen's a lock. Don't get me wrong, I'd take him in a hearbeat and I think he deserves meaningful innings more than Gagne does, but Francona doesn't seem to have a ton of faith in him. He's given him a few games lately in meaningful spots and he's done well, so hopefully that's a sign of things to come, but Terry tends to go to the vets in those spots. Narrowing down to the final 25 is pretty difficult because there are quite a few arms I'd like to bring to postseason play. As a matter of fact, Bryan Corey has impressed me of late. One guy who I don't think deserves to go (after looking up the numbers) is Julian Tavarez. Sure, he's got a rubber arm, and can go anytime, but he's very simply not that effective. Opponents are hitting .280 against him as a starter, and .275 against him as a reliever. He doesn't strike people out-- he'd be a mopup arm at best. In fact, I'd rather take Kyle Snyder who's got a better ERA, better K rate, better WHIP, better batting average against. Another thing I'll throw out there is that Clay Buchholz, who's been highly touted as a bigtime contributer out of the bullpen in the playoffs this year, has had exactly 1 relief appearance in the major leagues. 1. I know this will draw comparisons to K-Rod for some, but K-Rod was a reliever for the entire 2002 season and pitched in 5 games for the Angels in 2002. I think it's a different animal. This kid is special but I'd think twice about throwing him out there in a role he's never filled in the most pressure packed environments. Another thing to consider is that he was dominant against Baltimore, decent against Toronto (on a pitch count), and merely OK against the Angels. The Red Sox are right to protect his arm and that's why I'd lean towards leaving him off the postseason roster. It'd be a nice story to bring him on and for him to have a K-Rodesque impact, but isn't it more important that he's available and healthy for 2008 and beyond? Here's who I take, in addition to your 19 stated "locks": Alex Cora (backup middle infield) Eric Hinske (backup corner, lefty bat) Bobby Kielty (backup outfielder) Tim Wakefield (all the reasons I just said) Kyle Snyder (a better option than Tavarez IMO) John Lester (a potential longman/starter lefties hitting .228 against him if we needed that out of the bullpen) EDIT: Another thing we need to keep an eye on is the health of Manny and Youkilis. If neither one of them come back healthy before the postseason, you've got to consider leaving them off the roster. Roster spots are valuable in the playoffs and I don't think the Sox could afford to carry around an injured player. I hope like heck that they both come back healthy, but I'm just sayin'

Above all else, Pena needs playing time. I think he'll prove that RFK can't hold him (until the Nationals move into their new stadium, when's that, 2009?) but his strikeouts and lack of plate discipline will keep him from being an elite player. I hate JD Drew. He's the new Millar for me, and it frustrates me to no end that this guys doesn't seem to ever swing the bat... but let's keep our expectations for WMP in check. I think at his peak WMP's a .260 hitter with 40 homerun power. He may also strike out damn near 200 times in the process. The Red Sox didn't have space for him and I was sad to see him go (he's more fun than Drew) but he needs to play every day. Hopefully he gets that consistently in Washington.

I guess it was 2 weeks ago, (it feels like yesterday) but my point still remains-- nothing is guaranteed at this point in the season, and saying it's impossible to blow the playoff lead is asking for trouble. Sorry to be the old negative Sox fan here... but bigger leads have been blown in shorter amounts of time by previous Sox teams. Of the playoff contenders the Angels look like the strongest team headed in. Lackey-Escobar is a nice 1-2 punch and they've got a nice bullpen, and we've seen what a nice 1-2 punch and good bullpen can accomplish in a short series. The Tigers lost Bonderman but considering how he was pitching they may not miss him much. They still have Verlander and Rogers, and a nice offense especially if Sheffield stays healthy, and they've got some solid arms in the bullpen. The Guardians are a strong team. If the standings stay as they are now, they'd be the Red Sox first round opponent, and would be able (with a comfortable central lead) line up their top guys for a short series. Sabathia has been money this year, and Carmona pretty solid. Their bullpen's got some nice arms but I wouldn't be too confident with Borowski closing out games for me in the playoffs. I don't think there's a team out there that isn't beatable, but at the same time none of these teams would be an easy play. Bottom line, as others have said-- just get in, that's the key. In a short (5 game) series, you can win with 2 great starters and a strong bullpen, and I think all the playoff contenders have that.

