jacksonianmarch

2005 was a long time ago my friend.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16142549.htm the plot thickens. You see, the red sox thought that they had a spot for Loretta to go. He was expected to sign in SF and if the sox offered him arb, then the sox would have gotten a draft pick back that would compensate them in their efforts to sign Lugo. But with the giants resigning Ray Durham, the Loretta deal seems less likely and the sox now may not offer him arb. He is the only FA who would garner 1st round payment for signing, and without him, the sox will be even further reluctant to pursue Lugo.

he had the era to justify it.

Better than Damon.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA man, I needed that laugh Lets see. Damon's last 3 yrs average .302 18HR 83RBI 21SB .369OBP .466SLG .835OPS at the top of the order Drew's last 3 yrs average .292 22HR 76RBI 5SB .412OBP .531SLG .943OPS out of the middle of the order Damon has better production, plays CF, has more speed than drew and plays many more games. Drew walks more and will hit for a little more power, but he is a flat out injury prone player. PLUS, those numbers include a career yr 3 yrs ago where his OPS+ was 100 to his career average. Drew's past 2 yrs, he averaged hitting .284 17HR 68RBI with aOPS around .915. For a middle of the order bat in comparison to a top of the order hitter, the ops shouldnt be close and yet it is. Damon is the better player at his position in the field and in the order, and to deny it is homerism.

he's good but not there yet? He led the majors in wins in his second season in the majors. That is about as top tier as you get right now. I am not sure if that is an indictment on the league or props to Wang, but it is what it is.

You arent talking prospects now. You are talking elite prospects/solid rookies. Billingsley already made a pretty good debut in LA. He has overpowering stuff on a team that needs a front line pitcher. This isnt like Detroit throwing the yankees a bone with prospects for Sheff because they are loaded with young pitching. This is a team of 3's that sorely need an ace, and anything short of an ace in return would not pry Billingsley away.

if he accepts arb, he will be getting at least 5mil. Something that is way over market for a guy who right now looks like he is close to the finish line on his career. The only way he gets dealt for anything substantial is if he returns and has a monster start to the yr. Otherwise, he is an expensive player to have on the bench.

his .899OPS puts him 3rd out of all MLB SS behind Carlos Guillen and Derek Jeter. Yeah, Coco and a mid level will get that, right.

under the radar??? The guy hit 30Hrs last yr, it isnt like you snag a Wood or something, a minor league SS who could become great. This guy just put up a season that would put him in running for MVP if he was a full time SS. I dont see them even wanting to move him at all unless they get bowled over.

I dont think Billingsley will be available. Here's the thing, the dodgers have only been speculated to be interested while the giants and padres have been in talks already. I dont think the dodgers are looking at Manny as a viable option, just because they already have tons of value in those young kids in the OF. Plus, they need one big pitcher, and Billingsley projects as an ace. I dont think they'd deal a potential ace of the staff, something they sorely need, for a 35 yr old OFer.

If Trot gets arbitration, you can expect him to have either a starting role or a platoon role in the OF. There is no way theo offers arb to him and puts him in their plans as a 4th OFer when he would make at least 5mil next yr due to arb rules. If they sign Drew and re-ink Nixon, expect the sox to 1. deal Manny, and 2. try to deal Wily Mo. This is a direct indication that they have no faith in this kid as a full time player.

On the wang vs willis debate, I'd take wang simply because he has proven he can handle NY, he was the wins leader last yr, and he doesnt give up HRs which kill you in the AL. He is perfect for the yankees and he should be deemed 100% untouchable.

With all due respect, Cabrera is much better right now than Ellsbury simply because he has a successful rookie season under his belt. And Hansen is damaged goods with his poor performances early on. Not that I think this ludicrous offer will be accepted or anything. Put me in the camp that thinks Dontrelle is overrated. His stock is sky high right now and the marlins dont need to deal him. He is bound to have another bad yr and will then command big bucks in arbitration. Right now, if the yankees did not want to give up Hughes, would take Sanchez, Duncan, and three more prospects, mostly all on the pitching end. The marlins are flush with young pitching yet they lack bats. Tabata might be the only match and the yankees would be foolish to deal him if they truly believe that his ceiling is as a Beltran type player. I think the yankees need to ride this season out and see where their prospects lie. They have a ton of pitching in that farm, yet Tabata and to a lesser extent Gardner and Duncan are the only two offensive guys worth more than a lipper of dip.

trot will get arbitration and he will accept it. Nobody is taking him seriously and the only thing he can do is count on a 20% drop in pay which is the most arbitration will allow. That would still have him around 5mil, which is more than he will make in a long term deal anywhere else.

Bill Hall will not be traded unless the brewers can get young pitching in return. He is worth a Papelbon, not a couple of low level minor leaguers. The guy hit 30HRs this past yr while playing all infield positions and OF. He is fast and young as well. The guy is a 5tool fully versatile player with history and promise, expect any team that asks about him to be told that they will need to send major league top pitching in return.

or for SF. Thus far the only public rumblings have been out of the NL West. I do think Texas would like to get into the fray, but they have a pitching staff to worry about and will likely be late to the party. There is an issue in that the teams now know (thanks to Schilling) that Manny wants out....AGAIN. Once again, that lowers his price a little knowing that he wants out and his constant headache is going to be a problem as well. Plus the report that he wants the last 2 options picked up (at 20mil a yr) will hurt as well. AND, none of the teams they are talking to will give them the commodity they need which is a bullpen ace.

this guy sounds like the 2nd coming of Dae Sung Kuo who aside from ripping a triple off Randy Johnson really doesnt sound like all that great a commodity. Maybe a Mike Myers replicate, which is nice to have, so long as you have a bullpen around to sustain a 1or 2 batter a game pitcher. On another note, the last premier (if you wish to call him that), reliever Joe Borowski was all set to sign with Philly. There was one problem. He failed his physical. So not only is the last FA power reliever old and not that good, he is also damaged goods. If the winter meetings passes without the sox having a closer, then they are doomed.

Now that the JD Drew sweepstakes are essentially over and the sox got off scot free without giving up their first rounder, they are in a bind over whether to seriously pursue Julio Lugo. Lugo will be offered arbitration and as a class A FA, he will command both a 1st rounder and a sandwich pick (not given by the sox btw) as compensation. The sox, having saved their first rounder in the posting win of Matsuzaka and in the contract wording of Drew, are reluctant to part with a first round pick as well as 4 yrs 36 mil it would take to sign him. This likely would leave the sox without a solid SS candidate, and with the other defensive options being taken off the market (Counsell is now gone), it likely means the sox would go into the yr with Cora as their starting SS. I was wondering how you all felt about this. Here is the SI link. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/12/01/scoop.friday/2.html

The padres have refused and will continue to refuse to throw Peavy into any deal for Manny, was the report out of SD today. The papers are saying that the padres may never have been serious after all.

http://cbs4boston.com/sports/local_story_334083531.html been away for awhile, but here is a story I read about Schilling saying that Manny wants out.