a700hitter

For Miguel Cabrera you'd give up a truckload of prospects. I'd be willing to offer Pedroia, Ellsbury, Hansen + more. Cabrera is bona fide stud. There isn't a prospect in the current system that will be as good as Cabrera.

I agree. When he went home to San Diego after he got hit on the knee and he couldn't work out, I figured he was packing it in, and I couldn't blame him. Thee's not really a big financial upside for him in coming back. I guess he loves pitching and he wants to go out feeling good about his career.

I wouldn't move Lowell for a set up guy.

He can leave with a clear conscience and the appreciation of Red Sox Nation. He left what he had on the field in those spectacular post-season appearances. You can't expect more than that from a guy. You can't blame him for deteriorating arthritic knees that have affected his performance and ultimately caused him to come up with a bum arm. If Foulke has anything left in his battered body, he'll put it out there for the team. BTW: Why so negative on Foulke? Do you work for BK?

I agree.

He earned every single dollar of it in the 2004 post season.

Champions are great teams. Anything short of a Championship is just very good. 2006 has the potential of being a great team if they get a stud stater before Monday afternoon. BTW: I haven't been advocating trading Lester. He's the # 3 right now. It would make no sense to trade him, because they would still be short a starter.

They are admittedly very good, but for every name you have mentioned 10 more fall by the wayside. One out of 10 is worse odds than shooting craps.

I thought JVB already got sent down.

Getting Wells back is good news even if he doesn't win on Monday, but the part about Snyder pitching on Tuesday is not good news. It makes me nauseas.

I never mentioned specific names, nor did I advocate trading pitchers, but I would gladly part with pedroia or Murphy. I also think some pitchers can be moved. Not all of them will be stars. When the Yankees landed David Cone for 3 prospects, those prospects were very highly rated. It was thought that the Blue Jays were building for the future, but they all turned out to be busts. The Yankees took the hired gun and went on to a championship in '96 and the Blue Jays got a one-way ticket to Palooka-ville. Prospects are a crap shoot, no matter how good your recruiting system. John Smoltz is not a crap shoot for the next 1 or 2 years. He has built a very reliable track record. I am so sure that there is no Dynasty in the Red Sox future that if they win 2 WS in a row in the next 10 years, I pledge to treat you and a guest to Dinner at the restaurant of your choice. It would be my pleasure. I will also bow down to you and admit that I was wrong.

You have been a fan long enough to remember how Dave Stewart used to kick ass on the Red Sox in the Playoffs. No one would have traded a young Clemens for him, but in a big game, my $ was on Stewart. I like our young pitchers, but none of them are young Rockets. Except for Papelbon and Lester, I would be willing to part with any of them to get a Dave Stewart equivalent, if one is available.

Don't feel too bad for him. He's overpaid, and I am fairly certain he doesn't care what we think. All the players really care about is the 1st and 15th of the month. The only player who has been honest enough to admit that is Foulke.

What is long term success? We've had 1 Championship in 86 years. Other than the Yankees, the Cardinals have the second most championships, and they haven't won a World Series in 24 years, so please don't talk to me about long term success over winning it all now. That is a BS line for the FO to feed the fans to justify them controlling their costs. Wake up. Stop being a sucker for the FO BS. I will admit that this ownership is much more serious about putting a good product on the field than the prior ownership, but please let's stop talking about long term success. A Dynasty is not coming our way. I'd be happy to see one or two more championships in the next 20 years. I want the FO to try its best to win the whole thing when it has a team with a realistic shot. This team has a shot, and I will be disappointed if the FO doesn't make the necessary moves to put it over the top. It's a year to year proposition for me as a fan. I will not feel good if they fall out of playoff contention, because they still have a great farm system. "Wait-till-next year" is not something that I will enjoy saying. Few teams go wire to wire and win the championship without making moves during the year. I hope our FO doesn't stand pat, because if they do, we will be watching only football come October.

Maybe to the bench.

I missed that. I took your advice and I am working on getting over my obsession with the yankees. My first step was to stop watching Columbus Clipper games, which was easy since I never did watch them.

Well you should be very busy, because I am not the only Yankee hater on these boards.

Welcome bsox04 from NJ

This is true. However, they signed Seanez to be a 7th inning guy and not a 5th option out of the pen. He flopped in that role and the development of the kiddie corps. has made it unnecessary to use him in that role.

If the Wild Card comes out of the East the first round match up would probably be easier whether the Red Sox win the Wild Card or the Division than if the Wild card team comes from the Central. If the Yanks and Sox make the playoffs, they would get either the Tigers, A's, Rangers or Angels in the first round. If the Wild Card comes from the Central, the Sox would probably play the WC team in the first round, which would be either the White Sox or the Twins. This would be a very tough draw.

With the way the Twins are rolling, I think there is an excellent chance that the Wild Card comes out of the Central. As currently constructed, the Red Sox don't have enough to pull away from the Yankees, and the Sox have the tougher September Schedule. Even if they win the AL East, they would have a very difficult time getting by the Twins in a short series. The Sox need a major move by Monday to insure getting to the playoffs and to give them a chance of going deep into the playoffs. I don't like the odds that Wells will be a factor, and without a top-performing Wells, their rotation, even with Wakefield, is not good enough to win the division.

The Red Sox shouldn't let any AL competitor ace them out for Smoltz if the Braves decide to move him. He would make any AL competitor the favorite to win it all. None of us know what is being offered or dangled for Smoltz. It is as you say speculation at best. I am saying that if Smoltz gets moved (a big "if") the Sox FO has to make sure it wins that sweepstakes. Finally, please stop ruling out the Yankees. I still remember the Yankees picking up David Cone at the 1995 trading deadline for three guys that never amounted to anything. Only one of them made it to the majors, and he pitched in a grand total of 27 games over 2 years.

Never underestimate the ability of the Yankees to get a deal done. Maybe they wouldn't trade Hughes, but maybe they would be willing to take a major salary dump like Mike Hampton. No other team has the resources to take on that contract. DId you think that there was a chance in hell that the Yanks would land ARod after the Sox FO washed out on its attempt? Afterall, the Yanks had the icon Jeter playing SS, so there was no place for ARod...right? If the Braves are motiviated to move Smoltz (and there is no evidence that they are so motivated) the Yankees would have their A-team working on it.

Al Nipper i\would be an upgrade over those guys. If there was a win-it-now deal available, Theo would be a fool not to make it. I am sure he has explored the possibility of getting Willis, Smoltz and Schmidt. I don't think the Marlins have Willis on the block except at a prohibitive price. As for Schmidt, he is worth more to SF in a penant race than he would garner in prospects, because he is a only a rent-a-player. I am still holding out hope that the time is right for Smoltz to move. If the Red Sox were to pass on Smoltz because they did not want to part with Hansen, and the Yankees were to get him, that would be a bitter pill to swallow. As much as I like Hansen, he is not the key piece that will bring the Sox a Championship this year. Smoltz would make the Sox the odds on favorites in the post-season.

Any team that gets him in a trade will not see that line very often.