I love Jacoby, and I think the Sox would be retarded not to put him on the postseason roster. At the very least, he provides a speedy sparkplug/defensive boost late in games. When's Manny due back? I have to admit I was EXTREMELY negative yesterday but Beckett stepped it up bigtime. He surpassed my expectations by far. Last night sucked big time but it was nice to see both Pettite and Wang get outdueled by the Red Sox starters. Isn't it amazing the difference a day (and more importantly, a win) makes? We need to go out there and win tomorrow. Schilling vs Clemens, should be entertaining at least.

right before the most recent Yankee Series. In fact I think they got back up to 8.5 or 9 afterward, too.

The Yankees are in the playoffs even if they lose today. I know the game already started but the Tigers without Bonderman don't have staying power IMO. The Red Sox have lost 5 in a row against the Yankees and are on the verge of blowing a huge division lead and got embarassed yesterday. I think the pressure's all on the Sox both of the next two games. For a team supposed to be postseason quality, they need to prove they can beat an over .500 team.

You haven't been a Red Sox fan long enough. The Red Sox had a 9 game lead on the Yankees a week ago.

What part of the Yankees bitch slapping us on our home turf against our top two relievers, then making 8 easy outs (keep in mind the Red Sox only reached base on a dropped strike three and an error in the last 2 innings) makes you think the Red Sox "ain't takin no more s***?" The only bright side is that the Red Sox will still be 2.5 games up on Monday.

getting swept in NY wasn't a wake up call? 21 year old Joba Chamberlain showing up the Sox in a 5-0 game by throwing at Youkilis twice in a row wasn't a wake up call? These guys need more than a wake up call, they need talent. Having Kielty and Drew in the starting outfield of a playoff contender is a joke. The bottom line is we still should have won this game but the Yankees wanted it more. They know what it takes to win and when the games matter most they win. When the games matter most the Red Sox give up 6 runs in the 8th inning. Okajima's fried (hasn't pitched well in weeks) and Papelbon sucked today. The Red Sox vaunted bullpen is a pile of crap. this sucks.

I honestly forget what you used to stand for-- and I only come on these days to bitch and moan because misery loves company-- I'll admit that. However, Beckett hasn't won a single big game for the Sox-- and until he does he isn't a big game winner. He had a chance to prove he was the ace of this team in New York and he got outpitched by a washed up Roger Clemens. This team has no heart. It is 100% JD Drew's fault.

Drew's already played his way out of the lineup, but because Scott Boras has pictures of Theo Epstein with little children (or some other bullcrap reason) he gave that douche $14 million a year and Tito has to play him. The Sox are better off with Hinske or Keilty in right. Like I said, at least WMP would have swung the bat.

At least Wily Mo Pena would have swung the bat. I miss Wily Mo. Drew is worthless.

A couple of thoughts: 1. If the Red Sox go hard after A-Rod in the offseason, I think that would spell the end of the Manny era in Boston. I doubt they'd keep both guys on the payroll with their penny pinching ways. IF the Sox can obtain A-Rod (which I see as a long shot) I would be fine with playing Coco Crisp in left and bringing up Ellsbury to play center. This gives the team a bit more speed but they keep the 1-2 punch of Ortiz+slugger. If A-Rod signs elsewhere, they need to keep Manny. 2. I'm not a big fan of Youkilis. I know I've supported him in the past but he just seems like an overrated player because of his ability to draw walks and his strikeouts and lack of power (especially for a first baseman) concern me. I would not be opposed to packaging him in the offseason for upgrades elsewhere. Seems to me like his value is high right now because he's cheap and an on base machine which is in style these days. While I hate Drew with a passion, we're stuck with him. That in mind, I'd love to see the Red Sox offense shake out like this: C Varitek 1B Carter/Hinske 2B Pedroia 3B A-Rod SS Lugo LF Crisp CF Ellsbury RF Drew DH Ortiz I would be fine with substituting Lowell for A-Rod if Manny stays. I'd prefer A-Rod to Manny (more power, more speed, better defense at a more premium position) but that comes with serious risk. The bottom line is that I think Ellsbury has reached the point where he has nothing left to prove in AAA. He needs playing time at the major league level and I seriously hope the Red Sox give it to him. Tim

He's got similar raw numbers to Tino, but Martinez did it at a year younger (22 and 23 as opposed to 23 and 24) and I don't know anything about Calgary back then-- but Tuscon is a hitters park, and the PCL in general is more favorable to hitters. Don't get me wrong, this is a decent return on Wily Mo Pena, but don't expect this guy to be the next superstar.

getting someone of substance makes me feel better about losing WMP, but this guy's a mediocre prospect. He's a 24 year old first baseman with poor defense and a .521 slugging percentage in a hitters' park. He's decent, and in general not a terrible return for Pena, but don't get too excited about this kid.