ORS

From dictionary.com Since we didn't see eye-to-eye on the meaning of stopgap, I'd say it's pure semantics.

Once again, semantics. Taken me to school? By what criteria? Get off your high horse.

Where did I say that? Why must you argue semantical little points by reading between the lines? Of course signing Pedro had something to do with his talent. He didn't become a big-name pitcher because he has a good publicist. But the inclusion of the 4th year pretty much guaranteed that he'd go there since nobody else was offering it, and that means they stretched the market in order to make the splash they wanted to.

Where do I disagree with myself? Just because he would be moved to a COF spot in order to clear room for a prospect doesn't mean he's a stopgap. Stopgaps are acquired to be on the team only for the time it takes to find their replacement. Crisp would still be vaulable to the team at another position, so he's not a stopgap. It's good thing that you laugh at your own jokes there, funny guy, because no one else does.

True, but CIFs with power that have proved nothing yet aren't. Marte could be very good, but he isn't yet, and Crisp is a young proven commodity that plays a position of need. If he were some 30 y/o stopgap, like Lugo would be for SS, then I'd have reservations, but that description doesn't apply to Crisp.

Yes, youth indeed, which is why they picked up Randy Johnson and Tony Womack too. That youth movement was impressive. If the Sox win and Pedro hits the market one year earlier, then he would have been pitching in Fenway last year and for the next two. Only one team offered 4 years, and that was a team that recently launched a new cable network, which drastically increased their revenue base, and they wanted to make a splash in the market with these new funds to attract viewers. Plain and simple.

No, I don't think this would hurt the future, nor do I think he useful only as a stopgap. Crisp could be moved to a COF spot when a young CF is ready, preferably LF when Manny is gone since his arm isn't what one would want in RF, which is where he played to make room for Sizemore. His bat is a little weak for what you'd want from a COF, but his defense there is quite good. But, then they'd have to find a CIF with power.

Sorry, I meant CIF power, not COF, which is why I editted the post. But, yeah, Murphy and Moss look like their are starting to develop some power and could fill a COF role. EDIT: The more I think about this possible trade, the closer I get to coming around and actually liking it. Crisp is a young (26) MLB proven talent. The Sox would control him for 4 years. During that time, a CF prospect will become ready, Manny and Trot will finish their time in Boston (either earlier via trade, or their contracts will terminate), so Crisp will be useful to the club at several OF positions. The farm does lack CIF power, but it is deep in other areas and trades could be made, or hopefully, Andrew Pinckney follows up his breakout year in Greenville with another strong season in Portland.

This argument holds no water in this case, just as it didn't in the Beckett trade. In both cases they are giving up youth for youth, so the future club is largely unaffected. I, personally, don't like this trade because I feel CF is a position of depth on the farm (it's just 1-2 years away) and corner IF power is lacking.

If you continue to ignore the fact that they do have a budget, and they do, then you will be upset frequently. I suspect that you already know this, but don't care to appreciate the situation anyway. They, without question, would have been better in '05 and would be better in '06 with those guys, but I'm not so sure about '07 and '08, and that is the root of their caution. Personally, I don't care how much they spend, but I am aware that there is a limit, and since there is I would prefer some prudence in their evaluation process. If this means avoiding "dead weight" situations by missing out on a couple of good years, then so be it. This will at least afford them the flexibility to acquire younger premium talent on the market or extend their own premium talent that meets the standard. The method you prefer leaves them no wiggle room, as is evidenced by the Yankee's inability to find trading partners for their extremely overpaid busts. Damon at $13M per and Pedro at $13.5M per will become albatrosses if their performance slips, and given their physical condition and age, it is likely to happen. The NY clubs won't be able to get out from under those contracts without forking over some cash, as the Sox had to do to rid themselves of Renteria. And all of this is just more money that won't be available when the next generation of premium talent hits the market.

Hyperbole alert! Hyperbole alert! The Sox were a one-year wonder? They won 95 games or more and went to the playoffs for 3 straight years. Holy crap are you impossible to please. What were they supposed to do, win 4 in 5 years like the Yankees? Sure, no sweat, that happens all the time.

They were good in their prime, but the Sox didn't get any of their prime years. Wasn't that fairly obvious?

Like it or not, this is one the 29 teams that operate on a budget. With that in mind, as a fan, I want them to focus on the long-term because neglecting it can lead to some pretty bad baseball teams. Duquette was notorious for trading away the farm and bringing in "big name" players that were past their peak years. What did his teams accomplish? A couple of playoff appearances, but not much else. Yeah, he let Clemens walk and made the "twilight" remark, but it was pretty justified considering how out of shape and how poorly Clemens pitched for the duration of the 4-year deal they gave him. Yeah, he traded for Pedro and signed Manny, but he surrounded them with the likes of Jose Offerman, Dante Bichette, Bret Saberhagen, Hideo Nomo, and David Cone. All good players in their prime, but who weren't reliable in terms of performance or health when they were with the Sox. That method has been tried and it failed, let's try something new. Let's be the A's with a $130M budget. Imagine how f***ing dominating the A's would be if they had the cash to keep their post-1995 callups worth keeping. That's what I want.

