a700hitter

You would have the best top three pitchers of any team. Wells would be there for the 4th or 5th slot and they'd have to hang on until Wakefield comes back. The difference between a rotation with Oswalt in the 3rd slot instead of Lester would be huge. It would also help cover up many of the bullpen deficiencies, because these guys give lots of deep quality starts whereas Lester is 5 or 6 inning pitcher. It would have been advisable for Theo to pick up another reliever if he parted with MDC and Hansen.

I maintain that the Red Sox have the resources to have held on to the core building blocks of the 2004 team while planning for the future. If they kept Damon and Pedro, they would still have Lester, MDC and Hansen. Ellsbury would be ready to take over CF as Damon's contract would be running out. Instead the FO created these gaping holes by letting the foundation of 2004 walk while maintaining a very pricey payroll. Now they are in a position of being also rans this year unless they trade some of their future. This was completely unnecessary. If you are truly going to rebuild, you sell off some of your larger contracts for prospects. We haven't done that. As opposed to the well-spent money on Clement's, Seanez', Tavarez and Wells' contracts?

I wa swondering the same thing tonight. If the Yankees win tonight, they will have one less loss. I would think that they would have a higher winning percentage. Do you look at the standings at the time the player is placed on waivers?

I've heard but not read that the Stos wanted Lester, Hansen and Crisp, but this article suggests that they asked for MDC, Hansen and Lester. Theo should have done that too. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/08/01/deadline_passes_as_do_sox/

If they didn't spend $120 million on payroll I could swallow that this was a rebuilding year. 2005 and 2006 have been more of dismantling years than rebuilding years.

Here's our big acquisition giving up a Homer to the first batter he faces. Will he be this year's Mark Remlinger or Chad Harville.

A happy ending could have been possible if Theo and his twin assistants didn't act like the three stooges at the trading deadline.

I realize that it was a package of Lester, Hansen and Crisp. THeo should have pulled the trigger.

He was tooooo valuable to part with for Oswalt.

Have there been an reports that we are trying to acquire Lopez?

The last time that Varitek went on the DL with a fractured elbow, the team spiraled downward immediately. Although his offense has been down and he never throws anyone out, his value is in the way he handles the pitching staff. I am very concerned.

Going into this year his winning percentage was .377, so his 3-10 record is pretty well on par with the rest of his career.

Raise your hand if you think he'll do as well next time out. Anyone?

If he slid away from the catcher and made a hand tag of home the catcher would not have been able to make the tag.

It's incredible to me that Theo passed on Oswalt. If he turned down Lester, Hansen and Crisp for Owswalt, he was a damn fool. Oswalt would have given the Sox a devastating rotation for a playoff series. The Red Sox would have immediately become the Vegas favorite to win it all. If he was concerned about not having a CF, he should have substituted MDC for Crisp. I'd be thrilled if one of these young pitcher's becomes as good as Oswalt. Why wait around and wait for hopefully one of them to become a stud? Let's face it, only Lester is a starter. A reliever is not worth as much as a stud starter. Lester could be the next Wes Gardner or Jeff Sellers. MDC has had major arm surgery already. I really don't want to hear his excuses, because what they are. He didn't even manage to pick up a 4th or 5th starter. The Yanks picked up an all star OF and a 5th starter as a throw in, and they gave up basically nothing. The Mets were caught by surprise by the Sanchez injury, but Minaya adapted and picked up Hernandez to handle the 8th with Heilman, and he took a flyer on the young lefty only at the cost of Nady. The Dodgers were able to pick up Maddux. Theo couldn't have landed him either? He would have filled the 4th slot very nicely. Almost every other contender made moves to help them in the stretch run, but Theo came up empty and we have to continue to suffer through Johnson and Snyder every 5th day. This ship should start taking on water very quickly. Theo has failed to help this team two years in a row at the deadline. Oh well, maybe Remlinger will sneak through waivers again.

Me too.

Not today. Hopefully, something gets done tomorrow.

Well, that was disappointing.

Is anyone else really looking forward to Kyle Snyder's start against Cleveland on Tuesday?

Welcome to TalkSox.

Driving up the price on the yankees is meaningless.

That will be determined by whether he gets a deal done and gets what the team needs. If he doesn't because a three or four team scenario falls apart, then he was dicking around. It's his job to get this done. If he doesn't, I really don't want to hear him whining like he did last year about the seller's market and the inflated price for pitching, etc. and we had to endure the likes of Chad Horriblevile and the embarrasment of Remlinger. If other teams can make the moves they need, he has no excuses if he doesn't

Why does everyone on the boards jump to these absurd conclusions when there is the slightest criticism of the Boy King? Yes, of course I would love to make a trade where we get the short end of the bargain. I think my concern is legitimate as the deadline approaches. Three or four team trades often hit last minute snags. That's okay in January when you've got plenty of time. Hopefully, he'll pull something off. If not, maybe he should have had a different strategy earlier on. I get concerned when I hear analysts and writers say that insiders are telling them that Theo has been pursuing some crazy scenarios. But what am I saying. Theo will do what is best for the team. He always does, and he should never be questioned or criticized, even when he throws an off season hissy fit and quits his dream job.

But we need pitching.

If he is dicking around with a three team deal, the deadline might come and go with no deal. It's hard enough to get two teams together on a deal, never mind 3 or 4 teams.