jacksonianmarch

It really is funny how the stars get sent packing and are crucified, yet a guy like Kapler retires and everyone loves him. Baffling indeed.

I am not sure if Cordero will have his option picked up in Milwaukee. It is a 5 mil option when they already have Turnbow signed for 2+ mil next yr and a team full of guys who will either be arb ready or close to it.

Who the sox need not resign none Who the sox need to move This is intriguing. I would look into moving Crisp, but would refuse to sell low. I would bill his 2006 as injury plagued and adjustment. His OPS in September was over 100 points higher than it was in july and august. Granted, at .758, he wont find many takers, but if someone is willing to write this yr off and give the sox top talent, then they have to make the deal. I personally think Crisp is shot and dealing him will get the most return vs what he could do on the field. Lowell has to go. He is an older guy, but still in his prime who has lost his power now for 2 consecutive yrs. The sox have 2 3b's in Hinske and Youkilis and rumor has it that Lowell can get some MR help like Linebrink. Another guy I think should be entertained is Pena. He hit for average for the first time and his OBP was nice, but his OPS was carried by his fast start. If he can be moved for some pitching, you do it, otherwise, you hang onto him and place him in RF and watch the circus and the long homers inbetween the myriad of K's. who the sould resign AGon if Lugo prices himself out of the market. He isnt a bad 9 hitter and he is fantastic in the field. who sould sign as FA Big ?? here. If Manny goes, then Lee or Soriano if no big bat comes back. If Manny stays, try to lure Sheff to Boston. The sox need more than just a dynamic 2 in the lineup and 7 ok guys. Having 3 solid middle of the order hitters is necessary with the flighty manny and his knee. If Lugo cannot be had, resign AGon. Otherwise, focus on pitching. If Paps is in the rotation, then the top 3 of Schill, Beckett, and Paps is nice with Wake as the 4. The sox will also have a pretty solid core of spot starters sitting around too, so depth shouldnt be an issue. BUT, expecting Beckett to elevate to a top starter, expecting Paps to be a top starter, relying on Schill as the ace after a huge decline at the end of the yr, and expecting Wake to stay healthy again is too much to put on a staff without adding a hoss. The sox need one big name starter, a guy who takes the bump, stays healthy, and logs huge innings. Zito fits the bill. Schmidt's injury history is scary. Matsuzaka is the big mystery, but a dollar for dollar war with the yankees is never a good thing, and the yankees have already made it clear that Zito is not on their radar....yet. If I were the sox, I'd throw 5 yrs 75 at Zito and watch as the sox starters improve dramatically. The biggest problem will be the pen though. Taking the one constant from the pen and moving it to the rotation only weakens it further. The sox could use Linebrink from SD as a setup man. They could make a run at Cordero as closer. Lots of things will have to go right and many more players will need to fill in for this disastrous pen to work. Theo hasnt put a good one together yet, it is on him to fill this his way and make it work. what big moves sould sox do this offseason depends on Manny. If he is moved, then this team will need a full scale overhaul. Starting pitching, offense, and bullpen. This season was bad, if they dont make some big upgrades, it will just get worse.

