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He's 22. If he's cancer free and healthy then chances are he will gain it all back and then some.

My gut tells me that the sox had planned on having Lester up by the end of last season and for all of 07. He could be an invaluable long-reliever or #5 starter if healthy. A lefty who can hit 94 and has 3 good pitches can hold a team down through the important middle innings. That's what I would do if it were MY team. That said Lester's value is as a starter and I think the Sox are convinced that he's shown that he can pitch in the minors and can help the team at LEAST as much as Joel Pineiro, especially if healthy.

We're going to find a closer. Personally I think Hansen is up for the job. So far we have seen 2 seasons of Hansen without his slider, which was an absolutely natural, ball-buster throughout his college years. You can watch his video from St. Johns on the 2005 MLB Draft Tracker and see his slider behaving naughtily. Hansen has not found that in the bigs yet, and has so far lacked the ability to get ahead enough to make that pitch effective. I see no reason to believe that between Okajima, Hansen, Timlin, Delcarmen, Tavarez, Pineiro, Donnelly and Romero there is not someone who can be MLB average closer. Beyond that I think that Edgar Martinez, Bryce Cox, Justin Masterson (who is being groomed as a starter, isn't he?) and Daniel Bard can do it next year (or this year if they're phenomenal). Finally, Wakefield has closed in the past and Jon Papelbon is always an emergency option. Closers are overrated unless you can get one who is absolutely dominant (Mariano, K-Rod, etc.,) then they will put your team over the top. Given that that guy doesn't appear available, MLB average to start out with would be great.

I just checked the stats. Last year's line: Matsuzaka struck out 200 in 186 IP. Igawa struck out 184 in 200 IP. One of them had more than a K per inning. Matsuzaka's ERA has basically dropped every year since 2000 (his second full season): 3.97 3.60 3.68 2.83 2.90 2.30 2.13 Igawa's has not: 4.35 2.67 2.49 2.80 3.73 3.86 3.11 Despite his strikeout totals, Igawa has had only one season of more than 1 K per inning. Matsuzaka has done it in 3 of his past 4 seasons. Interesting discrepency between CG's, (which isn't good or bad, just interesting) 2005: Matsuzaka (15 CG), Igawa (2 CG). Everyone in Japan knows Matsuzaka is the better pitcher. It's like comparing Roy Oswalt to Eric Bedard. Both are good but one is clearly better.

Really poor timing, right after the HOF vote where people were forced to consider what to do with guys who have only rumored ties to steroids. Bonds is linked concretely to amphetamines here (probably the anti-narcolepsy drug reported in "Game of Shadows") and his rumored ties to HGH make his use of steroids almost moot. This guy has been cheating for who knows how long. He should be made a Pete Rose. Let's discuss his getting into the hall in 20 years. Until then he can wait.

Josh Beckett. Despite his crappiness at times last year he is a gamer and cocky and has one of the best arms in the world. He was also very good against the Yankees in 03. :harhar: Otherwise Pedro Martinez in his prime was easily my favorite baseball player of all time (it's hard not to like him, even now with the Mets). He was so cocky and so good... he just backed it up and pitched like a textbook pitcher would.

I suppose Humberto Sanchez would get a team more than, say, Jonathan Papelbon (prospect last year) or Jon Lester (prospect last year), right? I think the sox are a few steps ahead of you there, with all their 26 year old starters.

The point is that in an RBI/get on base situation late in the game I'd rather have a player who has put up HOF numbers than not cause he's probably naturally better. Just not Rafael Palmeiro. I pass as well.

I think its funny that it compares him to Brandon Webb in the story, but then says his ML clone is Zach Duke. I'd rather have Webb.

I don't even understand what your point is here. Are you saying that we should definitely NOT crucify those who are CAUGHT? Or that because only SOME people have been caught, NOBODY should be crucified? I don't get it. Yes juicing in the 90s was widespread and we know some specific examples of it. Those guys should be crucified in my opinion. Then there is a lot of grey area. Raffy is not in the grey area. He used roids, lied to congress like an ******* and even WITH Roids he was a boring, non-dominant player. What a joke 700. You build your team with 43 year old Palmeros, the rest of us will build a team with mid 20s guys who get on base a whole lot for cheap. We'll see who wins and who draws more fans. Remember to factor in the time missed for steroid suspension if you're running a comparison between a teamful of youks and a teamful of mustacheroids.

