SuperManny

I remember hearing that Bellicheck thought Brady was better than Bledsoe and wanted to play him but couldn't make the move because Bledsoe was the starter with the big contract. They might have moved Bledsoe in the next offseason anyways - Brady had at that point been considered the hardest worker on the team and thus given the premier parking spot (reward given to hardest worker on the team every year) at the facility even though he was just a backup. About Tito - he's the best manager the Sox have had in a while and I complain about a decent amount of moves he makes but thats what you get in Boston. I wanted WMP to pinch hit the other night but he still might have been hurting and based on his AB's since he came back he doesn't look like he's crushing the ball yet. Back on topic about Crisp (this is his thread and all) I can't wait to get him back. He's played all of about 5 games this season so it will be good to get him back and give Manny a day off (only starter not to sit a game).

Snow is completely useless on this team. He's not better defensively than Youk at this point so why is he on the team? To pinch hit with that amazing average this year? When he did come in as a defensive replacement for Ortiz the other day he made the team's first error in a while. DFA Snow for all I care but Choi is better for the team since he can at least pinch hit for AGonz at the end of games unlike Snow who has about the same chance as AGonz of getting on base (none).

I don't know how much value Alvarez will have given he is blind in one eye and throws in the low 80s. Alvarez has to be in the majors next year becaues his options are up so they are probably wanting to see if he's worth hanging onto next year.

There was plenty of reason to boo Damon (going to the Yankees being the obvious one) but Pedro gets a standing O. If I were at the game I would be cheering my ass off for that guy. He put up some of the best seasons EVER by a pitcher while with the Sox. Anyone who boos Pedro is a complete moron IMO. And don't even try to compare Pedro to Damon please. Pedro was with the team longer, and even though both won a championship with the team Pedro is going to the hall of fame with a Sox hat. Damon was a great leadoff hitter who will watch hall of fame ceremonies on TV. Damon also went to the Yanks which means he gets booed until he leaves them. If Pedro went to the Yanks he would get booed too.

Nice picture of Pedro though - you wish you could have a pitcher that good. Thank God he didn't go to the Yanks so that I can still like him. Yankees can have Damon.

Either way Pedro would have been a better sign than Tek at this point I believe. Tek was great last year but is hitting awful this year so far and theres still two more years left. Tek is getting up there for a catcher too. Can you imagine a rotation including Pedro, Schilling, and Beckett? Wagner also blew a win for him against the Yanks.

I've always been a huge fan of Dunn's and steal him every year in fantasy baseball. Everyone looks at the low BA and dismisses him while not realizing that his OBP is usually about 125-150 points higher than his BA due to the insane amount of walks he gets. Add in the power and hes one of the best hitters in the game. You can't argue with almost a .400 OBP and over .900 OPS for his career while still being just 26 for all of this season. He will post several seasons of 1.000+ OPS and Ichiro could never even dream of that number for a season.

Dunn has a much higher OBP and OPS than Ichiro as stated above. Ichiro is almost completely dependant on his slap hits and infield singles. His OBP isn't that good and while he is good on D i don't think it makes up for the difference in power between someone like Dunn and Ichiro. Dunn's career OPS is over .900 and over 1.000 this year. He is 26 this season and has 170 HR's and a career .384 OBP. I would take Dunn in a second over Ichiro.

The A's also got another pitcher in the deal and Hudson isn't looking so good this year. In the Mulder trade Beane got: Dan Haren- 3.73 ERA 14 Ws (2005) Kiko Calero- 3.23 ERA 56.2 IP (2005) Daric Barton (21 years old now) - (AAA 2006) .279/.397/.433/.830 - (AA 2005) .316/.410/.491/.901 Mark Mulder - 2005 - 3.63 ERA 16 W's So lets just agree that he also makes some good deals as well considering the A's have been sucessful for years based solely on their developement of younger players (Giambi, Tejada, Hudson, Zito, Mulder, Harden, Street, Crosby, Chavez, ect ect) while signing no real big name FA's. I think Beane is a pretty good evaluator of talent myself.

He will be next year though and you were talking about the future rotation. Obviously WMP is gone for a front of the rotation starter as are most positional players but the Sox aren't going to get a good enough pitcher in return to move him. Trot is in the last year of his contract and probably not coming back unless he takes a hometown discount. WMP will probably be starting in RF next year and in LF once Manny retires or goes to another team.

The original rumor on the offer was last year's salary $18 mill prorated to $12 mill based on starting in June. If its $12 mill than that will not get it done.

I'm not a huge fan of the chant personally but I don't really get bothered by it. I personally wouldn't do it if I were at the game though.

The Sox knew what they were doing when they made the deal with Schilling. It was heavily incentive laced with winning the championship. The Sox knew they would be paying a lot in terms of more money and years if they won but it was worth it to the FO to win given the long streak in between championships. As Schilling is pitching right now who wouldn't want him for next year? He obviously won't win every game this year but so far hes been the ace of the staff with Beckett coming close himself. Schilling should be fine for 1 more year although you would expect to see a decline (it just remains to be seen how much of a decline next year). Either way though he will probably still be the 2nd -3rd best pitcher in the rotation next year depending on if Papelbon joins the rotation.

