example1

I agree. 170m is "bloated payroll" territory for the Red Sox. They seem to get into "bloated" zone at the end of contracts for veterans. In this case it is Lowell, Ortiz, V-Mart and Lugo (among others). I think they would much prefer to have younger, cheaper guys with the occasional supplemental bloated contract. Flexability-wise I think this franchise is in good shape.

I just want to take a second to acknowledge John Lackey's performance tonight. Even though he gave up 3 runs his stuff looked as good as it has in awhile. Consistent zip on his FB and lots of strikeouts without swings. When he's on he works quickly and just pounds the strikezone.

I don't doubt that jacko watches the Sox games. I also don't think he's wrong about Buchholz not being dominant. He's been very good and is showing all the signs of being a potentially dominant starter for many years to come. He's not getting the K's or innings he needs to be considered among the games elite, but that wasn't the plan for 2010. It is great that he's been a more-than-effective starter, but nobody was expecting him to be a Cy Young winner. That may be for the next few years.

Why not, right?

Buchholz won't get the Cy Young. He just hasn't thrown enough innings and his numbers suggest effectiveness, not dominance. He has been dominant for long stretches this year and seems to have learned how to pitch to contact; however, it will take at least another year for "voters" to buy that he is getting by on stuff rather than good fortune. Until that happens, the bigger names with more innings will get more votes.

Doesn't this team get a little credit for having the record they do? From my view of the standings, they have a better record than Texas and are virtually identical to the Phillies, two very good teams that have not been plagued by the same type of injuries. I'm not making excuses, but they have virtually the same record they have every year at this time. It isn't a World Series caliber team like 2007, but they aren't a horribly disappointing team.

A pretty solid effort overall I would say Jacko. I'm sure my thoughts will develop in the offseason, but my initial thoughts... Not sure about Iannetta, but the idea seems solid. I think the Sox are about two years from having their internal catching options sort out who has which skills, so they need someone. There is little chance that they resign Tek and I think with V-Mart's bat being a bit down he won't get the aggressive offer he might have otherwise. Overall, I think they are going to offer Beltre and Martinez basically what they could be assured they won't get a bad return on their investment and see who takes the offer. I don't think they have a master plan, they just have ways of structuring offers to not get screwed. That has resulted in most FAs leaving in recent memory, and I can see that happening again. An even more conservative "lets not get screwed" option would have Lowrie playing 3B, or moving Scutaro there and moving Lowrie to SS. Lowrie is a competent hitter and could serve as a stop-gap/super utility switch hitter if they didn't want to get screwed. I imagine they are hesitant to move Youkilis off of 3B unless they absolutely have to. It is probably naive of me, but I can see the Sox and Beltre finding a reasonable compromise for 3-4 years. Theo has always liked Beltre and he hasn't disappointed so far; like you, I'm skeptical of Beltre for the long haul but 3B isn't a position that has much coming up via FA. Fenway is a good fit for him and his defense is appropriately valued by this team. They will definitely keep themselves open for either Gonzalez, Fielder or Pujols (should the stars align and Pujols is looking to go elsewhere). If they didn't go after Dunn two years ago I don't imagine them going after him now. I have no clue why that is, possibly due to his lack of defensive skills or versatility. His OBP/SLG combination makes him seem like an obvious option for DH at least. Werth could be a good addition and he would definitely be well suited to Fenway. I'm worried that his contract could become a regret in the 3rd and 4th years, especially if the farm system is producing good OFs who are stuck at AAA because of longterm deals (a la JD Drew). I think Theo will try to stay as flexable as possible until the next Teixeira situation presents itself. Frankly, if he were going to be aggressive on an OF contract, I see a lot more reason to make it Carl Crawford. Couldn't have said it better.

I don't disagree. Getting a good defensive catcher should be a priority, but I think this team--as currently constructed--could be an ALCS level team if healthy. I agree with you though, that they should still seek to improve it. Personally, I would be happy if they went after Werth or Crawford, and prepared to have Kalish take over for Drew when he is finished in RF. It should be a very interesting offseason, because "standing pat" isn' treally an option this year and neither is just putting together a patchwork. They have money coming off the books and I imagine some of their better players (VMart, Beltre or Ortiz) won't be back.

