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I think they're pretty similar actually. I would guess that Olerud is better offensively, Snow better defensively. He's made some fantastic plays in the past. I think he's similar to Doug Mientkeiwicz as well. Ksushi, great post. I read your stuff man. I just don't always respond right away. Good stuff though. So Izturis it is then fellas? I'll let Jed know that we made up our mind...

I would try to get Izturis from the Dodgers. I know he will not be ready until half way through the season, but he's SO good defensively. Better than Cabrera, as far as I can tell. He also only costs 2.3 million or something. If we could get him along with some arms to trade to Cleveland for Crisp in a deal for Wells (perhaps we pay LA some money), then eventually our lineup would be something like: Crisp Loretta Ortiz Manny Tek Trot Lowell Youkilis Izturis Schill Beckett Millwood Wakefield Papelbon/Clement/Arroyo The left side of our infield would be gg caliber and very solid defensively. Crisp would be a good player in CF, and could move to RF if Trot moves to LF when Manny leaves. THere are lots of options.

I imagine that if the season started tomorrow a lot of teams would be in trouble, given that 100 percent of players are NOT in florida or AZ right now, and most are at home hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from the rest of their teammates. There would be forefits all over the place,.... it would just be ugly if the season started tomrrow. Good thing the season starts in a predictable, rather than random, way.

Johnny Damon was one of my favorite Red Sox. Then I read his book "Idiot". He is as arrogant as they come and truly believes that he is one of the best players in baseball. I think Yankee fans, while delighted about acquiring a piece of their puzzle, will come to be frustrated with many of the things that Sox fans became frustrated about: slightly above average speed, occasional goofs in CF, a noodle of an arm (worse than Bernies) and the propensity to fall into deep slumps. If this move helps us to resign David Ortiz and Josh Beckett then in the long run I think people will be okay with it. And while he's not ready yet, in two years I would love to see Jacoby Ellsbury get a chance in CF. We used a first round pick on him and he has been compared to Damon, except he's faster and gets on base more (at this point in his career, of course). The yankees have completely and utterly sold out now. I don't blame them, they want to win, but if I were a yankee fan I would be frustrated because they show a complete and utter inability to find players who are on the VERGE of stardom, rather than has-been stars who they plug-and-play into their system. Right now they have a number of starters who sold out for more money. They are, therefore, an inherently selfish team that only came to the Yankees for individual stardom and higher salaries. What the sox are trying to do is to build a team from the ground up, with guys who like to be there. They want lots of the wakefield/nixon/varitek mold, and less of the journeymen "my salary is more important than the team" mold. If the sox had paid Damon anything more than 4/40 then that would have been a slap in the face to Varitek who is a more valuable player and a more beloved Red Sox.

According to Sox prospects.com he has 40 HR potential. Again, I think we're arguing a relatively minute point, but as far as i can tell nobody has put much of a ceiling on his offensive abilities. So, he could be Chavez, he could be Rolen, he could be Beltre, but in any case, Crisp is NEVER going to be one of those guys. This rumor has no legs, as far as i can tell. The ONLY reason the sox made the beckett deal was because it included Mota if he was injured. This would be the equivalent of this trade: Sox get: Beckett, Lowell, Crisp. Sox lose: Hanley Ramirez, Anibel Sanchez, Andy Marte, Edgar Renteria and Guillmero Mota. (plus a year's worth of Rent's salary). Nobody in their right mind makes that trade. Again, it seems much more realistic that the Guardians lose one of their best young players too, like Peralta or Sizemore. Otherwise the Sox had a net loss on the offseason. Coco just isn't that good.

