jacksonianmarch

You dont sign on with Boras if you intend on taking a lesser valued contract UNLESS there is another potential moneymaker involved (endorsements). By signing with Boras, you essentially say, I am gonna go to the highest bidder. Very few players actually turn down the highest offer when Scott is their agent.

every team had their shot with him. But they had to know what it would likely take to sign him and if they didnt think it was worth it, then whats the point of drafting him. Other than that, I do not understand the question. That being said, most teams draft 3-4 signability cases past the 10th round thinking that they are gonna nab one or two. Ours was Lassiter in 08.

how about now with Teixeira?

Gardner is more raw than Jackson in terms of approach. Gardner's approach is walk first, which wont work in this league when you dont have any power to speak of. Jackson is the more professional hitter, capable of driving the ball all over the field and take the walk. I have no doubt Jackson will adjust and play well. The question is, will be be a .280-15HR guy as a Yankee or will he blossom into the 25HR .300+ hitter his talent indicates he should become.

They drafted Meyer hoping they could get a commit out of him for 1-2 mil. But a 6'7" kid with the capacity to throw high 90s is gonna want a lot more than that.

The DBacks are gonna try and stick you with a salary. Their financial status is awful. Hell, they couldnt even offer RJ more than 3 mil and he's on the precipice of history. Its tough when your fan base doesnt care.

I doubt we land both solely because our FO likes the idea of a solid leadoff guy and Damon has fit the bill for us. If he stays healthy and puts up a good yr, I wouldnt be surprised if we offer Johnny a short term deal to be the leadoff guy and the DH. if Johnny has a bad yr, then I think the yankees will be in on both. I also think that the Holliday thing is just friggin awesome. We get a chance to see what he can do in a pitchers park on a one yr deal with a team that has no chance of resigning him. If he proves to be a Coors flop, then we pass. If he proves he can hit .330 with 30 bombs, then we go balls out.

It is. But at the same time it allows the sox to flex their financial muscle to help offset the talent going in the opposite direction for a young, up and coming catcher with a solid bat.

A lot of these stories are being siphoned out of the sox media stew. From all reports, Tex was a 100% through and through Boras client. Top dollar was all he was after and he got it in NY

I find that to be likely Kilo. Swisher is the only guys in the OF/DH discussion who is locked up. I have a feeling we will extend a contract to Damon as well and AJax likely will get the CF job. But that leaves one of the corner OF slots open and with Bay and Holliday hitting the market, you better believe we'll be the highest bidder on one of them.

2006-2008 Beckett (BOS)- 579.2IP 553H 265ER 524K 124BB 4.11ERA 1.16WHIP 8.1K/9IP 4.22K/BB Opponents BAA/OBPA/SLGA/OPSA= .248/.300/.410/.710 2006-2008 Burnett (TOR)- 522.2IP 480H 229ER 525K 191BB 3.94ERA 1.28WHIP 9.1K/9IP 2.8K/BB Opponents BAA/OBPA/SLGA/OPSA= .245/.315/.386/.701 Very similar if you ask me. Burnett allows less hits and allows less hard hit balls. Beckett walks less and is the sole reason for the disparity in the WHIP. Burnett has more power. Beckett a bit more control. There isnt much difference.

why would that be horrible? Kottaras would be without a position and Bowden would be included to get the sox a young, power hitting catcher.

Tex doesnt make the lineup around him better? Here are the MLB ranks for runs scored Texas 2006- 6th in MLB 2005- 3rd in MLB 2004- 4th in MLB 2003- 8th in MLB Then lets look at what he did for Anaheim. Pre-ASB the Angels OPS was .706 (23rd in MLB). Post ASB, their OPS was .793 (6th in MLB). The difference? You get the picture. He didnt win anything in Texas or Atlanta because the pitching on the Rangers and the rest of the team around him in Atlanta were terrible. But the absolute facts are that when Tex is in a lineup, they seem to rise to top 10 MLB material. Add him to the middle of our order with ARod, consider the solid OBP capability of the top of our order and the power of the bottom of our order and we'll see Tex make the guys around him plenty good.

Impressed that you heard the exorbitant amount it would take to acquire him and he had the "guts" to walk away. God, this is funny. Nobody cares if you almost get someone. In the same breath, if the sox could get Hanley for Ellsbury and Buchholz, you gotta do it. Think about it. Beckett, DiceK and Lester are locked up for 2, 4, and 4 yrs respectively. Thats a nice top 3. Hanley can play Ellsbury's position, if 10X the offensive player that he is, and is younger. Walking away from the table there sounds almost like Theo was trying to just show he wasnt sitting with his thumb up his ass. If he actually wanted to make a splash, then it would have been done without any publicity. Thats his gig. If he is truly interested, usually the public doesnt know anything about it. When the press knows, he is using them for his own PR ploys.

Damn right and proud. I aint movin

They are being criticized because they had a significant drop in payroll and had obvious needs that were being filled on the cheap. Regardless. I have a question for you. If the sox had Burnett over Penny and had Teixeira in their lineup, would they be a much improved team. A simple yes or no will suffice. When you had the opportunity to lock up one or both while LOWERING your overall payroll, you do it. The fact is, the sox will make just as much if not more in terms of revenue and now they are banking the 50 mil they are saving by not signing anyone of value. Does that make you feel good inside?

