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Could get interesting. I read a while ago that the City of Anaheim won't give up the name "Anaheim Angels" without a fight..... I think the: "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" is a pretty silly name myself.

Peter Golenbock? Seems like he's written a few baseball books. Edit: Added the link below: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=PETER%20GOLENBOCK/103-9730718-4695006

All I said was that he didn't make ALL the right decisions. Obviously you could go down the line and critisize every move he made, but that wasn't my point. My point is that the moves he made WORKED OUT in the end, which makes him a success, but that doesn't mean that he's always right.

Wow. Lots of fighting in this thread. I LOVE how I was quoted on the Yankee board, and they argued with points I didn't even make. I NEVER said RJ sucks. I have NEVER said Javy Vazquez sucks I didn't say Halsey was a good pitcher. I said he had a good year in AAA. I also quoted some stats and asked users to give their analysis of the deal. Wow. Yankee fans are stupid.

He didn't necessarily make ALL the right moves, they just didn't burn him. Having Jason Varitek catch Tim Wakefield in extra innings (ALCS game 5 if I remember right) was a poor choice (and Varitek struggled, with 3 passed balls), but they got through that inning unharmed. Pedro Martinez pitching in game 7 of the ALCS-- Bad move. These are just 2 examples. Francona did manage this team well, no doubt about it. In the end, the Red Sox won the World Series, so Francona didn't make enough wrong decisions... but the man wasn't exactly perfect in the playoffs.

Wow, I just got owned. Please keep in mind though that I am in no way, shape, or form a Yankee fan. For some reason I had in my head Tino Martinez' as a postseason hero. I hadn't looked up the statistics, but did after you pointed this out. I was wrong, and unlike Yankee fans... I can admit that.

Martinez before he left was a Paul O'Neil type player: He always did his best with the game on the line. He seems to have lost a bit since he left, but I would not be surprised if he hits .270 with 20ish homers for the Yankees in 2005.... and with that lineup.... that's good enough.

I watched a lot of WGN as a kid, so there's a special place in my heart for the Cubs/White Sox.

I think the Yankees have a slight edge so far. Randy Johnson, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Stanton, Rodriguez... the pitching staff is much improved. The 04 Yankees had 2 weaknesses: Rotation and bullpen. if 2 of the above starters pan out, they'll be improved. And Rodriguez/Stanton is better than Proctor/Heredia. The Sox also improved, but the bullpen is still a concern for me, and losing Pedro was tough. The Sox are deeper, but not as good at the top. There's still time for this to swing a bit... but as of 1/3/2005... I'm giving a SLIGHT edge to the Yankees.

Here's a thought: Why not trade them both and play David Ortiz at first? He's got 2 months, then spring training to work on his defense. Then shift Manny to DH, resign Dave McCarty as a defensive replacement at first, and either a) play Payton every day acquire a good OF bat (Magglio?) Thoughts?

Let's analyze this deal. Vazquez WILL turn around next year. He is a good pitcher. Halsey had a pretty good year in AAA Columbus, going 11-4 with a 2.63 ERA. He also had a 3:1 K:BB ratio, and batters hit .239 against him. He's not a strikeout pitcher (109 in 144 innings), but he did put up solid numbers last year in the minors. I don't understand what everyone likes in Navarro. He doesn't hit for average, he doesn't hit for power, he's got decent K:BB ratios, but he doesn't get on base enough to factor in the walks as an advantage. Someone help me here.... Eric Duncan-- Same question. He's got more power than Navarro, but he doesn't look like anything special. Baseball America said he was the Yankees top prospect... but what does that say-- Exactly. (for the record, Navarro's #5)

This could get interesting. The article lists a few teams who'd be interested in Vazquez, and we all know LA is high on Navarro. The Diamondbacks COULD still get Shawn Green out of this deal, and Vazquez could come back to the AL (Baltimore, Texas, Detroit), and is a much more attractive option than the current free agents...

I'm one of the people who's always said that Joe Torre is a good manager, and I stand by that. It isn't easy to have the roster turnover he's got AND still win every year. It's a very difficult task to win the World Series, you have to not only be good, but also a bit lucky. SHOULD Torre get fired if the Yankees don't win the World Series in 2005? Not necessarily. Will Torre be fired if they don't win? Probably.

