Matt

Choi would be a better option than Snow off the bench though. Choi can at least put the ball over the fence every once and a while. With the play of Youkilis at 1B this season, it's pointless to have a backup first baseman who is known for his defense rather than his hitting.

Darin Erstad Steve Finley Julio Franco Dan Uggla

I don't see anything wrong with it. I just look at it as a case of a rookie soaking in the moment of hitting his first major league HR. Baseball could use some colorful personalities anyway, as long as those personalities don't disrespect the game.

With Schilling and Beckett going for the Sox in this series, we should at LEAST split with the Yanks. Anything less would be a bit of disappointment, in my mind.

Snow is basically just taking up a roster spot for the Sox right now. Theo needs to trade him sooner rather than later.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of "big market" fans are not very patient when it comes to developmental players, and Red Sox fans fall in to the category (not all of them, but the majority). If the Red Sox were to trade Wily Mo Pena right now for a 3rd/4th starter, and if Wily Mo ended up breaking out, fans would complain about that trade too.

I've voted for Lowell a couple of times, but I don't think he makes the team this season, unfortunately. Guys like A-Rod, Troy Glaus, and Eric Chavez will all get votes based on the fact that they are more well known. If Lowell does rightfully get his position on the All-Star team, it will be because RSN flooded the ballot box with votes. I encourage it.

I'd like to see Samsonov win a cup, just to rub it in the face of the Bruins' higher-ups.

Wasn't it in Detroit last year where Wakefield gave up like six HRs? Hopefully we don't get a repeat of that tonight, although the Sox did end up winning that game.

The Celtics biggest areas of need right now are at PG and C. Considering that, I think they'll take either Randy Foye (assuming he falls), Marcus Williams, or Patrick O'Bryant.

Not if he can't locate his fastball and complement it with other pitches.

