SchillingIsTheNatural

I put Dave Roberts in the category of Tony Graffanino. I would love to have both of those guys cause they bring experience, leadership, and versatility. Both are perfect for what they do....use what skills they have to the best of there abilities.

When does Derek Lee become a free agent?? I thought I saw something that mentioned it was coming up soon. If thats the case the Cubs might want to move him cause he will get big cash.

Fantastic season from a player growing up in Exeter, NH. Although I might have to argue Dontrelle Willis really brought it this year both players did a great job and considering there age they will continue to fight it out for many years. Is it possible Chris Lambert could be the next big time New Hampshire pitcher to show up??

LL and TW indicated its still very possible the Red Sox could keep Manny. They won't make a move just to make a move basically but if the opportunity shows then they would consider it. I think the biggest problem is Manny only has a few teams he would want to go to. Not to mention those teams need to be concerned with all the situations that come with a big contract. So we have the Mets, Angels, Guardians, and Arizona. Out of those four teams I would say Arizona and Cleveland are most likely out due to money problems. Cleveland doesn't want to spend money while Arizona has already spent stupid money on Russ Ortiz and Troy Glaus. Josh Byrnes would know what he is getting himself into so I say no to Arizona as well. That leaves the Angels which have the DH problem between Manny and Garrett Anderson. So that just leaves the Mets who in all honesty are having trouble finding the right pieces for a deal so what do I think....I think Manny is a retard. He shouldn't request a trade and then limit the team to certain directions. The Red Sox have talked to the agents of AJ Burnett and Paul Konerko so I could see some big signings possibly occuring. They have talked to Johnny Damon and Bill Muellers agents so those situations are developing. I almost see this Manny Ramirez thing falling apart again and the Sox simply spending the money to make this team more capable or trading players where we have lots of depth like starting pitching....David Wells, Matt Clement, Bronson Arroyo.

Woah thats the first time I have seen Matt Clement's name being mentioned with the word "trade" next to it. So who would you rather have....Matt Clement or AJ Burnett?? Now that I know what Matt Clement can do I'll take AJ Burnett but I don't wanna pay him stupid money just to get hurt.

Yeah I don't understand Sean Burroughs. I know he was talked about a lot when he came up but the guy has pretty much sucked since being in the majors. Not to mention he is a 3rd baseman with NO power. He doesn't look like a Boston Red Sox to me plus we have nowhere to put him since Kevin Youkilis will play 3rd anyways.

I just thought of something I'm sure many of us wouldn't be excited to hear but.....if the Mets made a trade for Baez and Aubrey Huff.....why would they then trade with us??? They would have to give up pitching prospects (to TB ), Lastings Milledge, and Mike Cameron for Manny Ramirez. Aubrey Huff is a power bat they can use for the OF and try to move Mike Cameron for something. They also need a closer and it so happens thats what Baez is. I'm thinking the Mets would make this deal and keep it rather than move them for Manny Ramirez who again 'can veto' the trade which he did make a comment saying he didnt want to go to New York.

It is deffinitly a way to go......one thing to keep in mind too....and this is off subject a little but it would possibly change the Sox thinking..... At the GM meetings the Red Sox have contacted and been talking to the agent for Paul Konerko. We will have to see if anything develops and although there were indications he would not go to Boston it appears that has changed. According to Craig Landis (agent for Konerko) he said the Red Sox were deffinitly not out of the running to land Konerko. If that is the case and by some crazy means the Red Sox are able to lure him over from Chicago, they may want to reconsider the possible Manny trade. I don't think you can find a better 3-4-5 punch than Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Paul Konerko. Although they could still do that deal with the Mets and Tampa Bay and instead of sending Cameron and Wells to Arizona for Troy Glaus you could find something else for them. Sooooooooo many possibilities

Wells (if he hit all incentives or whatever) I think would cost close to what Glaus is being payed this year. Then the exchange of money from Manny to Baez (not sure?), Milledge (costs nothing), and Huff (again not really sure?) I think we might actually save. If thats the case I would say JD figures it out and comes back especially with Tito really pushing the Sox to resign him. That would fill all the holes on offense and defense with our money coming close to the same I would think....leaving us room to go after free agent pitchers. Possibly make a hard push for Wagner or Ryan.

