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That they have a spot waiting for them on a team like the Red Sox should be "buzz" enough for anyone who is interested. I would push farther and say one of them (Kalish) should have a starting spot in RF in 2012 (with Werth or Crawford in LF, Ellsbury in CF) and one of them might be sitting behind Lowrie for a year, if Jed is still around. If he isn't, then 2012 seems reasonable for Iglesias to arrive. I think too many people underestimate the potential value of a true vacuum at SS. He could produce multiple high WAR seasons with his glove alone. Think about how many great athletes are drafted as shortstops and are questioned about their ability to stick at short. Iglesias not only doesn't get questions about his ability to stay at short, most say he could play there now without difficulty at the age of 20. His was the biggest signing bonus this team has ever paid. People come to watch him take fielding practice. I think he is generating significant interest as a player and represents a good young chip who could make an impact. I would add Josh Reddick and Lars Anderson to the list of potential quality big league players who could contribute over the next two seasons. No need to remind me that both have struggled in limited opportunities or underachieved overall. No dispute here, but when Reddick gets hot he's got a lot of pop, and Anderson clearly has the tools they just haven't come together for him yet. I would also note that Felix Doubront and Jed Lowrie are developing players who the Red Sox will be giving important roles in 2011 and who have shown reasons for that increased responsibility. There are plenty of interesting, talented young players coming through the system.

From what I can tell, the Sox will have somewhere around $30 million to spend this offseason with Ortiz having his $12.5 option picked up. My numbers may be off a bit (exact salaries are difficult to determine sometimes). What we haven't discussed--or what I haven't noticed--is that that doesn't actually give them a ton of flexability. They need a 3B, a C, possibly another OF, and probably at least a few decent bullpen options. They could hand a starting job to Kalish next year, but it seems a tad risky to me. I actually think guys like Nava, Reddick and Kalish are all ready to contribute at the backup level, so OF might not be highest priority; at the same time, Werth and Crawford probably offer the most offensive "rejuvenation" and I think Crawford in particular gives the team flexability if they want to look at moving Kalish or Ellsbury elsewhere. Now that they have picked up the expensive Ortiz option, I am looking for them to sign one of Crawford, Werth, Martinez or Beltre, add a catcher (Miguel Olivo, Mike Napoli?) and sign a few bullpen arms. At that point I expect them to more or less stop, except for the trade market where I hope they will be aggressive.

They will probably put a lot of their resources toward Cliff Lee. If he signs elsewhere then they could offer Vlad a reasonable extension.

I am trying to imagine a Sox team without Martinez next year and it seems difficult. He's an above average bat who can switch-hit and play C and 1B adequately. His bat gives the lineup versatility and makes it a much more potent lineup whether he's hitting 3rd, 5th, or 6th. It seems that letting him go would be counterproductive to the goal of buildling a winning ballclub, especially at his age. At the same time, all of the above qualities make him an extremely valuable piece on the market and there is money to be spent. The Sox will draw a line in the sand, as always, and let him go to the highest bidder.

The Rangers look like an offensively inept team. I can't say that was out of the realm of possibility IMO, but it is surprising that they suddenly look like all of the Rangers teams of old, in terms of inconsistency, rather than the supposedly improved 2010 version. Their pitching has looked pedestrian at best and I can't imagine how many more times they'll throw O'Day out there to give up the longball. All in all, it hasn't been the series I've been hoping for and definitel not what I expected after the Yankee series. It actually reminds me a lot of the 2008 series between TB and PHI. The Rays just never looked like the Rays during that series and it was disappointing from a baseball perspective. I'm afraid TX will lose without showing why they won the AL this year. Last remaining piece of drama: can Cliff Lee propel this series back to SF or will the Rangers lose--improbably--twice with him on the mound in a 5 game span? If he does, could he pitch a bit in game 7? I would think so... especially if Nolan Ryan has something to say about it.

Too much IMO. Kalish shouldn't move, he's going to be an impact player. I would prefer that they package Ellsbury etc., for Adrian Gonzalez or something along those lines if Kalish is the make or break player. I see him as one of the key contributors during the proposed Lester, Buchholz, Greinke tenure.

What is it that KC needs? Every team needs pitching and any team would be happy to have Kelly and Pimentel. Hell, there are many arms that never get mentioned but who could end up being really nice players for teams like KC.

It must be a great time to be a Royals fan, they have Hall of Famers in waiting at every position and couldn't use Casey Kelly, Jose Iglesias, Stolmy Pimentel or Anthony Rizzo in their system. I don't feel it should have to be repeated, but Kelly was playing well above his age level and scouts really like his stuff. He's extremely athletic, has great mechanics and projects to add 2-3 mph to his FB as most pitchers do with a frame like his. One need not look far for examples of pitchers who go on to be very good who have small hickups in their development at some point. In just recent memory, Jon Lester put up a 4.28 ERA/1.32 WHIP in his age 20 season, while at age 22 Daniel Bard put up a 7.08 ERA and 2+ WHIP at A/A+.