The following are position players and relievers who should be available at the deadline. This list may be a little outdated, so if any of these players have signed a long term deal, let me know and I will take them off the list. Darren Erstad, 1B/OF (Los Angeles Angels) Adam Kennedy, 2B (Los Angeles Angels) J.C. Romero, RP (Los Angeles Angels) Esteban Yan, RP (Los Angeles Angels) Tim Salmon, DH/OF (Los Angeles Angels) Joe McEwing, INF (Houston Astros) Jay Payton, OF (Oakland Athletics) Milton Bradley, OF (Oakland Athletics) Steve Karsay, RP (Oakland Athletics) Shea Hillenbrand, 1B/3B (Toronto Blue Jays) Scott Schoeneweis, RP (Toronto Blue Jays) Frank Catalanotto, OF (Toronto Blue Jays) Justing Speier, RP (Toronto Blue Jays) Gregg Zaun, C (Toronto Blue Jays) Mike Remlinger, RP (Atlanta Braves) Brian Jordan, OF (Atlanta Braves) Carlos Lee, OF (Milwaukee Brewers) Damian Miller, C (Milwaukee Brewers) Dan Kolb, RP (Milwaukee Brewers) Jeff Cirillo, 3B (Milwaukee Brewers) Rick Helling, RP/SP (Milwaukee Brewers) Junior Spivey, 2B (St. Louis Cardinals) Gary Bennett, C (St. Louis Cardinals) Scott Spiezio, 1B/3B (St. Louis Cardinals) Juan Pierre, OF (Chicago Cubs) Todd Walker, 2B (Chicago Cubs) Jerry Hairston, Jr. 2B/OF (Chicago Cubs) Scott Williamson, RP (Chicago Cubs) Henry Blanco, C (Chicago Cubs) John Mabry, OF/1B (Chicago Cubs) Aubrey Huff, 1B/3B/OF (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Julio Lugo, SS (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Travis Lee, 1B (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Brian Meadows, RP (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Tomas Perez, 2B/SS (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Russell Branyan, 3B/1B (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Greg Norton, OF (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Jose Cruz Jr., OF (Los Angeles Dodgers) Steve Kline, RP (San Francisco Giants) Jose Vizcaino, INF (San Francisco Giants) Ronnie Belliard, 2B (Cleveland Guardians) Bob Wickman, RP (Cleveland Guardians) Guillermo Mota, RP (Cleveland Guardians) Todd Hollandsworth, OF (Cleveland Guardians) Tim Laker, C (Cleveland Guardians) Lou Merloni, INF (Cleveland Guardians) Eddie Guardado, RP (Seattle Mariners) Carl Everett, OF (Seattle Mariners) Roberto Petagine, 1B (Seattle Mariners) Matt Lawton, OF (Seattle Mariners) Wes Helms, 1B/3B (Florida Marlins) Matt Herges, RP (Florida Marlins) Joe Borowski, RP (Florida Marlins) Jose Valentin, INF (New York Mets) Chris Woodward, INF (New York Mets) Jose Guillen, OF (Washington Nationals) Joey Eischen, RP (Washington Nationals) Royce Clayton, SS (Washington Nationals) Mike Stanton, RP (Washington Nationals) Robert Fick, 1B/C (Washington Nationals) Damian Jackson, 2B/SS/OF (Washington Nationals) Daryle Ward, 1B/OF (Washington Nationals) Felix Rodriguez, RP (Washington Nationals) Javy Lopez, C/1B (Baltimore Orioles) LaTroy Hawkins, RP (Baltimore Orioles) Kevin Millar, 1B/OF (Baltimore Orioles) Jeff Conine, 1B/OF (Baltimore Orioles) Chris Gomez, SS/2B (Baltimore Orioles) John Halama, RP (Baltimore Orioles) Ryan Klesko, 1B/OF (San Diego Padres) Mike Cameron, OF (San Diego Padres) Vinny Castilla, 3B (San Diego Padres) Dave Roberts, OF (San Diego Padres) Mike Piazza, C (San Diego Padres) Doug Brocail, RP (San Diego Padres) Alan Embree, RP (San Diego Padres) Mark Bellhorn, 2B (San Diego Padres) Eric Young, 2B/OF (San Diego Padres) Geoff Blum, 3B (San Diego Padres) Jim Brower, RP (San Diego Padres) David Bell, 3B (Philadelphia Phillies) Ryan Franklin, RP (Philadelphia Phillies) David Dellucci, OF (Philadelphia Phillies) Sean Casey, 1B (Pittsburgh Pirates) Jeromy Burnitz, OF (Pittsburgh Pirates) Joe Randa, 3B (Pittsburgh Pirates) Craig Wilson, 1B/OF (Pittsburgh Pirates) Roberto Hernandez, RP (Pittsburgh Pirates) Jose Hernandez, INF (Pittsburgh Pirates) Antonio Alfonseca, RP (Texas Rangers) Mark DeRosa, SS/2B (Texas Rangers) Rich Aurilia, INF (Cincinnati Reds) Javier Valentin, C (Cincinnati Reds) Chris Hammond, RP (Cincinnati Reds) Scott Hatteberg, 1B (Cincinnati Reds) Rick White, RP (Cincinnati Reds) Quinton McCracken, OF (Cincinnati Reds) Eli Marrero, 1B/OF/C (Colorado Rockies) Tom Martin, RP (Colorado Rockies) Mark Grudzielankez, 2B (Kansas City Royals) Tony Graffanino, 2B (Kansas City Royals) Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B (Kansas City Royals) Elmer Dessens, RP (Kansas City Royals) Matt Stairs, 1B/OF (Kansas City Royals) Paul Bako, C (Kansas City Royals) Troy Percival, RP (Detroit Tigers) Torii Hunter, OF (Minnesota Twins) Shannon Stewart, OF (Minnesota Twins) Luis Castillo, 2B (Minnesota Twins) Rondell White, OF (Minnesota Twins) Tony Batista, 3B (Minnesota Twins) Juan Castro, SS/2B (Minnesota Twins) Mike Redmond, C (Minnesota Twins) Ruben Sierra, OF (Minnesota Twins) Dennys Reyes, RP (Minnesota Twins) Dustin Hermanson, RP (Chicago White Sox) Jeff Nelson, RP (Chicago White Sox) The following are players who the Red Sox could make available... Alex Gonzalez, SS David Wells, SP Matt Clement, SP J.T. Snow, 1B Rudy Seanez, RP Julian Tavarez, RP David Riske, RP Alex Cora, SS/2B Mike Holtz, RP