Doesn't matter Manny would veto a trade to Philly. Read it today in some Philly newspaper.

All those guys going to the Red Sox??? So we trade Manny Ramirez and David Wells....in the end we recieve Danys Baez, Aubrey Huff, Lastings Milledge, and Troy Glaus. Most likely we would then resign Johnny Damon. Hmmm.... 1. Johnny Damon (CF) 2. Edgar Renteria (SS) 3. David Ortiz (DH) 4. Troy Glaus (1B ) 5. Aubrey Huff (RF) 6. Jason Varitek © 7. Trot Nixon (LF) 8. Kevin Youkilis (3B ) 9. Dustin Pedroia (2B ) ....add Milledge to the farm system and Baez as a setup man with Timlin ....interesting...very interesting HAHAHA no way...Manny would get 4-5 years at 15 million each year I guarantee it. Look at what Brian Giles just asked for and he isn't close to Manny Ramirez. He is a much better hitter than Paul Konerko and think about what he will be payed. Look at what Magglio Ordonez got payed last season (5 years - 70 million??). Carlos Beltran got payed huge money....Manny Ramirez is elite...he would deffinitly get paid $15 million a year and most likely by the Yankees.

If you wait too long these top pitchers become impossible to get. You need to get them while they are young...its a risk no doubt...but I had said back in 2002, to a few of my friends....we need to get this Johan Santana guy. Now you can pretty much forget it. Yes it doesn't look good for an Angels trade anyways. This idea can be used for all trade possibilities though. If we are going to trade Manny I would still rather focus around young talented pitching cause in the end I want a rotation full of 15 game winners.

I still think they need to give up a big name to get it done. Carlos Beltran would probably do it cause they would move Cameron over to CF and have Manny and Floyd patrol the sides. Or they can give up David Wright and say Milledge for Manny and Youkilis. Yes I think a deal can get done there (there has been enough talk about it) but it would need to give the Sox a secure all around player and prospect(s).....as myself and others have said...we are trading Manny Ramirez (the name says it all) and it should NOT come cheap. Otherwise we should just keep him and call his bluff on sitting out.

Thats fine I'm not saying Johan Santana didn't have a great year. I'm just saying they tend to go more by the amount of wins a pitcher gets. Doesn't mean I totally agree with it cause I believe the ERA and total innings pitched are the most important stats. I'm not going to take away from Colon though he played well enough this season that he deserves the award.

What happened to Mike Cameron?? Did we release him a year later?? Did we dump Youkilis too and replace him at 3rd base with Edgar Renteria?? Or is Hanley now playing 3rd base?? Its really hard to find a trade for Manny Ramirez....but I still think it will cost more than Cameron, Milledge, and Heilman. Maybe not more players but certainly better players. I don't know how much better Lastings Milledge will be from Jacoby Ellsbury, Brandon Moss, or David Murphy down the line.

Why do you say that?? These things always lean toward the amount of wins a pitcher gets. Rarely do they consider his ERA the showing of how well he does in the season. He was the ace for the Anaheim Angels who finished in first place in there division. I think he had a great season.

Aparently Gordon Edes just found out not long ago that Manny has almost no shot of going to Anaheim. He learned at the GM meetings neither Manny nor Garret Anderson are interested in being the DH.

Hard to say until they play a season. We may be talking about Buccholz in the same breath with Lester, Papelbon, and Sanchez next season. He has a great arsenal or pitches and he could dominate in Portland by next season. I didn't hear a ton about Sanchez until this season got moving. Ellsbury was one of the best players in the NCAA last season. He did nothing but play great when he showed up for us. Again if he goes to Portland with a batting average over .300 and an OBP around .400....suddenly this kid has the makings of a star lead off hitter. Not to mention he is supposed to be a great club house guy and a leader. Two things you can't teach a player. ....really I don't like trading any of these guys until they develop a little more and you get a better idea of how far they can take there talent. Last season we had 1st rounders of Ellsbury, Hansen, Buccholz, Bowden, and Lowrie. 1 of the 5 will be on the team next season with hopefully 2-3 others in Portland. I'm not ready to give up any of them yet.

