example1

I think his trade value would be pretty high. Part of his trade value is that he's an all-star and recognizable face/name to teams throughout the league. That's sometimes a very important factor if a team is going to give up someone significant, rather than getting a bunch of unknown rookies.

A700, what do you think about those who are saying that Ortiz should probably go next year? I think you've been (appropriately) a huge champion of Ortiz's production on the field, but you've also been one of the strongest supporters of the FO/management doing what needs to be done and addressing problems. If it turns out that he is part of the problem, what would you think about moving on without him? Would you prefer to eliminate the clubhouse problem without an obvious solution to the production? I'm genuinely curious. It seems like you've been quiet on this...

Good post SCM. I agree with everything you said. There's a lot there... I think certain players deserve plenty of responsibility for what happened. It's completely the players fault that they aren't in the playoffs right now. 9-18 in September and the team is in. It's the FO"s fault that the team wasn't good enough to compete with a team like PHI. Theo and Co need to do a better job on numerous levels, but they put together a team that--skill wise--is more than sufficient to win the division and play at home throughout the playoffs. Anyway, as for players, it's the same group you've identified, maybe minus JD Drew. Mostly because who cares about Drew? He's gone anyway. The only interesting players to discuss in my opinion are Ortiz and Youkilis. Varitek should go. Wakefield should go. Lackey can't go anywhere. Beckett is leadable, but not a leader himself. He's also a great pitcher. So Youk and Ortiz. I agree that trading Youk is probably the best option, because this team needs some help elsewhere. I don't know enough about Youk as a teammate to see how large a part of the problem he is. He's a tremendous player and very versatile, so they obviously would need to get a lot in return for him. Lots of moves to make. The team may look worse on paper next year, but I suspect it will be just as good if not better if they make the changes that need to be made.

Just to be clear, the team was in a position such that if they had gone 9-18 in the last month of the season they would be in and nobody would be complaining. It isn't a GM's job to make the team play above .333 baseball for the last month of the season. Accountablity goes up and down this team, from Theo to Darnell McDonald. However, the team as constructed was undoubtedly good enough to win.

Werner: they're not wanting to see Theo go. They think he's one of the best GMs in baseball.

What do you mean you hear they are going for Valentine? They will undoubtedly interview 5-10 people and probably are going to analyze a lot more than Valentine's baseball rantings...

I'm shocked. Where are all the people who were calling for Tito to be fired for the past 3-4 years? Why the silence on the day that he has been let go? I would expect those who were saying he was the worst manager in baseball to be rejoicing.

Tito presser at 7pm ET, Sox ownership at 8:15.

Buchholz. Kalish. Crawford. Youkilis. Lavarnway. Papi might be the one guy in the clubhouse who is bigger than any potental manager who will be brought in. That's a problem.

how about no captain?

https://twitter.com/#%21/PeteAbe Tito is out. It's "more" official now.

Wilson actually reminds me of the young version of Andy Pettitte. I'm thinking he will consistnetly put up between a 3-6 WAR. That's not good enough for the (likely) high cost IMO.

CJ Wilson's numbers the past two years have been good, and is auditioning today against the Rays. Folks should take note and think about how much you would be willing to pay this guy. I would put his ceiling at about what Dan Haren's ceiling was a few years ago. While that's very good, it isn't elite pitcher status.

Okay. Maybe you're right. My bad. It's risky, but we know a lot of teams would want Lavarnway. I would expect the Giants to ask for Kalish first, but he's untouchable. I think Lavarnway shouldn't be moved either, at least not in a deal with someone like Youkilis.

What was he saying?

"Francona did acknowledge that this Red Sox team had issues that he thought affected its play. He spoke Thursday about a team meeting he called in Toronto in the aftermath of a 14-0 win on Sept. 6. "I'm not sure if anybody knew, because there were some things I was worried about," he said. "I think we were spending too much energy on things that weren't putting our best foot forward toward winning. We spent a few minutes in the clubhouse that day, talking about that. There were some things that did concern me. "Teams normally, as the season progresses, there are events that make you care about each other, and this club, it didn't always happen as much as I wanted it to. And I was frustrated by that." http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7038628/terry-francona-boston-red-sox-meet-reveal-status Christ... When I put the details together in my mind, perhaps someone got too sloshed in the clubhouse during the Toronto victory. One way or another this team had too many divisions, between highly paid and not highly paid, starting pitchers and non-starting pitchers, etc., In a weird way it makes me optimistic. Those things can be stopped. Expectations for players to be NOT DRUNK on game days, and to be in shape during the season. Pretty basic stuff. Remove the cancers from the team.

How is Chapman an ace? He throws really hard but his WHIP wasn't untouchable this year, nor was his ERA. He may have a really bright future, but he's not in the same league as the players you listed above. Not even close.

Any chance that's part of the problem? I hadn't thought about it before you mentioned it, but this team could benefit from more Russell Martin ("I hate the Red Sox") and less David Ortiz (with A-Rod before a game "hey mang! Great to see you!"). The latter reinforces the Sox self-perception that they are part of some exhaulted group of excellent teams. The former invokes a spirit of fighting underdogism, which is what always served this team so well in the past.