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Just got the turkey in the oven. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! a700 and ORS can hug any time now.

What do people think about Lance Berkman as either a one year option or for a 2-3 year, reasonable-cost signing? Initially I was repulsed by the idea, given his weak 2010 and having been a Yankee (however briefly). On the other hand, Berkman had an OPS above .896 for 11 straight seasons before 2010, which was a bad year in Houston, his walk year, and it involved switching leagues. I could definitely see him having a bounce back year and I wouldn't be upset if they overpaid on a one year deal. It would open up salary in 2011 and probably help keep the team competitive. He's a high OBP guy (.409 career), he can play 1B, switch-hit, possibly play a bit of LF in a pinch, certainly moreso than Youkilis. I'm not advocating him as their big signing but I think his career production probably warrants a strong look when trying to fill in the roster. With, say, Werth and Berkman: Ellsbury Pedroia Youkilis Ortiz Werth Berkman Drew Lowrie Salty/Tek platoon That is a pretty potent lineup if Berkman hits anything like he has in the past.

Emmz, I'm so absolutely confused... I went to that site and came back knowing less about my place in the universe, my reason for being, my ability to interpret human behavior, and I'm not sure if I can taste food anymore. Why did you do that to me? Why? Was that person you? Were you speaking English? I feel more and more like Kennesaw Mountain Landis's old dead body with each passing day. Also, a700, I think this team would have been in a lot of trouble if they had signed Pedro to numerous years. They knew his injuries were looming when they let him go. Like you said, most of the decisions they make make sense from a business perspective. Usually, they make sense from a baseball perspective too.

I bet if they could have signed all of those players on rolling one-year deals they would have, don't you? Pedro and Lowe weren't going to settle for anything reasonable and I still don't blame the Sox for letting go of either. Hell, the 2005 team was already old and beset with injuries, Pedro signed for another few years would have sucked for this team. It's one thing to have an injury plagued season like 2010, which had a lot of promise and was derailed pretty early. It is an entirely different thing to be cheering for a dinosaur of a team that also suffers injuries and which has to sit and wait for bad contracts to expire before doing anything to improve the club.

Here's a list of all the players that Theo Epstein has drafted with compensation picks during his tenure with the Red Sox: 2002 Abe Alvarez 2004 None 2005 Jacoby Ellsbury Craig Hansen [part of Bay deal] Clay Buchholz Jed Lowrie Michael Bowden Jonathan Egan 2006 Daniel Bard Caleb Clay Aaron Bates 2007 Nick Hagadone [part of V-Mart deal] Ryan Dent 2008 Bryan Price [part of the V-Mart deal] Stephen Fife 2009 -None- 2010 Kolbrin Vitek Bryce Brentz Anthony Ranaudo Brandon Workman The most valuable thing in baseball is a homegrown, all-star caliber player. Not only can they produce at the level of the best FAs, but they cost virtually nothing over 6 seasons, sometimes more with extensions. With a good scouting department and lots of money, top draft picks can be amazing opportunities for the longterm health of the club. I see 5 players who already have some significant MLB experience--Ellsbury, Lowrie, Buchholz, Bowden, Bard--but most of them are just coming into their own 5 years later. That's a damn good percentage, given that we're talking about including these names in deals for some of the very best in baseball. Even if it's only a 1/3 chance that you get a valuable MLB caliber player, that's a pretty good percentage. I think after 8 seasons we can see pretty clearly that Epstein values the opportunity for these picks very, very highly. I'm sure this philosophy is backed by Henry, Warner, Lucchino, etc., or else they would have put a stop to it long ago. When I look at the list above I see a good number of valuable players (on the field or in trade), some who haven't shown us what they have yet, and duds. Given the likelyhood that 30+ y.o FA contracts demand more time and money than is reasonable and turn into pumpkins regularly, and the opposite chance of drafting a home-grown stud, I can understand why they have so consistently prefered the picks to the aging FA. I just wouldn't have the discipline to run my team that way.

Of course you would. Kalish and Ellsbury have no redeeming value in the OF. If they were on any other contending team you would see that as nothing more than trying to have a young player break the big squad, but if it is the Red Sox and they put someone out there who isn't some other team's expensive reject, they are inferior. The Rays lose Pena, Crawford, Benoit, Soriano etc., and everyone is freaking out about whether the Sox can POSSIBLY beat them with 'only' Ortiz, Youkilis, Pedroia, Drew, Ellsbury, Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, etc., The Sox make a strategic decision to let some players walk rather than paying their asking price, and it is suddenly a team that can't contend. Jesus. Folks, this team will be fine. Ownership has no interest in letting them s*** the bed in 2011, 2012, 2013 etc., It just won't happen. There is too much money and too many jobs on the line. Have some f***ing faith, for crying out loud.

I have no idea why players wouldn't want to come to Boston unless they are paid through the nose. Thanks, Toucher and Rich, for that classy piece of hard-hitting commentary.

I agree with just about everything here, but, again, don't you think Theo knows that it is about pitching, pitching, pitching? Whether he was right with Lackey or not (and I'm still willing to give it more time before claiming the end of Lackey), the intention was absolutely what you are pointing out here. They refused to deal Buchholz, year after year, but where is the credit when Buchholz looks like a Cy Young caliber pitcher? They are equally resistent to trade Casey Kelly because, well, pitching wins. Mostly I just think that fans who complain about this stuff are spoiled rotten. This is a team that has won two WS in the past 7 years and goes to the playoffs virtually every year (especially if they expand the playoffs). The first argument this logic usually gets is "for the price of the tickets they better make the playoffs every year!" but that's assuming that there is a direct correlation between how much a team spends and getting into the playoffs. To some degree there probably is, but that money needs to be spent wisely, and year after year I would argue that Theo and co have done a fine job of that.

