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THAT is true, but that stuff happens man. An inch more its a homerun whether Crisp is there or not. Obviously its hard to see out there, as there have been a few poorly played balls from both teams. With Timlin on the mound, and this infield defense it should have been a double followed by an out.

I think I need to change my avitar, to one of manny pointing at a ball he missed

deep breath... f***!

sad way to potentially end what was an exciting game.

That's a little harsh man. That should have been a double. Nothing more, and none of it was Crisps fault. Crisp had to make a quick throw, granted he missed the cutoff man, but at that point it was a lost cause.

well, if you could craft the perfect play to piss off the Sox I really hope that would be it. That's just an embarassment for a team that, just a few innings ago, I was thinking was really, really good and professionally mature.

that should be an E on Manny. E E E E E E E E E E Hit the f***ing cutoff man. Catch the f***ing ball when its in your goddamn hand. What an absurd way to possibly lose the game. They just showed the replay on FSNW, Beltre wasn't even running to first yet he scored an inside the parker? ! Oye vay

Our defense is awesome!

what the hell just happened?

first time in awhile that I can remember the sox "lead bullpen" blowing a game. MDC, Hansen, Timlin, Papelbon. Buck up here MDC, let's get out of here tied. This just felt like one of those games that are high scoring and back and forth.

His arm isn't good enough to be a good CF either, yet he is still doing fine with it.

Updated Ellsbury (Portland) stats: 10 G, 40 AB, 6 R, 14 H, 5 RBI, 6 SB, .381 OBP, .425 SLG, .350 AVG (.906 OPS) (I reiterate: 6 SBs in 10 games)(when did the sox draft Jose Reyes )

It is if they resign him, as you implied they will do. Arroyo anyone?

I think that the Sox probably believe that Crisp can move to RF too (his speed would be valuable in that enormous RF) which would give them flexibility with regard to getting either a CF or RF as needed. With Nixon there, that's not possible.

"He plays the hardest of anyone on the team every day" I think you said it yourself. He DOESN'T and CAN'T play every day. All the reason that he doesn't deserve to be paid /treated like a top notch or even mid-level starting RFer.

Yup. I agree 100%. I think Crisp warrants some patience and sympathy. Fortunately all of the pieces are in place on this team (defensively) so that he simply has to come and play hard and it will be fine. Right now this guy is not hitting like everyone knows he can. He will again eventually. Fortunately, he plays balls-to-the-wall day in and day out so even when he's playing poorly he's not losing my respect.

I agree with you jsinger. I wouldn't go as far as you did and say that they should not resign him, simply because if he's willing to be a backup OFer, or if he is tradable with a decent contract then that's what they should do. They should not go out of their way to sign him, but if he falls in their lap they should. People are being somewhat unrealistic about what this guy is capable of. He does not have power. It is easy to say that his injury proneness is only because he played so hard, but lots of players play hard and don't get injured as much. A noticable dip in power coninciding with fewer injuries could mean something else. In any case, I love Trot. He's a dirtdog through and through. but he's getting older and he plays a position that is easily fillable with other players, and a position where power is at a premium. I can assure everyone that the Sox are not going to lose a lot of sleep if Trot plays "hard to get" during contract negotiations this year. With trot signed to a starting OFer deal, the sox are limited in their flexibility. They have some options on their bench though that he is keeping from happening. If Trot stays then the option of putting Crisp in RF does not exist, Pena can't be a starter either. This means we can't go get another CFer if one is attractive (Andruw Jones for instance) without moving Crisp, or we can't get a guy with pop who can play RF (Carlos Lee for instance). The Sox FO won't put themselves in a multi-year bind to keep a guy who can't hit lefties, is a constant injury risk, and who lacks power.

Personally, I don't think Gonzo is ready to solidify the ss position for years to come. He has been a nice addition. A VERY nice addition to this team. But I think the Sox are still pretty sure that that player exists somewhere who is capable of making 98% of the plays while getting on base at a .380 clip. I know its a lot to ask, but I think that's what they're looking for. As I see it, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Sox. Theo had many concerns (per "Feeding the Monster") that this years team would be WORSE than last years team, which clearly isn't the case. I think he hired some "stop-gap" type players who have overachieved and really filled those gaps nicely (Lowell, Loretta, Gonzo). I imagine that Theo will, nonetheless, continue forward with his rebuilding/retooling plan. They may sign Gonzo to a longer deal, but I imagine them trading him to another team at some point. Does anyone have any WARP #'s on Gonzo? That would be useful in a conversation like this one.

