ksushi

This lefty righty split stuff is really overrated.

Cano doesn't scare me yet, he will in 3 years. I think Tavarez, Timlin, Seanez and Riske are all good answers for the other guys. Myers is a great asset for the yankees and he is such a good pitcher, I really wish the sox brought him back BUT having a lefty is overrated and not absolutley necessary.

Dinardo has been around awhile, I've seen him in pressure in 04 when he came in everyday and he did fine then. He actually put Matsui Arod and Sheff down 123 in 04 with I think two K's and a ground out. I loved that. That will always stick with me when I think about lenny. Hes good. People are down on him because he isnt a big name and they dont know a lot about him so they assume he isn't good. He's got a sick groundball to flyball ration and hes a good pitcher. Lester this season and be what Papelbon was last season and he will give us that charge again and help us out a lot.

hey, since that guy is banned and he clearly took like 5 prospects, I'm going to take Michael Bowden if anyone pays attention to this thread.

I don't think your pitching was better than the angels.

I like francona, but honestly, no one in their right mind would take Johnny out of any lineup in the playoffs when he is your star lead off hitter. You just don't. The Bellhorn thing was good. He made some good choices, and I think he is a good coach. I think he is a good players coach but he takes it too far and at times I get really frusterated with his bullpen choices. What is with him not playing the kids? erm, anyways im supposed to be the guy who likes francona, and I do.

I like this signing, but I don't think Molina make their team much better. It really erks me that everyone goes goo goo ga ga over big names like Burnett and Ryan, but Molina is very solid and makes them a little tougher in the lineup but I don't know if Glaus can handle carrying a lineup and I don't think that Molina really lightens the load on him very much. I still the think the red sox will win the division. Our bullpen, starting 5, defense and offense combined are the tops in the division. Sure, the yanks have big names, sure they've got a better lineup, but our pitching and defenses outs them and the jays too. Molina is such a beast though, and he got majorly disrespected on the market and that sucks for him. He is the only player of the last 5 years who can honestly say they didn't get a fair shake in the whole free agency thing. Awesome signing.

Deal looks down right horrible. Hope there is no truth to it. They're probably just salting us back for all the howie kendrick, brandon wood, ervin santana rumors. I don't think the sox would do a deal without Santana in it. I think Santana might actually end up being included if both teams are serious about this, I would definetly do a deal like Santana, Rivera and Erstad for Manny. Nothing less than that though, I think that some how the deal has to level out to be in that ballpark or I, personally, wouldn't go for it.

It had nothing to do with his age and no he isn't suspected of being older than reported. Furcal is thought? I didn't know that. I know the Sox had some big prospect who did that this past year, and I know one of the A's pitchers did that this year too. Everyone thought he was 23, turned out he was 25, no big deal really. Renteria was just absurdly out of shape which probably led to back problems. You've got to be in tip top shape to range a good way to either side or dive for a ball and renteria rarely got dirty because he just wasn't in good enough shape. I liked Renteria, and I think he did a lot of little things that at the end of the day really payed off, but quietly, but he was out of shape and he fielded well below his ability. I remember reading a couple reports on him coming into spring training and all things seemed good but there were a couple with little caveats saying he was considerably out of shape and that it might prove to be an issue. Man did they hit on the head.

