jacksonianmarch

http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=5968 Very interesting. Harang or Arroyo? I'd take either. But I would want Harang a LOT more. 30 yrs old, solid arsenal, solid GB pitcher and a high K rate. And, the guy is durable. Nady plus for Harang would round out a killer rotation. 1. Sabathia 2. Wang 3. Burnett 4. Harang 5. Chamberlain That would be f***in awesome

I do think we are in the same boat too, though. If we dont resign Pettitte then our depth will be tested. Actually, our "depth" will be moved into the rotation. And I just dont get how we can spend 423 mil in an offseason and still leave our 4/5 up to guys with a 150IP limit. But thats us. I would have thought the sox would have gone for a more durable #4. And face it, Wake is the #5, he will always be the #5. So that leaves the sox with Penny in the 4 slot. You have Beckett as the 1. If he is healthy, he's dirty. If he isnt, then he might miss a good amount of time. Lester as the #2, a guy I think should be pretty durable. You have DiceK who drains a bullpen since he hardly goes past 6. Then you have Wake at the 5, who has an equal chance of throwing a shutout and getting knocked out after 1IP every time he takes the bump. Adding a guy who can complement Lester as a force to be counted upon every 5th day would have been nice. Instead, you get a guy who is currently injured, has a long history of injuries and even when healthy isnt that effective. I dont get it

I had heard that they want to convert Snyder to 3b or 1b since his bat is so advanced they dont want to have him wear down at C. That may be an incorrect rumor, but that is what I have seen being talked about this entire offseason on the dbags front. That being said, Snyder is an intriguing option and easily could be their starting C if Montero were to be dealt

depth to me is adding a player who is beyond the 5 man rotation. You set up your 5 man rotation then you have "depth". The sox have depth if you consider Buchholz, Bowden and Masterson as your #6, #7, and #8. But that #4 spot is gonna be Penny's and that is a risky move. Colon's signing last yr was to add depth. Adding Penny is adding a guy to your 5 man rotation.

Not a good argument diony. The reason why we need to spend 423 million in an offseason is because we havent been as good at drafting as the sox had been. That being said, we have 2 picks in the first 2 rounds this upcoming draft, so I am happy. Hal better be ready to throw some f***ing money into this draft.

I agree RSR. I saw him throw on many a call night and he looked a lot better than his overall numbers indicated. His arm is live. That being said, stats are a good way to take emotion and "stuff" out of the equation and judge by performance. His performance in the weakest division in baseball has been marginal. And considering he is coming off a shoulder injury, I wouldnt count on him too much.

Couple things. 1. Montero is the only real catching option they have. So it will cost a lot to get him. 2. The Dbags are in financial dire straights and taking Byrnes contract without any other big money going the other way would make things easier. That being said, I would think that a pitcher, preferably one with no MLB experience (hence more organization yrs of control like Bowden) would need to be the centerpiece. Add onto that a young catcher who is close to MLB ready (like Kottaras) and I think it could get done. So I think it would need to be... Byrnes and Montero for Bowden and Kottaras

Bard vs lefties and Kottaras vs righties and with Wake? Step down in "intangibles" step up in offense IMO.

I think the Jets showed some people how to build a team from a shitpile. How do you take a useless and terrible team add in a terrible head coach and still win over 8 games 2 of the last 3 yrs? By building a solid O and D line. D'Brick and Mangold have been solid. Adding Jenkins to Ellis was solid as well. You gotta start over. If I were the lions, I'd deal out that #1 pick and get another #1 and get a second or third rounder. And I would start by drafting the top tackle, guard and center on the board. Build strong in the middle and you might turn it around. But it may take 5 yrs

Per rotoworld. Penny's deal will be worth 5 mil with 3 mil of incentives. Bard accepted a non guaranteed 1 yr deal, meaning he is a ST invitee.