I like dirtdogs for their humorous takes on Sox related news. They basically just go whichever way the wind blows with regard to rumors and whatnot. "The Buzz" is reporting the same thing. It is apparently contingent on whether or not the Guardians sign Nomar to play the outfield. This is one of those proposed deals that sounds like something the sox would do; however, it is one of those deals that will come with an extra player or two that is not yet mentioned. Nobody would do a Mota Marte for Crisp deal. Add Peralta (HA!, yeah right) or Sizemore (same thing) and it suddenly becomes a lot more tenible. I've noticed that the Sox deals tend to go that way: we hear the 3 players that are supposed to be in the deal, and then another key piece is added under the radar that makes the deal more realistic. I don't want to see Marte go. He is supposedly a player with 40 HR potential, so why would we trade a potential Chipper Jones or Scott Rolen for Coco crisp? Why would we throw in the ONE reason we made the Beckett trade? There is more to this than meets the ey... err... press.

dirtdogs is reporting Marte and Mota for Crisp. WHAT?!??!! Am I missing something here? We would trade one of the best prospects in baseball (who actually has some power) along with potentially a dominant reliever for COCO CRISP? I'm glad I don't believe everything I read on dirtdogs... Can someone fill me in on what coco crisp offers to a club?

Can someone either warn this jerk or ban him. I don't particularly like coming here to talk baseball and getting a hate-filled rant by a biggot. Just my opinion, but lets keep this civil man. You are talking about BASEBALL here, not homosexuality.

Jesus, I better get out the Strunk and White for this post. I dont' want Lidge and Birkman either. I was just saying that if the sox were going to make this deal then we had better get Houston's best hitter in the deal as well. If there is someone that I'm missing then please let me know (not you Ahhchon). If Manny will show up then stick with manny. No question. We don't need Lidge right now.

Yeah, that's not why we're getting him though. So it doesn't matter all that much. On days when he catches we'll basically be an NL team with Manny, Ortiz, (hopefully) Damon, Loretta, Trot, Lowell, Youkilis, etc., to score the runs.

Interesting. Its not something we need for the long term, but I could imagine having Lidge for a year and trading him for something good in the future. Of course, I'm not sure how Foulke would respond to that. I'm also not sure that Manny is only worth Lidge. Lidge and Berkman perhaps, but not Lidge alone. I don't see this happening though.

Yep, no Soriano. I really don't think there is anywhere we can send Manny without either eating all of his contract or taking horrible flop contracts like Erstad AND paying part of Manny's salary. No dice. I'm keeping Manny. I think they want to move Renteria as a way of assuring that they can afford to retain Damon. That makes a lot of sense, given that Damon is a rare-breed, as a top-notch leadoff hitter and center fielder with decent power. He is a lot harder to replace than .275 with 30 errors. I like Renteria, I want to keep him, but all things being equal I'm keeping Damon instead. Loretta can be a good #2 hitter. Pedroia can play SS at some point this season and in the future. Im' not too worried about it. If one trade off of losing Renteria is being able to resign Damon then I like the deal already. Throw in Marte and I'm a happy camper.

Is there something the Braves know that we don't know about Marte? I mean, if he's so good then why are they giving him away? His numbers with the Braves last year were really bad... is there reason for the Braves to think he might not be as good as everyone paints him to be? If not then I say get him. He's a better prospect than Hanley.

Rumors today from Edes saying there has been discussion of a Manny to LAD for Lowe and J.D. Drew. He said it was just a rumor, (as in, don't put much into it) but I figured it was worth passing along. That trade stinks. I have no interest in seeing lowe walk dejectedly off of the Fenway mound. He just wasn't very good his last season with Boston, depsite what he did in the playoffs.

ProJo article about recent Manny non-developments: http://www.projo.com/redsox/content/projo_20051207_07winter1.12b69a05.html It looks like Manny and his agent are shooting themselves in the foot, demanding an immediate extension for any team that wants him. That only raises the stakes and makes it harder to find someone who wants him. GOOD! Keep him right behind Papi in the lineup.

Its on bostondirtdogs.com. Also, I don't think payroll has anything to do with keeping Manny. Manny wants to leave, he doesn't care about money, he just wants to go. He gets 20 million and the sox aren't upset about paying it if he's willing to stay. 6.5 mill might mean we keep Damon, but not Manny.