Yeah, who cares about the face of our franchise. Enrique Wilson can be the face of the franchise for all I care just keep the young pitching. Who cares if papelbon is charasmatic? Thats one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Trade him for Tejada because he might not be charasmatic enough? Thank God you don't run the Red Sox. Trading young pitching like this, especially in the division is the cardinal sin of baseball operations. What if this guy does turn into the next Mulder or Smoltz? Not quite Rocket, but what if he is that good? Would you trade him for a shortstop when you already have 2? Pedroia is going to be a very good major league player not too far from today, why do that move? If you respond to this post at all, answer that. Tell me what pluses you get from trading your great young ace in the division for a great shortstop when you already potentially have a great shortstop and you've got one of the best defensive shortstops in the league already in the fold. Tell me that. Tejada has a great bat, but the last thing this club needs is more offense at the expense of pitching or defense. Even if we could trade Gonzalez for Tejada in a deal involving more parts, I wouldn't do it because its a downgrade defensively. Call me crazy, but a defensive shortstop helps a pitching staff in big ways come the end of the season and Tejada's bat is very enticing but trading big parts of your future away for a few years of good hitting isn't worth it. Look at '04, try to remember how you felt after game 1 of the ALCS when Schilling got hammered and it looked like he was done. Try to remember that feeling. It sucked, it was looking like 03 all over again. Not enough pitching and you come up just short. Great pitching does actually beat great hitting. Keith Foulke and Curt Schilling won us the world series. Those were the acquisitions that put our hitters in the position they were in, those were the acquisitions that put dave roberts on first base in the ALCS to begin with. If we can have guys like that in Lester, Papelbon, Bowden, and Hansen ready and waiting you keep them. All the time. Don't sell out for a big name like Tejada, because Tejada is not going to win you a championship. When those pitchers mature in the next couple years - being brought along by the likes of timlin wakefield and schilling - they will be able to take an offense on their backs and carry them to the division crown. That is what the front office has in mind when they balk at including these kids in any deal. They know what they have. I've read articles from Shapiro, Riccardi, Beane and other GM's from different websites and they all comment on our farm system and say how impressive it is. We don't have an overwelming amount of talent like Arizona and Tampa, but we're a big market club with all the talent where it really counts. Position players and hitters come by much easier than guys with world class fastballs and the poise of a man much much older. Papelbon is a rare breed, and so is Lester. Lefties don't come made like Lester very often. Trading guys like that is an absolute no-no. I would love to have Tejada for the record, trust me I know how good he is, but he doesn't fill a need. We don't need a shortstop, we don't need a hitter, and we don't need a big name. This move isn't going to happen, the rumor mill is getting worked again because the sox shopped Manny to anaheim and there isn't much truth in any of it. The only other move I see possible right now is a Clement deal, and probably a Wells deal.

Double posting like a jerk but I didn't read this. You just made me so happy. Tejada is a choke artist, I dare any ******* who thinks trading papelbon for miguel is a good idea to look up Miggys post season stats. Getting Mig-face makes no sense. He's a bad post season hitter, according to my scouting crap at home and some stuff I found on the internet he is a 'plus' fielder and some even call him average. That isnt a guy who will perform well on fenways infield and defense is top priority at short. So what he is a good hitter? So is derek lee, put your bat back in your pants until september and if you're really interested in a hitter make sure you outbid everyone. That is actually less expensive then dealing away the face of your franchise. I apologise for the lack of punctuation and patience, its late and im so tired but I have to say something to this mostly because im a windbag who pays way too much attention to baseball and really really is stubborn as all hell about the whole youth movement thing. Over and hopefully out.

Trade Papelbon? You're a f***ing idiot. SENSE! HURRAH! I agree with you but even if josh beckett stays healthy which I assume he will, even if arroyo improves his already solid pitching to become a very good pitcher you STILL keep papelbon and lester because pitching is EVERYTHING. If these two are even half as good as people think the Red Sox are MADE. The guy who thinks we should trade papelbon for a f***ing short stop because he figures we have enough pitching is absolutley retarded. Back to the idiot -go bang your head against a cement wall until you get what I'm saying. I'm not going to bother to reason why I think we should keep young pitching because it is common sense, common baseball sense at least and apparently you don't have any. We've got two guys who could potentially let this franchise do what the A's lack of a payroll prevented them from doing BECOMING A POWERHOUSE FOR MANY MANY YEARS WITH NO DOWN YEARS FOR A LONG TIME! I LOVE CAPITOL LETTERS THEY HELP ME GET MY POINT ACROSS. The Red Sox payroll will allow them to turn over the weak spots in the roster while locking up that young pitching long term. If they've got an aging player? Bam, free agency. Bullpen woes? Bam, more free agency. The A's had to have re-loading periods, the sox won't. The rotation for the next five years could go Beckett Lester Papelbon Arroyo and Bowden (Bowden is a reach I admit, but if the sox keep him based on the little we know about him thus far he already has major league quality pitches at 19 and just a kind of jerky delivery) That is a rotation that lift you into the playoffs with 8 corpses fielding the diamond with them everyday. You don't trade that for a short stop when you have a shortstop prospect waiting in the wings. No way.

