Matt

Terrible trade for the Phillies. They gave up their best hitting prospect (Adrian Cardenas) and 3rd best pitching prospect (Josh Outman) for a major league starting pitcher who is essentially a 4th or 3rd starter at best. Philadelphia loves making stupid transactions.

Starting Pitcher - Daisuke Matsuzaka I know he walks a lot of guys and can be frustrating to watch, but the ERA, wins and strikeouts have been there all season for him. He's got the mental toughness to pitch out of a lot of jams as well. Position Player - J.D. Drew He's given the Red Sox the production necessary to fill in as the #3 hitter in place of David Ortiz. Without Drew's performace in the first half, the Red Sox offense would be slightly above average at best. Relief Pitcher - Jonathan Papelbon If you've watched any games this season, this pick is pretty self-explanatory. Bench Player - Sean Casey Anybody who can hit over .350 for you off the bench is a pretty productive member of the team. Favorite Game - Jon Lester's no-hitter I prefer to watch good pitching and defense over good hitting, so anytime I witness a no-hitter it's going to rank up there as one of my favorite games.

Things are looking reeeeaal good out in Yankee-land right now...

The Red Sox want Schilling to rehab his shoulder, where as Schilling wants to have surgery. This tells me that the injury is a serious one, and that Schilling does not believe he will be able to fully recover this season. Knowing that, the Red Sox need to find a starter. Wakefield is going to need days off during the season, and Buchholz is far too young to start 35 games in the majors at this point in his career. I think that the Red Sox should try and shop Coco Crisp, along with a mid-level prospect, for a #4 or #5 starter. Only other options are making Tavarez or Kyle Snyder a spot starter, or to sign Kyle Lohse. Personally, I'd rather try and make a trade.

I don't see what people dislike about this move. Basically, Sean Casey will be replacing Eric Hinske as the Sox's left-handed option off the bench, and he will be an improvement. I understand that some people want to see Chris Carter on the big league squad, but how is he going to develop while riding the bench for the big club? He's better off getting 4 at-bats a game in Pawtucket. Honestly, I think that the Red Sox should try and package Chris Carter with Coco Crisp in a trade. The Sox don't really have a need for Carter right now, and he can help Boston get something of worth in return for Coco.

Man, the White Sox are going to be fielding an old team with weak pitching, especially if they sign Torii Hunter to a long-term deal. I'm not quite sure what their plan is.

I would not give up Ellsbury if I were the Red Sox either. If I were the Red Sox, I'd make that Buchholz, Crisp and Lowrie for Santana trade in a second. I don't know if those three would be enough for the Twins, though. From what I hear, they want 4 players in return for Santana (2 pitchers, a CF and an infielder). I think that the Red Sox would have to give up Buchholz, Lester, Crisp and Lowrie in order to obtain Santana, and to tell you the truth, I'd make that deal too.

Griffey, Manny, Garret Anderson.

Since everybody else is doubting him, I'll go ahead and say that 'Tek will bounce back this season. He'll at least put up better numbers than last season, which shouldn't be too difficult.

In my opinion, the Sox should have offered Nixon arbitration. Nixon would have eventually gotten a multi-year offer from another team, and even if he didn't, it wouldn't hurt for the Sox to bring him back as a 4th OF. What this tells me is that Manny isn't going anywhere and J.D. Drew is about to sign with the Sox.

Chien-Ming Wang of 2006 reminds me a lot of Jon Garland of 2005.

That is a terrible deal for the Rangers. What you see from Garland is what you get, and I've never been impressed by him. Danks, on the other hand, has a ton of upside.

Bill Mueller doesn't get enough credit for that play. Yeah, it was all setup by Dave Roberts' stolen base, but some people seem to forget that Billy Mueller still had to drive him in off of the greatest closer to ever play the game. Bill Mueller was one of my favorites, and it's too bad he has to leave the game because of an injury.

J.D. Drew's .390 OBP would look very nice in the #2 hole for the Red Sox next season.

I'd like to see Pujols win a World Series, although this year's Cardinals team isn't built for a championship. I'll go with the Tigers since they have the best chance of taking out the Yankees.

bump

Root for whichever team you grew up watching. Like someone said above, it's very hard to be a legit Red Sox/Yankees fan unless you were born into it.

BRACKET ONE Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh Pirates) Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox) vs Gary Gaetti (Minnesota Twins) Stan Hack (Chicago Cubs) vs Jimmy Collins (Boston Braves) Al Rosen (Cleveland Guardians) vs Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves) BRACKET TWO George Brett (Kansas City Royals) vs Robin Ventura (Chicago White Sox) Frank Baker (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Matt Williams (San Francisco Giants) Ken Boyer (St. Louis Cardinals) vs George Kell (Detroit Tigers) John McGraw (Baltimore Orioles) vs Harlond Clift (St. Louis Browns) BRACKET THREE Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee Braves) vs Terry Pendleton (St. Louis Cardinals) Bob Horner (Atlanta Braves) vs Scott Rolen (Philadelphia Phillies) Graig Nettles (New York Yankees) vs Lave Cross (Philadelphia Phillies) Sal Bando (Milwaukee Brewers) vs Howard Johnson (New York Yankees) BRACKET FOUR Brooks Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) vs Ken Keltner (Cleveland Guardians) Darrell Evans (San Francisco Giants) vs Eddie Yost (Washington Nationals) Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh Pirates) Ron Cey (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs Buddy Bell (Texas Rangers)

One thing is sure about David Wells. When you need him the most, he's going to deliver for you. It's too bad his team hasn't been able to back him up today.