I have heard that the Dbacks are still bitter because of what they got for Curt Schilling, and would be hesitant to deal with Boston. However, I also heard that the Dbacks didn't want to deal with NY because they were bitter about Steinbrenner stealing Wells from them a few years back... Both probably untrue. It seems like the Diamondbacks aren't in love with the players they'd be getting from NY in this deal. When the 3-team deal was in place (with LA), Arizona wasn't getting ANY Yankees at all (Penny, Brazoban, and Green were all Dodgers). So, I wouldn't be surprised if Arizona shops Javy to yet another team. Why not Boston? Well, they've already got 6 starters, that's one reason.... Not sure if Boston would be willing/able to meet Arizona's demands for Javy....

This news is not surprising. Of course the Yankees don't care about losing prospects. When one of their players declines, they simply sign the best available option on the free agent market. The problem is that Randy Johnson (apparently) will only go to the Yankees. As a result, Arizona doesn't get the trade that helps them the most, they get whatever the Yankees are willing to give up. Cashman and Co are playing hardball because they know they're in the driver's seat. Would the Yankees give up Vazquez, Duncan, Navarro, AND large amounts of cash if there was any competition for Randy? Absolutely. But since the Diamondbacks have no choice in the matter... why give up more than you have to?

if Beltran gets $200 mil over 10 years, it'll be from the Yankees. No doubt about it. I really doubt that even the Yankees will go that far. They WILL outbid everyone else, but I don't think Houston will go higher than 6 years, $96 million. My guess: Yankees: 45% Astros: 35% Cubs: 15% Mets: 5% The Boston Globe was saying that the Mets would enter into the Beltran sweepstakes. Right now I have them as the lowest possibility, but it's a possibility. IF this turns into a question of money, nobody can compete with the Yankees. If Beltran is willing to give a discount to play for a team he knows he likes playing for (Houston), they've got a shot. Chicago's only got a shot if they are able to trade Sammy Sosa. The only team stupid enough to take on Sosa's contract is the Mets.... which would take them out of the Beltran running instantly. I think the Mets would prefer Manny Ramirez to Sosa, but we'll see if the Red Sox decide to deal him. IF Sosa goes to the Mets, the odds change: Yankees: 45% Cubs: 35% Astros: 20%

Halama, Miller, and Mantei are all low risk, high reward moves, which is nice. If they don't live up to expectations, they won't be a drag on the payroll and Theo can persue replacements mid-season. If they do live up to expectations, this team will have good pitching again. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If healthy, Wade Miller CAN replace Pedro's 2004 performance. That makes the rotation better than last year: Schilling = Schilling Miller (healthy) = Martinez Clement > Lowe Wells > Arroyo Wakefield = Wakefield Arroyo > ANY 6th starter the Red Sox have had in a LONG time. The bullpen lost a few arms that made minimal contributions in 04 (Leskanic, Mendoza, Williamson and Myers) but added a couple arms (Mantei, Halama, and potentially Arroyo/Wakefield). Overall, another arm for the bullpen might help ease my worries.... but I'm very excited about the potential for the 2005 Red Sox. With Miller, Wells and Clement question marks, this rotation is slightly weaker than 2004. However, if these guys can contribute... that makes this pitching staff A LOT better, and A LOT deeper...

My preference would be Mientkiewicz, but my guess is Millar. Mientkiewicz isn't as bad with the bat as he looked last year, and he's far superior defensively. I believe he's got good enough bat control to really use the Green Monster to his advantage and get a lot of "wall ball" doubles, maybe even a few extra cheap homers.

Kim has potential, and the man is still young. The unfortunate thing is, if they tried to trade him now he'd have almost no trade value. His 2004 season was marred by injuries and he didn't finish 2003 on a good note. He has good stuff and can be a good pitcher when he's healthy (mentally and physically), so he could be a decent swing man for Boston. However, since the Red Sox don't NEED Kim in 2005, I'd like to see him traded for prospects.

From what I've read, Red Sox managment wanted to get as far away from the "team of idiots" mantra as they could in 2005. Is this the first step? Pretty much handing the team (on the field) to Varitek?

To all a happy and healthy holiday season.

I could be wrong here, but I'd imagine the Red Sox would eat most of Kim's salary if he's traded. Good news is: It's only 1 more year (2005)

I voted Wells. He's a seasoned vet, he's no stranger to the New York/Boston rivalry. He's just more proven than Clement or Miller in my opinion. I'm going on the assumption that opening day is against New York, because I THINK I read that somewhere.

Barry Larkin had the "C" in Cincinnati I believe Like many others, I love having Tek on the Red Sox. I'm glad he's back, and like I've said before, $10 mil IS overpaying him.