I agree I think Curt Schilling should stay in the NL.....oh wait....thanks for the World Series Curt....nope he's good, he can stay. Clearly the numbers show that a pitcher will do better in the NL. However there are more 10+ winners in the American League with a 4.00 ERA. How is it Roger Clemens can have a 1.87 ERA with 13 wins but David Wells can have 15 wins with over a 4.00 ERA. If either the Red Sox or Yankees can get pitchers who can go to the AL and keep a mid 3.50 ERA or so....then you have an excellent pitcher on your hands. Thats hard to do though. In the case of AJ Burnett he has great stuff he just needs to be consistant with it. Before September he had only given up 4+ earned runs in a game 5 times. You do that with the Sox or Yanks and you have a 20 game winner on your hands. That being said I don't want to see him land in Toronto. Having to face Halladay, Burnett, Chacin, and Lilly is not much fun for either the Red Sox or Yankees.

Believe me I understand where you are coming from. Unless you are Omar Minaya its just a fans opinion.....should I go on about how amazing a baseball player Manny Ramirez is?? No question David Wright is an excellent young player and will be great for years. Lets not blind ourselves though....we are talking about Manny Ramirez....a guy who will hit 35-50 HRs for you and drive in 130 while batting over .300. You think David Wright is loved??? how about if Manny returns to his hometown and gets the Mets to the playoffs this next season while having a possible MVP year. Add him to the possible Cy Young candidate in Pedro Martinez and NY Mets fans are going crazy....not to mention a large majority of the Mets fan base is hispanic. All I'm saying is Omar has done it before....he might do it again. ....I love how riverside posts the same thing as me at the same time haha

Myself and soxie mentioned David Wright a lot at the midseason point. Tough to get cause he is going to be the best player at 3B soon. There has to be a way the Red Sox can orchestrate some kind of deal involving him. Omar does a great job of trading away top prospects especially if its a player he loves (Manny). The Red Sox play there cards right and work with Omar they may be able to rip him off.

Going back though to the potential rumor trade.....the key is not Darin Erstad.....the key is Ervin Santana. If you guys watched the playoff game he pitched against the Yanks you get an idea of how good this kid can be. 22 year old who won 12 games for the Angels. You throw him on the Red Sox and he might win 15 in the course of a season. Not bad for someone not close to his prime. Down the road you look at a rotation consisting of Papelbon, Lester, Sanchez, and Santana.....you could have 2-4 potential aces in that group.

Mike Cameron, Lastings Milledge, Aaron Heilman or Yusmeiro Petit for Manny Ramirez.... thats horrible! I'm not excited about either pitcher and thats what we need out of a Manny deal....good young pitching. Heilman doesn't excite me at all and from what I hear Petit is an excellent minor leaguer but might not have the stuff for the majors. Milledge is good but spare me the Mike Cameron crap...not interested would much rather have Johnny Damon. We are giving up a key player so they need to give up a key player otherwise whats the point??

I'm not placing much interest in this because it was such a small line in a paper I was reading but there is a chance the Phillies would look to shake things up and trade a core player. This guy is one of the best all around baseball players in the game today (defense, speed, power) he has it all. I haven't put any real thought into a possible trade proposal or looked at the money but maybe a chance of switching core players in Manny for Abreu. If they want to dump Thome we could dump Foulke (big risk on both players). Bobby Abreu and Jim Thome for Manny Ramirez and Keith Foulke. I'm sure Manny would veto though cause he wants to go west coast style. Just thought I would mention it

Yes good first post you are right on target with the rest of us. If I had it my way we would just find a power bat for 1B and a great defensive CF. Unfortunatly we have the issue with Manny and David Wells wanting to go. Wells isn't a big problem since we have too many starters anyways....Manny presents a headache cause we will have a hard enough time finding a 1B let alone an OF to take over for Manny. Amazingly I don't expect tons of moves like you said with our pitching staff. A lot of the answers are on our team but we could use one more real good arm (prefer a lefty).