While I have some time, here are my picks... BRACKET ONE Babe Ruth (New York Yankees) vs Jim Edmonds (St. Louis Cardinals) Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) vs Monte Irvin (New York Giants) Tris Speaker (Boston Red Sox) vs Rusty Staub (New York Mets) Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) vs Wally Berger (Boston Braves) Al Kaline (Detroit Tigers) vs Sherry Magee (Philadelphia Phillies) Dave Winfield (New York Yankees) vs Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals) Paul Waner (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Larry Walker (Colorado Rockies) Andre Dawson (Montreal Expos) vs Dale Murphy (Atlanta Braves) BRACKET TWO Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers) vs Vada Pinson (Cincinnati Reds) Hank Aaron (Milwaukee Braves) vs Reggie Smith (Boston Red Sox) Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants) vs Frank Howard (Washington Senators) Mel Ott (New York Giants) vs Hack Wilson (Chicago Cubs) Reggie Jackson (Oakland Athletics) vs Chuck Klein (Philadelphia Phillies) Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Jesse Burkett (Cleveland Spiders) Al Simmons (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Billy Williams (Chicago Cubs) Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Dwight Evans (Boston Red Sox) BRACKET THREE Ted Williams (Boston Red Sox) vs George Gore (Chicago Cubs) Stan Musial (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Ralph Kiner (Pittsburgh Pirates) Frank Robinson (Cincinnati Reds) vs Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies) Duke Snider (Brooklyn Dodgers) vs Goose Goslin (Washington Senators) Carl Yastrzemski (Boston Red Sox) vs Gary Sheffield (Los Angeles Dodgers) Earl Averill (Cleveland Guardians) vs Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs) Sam Crawford (Detroit Tigers) vs Kirby Puckett (Minnesota Twins) Minnie Minoso (Chicago White Sox) vs "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (Cleveland Guardians) BRACKET FOUR Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) vs Max Carey (Pittsburgh Pirates) Ricky Henderson (Oakland Athletics) vs Joe Medwick (St. Louis Cardinals) Billy Hamilton (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Edd Roush (Cincinnati Reds) Ed Delahanty (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Albert Belle (Cleveland Guardians) Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners) vs Fred Lynn (Boston Red Sox) Larry Doby (Cleveland Guardians) vs Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) Harry Heilmann (Detroit Tigers) vs Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) Tim Raines (Montreal Expos) vs Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds) The first round of these things are always pretty boring. As the tourney goes on, it will get more interesting. If this goes well and people enjoy these tournaments, I'll make more for different positions.

Ok, so here's the deal. I've created a 64 player tournament to determine who the people at these boards believe is the greatest outfielder to ever play the game. The voting for the first round will end on June 6th at 11:59pm, so get your votes in. To vote for a player, simply bold his name, so that it's easy for me to count the votes. If you would like to expalin your picks, feel free to. Oh, and by the way, the team next to each player's name indicates the team in which that player is most associated with. BRACKET ONE Babe Ruth (New York Yankees) vs Jim Edmonds (St. Louis Cardinals) Mickey Mantle (New York Yankees) vs Monte Irvin (New York Giants) Tris Speaker (Boston Red Sox) vs Rusty Staub (New York Mets) Joe DiMaggio (New York Yankees) vs Wally Berger (Boston Braves) Al Kaline (Detroit Tigers) vs Sherry Magee (Philadelphia Phillies) Dave Winfield (New York Yankees) vs Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals) Paul Waner (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Larry Walker (Colorado Rockies) Andre Dawson (Montreal Expos) vs Dale Murphy (Atlanta Braves) BRACKET TWO Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers) vs Vada Pinson (Cincinnati Reds) Hank Aaron (Milwaukee Braves) vs Reggie Smith (Boston Red Sox) Willie Mays (San Francisco Giants) vs Frank Howard (Washington Senators) Mel Ott (New York Giants) vs Hack Wilson (Chicago Cubs) Reggie Jackson (Oakland Athletics) vs Chuck Klein (Philadelphia Phillies) Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Jesse Burkett (Cleveland Spiders) Al Simmons (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Billy Williams (Chicago Cubs) Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Dwight Evans (Boston Red Sox) BRACKET THREE Ted Williams (Boston Red Sox) vs George Gore (Chicago Cubs) Stan Musial (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Ralph Kiner (Pittsburgh Pirates) Frank Robinson (Cincinnati Reds) vs Richie Ashburn (Philadelphia Phillies) Duke Snider (Brooklyn Dodgers) vs Goose Goslin (Washington Senators) Carl Yastrzemski (Boston Red Sox) vs Gary Sheffield (Los Angeles Dodgers) Earl Averill (Cleveland Guardians) vs Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs) Sam Crawford (Detroit Tigers) vs Kirby Puckett (Minnesota Twins) Minnie Minoso (Chicago White Sox) vs "Shoeless" Joe Jackson (Cleveland Guardians) BRACKET FOUR Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) vs Max Carey (Pittsburgh Pirates) Ricky Henderson (Oakland Athletics) vs Joe Medwick (St. Louis Cardinals) Billy Hamilton (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Edd Roush (Cincinnati Reds) Ed Delahanty (Philadelphia Phillies) vs Albert Belle (Cleveland Guardians) Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle Mariners) vs Fred Lynn (Boston Red Sox) Larry Doby (Cleveland Guardians) vs Manny Ramirez (Boston Red Sox) Harry Heilmann (Detroit Tigers) vs Tony Gwynn (San Diego Padres) Tim Raines (Montreal Expos) vs Pete Rose (Cincinnati Reds)

