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Wouldnt be a bad move. I can imagine that he would provide some insight about where other teams were at in their pursuit of Halladay and in any other discussions he had with them. He's also got a reputation for being a good baseball mind. We might jump on him for hi shorrible management of the Jays the last few years, but really, any team in the AL East that doesn't have a decade of 1st round picks or a 100m+ payroll is going to struggle. The Halladay debacle would be another reason to judge him poorly, but its a tough position to be looking at trading your cy-young caliber ace to a contender in the same division. I'm willing to give him a pass and have him be Theo's right-hand man.

Maybe. We will see if it has an impact on AG's availability. We can assume that Hoyer is somewhat like Theo in his appreciation of players. I would think that if Theo is willing to overpay in prospectws AG could be available. Whether Hoyer wants to move AG or not, Theo may have an offer that tempts his future sensibilities too much to not pull the trigger. There's got to be a tipping point, hopefully it is one that Theo is willing to approach. On the other side, however, one has to factor in that although AG is young and controlled for a couple more years, he isn't cost controlled per-se. Theo is smart enough to know that if he trades 5-6 good prospects AG will still be eligibile for FA in the next few years. They should pay a high price, but this isn't a no-holds barred situation... http://www.impawards.com/1989/posters/no_holds_barred.jpg

Theo has talked a few times (once on EEI, once through Gammons) about the "core group" that this team is building around at this point: established prime or pre-prime guys in key positions, namely: Beckett Lester Buchholz Matsuzaka Papelbon Youkilis Pedroia Ellsbury Martinez Drew All of these guys should be productive beyond just 2010 and I wouldn't be shocked to see both Beckett and Martinez retained for another 3-4 years. The more I think about it, the more obvious it seems that this team will be able to resign Josh Beckett. Whether he wants to stay in Boston or not is another issue, but Beckett was acquired in a deal that sent them Mike Lowell. Lowell and his $12m salary will be coming off the books after 2010, when Beckett becomes a FA. It seems that by letting Lowell go and using some of his money to keep Beckett, the Sox will basically be keeping their primary gain from that trade and will be able to play him a fair salary too. Between Beckett and Lowell's 2010 salary there's more than enough for Beckett alone, and who here wouldn't trade Mike Lowell right now for 3-4 more years of Beckett on the hill? Who here would be really upset if Beckett made $18m/yr for 4 more seasons?

Who wouldn't take CC, all things being equal? Dude is a monster on the mound. That said, CC at $20m + or C. Lee at considerably less isn't close either. Lee is the much, much better value.

Player A: (WAR History) [table] 2003 | 2.3 2004 | 2.1 2006 | 3.6 2007 | -0.3 2008 | 0.3 2009 | 0.1 [/table] Player B: (WAR History) [table] 2004 | 3.6 2005 | 4.2 2006 | 1.4 2007 | 2.7 2008 | 4.5 2009 | 1.8 [/table] One of these guys is Rocco Baldelli, the other is Randy Winn. Look man, it isn't really worth arguing this too strongly. Neither of us really want Randy Winn on this team, but I think he's got a higher upside than you're giving him credit for. I hadn't really noted it until I looked at his numbers for awhile the other night. The main benefit to him would be if he could be acquired on a one year deal with incentives or something. I would also be pretty comfortable with Reddick getting a good chunk of time this year. That's the only way he'll get comfortable. His speed didn't slide. His defense was still pretty good. The decline may affect his reactions or eyesight, or that could just be a statistical blip between a fairly wide range of possible performances. I think the best argument against it is that he's probably going to want more than one year, and his reverse splits in 2009 were pretty bad--he hit poorly against LH pitchers. Unfortunately, they probably need someone who can hit lefties better, not worse. LD% was roughly the same as his decent 2008. A lot of his numbers were roughly the same. Does anyone know if there is a place that measures ball velocity off the bat? By which I mean the average velocity off of various hitters' bats over the course of a season? I would be interested in seeing who happens to hit the ball the hardest, and then how strongly hitting the ball hard correlates with other numbers.

Both managers managed to snag grab defeat from the jaws of victory. The part that I love most? The near-meltdowns of both Hughes and Joba. An entirely satisfying thing to watch.

Fuentes blows.

Exactly. I could certainly talk more about the Sox trying to get Felix Hernandez or Adrian Gonzalez. Believe me, it's coming.

I think Rocco Baldelli fits this profile pretty well, when he's healthy.

Burnett simply isn't worth the money he's making. He's inconsistent and not worthy of being the #2 on such a tremendous team.

Sure, sure. If we're arguing over s***** 4th OF types I guess I would put my vote in for Winn before Kapler, mostly because he would be a change, a good veteran, a switch hitter, a more proven all-fields fielder, more athletic, and a bit faster. Mostly because he's a change from the norm... Kapler has been done before. I think this team may actually need the right kind of player personality-wise to fit the team. I have no clue whether Winn is that type of guy. I just know he's a change from what they've had. He has also had a better OBP more recently. I would like to see a veteran like Winn get a chance to contribute on a playoff team and I think he might be able to step his game up and be a good role model for the younger OFs who will inevitably be jumping into the picture by the end of 2010.

