a700hitter

Those are fairly consistent #'s by Moose until age 38 when he fell of a cliff. What about Clemens? he pitched successfully in the AL East for many years. With pitchers you just don't know. Their next pitch could be their last. However, there is no sign of declining performance by Halladay due to wear and tear. If anything, his performance has gotten better.

How much time did you devote to researching this? And you missed the most glaring example of all... Warren Spahn who didn't even win a single game before he was age 25. All of this comparison means nothing. So what that others have gone onto great success. That's no guarantee that Buchholz will. I am hoping that he will, but your stats and research are really pointless and prove nothing.

Moose lasted a long time as a very successful pitcher who pitched only in the AL East.

Maybe the Red Sox will petition the league to drop the SS position since they have such trouble filling it with an adequate player.

I believe that they sold him, because he was such an outrageously out of control degenerate drunk that the owners felt that he would be dead by age 25. I don't think he had a residence when he played for the Sox. He went from the ball park to the bar and the cops had to wake him up from the gutter or at a brothel to remind him that he had a game that day.

What is with this FO and Shortstops. Marcos Scutaro is not the answer. I hope they don't think he is the answer. They can't expect Lowrie to stay off the DL beyond April 15th and he'll be hitting .150 when he hits the DL.

Unless it is part of a trade and sign, the Red Sox would turn it down.

Toronto's pitching really sucks. I couldn't name there other 4 starters without checking their roster. Gee, you don't like when someone generalizes about your point of view. It is annoying isn't it.

On a crappy team Buchholz might be a #2 iby the end of the season. The emphasis is on "crappy". At the time of those quotes about Lester, he was doing pretty bad. Was I supposed to know that he had cancer? As for seeing all prospects as being the same, I think you are guilty of that. You see Buchholz as a Lester type. That's a tall order for Buchholz. Lester has already set a record for k's in a season by a Red Sox left hander. Here's how I feel about most prospects. Usually when they are still in the minors, it takes 1 or 2 years in the minors plus 1 -3 years in the majors before they achieve star status, if they ever get there at all. That's a minimum of 3 years to a maximum of 5 years. If the Sox can get a current Cy Young guy or an All Star for those developmental years, I will usually favor it. By time we are done with the star, the prospect we trade will be becoming a star and getting ready to hit the open market, so we can get him back for our next crop of prospects. As for trading Buchholz now, you and BSN07 are both wrong because I am not advocating trading him for 1 year of Halladay, so I don't know how you could change the name Lester to Buchholz. His value is higher than most prospects (see I do make distinctions), because he has had some success in the majors and we have already lived through his minor league years and most of his ML growing pains. He is on the cusp, so why sell him cheap.

Did I say in any of my posts since the story broke that we should trade Buchholz for Halladay? No, I haven't. In fact, since there is only 1 year left on Halladay's contract, I am on record as saying that the Jays will not get anything close to Buchholz. However, Buchholz is not ready to be a #1 or #2 this season as Example claims. As for Lester, my evaluation about him was that he was not ready in 2006, and he wasn't. He didn't turn a corner until Mid-May 2008. Before that he had poor command, walked too many hitters, and threw way too many pitchers. In Spring 2006, I said that he needed a couple of years of seasoning, and he did. Would I trade a pitcher who is not ready for the majors for a pitcher like Santana? Yes, I would do that every time. You think it would have been a bad move, because Johan got injured, but maybe Johan helps them win back to back titles in 2008. I'll trade a prospect any time to lock down a World Championship. That's my philosophy.

He's not ready to be a top of the rotation guy for us or any other contender. He's not a #1 or 2. At best, next season he could be a #3 by the end of the season. He's more likely a #4 for most of 2010.

They haven't done this in the past, so I don't expect that they will now. They tend to let things drag on.

Halladay would be a nice holiday gift.

I don't disagree that they would be looking to add him to Bay, so why were you comparing him to Bay? Cabrera's fielding at 1B is horrendous. The whole IF will make more errors because of his suckiness. He will make the whole IF worse like Tex made the whole Yankee IF better. I want no no no part of this guy. He's a cancer and a defensive disaster.

It's not the kind of upgrade that the Red Sox lineup needs to compete with the Yankees, which is Bay + Gonzalez/Cabrera. The incremental improvement between Bay and Cabrera would not be worth the top prospects that would have to be sacrificed to get Cabrera.

From today's Boston Globe: If the Sox make a big deal to upgrade the offense or pitching, it will probably be at the cost of Buchholz. Kotchman is likely to go too as there is no spot for him with the Sox. I don't hthink they get much for him, and if there are no takers, I could see the Sox cutting him lose to find a team where he could play. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2009/11/22/ever_confident_sheffield_game_for_a_comeback/?page=1

His balk move is ridiculous. His front foot comes toward home plate all the time and it is never called. Also, when he goes into his kick, the front foot often crosses behind the rubber and then moves forward across the rubber. That is a clear balk. I was so happy to see the prick get burned when Ellsbury stole home. I was at that game. It was one of the most exciting plays that i have ever seen in person. I was sitting upstairs in the Pavilion seats on the 3rd base line and I was looking at Ellsbury when he made his break. I was like WTF! It was really like the best seat in the house to see that play, because the seats feel like they are hanging over 3B and it's like you get to look right down the 3B line.

Buchholz is not the weak link in the staff. He may be more productive than Dice K in 2010, and i hope he will be more productive than Wakefield. The FO will not move Lester or Beckett to upgrade the pitching staff, because they are the aces. They can't move Dice k or Wakefield, because neither would bring back an upgrade. The only commodity that could bring back an upgrade would be Buchholz. You have concluded that the FO has decided that they don't need to upgrade Buchholz. I think the FO is looking to upgrade the Starting Pitching. That will either come in the form of a FA acquisition like Lackey or a trade that would involve Buchholz. Even if the upgrade to the staff is done via free agency, it probably would be initially at the expense of Buchholz. I don't think they would cut Wakefield or send Dice k to the bullpen or the minors, so Buchholz would be the initial casualty. Where we disagree is that I believe that if the FO decides to upgrade the rotation in 2010, it will be at the expense of Buchholz, and I think that the FO is cognizant of that fact. That doesn't mean that he stinks.

Let's be realistic, the FO knows that if they are going to pursue Felix, it's going to cost them Buchholz. They know that they are not going to be able to move Dice K in that trade. So again, realizing that Buchholz would be the most likely casualty, if the Sox actively pursue Felix, whose roster spot would they be upgrading? They wouldn't be upgrading Lester or Beckett, because they would still have those guys. If they do what you have been panting for-- getting Felix, they'll be upgrading over Buchholz.

Lester, Pedroia and Ellsbury have contracts that are very good values compared to their performance, so their cost would not be helpful in comparing Buchholz's value to theirs. ...and I wasn't taking a shot at Buchholz either. I was just giving my opinion of his value compared to Paps, Lester, Pedroia and Ellsbury. But assuming that you could find a willing trading partner, you would have to replace our #1/#2 starter.