Rdsxmbnt

Well you wrote it didnt you?

What pride and egos? Lugo sucks, we f***ed up that one but now it's time to cut losses and move forward. No one wants him and he's taking up a valuable roster spot.

Personally I like Holliday. After his subpar year this year I don't think it would take the money and/or years to lock him up. To stir the pot a little: Since May 1st... Holliday: .288/.396/.438/.834 Bay: .242/.343/.496/.839 I'm going to be honest, Bay's batting average is concerning to me and I hope the Sox don't overpay for him. He's having a solid year but really it's not a whole lot better than his career averages and his first month really inflates what he's done since then.

I know Jacko has been trying to drive up the price and value of Bay lately, but I don't think GMs read the forums . I'd say maximum he gets JD Drew money. 18 mil a year? I'll pass and take the draft picks as far I'm concerned.

Thanks for posting that rave review. But frankly I'll take my chances that the Red Sox scouting and developing team (i.e. the best in all of baseball) knows more about what they are doing then a couple nameless scouts and executives.

Based on Performance/Pure Talent/Projectability/Value/etc. 1) SP Jon Lester (MLB ), 25 - Last year he looked like he was going to profile as a solid #2 for many years to come. He's taken that even further this year by striking out 10.34 batters per nine innings while displaying poise and the ability to go deep into games. At 25 years old he looks to be the ace of the future and with Beckett produces the best RH/LH combo in the majors. 2) 2B Dustin Pedroia (MLB ), 25 - Hard to imagine Dustin a #2 given he's coming off a MVP season, but it's hard to pick against a left-handed ace. But anyway Pedroia is going to hit for a high average and get on base at a high rate. He's even flashing a little speed/stealing knowledge and looks to be a potential 25+ SB guy also. Solid fielder and will be a key player in this lineup for many years to come. 3) SP Clay Buchholz (AAA ), 24 - Rough season last year after an incredible 2007 season. He's looking very good in the minors this year and absolutely deserves a chance, which he'll get in the coming week. A solid low-mid 90's fastball and wipe-out curve and change combo challenges Lester for best stuff on this list and he still has ace potential. Doesn't have the MLB track record but his potential is off the charts. 4) CF Jacoby Ellsbury (MLB ), 25 - Personally I'm a huge Ellsbury fan. He won't hit for much power but he should be a solid bet to hit in the .290-.300 range and keep an OBP around .350. Combine that with big-time range and glove skills and the huge SB numbers and you have an extremely valuable player. Good move keeping him over Crisp, he'll man CF for many years to come. 5) 1B Lars Anderson (AA ), 21 - Don't know why people are so down on him, but he's still the prime hitting prospect in this system. Tore through A+ and AA as a 20 year old before cooling down a bit this year. His awful May makes his numbers look a lot worse than they are. Hitting .348 this month and is 2.5 years below the average age of a AA player in a pitchers league. Power will come, and his plate discipline is very solid for a 21 year old kid in the Eastern League. 6) MR/SP Justin Masterson (MLB ), 24 - I've always been very high on Masterson and I like what he has in store for the future as a MR or a SP. His numbers this year look worse than they are given a few recent bad outings but has otherwise looked good this year and great last year. No clear spot in the rotation as of right now but would make a good set-up man also. Plus sinker 7) MR Daniel Bard (MLB ), 24 - Debated putting him ahead of Masterson, but gave Masterson the edge due to his starting ability. Anyway Bard has big-time velocity on the FB and his secondary stuff is coming around. Used in low(er)-leverage situations for the most part but he projects as a future CL or dominant set-up man. Hoping the Sox hang onto Papelbon, which would give the Sox an amazing set-up/CL duo with Bard/Papelbon. 8) SP Casey Kelly (A+ ), 19 - Love what I've seen from this kid. Only 19 years old and making A+ hitters look very bad. Velocity should go up a bit as he ages and he already has the makings of a very good curveball. Extremely advanced for his age, and assuming he sticks to pitching, he could start next season in AA as a 20 year old. 9) SS Jed Lowrie (MLB ), 25 - Hype has gone down a little with the injuries, but still profiles as a pretty good MLB SS. Defense is probably average, but hitting wise I think he could be a .290/.360/.450 guy which would provide some stability at the SS position. 10) SP Michael Bowden (AAA ), 22 - Very advanced for his age and still remains a number of years below the average age for a AAA player. Could pitch in the majors right now and has pitched well in his short stints. Not ace stuff but has a solid assortment of pitches and could be a solid #3. Helium Watch) Nick Hagadone (A ), 23 - Injury has hurt his development but once he gets back into a rhythm here he'll start moving up the ladder quickly. Great stuff, and a lefty to boot.

Extremely hard choice between Lester/Pedroia/Papelbon, but I'll go with Papelbon. The level of domination he's had over his (short) career with the Red Sox is basically unmatched by any MR/CL in this franchise's history. EDIT: Not to mention 25.0 innings of scoreless baseball in the postseason, that is insane

Not even going to bother... Anyway Kelly had a 1-2-3 inning on 9 pitches in the Futures game

Probably September

No he didn't

we signed him for 8mil

He was already activated actually I believe

bump

omg I love Sha Na Na!11!!1!!

And just because they don't know who Aaron Bates is, that means he's a bush leaguer? That's the point I'm making here...

Me: "Have you guys heard of 1B Bates?" True Fan: "JD Drew sucks, should have kept Nixon, dirt dogs for life!11!!!!1!" Me: "No but seriousl..." True Fan: "YOOOUUUKKK!" Me: "I think we're done here"

He's not a no-name guy.

He's a 3.5 mil expiring, that has at least some value

Thank you. I hate it during these types of discussions when finally some guy speaks a similar opinion and gets quoted as some voice of reason by the other guy on the other side of the fence. Back up your opinions for yourself please... Anyway there's something to be said about this town and it's players. Baseball is so intense here and fans REALLY cling onto players which makes parting with the bigger name players exceptionally difficult. To me it's really quite annoying. Damon, Pedro, and Lowe were all HUGE parts of the first world championship team so for the front office to decide they want to go in a different direction is a pretty big shocker. Really it's just a business move, Pedro was getting older, Lowe was coming off a bad year, and the Red Sox had other ideas for Damon. I don't think they were run out of town, but rather a hard concept to grasp for the average watcher. I foresee very similar problems in the future with Papelbon and Ortiz. If either were to be let go there will be a similar situation as to when the big three mentioned above were shown the door. My dream is to one day wake up and read the paper and find out we've traded for some big name player without having to deal with the huge shitstorm we read about for the three weeks prior. Why can't we slip through the backdoor and get someone like Holiday like Oakland did without basically any media storm? Not in this town...

Crunchy what the hell does this even mean? I've seen you throw out this line a lot and frankly I don't get it. Not bashing you, but honestly what does the guy have to do for you?