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Jesus folks, that was a disaster. Gagne gets the blame, Drew gets the raspberry, Okajima gets the s***** role of taking the loss. Otherwise it was actually a very good game. There isn't a whole lot to walk away from this game disappointed about, other than Gagne and Drew. otherwise it was a valiant effort by the offense and an inexcusable loss by the bullpen. How many of those did we have last year? How many this year?

Gagne is a beast. When he's around the plate effectively nobody can hit him. His hard stuff looks HARD and his off spead stuff just heads straight into the dirt in a "swing and miss" kind of way.

I like the sound of that too, but the fact is that if this team isn't playing well they will lose the lead. They are a good team and are in good shape, but they will still need to execute against these teams who would LOVE to knock the Sox off their pedestal.

For better or worse, it seems like the Sox conservative pitch taking keeps them from ripping at crappy pitching. I want to see these guys beat the piss out of the ball.

Jesus. Classic. Those pictures are awesome!!

Hmmm, quiet around here. People are probably exhausted after a long day of checking various websites for trade updates. This team can make a statement tonight, if they can come back and win this game. Lugo K'ing with the bases loaded? Not too bad. I would rather that he go up there with a discerning eye than have him swinging at the first pitch.

Hope the sox are watching that score.

Is that official?? It would be a nice time to give Clay Buchholz a start or two instead of Tavarez. Anyone know anything about Delcarman's ability to start? Not now, because he's not conditioned for it right now, but his stuff reminds me much more of a starter's stuff than a relievers. His body type is starter-ish as well.

I would like to buy Danny Ainge and Theo Epstein a drink. A very solid day for boston sports.

Beltre could end up being a great player. Of course, he's 17 and has a LONG time to get there. The fact that the Sox HAVE Beltre is props to the Sox front office for their expanded worldwide approach. Possibly the first really obvious example of their world investment paying off. Beltre must have been the piece that put the deal over the top, as he has a tremendous upside and is cheap to just watch develop.

Again, hell yeah. I wonder if that frees up the Sox ability to move MDC in a Dye deal. It will be interesting to see if they pull that off...

Bo-f***ing-ya. Okajima Gagne Papelbon Lights. out. Pitching wins championships and we have 3 varifiable closers, which reminds you of so many great WS teams. The bullpen is SICK. Kudos Theo. I'm surprised that Beltre was moved, but he's only 17. That's a BIG deal for Texas too, but won't be seen for a few years.

From what I've read the Sox won't need to give up Buchholz or Ellsbury to land Gagne. Every team knows those guys are off limits.

No real updates to be found except this, which says that if they don't make a big move it isn't for lack of effort: http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=1014354&srvc=sports I think these guys would be a significant and powerful addition to the team. Last year Dye was better than Sheffield is this season, and Sheff was a pretty considerable addition. The problem with Dye is that he doesn't have the same track-record that a guy like Sheff has. He doesn't really compare to other players: when he plays well he is one of the better hitters in baseball, at other times he has an alarmingly low OBP and doesn't hit that well. I know he had a great year last year, but he may deserve to be a part-time OFer for this team. Drew is a better player overall, but he isn't producing the way he is expected to. As for getting Gagne, yes, make it happen if it doesn't involve Delcarmen. If they are convinced that Gagne is healthy then maybe even they could trade Manny D. I think Gagne would be such a big addition to this team. In any must win game the sox SP can go through 6 and then leave it to Okajima, Gagne and Papelbon to shut it down.

I would be happy with that deal, ESPECIALLY if that spec wasn't Bowden. I don't love the trade, as I felt that Teixeira would have been a better fit, but it does give this team a little security for Manny and Ortiz.

The first bolded part sounds like 'address it' is supposed to be admitted he was wrong (because you're right, the argument that Youkilis has been as bad as Lugo overall is wrong--that's what I was referring to above as well.) The only logical way to 'address it' is to admit defeat. The second bolded part was also my point above. I just choose to ignore anything about his posting being a "service" and take it for what it is. Nobody is forced to come on here and state their opinion or stats. If he's here it should be because he wants to be, not because he feels pity for us.

I see you calling him on things right now. There it is. You wrote it, it stayed on the board. I don't know anything about scaffolds views on players and don't much care. I like that he takes the time to keep the board informed about more obscure/lower level specs. I don't think he's god, I don't think he's knows everything, but I can tell that he doesn't mind spending the time when nobody else does and I appreciate that. What you're wishing for is for Scaffolds to admit that he was wrong... his unwillingness to do so is not a 'price' you are paying. Who cares!?! a700 doesn't have a very high opinion of Youkilis either... and this season hasn't changed his tune. Some people are stubborn.

Teams aren't going to consistently ask for WMP and David Murphy when the Sox have Ellsbury and Buchholz. They are always going to ask for the top tier guys and we will see if they back off as we approach the deadline. It is very much like the Angels the past few years: people thought they needed to make a big move, and they had the pieces to do it, but the Angels were reluctant to let go of any of like 5 different players. It is a good long term approach, especially given the success this team is having anyway. I think this deadline should be about injury protection.

Scaffolds was around like 2 weeks ago. He produces useful posts and things that I find interesting.

The price is really too high for anything in this market. This is a seller's market, but the only sellers appear to be really overplaying their hand. By comparison, guys like WMP, Hinske and Crisp could get quite a bit of interest. I wonder if the sox are thinking about being sellers.