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I would go so far as to say I would include anyone but Lester in a smoltz deal so long as Smoltz can pass an indepth physical and we can get a good look at him to make sure he is still capapble of handling some work load in his old age. I would deal any combination of Hansen, Pedroia, MDC and edgar martinez mixed in with lesser guys in a 3 for 1 Smoltz deal. Hansen alone might get the job done, but for the sake of getting it done I would do Hansen, David Murphy and another prospect of decent potential.

I'm not being lazy about anything, as soon as I don't get a data base error every time i try to search your posts, I will quote you. Calm down. Its not like I'm accusing you of something serious like murder or ruining your reputation.

I don't think Theo has ever said he has no interest in Barry Zito, I think its safe to assume though that anybody that has interest in trading for Barry Zito is in the vast minority. So, really, I'd love to talk about signing him next offseason and leaving clement on the scrap heap.

I'd say we are a fifth starter away from having championship caliber pitching as well.

No retraction on the horizon. I think you're a good poster and at least have a reasonable foundation of baseball idea's. You're not in the 'trade any guy who goes 0-4 today' group and you're not a yankee fan. You do bash just about everyone though, which is why I'm pretty certain I'm not mixing anything up.

If you say so, but I distinctly remember you tagging Schilling as too old and not capable of a turn around. It might not have been one of your famous rants where you totally sell the farm on the guy, but its worth a good foot in mouth treatment.

I think you just slam so many people your memory is clogged. Every post you make drives me nuts and is the very definition of fickle. I didn't name enough people. You have referred to so many players as a 'POS' its unbelievable. The search funtion is broken but oh man, if it gets fixed I will drag back quite a few quotes.

Ok I apologise.

I Our defense is foolish. They've been this way all year, and they are as advertised. Definitely not playing over their heads, this is par for the course.

Yeah, 700 should be filling this thread right now. Loretta is good, Lowell is good, Lester is good, Schilling is good. All guys who I remember being ripped this year by 700 from spring training until now. I'm eating my words on Julian Tavarez. I thought it was a good signing, I thought he'd be a nice addition to the bullpen but so far this season he has taken a #2 on every game he has been a part of.

HAHA! Wells and Shamoo are practicing their belly flops. hahaha Alright, so we all know the five spot this year is a big problem. Easily the biggest problem the sox have had this year. Don't look now, but Tavarez is back to throwing around 94 and his fastball looks to have better life. He has had a lazy FB all year. Our bullpen is getting there. Our defense is the best we've seen in the majors perhaps since the 2003 Marlins... who had Lowell, Gonzalez, Castill and Lee. Our offense has been better than anyone (except me) thought it would be. This 5- spot is really nagging us now. Johnson just seems to not be able to keep the flood gates closed. Every time he goes out its a guarenteed five runs for the other guys. I agree he sucks and isn't the answer. I'm not sold on Clement or Wells being the answer either. Snyder deserves another look IMO. I have no faith that Clement can come back and get outs, and I certainly don't want to see Lester head back to the minors in his favor. Now if Wells and Clement come back this year, who is our four and five? In my opinion neither of those guys have the right to take a spot from Lester. If both of them come back, and Wells is healthy, my rotation would look like this: Schilling Beckett Wakefield Lester Wells (with Clement on reserves incase Wells can't pitch anymore)

I say wait and send him a contract offer this november. I don't think he will fail in fenway. I think trading for him makes no sense since he will hit free agency this winter anyway. The price tag will start with lester... no thank you.

That is a nice start from the kid. I like this kid a lot. I like his stuff and everything i've read about his make up. I might be a little too eager, but how about a promotion for him to see how he responds. Put him up in AA, that would be a nice way to put the yankees back. Not only do we have great prospects producing at the major league level, but we've also got a 19 year old pitching in AA and more position players. I'd like that at least. But seriously, a lot of playing in boston depends on how you respond to failure. I've read from more than a few places that this kid has a major league quality curve with a good mid-low 90's FB. That alone is good stuff, I know he has another pitch but it escapes me right now at like 9 in the AM. If his stuff is that good, lets test his resilience a little bit. Throw him in AA. If he runs with it, its safe to say we have another great prospect on our hands. If he fails, we demote him and we can get a look at what kind of resilience he has. If he crumbles, it wasn't meant to be. If he bounces back, then let him get some more A ball experience and give him a look next year. Too premature?

Why do you guys think Ozzie is going to pick all of his own players? Usually managers don't do that. Francona didn't and he is the biggest homer of all time.

That play Youk made to dive back into first to take a throw from Loretta from shallow right saved an error and as a first basemen thats as good as it gets. Much credit to Youk, who deserves a look for gold glove. How many, if any, gold gloves should this infield win this year?

He is supposed to have a good breaking ball. I really don't care what his secondary pitches look like in college, the kid has the tools to become a legit starter. 97 mph fastball and a good breaker, fill in the blanks and he will be solid. What is the deal with the Sox signing him, when can we expect that?

Trading for Barry Zito is the worst possible baseball move you could make when you're trying to build for the future. With Mulder having arm troubles, the Sox might take aim at Zito this offseason. I hope I am not alone in saying it might be about time for the sox to get it done on a contract with a quality big time pitcher this offseason. Cut losses with Clement, sign Zito. NY, LAA, and NYM's will be chasing him down as well, but if we can't match them dollar for dollar I'll eat my hand.

No such thing as a speedy recovery from an anueryism. Weve likely seen the last of Peter Gammons as a baseball reporter. Good luck, pete. Just recover.

Ok guys, this is huge for me, but I would now wager craig hansen in a dontrelle deal. happy? i would approve. still not lester.

He was joking.

If pedroia is going to play at Fenway sooner or later he is going to step into a sink or swim situation there. Its how it works. Youkilis bouncing up and down until he was 27 was a sad thing to have happen, that is not how major league teams like to break in their players. If a trade were offered in which Pedroia was the center piece of a deal that brought us John Smoltz I would pull the trigger if I were Theo. If Pedroia were in my system in a year from now (I'm still Theo) he is my second basemen and I would let Loretta walk. I do love Loretta but I love Bill Mueller too and I understand why he got let go. I will understand when Loretta gets let go. Ok, done being Theo.

Haha, yes. That right there is a good call.

I love Mueller and I wish him the best. I hope he finds himself back in Boston in the Red Sox HOF some day because anyone who was on the '04 team deserves it. I have to say though, this was one of those good non-moves that Theo makes and doesn't get enough credit for.

So you're saying Red Sox fans are generally very rational, understanding people who don't get down on a player when they are just going through a slump? Right? Very forgiving fan base. ..... How dare peter gammons say otherwise.

I would assume at this point that Wells will be taking Clements spot in the order... I really hope they aren't too eager to demote Lester.