I would actually be pretty happy if this team was coming back for 2011 with a rejuvenated bullpen. The only time that the team was really put together and healthy was the first few weeks and they just sucked at that time. Nobody expects the rest of the season to be judged by the first few weeks, but that's really the only time we have to evaluate the whole team. I think this team is comparable with the Rays and Rangers and that any of those teams, when healthy, would make a good run at the playoffs. The Yankees, in my opinion, are in another class. That's not to say they're guaranteed to win the World Series, but they've probably been assured of making the playoffs since day one. I commend Theo for the construction of this team. The bullpen is a sticky situation because I understand the inclination to not overpay for bullpen arms (Jose Valverde and other available FAs would be prohibitive), especially with veterans like Ramirez, Oki and Delcarman and others who should have been better than they have been. In 2011 they should be able to slot Bowden and Doubront into those spots and hopefully will find an effective lefty somewhere. Anyone who doubts the job Theo did really need only look at the Beltre signing. All offseason people were giving the FO s*** for not having enough offense, and how dare they focus on defense, and he signs a near-MVP caliber player that few others were interested in. Also, they were able to add some really crucial supplemental parts like McDonald and Atchison totally under the radar. I wouldn't be shocked if the signings next season were couched in language about avoiding injuries and how the 2010 team was plagued by loss to injury time. In 2009 the concern was defense, now its that they can't even put their planned team out there because of injuries.

Hawpe has had an OPS near or above .900 for the past 4 seasons. He's 31. If this team is willing to take a shot with Jeremy Hermida, why not take a shot at Hawpe? They could do a lot worse IMO.

Buchholz's best pitch was his changeup too. His curveball was impressive early, but he's really cut down on how much he uses it because it wasn't as effective. Kelly's curveball is no slouch and his FB may be the best in the system in terms of mechanics, command and velocity. What is it that Jon Lester does that is SO impressive? His numbers are great, but why? The answer is that he executes. He his his spots, mixes his pitches and throws harder than most. The same is true for Clay Buchholz. They have great control and command of their pitches, which are remarkably consistent in their movement. They have developed a combination of about 5 or 6 pitch/location combinations that work for them given their ability to also throw 94 consistently. I'm willing to bet that Kelly's arm isn't going to be worse than Lester's and he supposedly has great command. http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2010/07/12/all-star-futures-notebook-casey-kellys-year-de

They know him better than you do and have a pretty good track record with these things.

I don't think I would say they rushed him a bit, or that he's fallen from the top spot. I think they rushed him to the level of competition that was a challenge to him. They probably also had him working on very specific approaches and told him not to worry about results. The goal was for him to get comfortable and to develop the arsenal that they want him to have moving forward. As for the top spot, if anything he wouldn't be in the top spot because of Kalish's growth, not his own faults. It isn't his fault that he was a 20 year old playing at AA. He was their #1 pitcher at that level too, ahead of college guys like Fife, Weiland and Wilson. I don't think many people are too worried about Kelly at this point.

I actually agree with that Yankee fan. They have seen Kalish come through the system, they know what he's capable of and the player he's matured into. He simply has more power than Ellsbury does and a better arm. Ellsbury doesn't just NOT hit HRs, he doesn't hit much hard at all. He gets into grooves (often after extended periods of struggling offensively) where he is lacing balls around the field, but it isn't with the consistency that one wants to see getting one of 9 coveted slots on the team. I can see a scenario where Ellsbury sticks around because I think Kalish could be a tremendous LF in Boston, but if Ellsbury represents some important trade value, I imagine they would part with him largely due to Kalish's emergence and growth.

A great day for the Sox system today if the pillaging of LSU was as thorough as it appears to have been.

At the very least the Sox need to be in there making a fair market offer for him. they have to ensure he doesn't go back to TB and doesn't go to NY unless they pay a ton for him. I could think of less favorable uses for $18m. He's one of the best players in the league and he's available. His skillset is totally different than Teixeira or Holliday, but he's valuable in so many ways that he's a dangerous, dangerous player. I don't expect them to treat him like Teixeira, but they should show him more $$ than they did JD Drew. I like both Kalish and Nava, but it wouldn't hurt to have Carl Crawford out there too.

I really think it is time for people to just accept the fact that this might not be the season we all hoped for for the Red Sox. If that's the case, the question is whether we (as fans) should take any s*** doled out by the self-important Yankee fans who will be here undoubtedly questioning the FO's approach and the effort they percieve was put into making this club winners. If they don't get to the playoffs but get 90-something wins, I think they will deserve a lot of credit and actually have a really nice setup for next year.

Mediocre FB, middle-in. Nothing good about that pitch. horrible pitch on replay. Goddamn it.

You've got to be f***ing kidding me Manny. What good are you? That's f***ing weak.

Saltalamacchia looks like Shaq out there next to Dice-K.

Here comes the uncomfortable addition of Delcarmen

f***ing douchebaggery. Nice bunt Julio. If this game mirrors last night then the Sox come back with a solo shot next inning.