That is exactly the point I was making on another site. The FO is totally bipolar. In one instance they wont deal their prospects and in another they will. They have gutted their entire farm system and have got nothing to show for it except for Papelbon. Sanchez and Gonzalez are excelling in Pittsburgh, Sanchez and Ramirez are nasty in FLA, Meredith and Bard are excelling in SD, and Marte looks like he will be a cornerstone of their franchise for years to come. While the sox refused to deal guys like Lester (granted, cancer is something you cannot predict, but he will be set back for a long time), Hansen who is a total headcase, DelCarmen who looks like he could be a pretty good MR one day, and Pedroia who the early polls are insufficient to make a judgement on him. Their dabbling in dealing has left them with one high end prospect at AAA next season (two if Hansen is there for the year) in Ellsbury and nothing else above single A ball. They got nothing to show for it. At the same time, they let their top dogs walk and replaced them with less expensive options at the time, but became more expensive headaches when they totally blew and needed to be replaced. I am completely dumbfounded by the direction of the team. They have an old core whose window is maybe 1-2 yrs long with a bunch of green guys who even if they hit all projections will never be core players. If the sox FO does not want to go for the homerun this offseason and do a complete (and expensive) overhaul until the single A crop is ready to reap, then they wont have a good MLB team with no reinforcements on the way for 2 yrs. That is why I said that the sox would be better off with a full force explosion of the team. It will hasten their rise to power instead of slowly see them drift from 2nd to 3rd to the league's basement with nothing to show for it. Here is my position. Deal Manny to the angels for Wood, Colon (contract swap) and McPherson. Have Colon pitch once he is healthy and then deal him for something further down the line. Send Schilling to Texas for one of the trio of Diamond, Danks, or Volquez. Deal Papi to the Tigers for Humberto Sanchez and Cameron Maybin. Send Lowell to the Padres for Linebrink and then deal Linebrink to the Braves for one of their young prospects (maybe Saltamacchia?) along with Coco (if they are willing to toss Davies into the equation). That would leave the sox with an infield of Vaitek (with Kottaras not far behind, although he is not uniformly considered a high end prospect either defensively or offensively), Youks at 1st, Pedroia at 2b, Wood at SS, McPherson at 3b, an OF left to right of Pena, Ellsbury, Maybin and a DH of Saltamacchia. The rotation would be Beckett, Papelbon, Danks/Diamond/Volquez, Davies, and Lester (if he gets better). The bullpen can have Emart, MDC, and Hansen in it to essentially have a low pressure season. Take all the pressure off these guys, bill it as a rebuilding year, tell the fans that the mission is to progress to the future rather than win now and essentially hope that the team can come together by the end of 2008. Then make a few splashes in the FA period and be ready for a long run of internally built success for 2009, when those high end prospects in single A are ready. I know it is not reality, but I think that would help give direction to a completely lost FO. One that is enjoying the profits, but falling asleep at the wheel of a 125 mil team. This team needs an overhaul, whether it is going to be for right now and expensive or for the future and cheap is up to them. Putting this garbage on the field is unacceptable

cause a 2b with the make of Eckstein is way more valuable than an ace pitcher :dance:

agreed. There will be some power pitching available, and if they whiff on them again with that patented line of "being paid over market value" then there should be a revolt. This sox team as is is built for making the yankees the champs of the division this yr and next.

I dont think any of them were expecting the game to even be played. Why brave the perils of the bronx to watch a game get rained out? I wouldnt.

Hill broke an ankle and will miss the season.

If I were you, I'd sell those tickets, unless you want to see a team on cruise control vs a team in operation shutdown.

The MRI will tell us.

tick off another on that inevitable magic number. Tito should go into shutdown mode and ensure that nobody else gets hurt.

Everything can be "treated." Whether or not that is a good thing or not, we will see. I sure hope this kid can continue on with his life and have a full and productive one. I care not if he ever resumes playing baseball, just hope he lives through this and can go on and have what all of us hope we have some day. A wife, a family and a long life.

Rivera never clutched his arm in pain after one pitch. Rivera was just sore and he shut it down. Papelbon's injury really worries me for a tear either in the labrum or in the cuff.

from rotoworld This is not good.

A sign of their failure is the fact that Boston tickets are available on gameday.

I posted on royal rooters my research on the topic. Essentially, his type of cancer has two different prognoses depending on a marker that is either present or not present on the cancer cells. If that marker is present, then the 5 yr survival rate is 70-80%. If it is not, then the 5yr survival rate is 15-45%. Obviously this is dependent on the stage of the cancer, which from what it sounds like, it is above stage 1 as it has already invaded the strap muscles. That is what caused the back pain. His regimen is a 4 drug combo called CHOP. One of them is doxorubicin which has a horrible potential side effect of severe heart failure. This is going to be an uphill battle. Good luck Jon.

BTW, it is nice to be back. I am on vacation right now until tuesday, but once I go back home I will be off again. My cpu is screwy and will not let me connect.

If they dont pony up the greenbacks, the pitching situation will not improve. Pitching is available. Schmidt would fit nicely behind Schilling and in front of Beckett. That would make Wake the 4 and would ease the need to move Paps into the rotation. I have no expectations for Lester, he is out of the plans in my opinion, until he successfully completes treatment. That leaves an open #5. Guys like Lidle will be available, get one of them. If you dont want to get Schmidt or Zito or any front of the rotation starters, then paps has to be moved to the rotation and a guy like Cordero will have to be obtained to close games. If Delcarmen or Hansen ascend to closer at the beginning of next yr, then wait until 08. The pen and rotation need fixing, it is on theo to do it right this time.

I think the yanks will win 97 games and win the east and head the AL as the 1 seed. They are the best team in the AL in my opinion.

you do know that 90% of the players you hype may never even make the major leagues.

I sincerely hope that he can make a full recovery. Good luck Jon.

the sox game has already gained one inning on the yankees game. WOW.

schilling is dealing.