tonight they are, but don't be naive enough to think that they are hands down the better team. Football is very frustrating for me because its always one-and-done. NFL, College. I can't stand it. Other than that I love football, but I would love to see a series. the strategy when the teams really got to know one another would be something else, as football already has so much strategy without teams playing multiple times. Best of three series like in soccer, one game per week. Potentially anti-climactic (2 wins and you eliminate the need for a 3rd game) but also potentially very exciting. Outside the box, cause I'm bored by this sad showing. 5 sacks, yuck. Teams sometimes just have crappy games and never get out of it/in it for the entire game. Ohio State looks absolutely dead and absolutely NOTHING like they did all season. They're WAY better than this. Ginn would have helped but their sail just looks like it has holes in it. Its a horrible game. Imagine if they did that in baseball? The 04 playoffs would have been lost 3 times before the sox started their comback.

No.

It would also give a rotation of Clemens, Schilling, Matsuzaka, Beckett and Papelbon and could very well give the sox the flexibility they need to solve their bullpen woes by allowing Wakefield and possibly Lester to pitch from the pen. If the Sox win the WS nobody will complain if it has to be a ludicrous deal.

'Today' is the day they signed him. If there were any day to discuss the signing and possible ramifications of his signing it is the day of his signing.

Thanks for the advice Gom. I'll remember that. We don't get 'excited' about every bit player, we just talk about what happens with the team. Today they signed their possible closer for next year. Ass or not I don't feel I need to justify talking about it, today of all days.

Guys, seriously, the sox signed a player who may very well be the Sox closer, a number of people have actually said they're comfortable with the move (a view I can understand) and yet here we are discussing a trade for an old Yankee? No offense, you guys know I love this stuff and this is a nice conversation but there are other places to discuss this. :dunno: Pineiro reminds me a lot of Manny Delcarmen. Discuss.

Pineiro fellas, pineiro. I think Pineiro is worth giving a shot. I seem to remember him having pretty good stuff but not great pinpoint control. It's a crapshoot but I could see him providing MLB average closing over the first 3 months until someone else has shown that they can take over. (Getting rid of RJ was a good thing for the Yankees and not a bad thing for the Red Sox, if that's possible. I won't miss seeing him on the mound but he was pretty bad for the Yanks.)

You clearly don't mind having a roided out freak on your team. Take a look at that guy Jacksonian, then tell me he's not taking anything. Watch his "fun" patterns, where he sucks for a long time and looks depressed, then, magically, his pupils dialate and he hits 10 bombs in 2 weeks. Yankee fans always go hush. Lugo is considerably faster than A-Gon, that's all I was saying. Yeah, if Lugo hits .330 with all-star numbers his acquisition will be deemed a mistake if Drew isn't healthy

Yup. The Cubs are making a really strong run at it. They should have been competing the last few years, with guys like Wood, Prior and Zambrano under contract. They had a very good team in 03 but it just kind of fizzled away. I suppose much of that flair and power came out in Sammy Sosa's urine, but still. I think the sox moves this offseason have been great and I think their priorities are spot on. How can you NOT go after the best SP available, one who will anchor your staff for 6 years. Who cares if their moves maybe kept them from getting anyone else, there isn't anyone available anyway. If Drew is healthy I like the move... and by healthy I mean able to play 130 games. I think with WMP the Sox can afford to give Drew time off or even to deal with an injury. I have faith in the Sox FO's view of the Drew signing, as I think Drew is a more polished, atheletic Trot Nixon. I think the power that he had last year was not steroid induced (although he may have done roids early in his career) and I honestly think FOs look at things like that nowadays. The last thing you want is an albatross of a contract to a bloated superstar like Sammy Sosa or Jason Giambi, only to have those players collapse on you when their either dislocate their arm trying to run out of the batter's box or have to give up the roids and get all depressed and s***. If a 130 game JD drew can get 28 HR, 95 RBI and a .400 OBP then I'm happy, especially if he plays defense even at the same level as Trot (who I consider pretty good defensively... at least for balls he could get to). Lugo is going to run a lot of balls down and be a solid SS. I like most of the pitching additions, including Pineiro (who I don't like as a starter but is fine as a 6th starter, inning eater, long relief or closer). I think that of the pitchers they have brought in they will have 2-3 who will have decent seasons.