C - Carlton Fisk 1B - George Scott (Foxx didn't play enough years in Boston) 2B - Bobby Doerr SS - Joe Cronin 3B - Wade Boggs LF - Ted Williams CF - Tris Speaker RF - Carl Yastrzemski (He's a LF, but I can't leave either him or Ted Williams off) DH - David Ortiz SP - Roger Clemens SP - Cy Young SP - Pedro Martinez SP - Babe Ruth (All of his great years pitching came with Boston) SP - Luis Tiant CL - Dick Radatz RP - Mel Parnell RP - Smokey Joe Wood RP - Ellis Kinder Battin Order Tris Speaker, CF Wade Boggs, 3B Ted Williams, LF Carl Yastrzemski, RF David Ortiz, DH George Scott, 1B Joe Cronin, SS Carlton Fisk, C Bobby Doerr, 2B

ESPN Insider has the following to say about Maddux... The Padres and Diamondbacks are also known to have an interest in Maddux. I think it's safe to say that if he is traded at the deadline, it will be in the N.L.

This trade would be pointless. I think that Verlander and Papelbon are about equal. When it comes down to Hansen vs Zumaya, it's impossible to make an assement. Until Hansen gets a true shot in the majors, I can't make a judgement on who is the better of the two.

Jsinger is right. Because of roster size and multiple minor league affiliates, teams usually draft best available in the MLB Draft. Whoever is at the top of the Red Sox draft board by the time their pick comes around is who they'll take. Team needs are addressed through free agency and trade.

Yeah I just saw that after I made the post.

The following are pitchers who may be available at the trading deadline. This is based on the fact that each pitcher is in a contract year and/or will be playing for teams who may not be in contention in July. I'm not saying that these guys WILL be available, but it's not out of the question. Jeff Weaver (Los Angeles Angels) Joe Kennedy (Oakland Athletics) Tomo Ohka (Milwaukee Brewers) Kerry Wood (Chicago Cubs) Greg Maddux (Chicago Cubs) Wade Miller (Chicago Cubs) Jamie Moyer (Seattle Mariners) Gil Meche (Seattle Mariners) Brian Moehler (Florida Marlins) Ramon Ortiz (Washington Nationals) Tony Armas Jr. (Washington Nationals) Pedro Astacio (Washington Nationals) Bruce Chen (Baltimore Orioles) Kip Wells (Pittsburgh Pirates) Paul Wilson (Cincinnati Reds) Mark Redman (Kansas City Royals) Brad Radke (Minnesota Twins) Now add those players to Zito, Livan Hernandez, Dontrelle Willis, Kyle Lohse and the other players who are rumored to be available, and the pitcher's market could be decent at the deadline.