I have said it 100 times. Salty is an AWFUL catcher. He could develop into a dangerous hitter, but he is an awful catcher with an inaccurate arm and legs of stone behind the plate. If he were a 1b right now, which he should be, he would not be worth a Buchholz. To be honest with you, I'd go for Teagarden or Ramirez. Both are head and shoulders better as a catcher, and you dont want to spend a big time prospect on a player who you cannot be totally sure will be a catcher by the end of the yr.

So the sox spoiled his draft and now he will get the chance to spoil the next 8 seasons for Boston. Turnabout is fair play

Goodbye Pats. First 11-5 team to miss the playoffs in 20 yrs

I subscribed to MLB.com in 2007 and Extra innings in 08. I saw a LOT of dodger games when on call in 2007. And Penny's stuff was always very good. I was just surprised by the end of the game that he'd only have 4Ks in 6 innings or so

Brad Penny. Interesting. Lets look at Penny in depth. And I am going into this thing thinking he's a pretty good pitcher when he is healthy. Starting with durability: Penny is coming off an injury filled season, with the most concerning injury. He was down with shoulder trouble. No word on how serious, but if he is working out for teams, then he must have enough to get the ball into the 90s again. In terms of his workloads, lets go in depth He's been a full time MLBer since mid 2000. Thats 8.5 seasons. He's surpassed 180IP 4 times. Not great. He's taken the bump 25 or more times in 5 seasons. Not so great. So he isnt durable, not surprising, and he is coming off his worst career yr AND has a worrisome injury Baserunners: Penny has a solid arsenal when healthy. Mid 90s heat, power bender, passable change. But for some reason, he gets hit HARD. He's allowed more H than IP in 5 of his 9 seasons. And over his career, he has allowed 9.1H per 9IP. He has always had good control, though, averaging 2.9BB/9IP. That being said, he has a career WHIP of 1.34. Funny thing is, he gained a solid rep in LA, a pitchers park in one of the worst divisions in baseball and he GOT WORSE. Don't really understand that. Power: Penny is an enigma. Reminds me of some of the yankee minor league prospects (notably Ivan Nova who was selected this yr by SD in the Rule V). Mid 90s heat with movement, plus breaking ball, MLB average change. He should K people. But he doesnt. His career high K/9IP is 7.2. His career average is 6.4. Well, is that because he's a groundball guy? Kinda. His career high is 1.77 (from 2008), but his career avg is 1.34. So he's an above average GB inducing pitcher who has no power. So overall, I thought Penny was better. He's not the bulldog I thought he was. I remember seeing him throw and being very impressed with his lightning arm. But he doesnt generate a ton of K's. And he doesnt get a lot of groundballs as one would assume from his stuff and his low K rates. He might be a good back end of the rotation guy, but he also has the possibility of absolutely imploding on the sox. If I were them, I'd consider him like the sox considered Colon last yr. Great if he's there, but dont plan on him being there all the time. If the sox are okay with Buchholz putting in a lot of big league work next yr, then this is a good move. If they want him to get his confidence back for a full yr, then this might not be the right guy

bowing out so soon. Figures. Dont forget your Kool Aid, its required to get your fan nation bracelet

they have done nothing but invest in their product? Have they opened their books for you to see? They are making renovations on something that is already paid for. Solid investment. They have probably the most loyal fanbase in the country who are willing to kill someone to pay way more than another fan for a seat, and they go ahead and CUT spending. Does that make you feel good? Do you need to rationalize that the sox really do put money into their product, really? Do you enjoy EEI spam and swallow the punch out of the FO all the time? The truth remains that the sox are making money HAND OVER FIST. And thus far, this offseason, they have shown their loyalty by FREEZING their all time high ticket prices (thanks JH!!!) and then cutting payroll by 50 mil without one impact addition. You see George had a great quote from awhile back. That Carl Pohlad, he could buy me 100X over and he still doesnt invest in his product. From an owner perspective, George is one of the poorest, yet the yankees continually outspend everyone in order to field their team. He is the ultimate example of a guy who is willing to reinvest in the club. Henry? 2 straight yrs of declining payroll while having the hottest ticket in the US. Downright scandalous. If I was a sox fan, I'd be pissed that he's taking my money and then drawing lines in the sand on absolute needs to the team.

Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the yankees are shopping 2 OFers. Unsure how they would know unless the yankees are shopping him to the Rox. That being said, moving one OFer may be considered housecleaning. Moving 2 means that we likely arent done. Maybe a ManRam under the tree?

that is correct. But once you hire Boras, cash is your primary objective and everything else gets thrown away

Boston doesnt need a Yankee style mecca. Lets be honest, the new yankee stadium is supposed to be like a shopping mall inside of a luxury baseball stadium. A 1.3 billion stadium isnt what the sox need. That being said, as a fan, Fenway is a hole. And it was WORSE than the old Yankee Stadium and Shea, two places that were not fan friendly to begin with. If you get a 45K seat stadium that accomodates today's fans then the sox profit margin will increase over time. Will there be a short term loss? Of course, but thats the point of an investment and that is what a stadium is. And the big thing that will generate massive revenue are the lux boxes. Something that the yankee stadium lacked and something that Fenway totally lacks if I am not mistaken. Remember, those are not only massive money makers, but they are not included in the calculated revenue stream. So they are revenue sharing exempt. Plus, the sox would have a massive amount of their revenue sharing payments garnished so they can pay for their stadium. Think about that. Significantly increase regular fan revenue, thus increasing the revenue sharing number. Massive increase lux box revenue which you get to keep 100% Decrease the amount of revenue sharing you pay for the life of the lease. Overall, it is a massive moneymaker, no matter what Theo and the PR posse try to say. But it does involve a significant up front investment, something we know that the sox ownership would like to avoid.

He's a Boras client. Unless there is a possibility of more money in endorsements, there is no reason other than money for a player to go somewhere. You dont hire Boras to find the right "fit". You hire Boras to become filthy stinking rich

I do defend what he did last offseason. Last offseason, he allowed the kids a chance to grow AND stay in this organization. The fact that Hughes and CC are on the same team should be evidence enough. I did not want to deal Hughes for Johan. I wanted BOTH Hughes and Johan. Now I have both Hughes and CC. I'll take it. That was really the only big thing last offseason. The O signees were awful and Carlos Silva was the best pitching signee. I think standing pat was the right thing to do both then and in retrospect. Our 08 season wasnt sunk by not getting Johan. It was sunk by losing many pitchers to the DL and by losing some key cogs in the lineup to season altering injuries. Next yrs FA crop fits right into our needs. We'll still have the top 4 of CC, Wang, Burnett and Joba. And Hughes, Aceves and Kennedy should be ready for full time by then, so we shouldnt need pitching from the FA market. We also will have the IF all set as well. The only glaring needs would be in the OF and DH where only Swisher is under contract. Cue the ascension of AJax and the Free Agency of Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. Or the resigning of Johnny Damon and the signing of Holliday. I'd be all for that. That being said, THIS is the model we were trying to have. After 07, too many holes were opened on a team whose system was a bit too green to fill. After 09, we'll have one rotation slot and one OF slot that we will expect to fill with rookies. And thereon out, we should expect one pitcher and one position player to come from the farm. We should not rely on our rooks to fill more than one open spot on either side of the ball per yr. It just wont work And if Joba comes up as the ace we all hope he will be, then he will fit that bill. I echo that sentiment. If every single minor leaguer he drafted and signed cannot latch on by 2011, then I think he should be let go. to a degree. But we are talking about dealing away former first rounders who have now ascended the ranks of the farm. No, I dont. I am willing to allow our rather improved farm system some time to fill our needs when they arise. But if these guys implode then a change of pace is a good idea. That being said, it was Cash's idea to invest in the farm and it is a good model. I dont think another GM would have the gall to stand up to a Steinny and say that.