I see. I can understand the defensive downside (Dunn is a f***ing hack at 1b) but from a sheer offensive production standpoint, Dunn is about as consistent as they come. Starting in 04, he has hit 40+ homers in all 5 yrs He's had 90+ RBI in all 5 yrs He's had a .380+OBP in 4 of those 5 yrs (.365 in the other) He's had a .500+ SLG in 4 of those 5 yrs (.490 in the other) He's had an OPS of .899 or higher in 4 of those 5 yrs (.855 in the other) So he has been an elite offensive force over the last 5 yrs. Chalk up 40 homers, nearly 100RBI and a .900+OPS like clockwork. Plus, he just turned 29, so he'd be around for awhile.

Dunn would be an upgrade. Move him to 1b and youks to 3b. Dunn in that lineup would be dangerous

The sox were absolutely in the Burnett sweeps. As a matter of fact, Burnett was #2 on the sox offseason wish list and most beat writers acknowledged it. Why not? Have Burnett at the 4 where he would tag team with the top 3 and be a ridiculous top 4 or he could be on the DL for half the yr and the sox top 3 could get by without him. It was a solid idea. The Yankees were just willing to get the fans what they wanted a bit more than the sox were. The fact is, a pitching FA market like this one doesnt come around very often. And when aces like CC, Burnett and to some degree, Sheets hit the market, along with bulldogs like Pettitte and Lowe and potential impact pitchers like Dempster and Perez hit the market, the sox get the equivalent of Bartolo Colon while still injured for cheap money. When they have a shot at Abreu, Dunn, Teixeira, Giambi, et al when speaking about possible impact bats, they go out and sign Josh Bard. I find it interesting that a sox fan could sit back and say that this offseason wasnt just a total disaster. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the sox are still gonna be good this upcoming yr. The fact is, there were plenty of upgrades on the market, they had TONS of money coming off the books and they failed to nab any of them.

not meant to be racist, meant to be a ballbuster. Seriously, this board goes in waves from being uber insultive to being uber sensitive.

and example, were you insinuating that the yankees did not spend their money on quality players? You were trying to refute Kilo by saying you need to spend the money on quality rather than overpaying for past performance. Um, the yankees got a 27 yr old, 2 28 yr olds and a 31 yr old. Swisher is a proven 20-30HR hitter who's BABIP was way down and should be a .850OPS range player in 08. CC Sabathia is a horse and an ace in his prime. More durable and more consistent than your #1 AJ Burnett has the best stuff in baseball and proved he could be an ace in the ALE last yr when he is healthy Mark Teixeira is a sure bet to have a .930+OPS, 30+HR, 100+RBI and to tandem with ARod as the best 3-4 punch in baseball. That is money well spent, IMO. Especially if we do as expected and take the ALE in our first yr in the new park

Wow. I missed a great argument last night. Kilo is right, y'all. The sox had one big goal, surrounded by flashing lights and pointing signs. Tex was priority #1. He gave them the opportunity to rid themselves of an old, aging and injured 3b and have their corner IFers be probably the best combination in baseball as well as have one of the most consistent power and OBP threats in the game through his prime. By allowing him to go to NY, the sox should consider this offseason failed. But instead of just saying, well, we'll get em next time, Henry bitches about the yankees financial advantage. Are you serious? I am sorry John, that the yankees money printing machine is a little bit larger than yours. That being said, right now, 12/30/2009, the sox are a 3rd place team. It doesnt matter what division they play in. They did not improve. Penny is a lateral move. Kottaras and Bard may or may not be an improvement over Tek. Lowell and Papi both have injuries that may be career altering and expecting a bounceback from them may not be rational, we'll see. And instead of shoring up the offense with an upgrade or the rotation with a guy who they can count on, all you get is a middle reliever for your GG CFer and a pitcher who currently has a shoulder injury who isnt that great to begin with and has been steadily getting worse, when healthy in the worst division in baseball. Theo said it before. If you arent getting more dynamic, then you are falling behind. I go one step further. If you arent improving every yr, then you are falling behind. We did not improve from 07 to 08 and this is why we stayed home. The sox did improve as their young guys stepped up into bigger roles. Well, there's nobody left to step up. And you will learn. Next offseason, both the yankees and the sox will have similar openings and needs. If JH is bitching about financial advantage now, how will he feel when he loses out on Holliday?

Especially if the Rays find a way to lock up their young talent.

I can agree with that. The thing I am warning you about is.. A- Penny is coming off a shoulder injury B- he is coming off his worst career season C- he has actually had worsening peripherals since he went to LA D- even at his best, he isnt that great and moving him to the ALE will only magnify that I truly think this might be another Wade Miller sighting and not having a proven contingency plan can hurt them. Now, if their contingency plan is Buchholz all along, or Masterson or Bowden, then so be it. But I think they want to give Masterson a shot at setting up and the 2 B's a shot at stretching out their arms a bit in AAA.

okay. Maybe. But he has averaged 27 starts a yr since his TJ surgery, which is okay enough for me. I'll take the best stuff in the bigs 27 times a yr on my side. He's not durable by any means, but people blow his fragility out of proportion