Just wanted to chime in and say that ASB was one of the most awesome games I ever played. The best homerun graphics ever, showing the shot going out from the side with the crowd rushing by, that was soo coool. Excellent game. MVP has its short comings but overall that was an excellent excellent game. Every sports game get a little boring. MLB 2k5 sucks. I need minor league action and it had zero. Good game play but the franchise mode really blew badly and I hope that some how from somewhere there can be a game that can compete with it soon because it really sucks. The fielding is awesome though.

Coco and Damon will put up very similar numbers next year. Damon isn't god. I know he was cool and all but come off of it because he isnt the best lead off guy in the game. I'll take Jeter and Loretta could be a push but either one could prove to be better than the other. Jeter has more intangibles obviously, but I think Loretta will put up slightly better numbers at the plate. I'll take Ortiz over A-rod and I'll take Manny over Sheff anyday and that leaves only the five hitter that they up us on but since our pitching staff and defense makes up for it, I don't think I'll lose much sleep.

I distinctly remember watching a yankees - jays game at my yankee fan friends house this summer and johnson topped out at 91 like once or twice and all we talked about was what a terrible contract it was he signed. He came around towards the end of the year, and something was probably nagging at him during the bulk of the season, but to be honest, what do you expect when you are his age? What is he like 43 now? The guy is not dominant like he used to be, and he won't pitch any better this year than he did last.

Yep. I love the proposal but I'm not going to take it seriously until I hear about more proposals going back and forth. It seems like there is nothing too this one because the demands are too high and they're probably just showing Manny that they're still going about their due dilligence with this thing. If this does happen I totally agree with you that it would be 100% worth it. You take his money and spend it on key parts and make it stretch a little better. Josh Beckett, Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester and Ervin Santana would be an amazing front four that really wouldn't be touched by any other team. Especially if they pony up the cash for a Zito or a Mulder next year, that could be an untouchable rotation. Wood is a beast too, that is a guy who you build around. More solid in all categories than Marte, and that is not a knock on Marte. I just don't see it happening yet, not until the Sox agree to pay half of manny or take a lesser offer something like Santana, Kendricks and Erstad, something like that.

Who cares? He's rich, he has many homes. Him selling his condo was not a big deal. I actually know for a fact that Arroyo sold his house too, but no one cares because he probably isn't getting traded and he isn't the high profile guy Manny is.

like an ace pitcher in his prime.

Thanks for the news, you're the man, you saved me like five clicks and didnt even offer a pesky opinion for me to skim and disagree with. Thats perfect. The trade would make me happy, too bad it likely isn't going to happen. Kendricks, Wood, Santana and Aybar are probably all off limits and Jerred Weaver can't be traded until june.

double posting like a jerk here, but what is the source of this bull anyway? I havent found it anywhere.

erm, considering that trading lester would probably be one of the worst moves the sox could make I highly doubt that will happen. Yeah and last time i checked, you can't trade newly signed FA's until june so this trade is complete fiction. Miguel Tejada and Chio is simply not enough for jon lester.

I'm gonna respond to thise whole post without hardly any substance at all when I get home. I have to run right now but this one stood out so I had to take an early stab. Loretta is turning 34 this year, champ. Believe it or not, turning 34 doesn't signify the end of your career either. He'll be effective, at least a good deal more effective than renteria.