I wasnt making fun of the guy - I was saying I would rather not have him on the team unless its an extremely low contract which is completely oposite of what has been rumored. I guess its only okay to rip on players once they've been on the team for a little while? BTW if you look at his stats he has had an ERA under 4 - 7 times not 9. 1989 - 3.60 ERA - 5 IP 1994 - 2.66 ERA - 24.2 IP 1998 - 2.75 ERA - 36.0 IP 1999 - 3.35 ERA - 54.2 IP 2001 - 2.75 ERA - 36.0 IP 2004 - 3.33 ERA - 46.0 IP 2005 - 2.69 ERA - 60.1 IP Not really the model of consistency with the under 4 ERA usually coming several years apart besides for 98-99 and 04-05. He has spent a good deal of time in the NL and that just scares me about him being able to pitch in the AL. His time in the AL has included: 1989 - 3.60 ERA - 5.0 IP 1990 - 5.60 ERA - 27.1 IP 1991 - 16.20 ERA - 5.0 IP 2002 - 5.73 ERA - 33.0 IP 2003 - 6.23 ERA - 9.2 IP 2004 - 3.91 ERA - 23 IP Plus SD is an extreme pitchers park which is why his home/road splits were so dramatic last year. I just cant see him being sucessful in the AL East at age 38. Im not trying to make fun of the guy - I just dont think he can really help the team. I would rather have the extra bullpen spot for a youngster who has potential.

The Sox really do need another pitcher who is pitching 40 so this deal is great :thumbsup: Does anyone know if they've contacted John Franco to help round out the staff. I mean they might be able to get a group discount at AARP :harhar: alright sarcasm aside though if this deal is worth over $1 million for 1 year - which it almost certainly will be its not a good deal. The man is going to be 38 this year and we really dont need another pitcher whos pushing 40 on this team. His ERA last year was good but heavily influenced by the fact that SD is a great pitchers park that is really hard to his HR in. His ERA at home was something like 1.75 wth a road ERA around 3.75. Still solid road numbers but hes another year older and the AL East is not the NL West. You can add another 1+ runs to his ERA moving to the AL East if he comes here. Ive also heard that he is looking for a multiyear deal which is just crazy to give him at this point in my mind. Oh yeah and 2005 was the first time in his career he pitched over 60 innings - hes a real workhorse

Beltran also plays great D in CF and has the highest SB% in the history of MLB. Hes pretty damn good and outside of Tejada hes the best player you could possibly get for Manny. If you really want/need to move Manny than hes one of the best you could get. Hes younger and plays great D at a more important position than Manny. Manny is still better overall but Beltran played in a pitchers park last year and moving to a hitters park and put in front of Ortiz I think he would have a fine year. Personally I wouldnt trade Manny for him but if your going to trade Manny you could do much worse.

Loretta is like 35 though - I dont see them locking him up for any longer than 2006.

Well it has to be the Rangers unless he wants to wait till may since the astros didnt offer him arb. If he wanted to stay with them so badly he would have agreed to not accept in order to keep negotiating but he didnt.

Considering how bad Renteria was last year with his 1.8 WARP1 I dont think the Nomar gamble would be that bad. And just so I get this straight - your telling me that a guy who has never been a fulltime SS (Cora) who hit .232 with .275 OBP and an OPS of slightly cracking .600 is a better option than Nomar? Even while injured in limited time Nomar hit .283 with .320 OBP and an OPS of .772. Cora should not be an everyday player on this team - hes a good backup but I dont want to see a .600 OPS cracking our lineup if at all possible. You can talk about Nomar's injuries all you want but last year was a freak thing that could happen to anyone. Before 2004 he played almost every game every year except when he got hit in the wrist. These arent injuries that are like arm problems or leg problems. They're freak things that shouldnt effect him going foward. Right now Nomar is the best option for SS on the market.

Theo was Beane's minion? Theo came from SD with the new ownership but never from the A's. If you mean his thinking - then he was somewhat in the Beane mold but not as much as you might think - I mean he won a WS.

Honestly I could care less if he jacks a Hummer from the Yankees - I just mention it because a lot of the NY fans wanted him to return it at the time. They gave it to him because he retired as a Yankee not just because he retired. They dont send them out to every player that played for the Yankees. But anyways - it was a retirement gift - if your not retired arent you supposed to give it back. Its like if your getting married and get all the presents and then right before you get married you break it off - then keep all the presents and tell everyone to have a safe ride home. Oh and I would love it if the Sox got him back - bring him back home where he belongs. Like I said before I could care less even if he is a jerk - hes a great pitcher.

Well that bum just got us one of the top prospects in baseball so he cant be that bad. Keep Marte though - I remember reading that he could put up 2004 Beltre numbers in a couple of years.

okay i know there is about 1% chance of Nomar coming back but on the FA market who is a better option right now? I would risk a 2 year deal with incentives - hell I doubt he could do much worse than Renti did this year. Probably outhit him but have less errors and less range. If he only ends up playing 120 or so games its still better than 160 of Cora

Seriously its one thing to rip on him for 2005 but dont diminish what he meant to this team for the time he was here. He was huge for the clubhouse and thats what we need in boston with the media and fans. He was a decent hitter and honestly the best 1B we've had since Mo. I would take Millar circa 2003-2004 over what we're going to have next year at 1B.

Im sure hes a great guy in person - I meant more as the whole - I want to be closer to my family which is why Im signing with Toronto. Then demanding a trade 2 years later to the Yankees. Then retiring from the Yankees - tkaing the Hummer from the Yanks as a retirement gift and signing with the Stros. Hes a $$ man and theres nothing wrong with that but he comes off as kind of a jerk by screwing his old teams. So lets see: Boston - wants to be closer to family so goes to Toronto Toronto - forces trade to NY NY - retires with Hummer to sign with Houston Houston - refuses to negotiate before arb date so Stros have to let him go because they cant risk paying him 25 mill next year- he could have easily agreed to not accept arb to keep negotiations going