jsinger121

he can develop those pitches in the winter as well as spring training. if they end up moving clement/arroyo and wells then papelbon will be in the rotation. its time to get some much needed youth in that starting rotation other than becket, and papelbon is the guy who is ready. we need to stop babying him. if he develops another pitch over this winter and into spring training then his talent is wasted in the bullpen. with his toughness and guts as well as his talent he has the chance to win 15 games as a rookie. that is valuable. the red sox have already rebuilt the bullpen with mota, seanez, along with holdovers in timlin and foulke to go along with the young guys in dinardo, hansen, and delcarmen should one of them be on this team next season.

petitte is a rare athlete that shows its not always about the money. i can't say the same case for damon

I wouldn't day damon is in the twilight of his career but in no way is he worth 13 million a season. come on the guy made 8 million last year. he had a good season but not a season in which he deserves a 5 million dollar pay increase. the fact he has a weak arm, range that has started to diminish, and the fact his numbers have fell off the after each all star break the last two years shows the red sox know that this is not another clemens. clemens tanked his last 4 yrs in boston from 1992-1996 after signing a 4yr 20 million dollar contract. he got fat and out of shape and got hurt. after he got healthy in the second half of 1996 he got back to the clemens of old to cash in on the free agent market. damon in my opinion with the way he plays will never prolong his career the way clemens has. johnny damon will be lucky to have 3 good seasons while in new york.

It kind of sucks that Josh Beckett never had a press conference introducing him to Boston yet John Halama who was a washed up scrub got one. go figure

ya but we got an all important split in the first 2 games after flying cross country from oakland. the yankees were rested and we were fortunate to split with them after having hardly any rest.

the red sox wanted pedro back but not at the price the mets were willing to pay. they offered pedro a fair contract. he wanted more money and also did not want to be in schilling's shadow anymore. the red sox wanted damon back as well but not as the price of 52 million. they gave damon a fair contract offer. they also were going to give him a raise from his previous contract. im sorry but he made 8 million dollars last season and yes he was a solid player but that does not constitute a 5 million dollar a year raise. damon also said on a new york radio station that the red sox didn't show him any respect. im sick of this respect that wasn't shown. respect for damon equal $$$ signs. the red sox placed a value on him and stuck to it.

no i dont because the team had a short window of winning a title and they accomplished that. you can't keep the same team year in and year out. the sox were an old team to begin with. i also think the chances of them going to the world series next year even with damon were still not that good because we have no clue what to expect out of the bullpen. when theo put the 2003 and 2004 red sox together he knew they had a short window of opportunity to win one because he knew they would never be able to sign all their free agents. the red sox are now being smart about how they spend their money because they don't want to tie up players to long term contracts like the yankees and have alot of dead money sitting on the table. I won't be upset if the red sox win 75-80 games next season as long as they start getting younger and bringing up the homegrown talent that is close to being major league ready.

that and the fact had giambi not been on juice he would not have hit two home runs in that game 7

id also say its a good bet that damon wont be worth the 13 million he makes a yr in the last 2 yrs of the deal

i am in complete agreement with you one red seat. the red sox are building for future runs with young players like papelbon, beckett, hansen, lester, pedroia, marte, and others. yes they will have varitek and oritz still around because those two players are the heart and soul of the red sox. manny may also remain until his deal is done but the way the sox are going now is fine by me. they will not become an aging team like the yankees are starting to become. with many early picks in next june's draft the red sox have the chance to strenghten a farm system that is already one of the up an coming systems in the game today. As long as the red sox made wise and smart draft picks they can set themselves up for talent to come up to boston on an annual basis like the atlanta braves. johnny damon is not worth 52 million dollars. as good as damon was the last 2 seasons you do not give a 32 yr old player who made 8 million last yr a 5 million dollar raise. what the red sox are doing is smart business. there are many fans who dont understand why they basically broke up a championship team but that team had a short window to win one. they had 2 real good chances to win one and they ended up winning one of them. there was no way i wanted to see the 2004 team together on the field in 2007 and 2008. had they signed all those guys the team would have aged before our eyes and would have been a terrible team. right now we are setting ourselves up to improve in 2007 and beyond and to be a power at that time. next year is a transition season. there is no reason to overpay for any free agent right now when next years free agent class will be alot better than this years class. as long as our prospects develop properly and stay healthy the red sox will be a very strong team in the future.

even if he retires he is technically under contract with the red sox for 2006. i believe he will not be able to pitch with any other team besides boston in 2006.

i think he will walk away. he doesnt have as much money coming to him as manny who the red sox will call bluffing. wells will not play for the red sox next season. i will trade him to either the padres or dodgers and get prospects back in order to spin to another team to fill one of our holes.

tampa bay is still acting like chuck lamar is running the team. they have been idiots all off season so far. they value there players too high especially the average ones. they should take what they can get on them before they all become free agents and walk.

wells wont retire if he is playing on the west coast. if he is still with the red sox by spring training he will most likely retire. the dodgers and padres have some interest in wells as i believe those are his likely destination points.

what do u expect from a guy who didnt go to college. he probably barely passed high school

damon switched sides for one reason and one reason only......MONEY.....if money is all he cares about then thats his problem. he was a nobody before he came to boston. had he not came to boston he would never have had the image or star status he has right now.

ATG13, guess what ya clements sucks at 9 million but pavano and wright suck at a combined 17 million so what is your damn point. wells will go for prospects to either the dodgers or padres. he is a lefty who won 15 games last season. he has started 30 plus games 9 out of the last 10 yrs. there are teams that would pay for that. plus his salary is 4 million base with incentives that bring it to 9. do some research before you go out and trash wells.

graffanino does not have the range to play shortstop. he should only play there in a pinch not full time. neither him or loretta should play there full time as they both dont have the best range. cora right now has the best range of any infielder that can play short on our roster. right now I believe he would be the opening day starter if the season opened today.

most of the boras clients are about the money.....bernie is basically washed up. he wasn't a prime free agent. he didnt want to leave the yanks and i highly doubt there were other teams bidding for bernie considering he was offered arbitration and was a type A free agent. no team would have given a first round pick for him.

there is no mystery team. its a scott boras tactic that he uses with all his clients. he makes other teams think there is another team out there when there is really not. i highly doubt damon had a 6 yr deal on the table from any team.

the red sox will not be throwing marte in a deal for lugo or gathright. the drays continue to over value their players and continually get burned when they think about trading them because teams dont want to trade with them when they come up with these ridiculous demands.

if shoppach has any trade value in which you can either fill centerfield, shortstop or firstbase then you have to move him because you already have a starting catcher.

I wouldn't be shocked if the sox do. he only played 4 years. its not like he is going to be a hall of famer either. he was a nobody before he came to boston and grew the hair. now he thinks he is a star.

hes not gonna start. he will be backing up josh barfield their top prospect.

the luxury tax is not enough....it still doesnt limit big market teams to what they can spend.