Yeah. Given the number of other players we need to replace there is no point in opening one more. Especially when Renteria's strength will be his leadership and stabilizing factor on a younger, hodge-podge team. Our team is looking more and more like the Mariners with some of these deals.

I don't like Lugo for Renteria at all. Let me look at Lugo's numbers again... His good seasons are about like renteria's season was last year... maybe a little better. Same age, less than half the price. I'm not sure how he is defensively. Overall, I don't like the deal. I don't think Lugo will bring us where we want to go, but then again I've been a staunch Renteria supporter and might be a little biased.

Yeah, well how many times will Boras walk away from Fenway shaking his head? Varitek is as valuable as Damon is (probably moreso), yet Damon will demand more. If he gets more the sox will have slighted Varitek and Boras knows that. The sox are in a lose-lose situation. That's why they are staying in the 10 mill a year range. They will definitely need to do the take it or leave it thing, and I'm not sure how strong Damon's allegience will be to the sox if they "only" pay him 10 mill a year. Ultimately, do the players or the agents have the final say in these things? When a player signs an agent does the agent suddenly become a players spokesperson (so agents can keep their reputations high with huge deals... both parties ultimately win here) or is the player in control the whole time... if damon wants 1 mill a year he can take it. It might be a mix of both, but Boras wouldn't work with players who didn't want huge checks, assuming he gets some comission for each contract. Does anyone know?

If we're really offering 4 years/40 million I promise you he will leave without a second thought. Its the same thing we did with Pedro, we dangle a little piece of meat knowing full-well that there are other pieces of meat to be had if Damon chooses. He will choose. When Furcal is getting 13 million there is no way Boras will let the sox get away without 13 mill a year. Perhaps the sox could offer five years (which they likely won't do) 60 million, front loaded.

Pedroia can play SS. He did in college at least. They've been working him at 2B to leave room for Renteria and Hanley. Without Hanley or Renteria it seems that the position is his. He could be a great Red Sox Shortstop.

Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, which is why I'm thinking it isn't true. None of the rumors are true. I kind of wonder what the hell the winter meetings are like. I mean, is it really just a bunch of gms walking around talking about trades? Are there actual "meetings" or do people schedule individual meetings with other people? does anyone know?

Double posting here, sorry... the more I think about it, the more I think i can see where the sox are going here. Sean Casey to Boston for Youkilis and Arroyo. I think it would be a good deal for both teams. The best way I can describe Casey is as the closest thing I can think of to a 50/50 split between Millar and Mueller. He's got the average and a very good eye (Mueller). He's got decent power (18-20 HR a year, 90+ Rbi) (Millar). He's a good clubhouse guy (Millar and Mueller) and is always a tough out (Mueller). He's an average fielder (Millar). I think it would be the equivalent of getting a fully-functioning Millar with a higher OBP and avg. If the sox re-sign Damon, and pull off some sort of Glaus/Manny/Prospects deal here's the lineup: Damon Renteria Ortiz Glaus Casey Trot Varitek Lowell Graffanino/Pedroia (I think Pedroia will step up in Spring Training and will be a likable hard working sparkplug, like he's been at every other level. He will quickly win the job.) Not too bad. If Lowell is somehow replaced by a player like Aubrey Huff or Lyle Overbay then no skin off my back. I'm willing to part with Shoppach, Mirabelli, Arroyo or Clement... probably a few others too.

I'm wondering if Wells to LA Dodgers story has any credibility. I'm not sure who we would get in return, but Caesar Izturis seems like a possibility, right? They just signed Furcal, Izturis is pretty bad at the plate but better than Cabrera with the glove. Could Renteria move to 3rd? Izturis to 2nd? Who knows. I just saw that Oakland/LA/SD are the best chances for Wells. We know the A's would give up Druscherer (or whatever his name is) and SD would likely give up Loretta (but not Otsuka) and possibly Dave Roberts.

Updates from boston.com http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/ Atlanta may be interested in Edgar Renteria. Manny trade won't happen any time soon. Youkilis and Shoppach for Lugo? That doesn't make any sense. Lugo isn't even young. Do we need another SS? Seriously?