No, I think the question is still whether KC would ever do that. You're right about the chances being "not great, but fair". There's the possibility that KC is just a natural fit for the guy and he wants to sign long-term. At the same time, he really is much more valuable in the market. He could easily command $15m per year now, and is entering what should be his prime years already earning $13.5m per. Even the nicest, most self-less person would have a very hard time turning down an extra six million dollars per year to do the same job either way. Will617 is right though; the enormous cost in prospects and salary for a single young player is the very reason the Red Sox invest so much in their farm system. With Ranaudo and Kelly likely available after 2012, as well as Doubront and home-grown aces Buchholz and Lester, I think the FO believes they have a better way of doing things. I was a big fan of their supposed attempt to land Felix Hernandez, and would not be disappointed with most scenarios that would land the Sox Zack Greinke. I wouldn't pursue him as hard as Felix though, he's not as good. For starters, I probably wouldn't be willing to move Lowrie, Kalish or Iglesias. Iglesias should take over in 2012 when Scutaro's contract expires. Lowrie will be at least a good MLB utility infielder and his bat is probably good enough to stick at 3B if he develops according to his minor league numbers. And Kalish is this team's CF or RF of the future. If they add Werth or Crawford then the OF of Crawford/Werth, Ellsbury, Kalish would be a serious threat on both sides of the ball. Or they could move Ellsbury and put Kalish in CF. They have these good players for virtually no cost. They have quite a bit of value.

Yeah, why would they be so stupid as to insult Cliff Lee's wife? I mean, it's fine to shout routine homophobic chants at people in the bleachers, threaten people in visiting opponents clothes, etc., but hurling insults at Lee's wife is unacceptable. Many Yankee fans are self-important jerks who think they rule the baseball world. I hope this comes back to bite them and Lee signs in Texas.

It sure seems like an intersting option--another offseason of focusing on "pitching and defense" (terms that were pejorative last offseason), but few could argue with the results if they landed one of the best young pitchers in baseball for the next few years. If they were able to swing Greinke, they would still need to have a very busy offseason. It seems that adding a couple nice relievers from this bumper crop would be wise to go with your Rolls-Royce of pitching staffs.

I'm open to the idea of another wild card team and think it would be good for smaller market teams. Having another wild card spot would increase the number of interested spectators. Also, it would increase the competitive length of the season, probably for 5-6 markets in each league. A one game playoff, however, seems like a s***** option at the end of such a long season. I'm not interested in seeing any "race for the play-in game"... that's weird. 1. 3 game series: #5WC vs. #4WC 2. ALDS: 5 game series: AL2 vs. AL3 3. ALDS: 5 game series: AL1 vs winner 1 4. ALCS: 7 game series I would be fine with them doing that next year. It's the type of adjustment that the league can do pretty easily and I suspect it will seem like a no brainer in 5 years.

Let this post signify a solid "high five" to my long time compadres here--guys like ORS, a700, BSN, yeszir, Dipre, Dojji and the rest of you. I'm sure we were all very happy to see the Yankees exit in this way. We will probably never watch a game together, but a high five is definitely in order so here: **FIVE** To Jacksonianmarch, tough luck man. Your Yankees were good but they were clearly beat by the better team. They weren't stricken with injuries, they weren't coming off a hard series, they just weren't good enough. No excuse will be sufficient. They had a $213m payroll, which could pay for the Texas Rangers about 3.3 times, but they lacked significant starting pitching depth and their bullpen does not seem to have a lot of 'big moment' guys, aside from Rivera. I'm sure the Yankees will re-load and be back next year. I hope Theo is watching Texas celebrate and figuring out how to have that occur in Fenway next year.

An interesting opportunity for the Sox. I have no idea who is available (Schilling would be an interesting choice) but I am confident they will hire well. Pitching coach for the Red Sox would have to be a pretty coveted coaching position, right? It's the kind of opportunity that few with high aspirations would turn down.

I think a big question for the off season is how high the Sox are willing to go to get the better available relievers. I would have to imagine they are still interested in Downs, and Benoit has been dominant. Are they willing to drop serious FA money to beef up the pen? How much for a short inning reliever who isn't hired to close or even set up.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5705463 Yu is staying in Japan for another year.

I want Cliff Lee as much as the next guy, but I think we should all show a little restraint. We're talking about the Yankees giving a CC Sabathia contract to a guy going into his age 32 season. I believe that I refered to Cliff Lee to a friend yesterday as a "god", so I understand he's a great addition, but his contract would still stand a chance of being very overblown by the time all is said and done. If it is a bidding war between the Yankees and the MLB/new TV network-backed Rangers, then the price will be HIGH. In my heart of hearts I would want them to go after Lee, but I just don't see it happening. The upside to that is my hope that the Sox do decide to add another ace pitcher and take the best available arm not named Lee. If that means trading for a Zack Greinke (27) or bidding on Yu Darvish (24) at a price that lets them also add Crawford/Werth, re-sign Beltre, maybe Martinez, and next year acquire Gonzalez or Fielder, I think the team could be better off in the longrun.