Well said, in that oddly Shakespearean-sonnet way that you write. He gives up HRs, yes. Part of me sees that as a matter of luck. Another part sees it as people sitting on his fastball. I can't help but wonder if it is his breaking pitches that have given him blisters, and if the Sox haven't asked him to not throw as much off-speed stuff. Perhaps they figure he's a more than adequate fastball pitcher, and are trying to save him for the second half? Probably not, but when he throws more offspead stuff he does better. He has a great fastball, but it is not deceptive so the quality players he faces can catch up to it if they're looking for it. When he's on hitters have a really hard time with him.

This guy IS another Tavarez or Seanez. It's hard to know who would be better than who, but he's not better than them. Both Tavarez and Seanez came to Boston after a decent year (Seanez) and decent few years (Tavarez), and then haven't done much for Boston. Pollitte would be just that... a pitcher who was good but isn't anymore.

Praise needs to go to Beckett as much as to the Sox FO. Everybody knows that Beckett could have made more on the open market. He loves the Sox fans, he loves the intensity and the quality of the team he pitches on. He knows he'll have a few years of it through his prime and that genuinely excites him. I'm calling it now: this guy could have a few cy youngs by the time he's done. People who don't see Beckett as a stud are crazy. I know you can look at his HR numbers and high ERA and doubt his ability, but if you watch this guy pitch you can't think anything other than "wow". His control is the only problem, but its certainly adequate to be a ML pitcher. Add his absurd heater and nasty breaker, along with a rarely and poorly utilized changeup and you've got a "good" pitcher, possibly great. He'll be more dominant than D-Lowe was during his best years, that's for sure. He has good and bad games, the type of thing that maturity can take care of when the guy has better stuff than nearly anyone. His health seems to be better this year. Honestly, I think the Sox take better care of pitchers than the young and gun Marlins did. They certainly know that they need to pamper Beckett. They did that with Pedro and produced some great seasons.

very disappointing series. Even with a miraculous comeback in the 9th it would be disappointing. Like most baseball teams, this Sox team tends to look really lifeless when they are playing poorly. Oh well, more games to come.

We consider possible moves the Red Sox can make on this page. This means that most of us try to think about the team in the same way that the front-office thinks about them. That being said, Trot Nixon is in the last year of his contract. I have no clue how much money he is looking for or his value as far as the Red Sox are concerned. He is a good player who has been around for awhile but he is not irreplacable, and certainly is more replacable if someone who produces as much for as much money is available, or if someone who is better is available. There aren't a lot of spots that this team can be improved at this point. Nobody is going to displace our players at 2B, 1B, C, 3B, CF, LF or DH. We could upgrade at SS and possibly RF (not to mention all the pitching help we could use). In either case, it is not blasphamous to discuss trade possibilities. People said the same thing when Theo traded Nomah and I don't hear many people complaining now. Nixon is a good, hardworking player. He is not an all-star, he is not young and he tends to not be healthy or effective against people who are left handed. Addressing any of those concerns could represent an upgrade and that's something I'm always a fan of. If Nixon is happy with a bench role then great. Or if he's happy platooning for the next few years until Wily Mo, Crisp, Ellsbury, etc., are ready to take over in RF that's great. But I don't expect the Sox to spend weeks and weeks trying to negotiate a deal that Trot feels is in his favor. Hopefully he'll do what wake did and offer a hometown discount and this isn't an issue, but he's one of the few people the Sox can look at m oving or using as leverage and I expect that they will.

That's insane. I am not in favor of trading our best players or prospects to get Abreu. I'm not in favor of trading Abreu as part of a plan to get rid of Manny. I am in favor of putting a guy with a 400+ OBP in ANY lineup. Yes, his power has dipped, so he just gets on base a whole lot. Isn't that what Youkilis does? I believe it is. Would I want to add a speedier Youkilis to this order in exchange for a Trot Nixon? If the deal is good enough, absolutely. He's an on-base machine and would be a great #5 replacement: Youkilis Loretta Ortiz Manny Abreu Lowell Varitek Crisp A-Gon I love Trot, but if he's going to take a home-town discount he had better let the FO know about it soon.

Let's NOT trade for Meche. Please.