Yet, the White Sox did trade away a good CF, and part of the core, for an injury risk DH. If Thome can stay healthy, he will improve their lineup, but that means they are counting on a prospect CF to perform in his first chance. EDIT: Plus, Konerko did leave more money on the table in B-more and took the hometown discount. Damon didn't.

I apologize if you think rant was abbrasive in that context. However, you have been fairly consistent in expressing anger about the FO letting certain players go, which at times seems like you are ranting. I never claimed that Wells+Clement were a better duo than Pedro+Lowe (although an argument could be made). My point was that they received similar production from them when you compare the '04/'05 numbers, which is why I called the pitching a wash, and it was a wash.

Fan reaction is irrelevant. Player reaction is important. Trading Arroyo could affect their ability to extend the likes of Ortiz and Beckett, and it could sour the opinion of Boston's FO in the minds of future FA signings. Not necessarily a good position to be in when it comes to negotiating time.

Perhaps you should look at the years I included for the stats. That wasn't Pedro+Lowe from last year, it was from their last year with the Sox, 2004. But, you are on another rant, so why letting something silly like the facts get in your way.

Potato, potahto. By saying they earned the right I mean they didn't blow up the roster a la the '97 Marlins. They gave it a shot, so I'm not upset about a restructure now. Pedro+Lowe 2004: 399.7 IP, 4.59 ERA, 28-21, 66 GS Wells+Clement 2005: 375 IP, 4.51 ERA, 28-13, 62 GS Looks like a wash to me.

I stopped reading right there. Gaping hole at 2B? Mark Loretta and Tony Graffanino scream, "Hello!"

Not true. They replaced Pedro and Lowe with Wells and Clement, and the lineup was improved with Renteria (offensive upgrade over OC). Neither of those pitching replacements were as good as Pedro, but both were better than Lowe was in 2004 (reg. season, he pulled some s*** out of his ass in the playoffs), so pitching was a wash. The core of the BP returned too, and Varitek was brought back for what many consider to be too long of a contract. They did try and give that core another shot, but Schilling was hurt, Foulke and Embree sucked, and some of the older guys (Damon, Mueller, Varitek) faltered down the stretch. They took a risk and it failed. Now they want to try and retool the club, which they have earned the right to do IMO.

I think it is fairly obvious that the Sox are rebuilding the core, something that the ChiSox didn't need to do yet because their core was a lot younger than the 2004 BoSox. You don't think the timing is right? Ok, fine, when is the right time?

Griffey has lost a step in the field, and Reed is a much better defensive option. Rate has Reed at right about league average (2005 Rate=99, 100 is average), while it has Griffey as a liability (2005 Rate=87, 12 runs per 100 games worse). Prorated over 130 games, Griffey is about 16 runs worse than Reed. However, Griffey makes up for that with his bat, and then some. He beat Reed in RARP by 40 runs (48.6 to 8.5). I don't think a Bernie comparison is warranted because Williams has never been the caliber hitter that Griffey is. When some of Bernie's talent declines in the field, then he truly becomes a liability because his offense isn't enough to carry his defense. That is obviously not so with Griffey. Regarding the future, Griffey actually does make more sense as long as he doesn't cost any of the top prospects. Reed is someone on the way up, so Seattle is justified in asking for premiere talent in return. Griffey is on his way down, and Cincy is looking to get out from under his contract. Clement + $$ is fair. I don't know if that gets the deal done, but I'd think Cincy would have to consider it long and hard. A two year rental of a no-glove, all-stick CF would give the farm hands enough time to finish their development. Is it a risk? Absolutely. But, as long as it only costs money and not some of the kids, then the reward end of the deal could be huge. It will give the Sox the worse defensive OF in the bigs, which isn't good with a staff of flyball pitchers, but they won't struggle scoring runs. And, that has worked in the past.

Pure Speculation Alert! With Theo officially being back with Baseball Ops, I wouldn't be surprised at all if a CF trade is announced in the next day or so. The deal is probably already done, but it would quell some of the panic in RSN if Theo rode in on his white horse and saved the day. Just a thought.

Good day for the FO. They buy out Bronson's arby years for a discounted rate and bring back the boy wonder. What's next, Jeremy Reed for Abe Alvarez straight up? They've go 4.5 hours left in the day, might as well call Seattle and try it.

I missed the report about directives from the FO limiting his pitch type. That does make sense if they were worried about his inning total for the year (hence the pretty strict 100 pitch count too). I've read the scouting reports, but last year my eyes told me his slider/slurve needs work. Perhaps he didn't throw it as well because he didn't throw it as often? The splitty looked nice at times. If he can get consistent with it, he'll be really tough on lefties.