I think it's either Felix, or the above rotation without Lackey. For his expected production I would be surprised (and happy) if they went after him for too much money. I can imagine Iglesias being the Sox starting SS by 2011. 1. They signed him to a 4 year, $8.25m deal. After 4 years he will only be 23. This doesn't give the Sox much time to let him mature in the minors. 2. If his glove is really naturally blessed and he can impact games with that alone, he will have inherent value at the SS position, probably positive-WARP, despite hitting woes. 3. I've never seen a study about fielding ability and age. I know that age can help with training a hitter's eye or building body strength, but I have no clue whether it impacts how well a kid can go get the ball. We know that as players get older the skill can deteriorate (speed, reflexes, flexability). We also know that playing SS is one of the most athletic things a baseball player can do, and other extremely athletic sports see players excelling at the highest levels at 19 or 20 years old. Offensively we shouldn't expect much, but overall we shouldn't overvalue what that means at the SS position.

What would people think about the Sox looking at Randy Winn as a 4th OF? He's been a starter most of his career and he's a type B, both of which go against them acquiring him for anything reasonable cost wise. However, he can play all 3 OF positions, LF and RF above average. He's had a decent career he's relatively versatile and healthy. Also, remarkably, he's never played in the playoffs before--a potential selling point on a team like Boston. To me, he's actually similar to an older Coco Crisp, which wouldn't hurt on a one or two year deal, say, $10m over two years. He's averaged 20 SB/162 G, which is a respectable number and tells me he still has some spring in his legs. In 2009 he made $9m+, but that's bound to drop after deal's like Abreu's last offseason and Winn's predictable decline. I don't think he's a bad clubhouse guy or anything and when he ultimately disappears there would likely be a rookie ready to go in his place. It's just a thought. He's nothing too special, but a good defensive 4th OF with some athleticism and veteran presence might not hurt.

Part of me agrees with you. The other part of me thinks that Boras likes to spread the wealth. I don't think it is in his interest to have teams stop negotiating with him or to just assume that they can't work with him. He sends top tier players to NY because they'll pay more for them, but he would be leaving a lot of money on the table if he didn't negotiate with the Sox and Dodgers and Cubs too. A guy like Holliday seems right on the line of players who secondary teams make a run at, pay a lot, and the Yankees don't really jump into the conversation (other than to say "nah, we don't want to pay Holliday $19m a year").

Shoot me now. Finding a reliable backup OF has led to the signings of Kaplar and Kotsay and Baldelli. It's a semi-important thing but to seriously discuss whether or not Coco should come back and immediately be benched and that the he'll sit on the bench and f***ing like it is enough to make me want to just close my computer and watch the NLCS. OF discussion? Important. Stupid tangents about guys who were traded last year and who were disgruntled about their experience in Boston and then telling them to sit their ass down? Boring and nonsensical. Aren't there any better 4th OF possiblities out there?

Earlier today I was disappointed by the lack of discussion on this board lately. Now I just wish I was still disappointed. Are people seriously discussion Coco Crisp coming back and Gabe Kaplar and Mark Kotsay? Those guys may come back but, as with the original signings of Kaplar and Kotsay, neither deserves more than a passing comment. Someone say something intelligent or thought provoking soon. Please...

1. You should probably provide a citation for posted articles. 2. "Which Matt Holliday?" Inconsistent in the AL? Maybe... However in his last 195 PAs in Oakland his line was .304/.390/.494/.884. That isn't bad. Certainly "good". In his last 26 G (112 PA) his line was .330/.402/.536/.938. Also "good". Again, his AL OBP was .378. Give the guy a break. 3. If JD Drew is the current highest paid player, Matt Holliday could take that throne without complaint from this Sox fan.

If Pujols and Mauer are both actually FAs I can't imagine how the Sox would not try to sign both of them. Two generational talents available in the same year that the Sox lose Lowell and Ortiz... no prospects necessary. The timing seems pretty good. If they didn't make a 20m+ run at both of them simultaneously I don't see them ever making such a run at anyone ever again. It is doubtful that either of these guys becomes a FA, honestly.

Actually, I think Jacko has (in the past) given the Sox system and drafts their due. How anyone can look at the past few Sox drafts, and the success of their drafted successes (Pedroia, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Bard, Masterson, etc.,) and somehow think that their success isn't going to continue is beyond me. I am pretty psyched about A LOT of their minor leaguers, even if they're 2-3 years away, they will eventually either make it or they will be traded for someone very, very good. In Theo I trust.

This is stupid. How much convincing and hard thought do you think Cashman had to put into spending someone else's money on the best pitcher and hitter available? How about when he was told to throw $16.5m at Burnett? I could have done that... Oh wait, I did, in MLB The Show 2008. Good times.