Any chance the '10 Sox players had of making a name for themselves died when they had all those injuries. Everyone acknowledges that they need another marquee player. No argument here. What I find absolutely stupid is the idea that they are unaware of this or that they won't do it. They are as interested in ratings (hopefully more interested) than anyone here is.

1. How'd they do with the run scoring last year? 2. The ratings drop was due to the injuries and not being in contention. Take Pedroia, Ellsbury and Youkilis out of the lineup and let's see how most teams do with ratings. So far your argument sounds like more of a gripe session than anything useful. Feel free to gripe all you want, just don't expect a whole lot of interest from most posters here.

Scutaro doesn't count?

Name the only team to be in the WS two of the last 6 years... Name teams that have made the playoffs more often than the Sox since Theo started his job as GM... GoBruins2011 is bored. Is that a reason to change an organizational philosophy? This thread is stupid.

VMart signing at such a reasonable rate is frustrating, especially at only 4 years. That said, I anticipated he would sign elsewhere. The Sox really love their draft picks. Hopefully they will use some of their overflow of minor-league talent to make a significant move this offseason.

What do you mean by this? Are you saying that the Rangers aren't WS contenders if they add Greinke and the Yankees get Lee?

I was saying Adrian Gonzalez when he's a FA, at which point Ortiz and Drew will be off the books. Crawford easily fits into this year's cap, and Upton wouldn't be that significant of an increase if acquired this season (AAV less than Mike Lowell's 2010 salary). I actually think it isn't a huge increase in salary if they use Lowrie and Scutaro and then Lowrie and Iglesias on the left side of the infield. Yes, it is optimistic, but entirely possible. The hardest part is getting Upton, but if that happens then signing one of the OFs seems possible (Werth seems easier than Crawford) and nobody disputes that the Sox can legitimately sign Gonzalez in 2012.

That's what I want for them. I feel like the Yankees have more or less solidified themselves for the next few years. This offseason is an opportunity for the Sox to improve without getting into too many bidding wars with the Yankees. I'm sure the Yankees would like a guy like Upton, but the Sox are more likely to go all out for him. Same with Crawford/Werth, and Gonzalez (probably in 2012). I say get all 3 of them and use the farm to build around them and save money.

Back to the Red Sox offseason... Let's say the FO is secretly planning on making a huge splash this offseason. If Justin Upton is still on the table then it seems the biggest splash this team could make would be trading for Upton and signing Werth or Crawford. It may be an incentive to use Ellsbury as a trade chip because those two FAs are available and probably better than any upcoming OF options so they can strike while the iron is hot. Ellsbury is probably somewhat more coveted as a recognizable name, and may allow the Sox to keep some of their other good prospect options in the process. I really like Ellsbury, but projecting forward I think this team can replace his production this offseason and have a ridiculous lineup for 2011 and beyond. My dream offseason would be trading some package around Ellsbury for Upton, and then signing Carl Crawford. All of this is prefaced by my assumption that the team plans to sign Adrian Gonzalez for 2012 so trading for him seems less lucritive than a controlled guy like Upton. It is entirely within this team's grasp to add Crawford, Upton and Gonzalez within the next 12 months and completely redefine the core of this team. I really hope they go for it.

Saw a good point at SP.com and want to expand on it a bit... Bard is potentially an excellent SP and his name should be floated as such. Yes, he's a tremendous reliever, but a team like Arizona would certainly want to look at him as a SP, no? His stuff is possibly the best in baseball, he's got the frame and is young enough to convert. He struggled with it in MiLB, but he's older and has refined his stuff. I was against throwing Bard into any deal because the Sox pen needs him. That said, if he were the main piece of a deal I might be able to get behind it. They can take a look at trading him as a very high ceiling SP. Bard, Doubront and Anderson/Rizzo would be another offer that I could get behind. It's a good package for Arizona, could be supplemented by numerous additional players if not enough, and would let the Sox keep players like Iglesias, Ellsbury, Kelly, Pimentel, Kalish, and Lowrie.

For everything Jeter has done for that club, he shouldn't have to have a contract year to get his payday. Also, isn't A-Rod's contract going to pay him until he's 42? That's a 5 year deal to a 37 year old, but he signed the contract 5 years earlier. Overall I agree with you about not giving him a blank check, but that the Yankees choose NOW to pinch pennies is a bit pathetic, IMO. I hope Jeter gets pissed off and leaves.

MLBTR forwarding a tweet saying Joaquin Benoit signed with Detroit, 3 years/16.5m. Damn, he's one of the better FA relievers out there. At least he didn't resign with TB. I imagine the 3 years was more than the FO was willing to do, though I hope $5.5 was within their budget.

I don't think the D-Backs are trading him because of his salary, are they? He's going to cost an average of $9.85m over the next 5 years. That's pretty reasonable for the team's #3 hitting star. They're interested in trading him to load up their team in multiple positions. They could potentially get the best haul we have ever seen, which would really help. Looking at the Teixeira deal and Texas's success, Arizona must be thinking about how they could do something similar. Seems reasonable to me.