SuperManny

Drew K'd just as much as Youk did last year so I don't really get your point about the strikeouts being a big deal for Youk. We don't have Helton and we're not getting Helton so it doesn't really do us any good to say you like the lineup with him in it more. I like the Sox lineup with Miguel Cabrera in it to but it isn't happening.

NJ.com How did that start over the weekend go?

1 k offense? Honestly no chance at 1000 runs. Everyone is a year older and the only young guy on the team is Cano. I have no clue where Clemens would go and really no one does besides him. Given Clemens ego though I seriously doubt that the fear of failure is what drives his decision.

Oden is going to come into the league as one of the better defensive players from day 1. He's not going to score like them because he's not a G/F. He will have a huge difference on both ends of the floor though.

At least they finally got the memo that they need to lose more games instead of trying to pull into 3rd to worst record territory. Oden/Durant would be awesome for the franchise.

Its funny how many people blame him for the Kazmir trade I've heard so many people say that he's an idiot because of that trade. Although he's an idiot for many other things anyways. His analysis is terrible.

You don't make deals based on the Yankees. Thats how you end up with a $200M payroll and no championships. Overpaying for aging veterains is not the way to go. If you look at Helton's OPS the past 3 years its dropping like a rock, 1.089, .979, 880. This isn't a gradual decline, this is .100 points of OPS dropping each year. He only hit 15 HRs last year, which is exactly 2 more than Youk. I would rather not pay a guy $20M a year until he's 38 to decline. Helton had a .781 OPS last year away from the friendly hitting confines of Coors Field. Way too much money to guarentee a guy that age, with that level of declining abilities. It would be a great pickup for one season but awful for the remainder of the contract. You don't overpay for one of the worst contracts in baseball.

Pitched himself out of the Sox lineup? So he's not going to be hitting cleanup? Just kidding, I didn't think he was going to make the bullpen out of camp anyways with Timiln, Donnelly, Pineiro, Tavarez, Romero, Okajima, and Snyder under contract. I also didn't think MDC would make the opening day roster since both he and Hansen can be sent to AAA while the others can't. With the injury to Timlin though MDC may stick on the roster until he's healthy. I've read that the FO wants one of the young guys like Bryce or Hansen to take over the closers job around the All Star break. IMO they need to be defined by the start of the season. Last year the role was Foulke as closer but when Papelbon showed he was better he took over.

So if he pitched in AAA instead of MLB then he wouldn't have back trouble? That makes no sense. He was rushed to the majors because we needed the pitching. The same happened to Lester and he did fine. The same thing happened to Chad Cordero and Houston Street as well. People are rushed sometimes, it doesn't mean that they are messed up for their career. Hansen had a 2.75 ERA in AAA last year. He just needs some more time in AAA and he will be fine. I bet he's up with the big club this year. Everyone is overblowing the problem's Hansen had.

Well we're talking about next season and Ellsbury is going to be in AAA this season. If you sign either of them to a contract longer than 1 year then Ellsbury has no where to play unless you switch positions. Jones is the only one who can hit enough to even be considered a corner OFer. Jacoby is also going to make league min and probably play better defense. That leaves extra money to upgrade other positions like 3B, 1B, or go after a future C for when Tek is gone.

How about his 2.75 ERA in AAA last year. I know he wasn't that good in MLB but neither was Pedroia and no one seems to question him being up with the big club. Hansen dominated every level of minor league ball so far. He's ready for MLB.

What's sad about the Dodgers is that they are basically Red Sox West. They think that because they play in the NL that they can win some games by taking the cast offs from the 2004 Sox championship. Granted they can win with those cast offs because the NL is terrible. Good luck with Grady "Don't call me Forrest" Little at the helm. I see you guys going places

Ryan Howard Check out his minor league stats. He's been doing this for a while now and just because some teams walk him more won't mean that he's going to his less than 30 HRs. He probably won't hit as many as last year but he will definately be in the high 40's at least. You don't go from 58 HR's to 29 HRs unless you were on juice.