It's about time they got rid of they stupid Smokey the Bear jersey and went back to the old school unis. Maybe it will bring back the "Big Bad Bruins" attitude that's been missing from this team since PJ Stock, Bill Guerin, Marty LaPointe, Joe Thornton, Sean O'Donnell, Kyle McLaren and Mike Knuble left town.

Jsinger is right. The Red Sox are better off bringing up guys like Pedroia, Murphy, and some of their young pitching prospects to see how they fair in major league games. Hell, I think that they should even consider DFAing Loretta, just to see what they can get for him before they cut the guy loose at the end of the season. The Sox might as well start rebuilding this team now, because this season is over.

Voting for this round ends on August 24th at 11:59pm. BRACKET ONE Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh Pirates) Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox) vs Gary Gaetti (Minnesota Twins) Stan Hack (Chicago Cubs) vs Jimmy Collins (Boston Braves) Al Rosen (Cleveland Guardians) vs Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves) BRACKET TWO George Brett (Kansas City Royals) vs Robin Ventura (Chicago White Sox) Frank Baker (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Matt Williams (San Francisco Giants) Ken Boyer (St. Louis Cardinals) vs George Kell (Detroit Tigers) John McGraw (Baltimore Orioles) vs Harlond Clift (St. Louis Browns) BRACKET THREE Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee Braves) vs Terry Pendleton (St. Louis Cardinals) Bob Horner (Atlanta Braves) vs Scott Rolen (Philadelphia Phillies) Graig Nettles (New York Yankees) vs Lave Cross (Philadelphia Phillies) Sal Bando (Milwaukee Brewers) vs Howard Johnson (New York Yankees) BRACKET FOUR Brooks Robinson (Baltimore Orioles) vs Ken Keltner (Cleveland Guardians) Darrell Evans (San Francisco Giants) vs Eddie Yost (Washington Nationals) Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh Pirates) Ron Cey (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs Buddy Bell (Texas Rangers)

Ok... this round won't end until I get at least 3 more voters.

The Sox could have used a guy like Moyer. Hell, anybody is better than their current options at the 5th SP spot. Maybe they've given up on the season at this point. They're sure playing like they have.

Voting will be pushed back until August 19th at 11:59pm, since nobody wanted to vote for this round. BRACKET ONE Mike Schmidt (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Frank Malzone (Boston Red Sox) Wade Boggs (Boston Red Sox) vs Arlie Latham (St. Louis Browns) Stan Hack (Chicago Cubs) vs Deacon White (Buffalo Bisons) Al Rosen (Cleveland Guardians) vs Ossie Bluege (Washington Senators) Chipper Jones (Atlanta Braves) vs Willie Kamm (Chicago White Sox) Jimmy Collins (Boston Braves) vs Denny Lyons (Philadelphia Athletics) Gary Gaetti (Minnesota Twins) vs Jimmie Dykes (Philadelphia Athletics) Heinie Groh (Cincinnati Reds) vs Bobby Bonilla (Pittsburgh Pirates) BRACKET TWO George Brett (Kansas City Royals) vs Eric Chavez (Oakland Athletics) Frank Baker (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Todd Zeile (St. Louis Cardinals) Ken Boyer (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Bill Bradley (Cleveland Guardians) John McGraw (Baltimore Orioles) vs Billy Nash (Boston Braves) Harlond Clift (St. Louis Browns) vs Freddie Lindstrom (New York Giants) George Kell (Detroit Tigers) vs Doug DeCinces (Baltimore Orioles) Matt Williams (San Francisco Giants) vs Tim Wallach (Montreal Expos) Robin Ventura (Chicago White Sox) vs Richie Hebner (Pittsburgh Pirates) BRACKET THREE Eddie Mathews (Milwaukee Braves) vs Cloyd Boyer (St. Louis Cardinals) Ron Santo (Chicago Cubs) vs Bob Horner (Atlanta Braves) Graig Nettles (New York Yankees) vs Don Money (Milwaukee Brewers) Sal Bando (Milwaukee Brewers) vs Ned Williamson (Chicago Cubs) Bob Elliott (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Howard Johnson (New York Mets) Lave Cross (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Carney Lansford (Oakland Athletics) Scott Rolen (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Larry Gardner (Boston Red Sox) Toby Harrah (Texas Rangers) vs Terry Pendleton (St. Louis Cardinals) BRACKET FOUR Brooks Robinson (Baltimore Orioles)vs Heinie Zimmerman (Chicago Cubs) Darrell Evans (San Francisco Giants) vs Vince Castino (Chicago White Sox) Pie Traynor (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Larry Parrish (Texas Rangers) Ron Cey (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs Buddy Lewis (Washington Senators) Buddy Bell (Texas Rangers) vs Red Rolfe (New York Yankees) Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Whitey Kurowski (St. Louis Cardinals) Eddie Yost (Washington Senators) vs Bill Joyce (New York Giants) Ken Caminiti (Houston Astros) vs Ken Keltner (Cleveland Guardians)