I had no idea i was speaking to a yankee fan, but who cares, my point still stands everyone hop on my band wagon because seriously everyone is bagging the Sox offense and its unwarranted. your post made me happy btw. Oh jaret wright

nice double post, nice new name too, don't I know you? Why do you think offensive turnover means the offense won't perform like it did? I think you happen to be either a really pessimistic person who might be trying to hard to be real about things, or you just don't see what I see in Mark Loretta who could be the key to a Sox offense that will be just as effecient as last years. An offense starts with setting the table with your 1-2 hitters. Read this and let it sink in, the Jake is a pitchers park and Coco hit .270 in it last year with a .320 BA on the road. Fenway is not a pitchers park, if he can manage those same road numbers you might be looking at a guy who is realstically capapble of putting up a steady .315 this year maybe higher. I'd think .315 is on the consevative side. Loretta hits .280 in a bad year. With any success at all and if he keeps out of injury's path, he will easily hit .290 - .310 he is that good a hitter. I can't speak to what kind of power he will hit for since I've not seen him hit since 04 since he was out so much last year and I don't know where his bat speed is at and I don't know his spray chart off hand. The guy won't be hurt, or at least I think it will be unrelated to his last years ailments if he does happen to go down. That being said I'm optimistic Loretta will put up numbers similar to what his career line looks like right now. Last i checked Damon hit .280 in the second half, August is in the 2nd half and you're dead on when you say that the Red Sox offense carried the team while the pitching really took a #2. They carried the team even while dragging Damon's .250/.330/.320 in august. Without 2nd half Damon hitting like 1st half Damon they more than managed a capable offense so this myth that without Johnny there is no hitting is bunk. I'm not telling you Crisp will never slump, but I am telling you he is capapble of steady numbers comparable to Damon's line and Loretta will absolutey lap Renteria's production at the plate. You're table setters are an improvement at this point. Granted this is all on paper and they hitters have to do the hitting still, there is no reason not to be optimistic right now. With the depth the team has in the bullpen and up the middle with Cora Graff and Loretta in a log jam of sorts, should anyone struggle in a key role, a deadline deal is certainly not out of the question. Smile. Ortiz and Manny are still here and they're down right filthy. I shouldn't have to rally on their behalf. That 1-4 will score runs and if Lowell has any kind of a rebound the back half of the order is a big improvement too. If you don't think Youkilis is an upgrade on Millar in all aspects of his game you need to follow a different team. The glaring holes of last season have been filled - the bullpen is fixed, Millar isn't a sox, and our shortstop likely won't show up to camp out of shape and afraid to not ground out. Smile. Please.

Yeah, probably not 20 out of youk, but I wouldn't bet against 20 from Gonzalez. He hit I think 22 or 23 in 04 in proplayer which is much less the hitters park that fenway is. I'd say 25-30 is a safe bet from Lowell being the disgusting pull hitter he is, fenway is his heaven. I don't think though that power has been the signature of the Boston offense the past couple years, its always been efficiency and run scoring. The Jake is a notorious pitchers park and Coco batted .270 there last season. He hit .320 on the road put his home in fenway and I don't think you can deny his numbers will be comporable to what a certain long haired idiot did a year ago in his career year. Crisp is on the ascent too, something you can't say about that shaggy guy who just got purchased for New York. Loretta is a sure bat who hits for high average all the time with good OBP between those two, you've got a better 1-2 than last year and the same 3-4. Thats going to be efficient. The back end could well improve too. With our improved defense and pitching to go with this seemingly well stacked offense, can we really call this a transition? If schilling is in the shape he says he is, the Red Sox might have some fun this year. I want to know why the Yankees are world series favorites and the Sox are getting balked at just because they didn't sign the big names. Is that really what its about? Wasn't everyone ripping chicago a year ago for not dipping into free agency? Wasn't everyone saying that moving Carlos Lee was a mistake? Good call. The Sox are poised to make a hard run this year, I'm not saying they'll win it because I think Chicago is so dominant, but I am saying they will absolutley be in the mix. The Yankees are going to be a dominant offensive team, but looking at their staff and pen their built on MORE question marks than the sox had last year. They remind me a lot of the sox of 03.