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Love it. I still don't love the .336 OBP, but that near-.500 SLG is pretty nice. The discipline looks pretty good too. I've seen the stuff about his hit chart before and have always been impressed with how it would play at Fenway. If people are somewhat unfamiliar with him, or have only seen occasional highlights, I propose going and watching some highlights on mlb.com. This guy cracks the ball to all fields.

Interesting comment from today's Lackey press conference: 1. I imagine the big time position player he's talking about is Holliday. 2. The future of this rotation is really, really nice. I'm not sure Theo is very interested in dealing Buchholz any time soon. If they resign Beckett to a 5 year, Lackey-like deal this offseason, Matsuzaka will be the first pitcher of the 5 to reach FA, in 2013. Lester (2015) ($41.75m) (5) Beckett (2015) ($82.5m) (5) Lackey (2015) ($82.5m) (5) Matsuzaka (2013) ($30m) (3) Buchholz (2015) ($17.5m) (5)--a guess--what Lackey made his first 6 seasons $254m/23 years. That's $11.4m per-pitcher-year. A good deal for that group IMO, and a group that would be hard to upgrade for any reasonable price.

Not concerned? Why?

Haven't seen an update here for awhile. Looks like Tex is still hopeful the deal will go down: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091216&content_id=7817548&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex&partnerId=rss_tex I'm hopeful this deal goes down. It seems like if the Sox are paying that much of Lowell's salary they can throw in a lower tier prospect or something if TEX balks because of a concerning thumb.

Anyone concerned about Gonzalez's 2009 (and career) splits. [table] VS. | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | Vs Right | .305 | .448 | .629 | 1.077 | Vs Left: | .234 | .339 | .431 | .770 | [/table] I'm a bit concerned about teams being able to shut him down late in the game... not so concerned that they shouldn't get him, but maybe enough to not give away active members of the current team.

Thanks for making the thread Gom. I actually wouldn't be shocked if Edes was right. I think people may be overvaluing the need for a big bat. They are in a position where adding one elite player makes them close to favorites. If the Sox are patient (they usually are) then I think they're bound to find a deal to their liking. This talk of moving Buchholz and Ellsbury fills one need while creating others, and it doesn't make sense. Currently: Ellsbury Pedroia V-Mart Youkilis Ortiz Lowell/Replacement Drew Cameron Scutaro Beckett Lester Lackey Dice-K Buchholz That's still a very good lineup and the best rotation in baseball. They can wait for the asking price on Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder to drop, can hold their prospects in case Mauer becomes available, etc., while still being in a position to make the playoffs and, with that rotation, win in the playoffs. They can make moves at the deadline if needed, but they shouldn't overpay to land Adrian Gonzalez or trade players who hurt the team now. If they can move just prospects, great, otherwise, this team is already pretty good. I'm not saying they don't need a bat, they do, but the question is WHEN do they need the bat and MUSt that bat be Adrian Gonzalez. I don't think so. There's a chance they can get a deal done for their next big bat without moving Buchholz or Ellsbury or any foolishness like that, if they're just patient.

So many threads it is overwhelming my brain. He said that a source close to AGon said that. Not Arangure saying it.

Reddick clearly is very close and I belive he can man CF. Having Cameron really eliminates the need to find someone else who can play CF. If I'm the Sox I would really prefer not to move Ellsbury or Buchholz or Kelly or Westmoreland. That's unlikely. Moving Ellsbury from the lineup makes them seem less potent to me, even with the addition of Adrian Gonzalez. I really like watching Ellsbury and feel like his tools are great for this team. If they move Ellsbury then I see them being a big thin in the OF, so if Cameron is injured then suddenly they'll have Hermeda, Reddick and Drew in the OF, or some combination like that. I'd rather they move Kelly, even if his upside is Buchholzian, or move Buchholz and acquire a decent #5 option.

While I agree that pitching is expensive and that the Sox are trying to keep a stable full of young developing arms, I disagree that Beckett is a $20m premium pitcher. There's only 3 in baseball, as far as I know: From Cot's: CC Sabathia, $23,000,000 (2009-15) Johan Santana, $22,916,667 (2008-13) Roy Halladay, $20,000,000 (2010-2012) (Assumed) Beckett simply isn't in this class, is he? Everyone agrees that he's shown glimpses of being just as dominant, but he hasn't put it together as consistently as these guys have. I think Beckett could make more than Lackey, but not as much as Halladay. $18.5m/yr; I'm calling 5 yrs/$92m. If he doesn't resign now his 2010 should be an interesting contract year for him. If he's going to dominante that will be the year to do it.

A few things from today...

I don't love the idea of moving Buchholz but if they got Adrian Gonzalez for him I certainly couldn't complain. The Sox would be starting someone like Sheets or Bowden or Tazawa because they moved a #2 or #3 caliber starter who could be a #1. Also, getting Gonzalez doesn't guarantee them a WS. They will still have to play the games and they will lose more than 40% of them either way and in the playoffs we will all be biting our nails either way. No matter what, the Yankees will still be a really, really good team. That can't be the measuring stick by which we evaluate success. As usual, I think the best move is to do whatever it takes to ensure that this team can afford to stay ultra competitive as long as possible. So far, so good. They don't need to sell the farm for Gonzalez if the cost is prohibative. They will get their chance at an elite bat without moving Buchholz, probably over the next two year or so, while they will probably still have a very, very strong rotation and a good core to continue building around. Of course, they could mitigate the loss of their pitching prospets if they signed Aroldis Chapman and put him in AA to learn in their system. Buchholz + Kelly for Gonzalez while signing Chapman would be a pretty solid move. It is a rare opportunity for an elite draft-age player to become available on the market.

That's a good point. It didnt stop many from calling for his replacement though. It's all about run differential and having 5 good SPs rather than 4 makes a difference in terms of the SP's line, and bullpen usage.

Cameron and Curtis Granderson's values have been much closer than most people would think. Check out fangraphs, it's true.

Gom is full of it. Nobody is crying poverty, though that is his favorite phrase. It's a strawman, but we all buy it. ORS is right. Saying that there are things the Sox cannot do because they don't have the financial resources of the Yankees is not the same as saying the Sox can't do anything.

Why do you think this means either is coming to Boston? If Cameron is a legit CF option might they move Ellsbury to LF? Could they ship him someplace in a mega deal? Why does this influence Bay over Holliday?

Lackey > Burnett This is why Theo waits and sometimes looks cheap.

The twittering, the articles and blogs all show Theo as being pretty guarded about the whole Bay situation and the talking that his agent is trying to do to get the Sox to up their offer. What I find amazing is that credible reporters actually believed that the Sox were waffling back and forth on Bay vs. Holliday, or those who assumed that Bay would sign. It feel pretty confident that the Sox are gonig to make a very strong and aggressive run at Holliday and that Theo wants to be up there introducing the newest member of Red Sox nation with his big 5-6 year deal. Bay and Holliday are not interchangable pieces. Holliday would have undoubtedly been Theo's preference in a trade of Manny Ramirez, and now he has the opportunity to get the better player. If the Yankees don't step in he's a Red Sox, IMO.