jacksonianmarch

The red sox team that they lost 2 out of 3 to is not around currently. This is a version that cannot pitch. And to say that there is no dominant pitcher on their staff, look at these stats of the 3 starters in this series Verlander 14-5 140.1IP 132H 96K 38BB 2.95ERA Robertson 10-8 148.1IP 145H 98K 49BB 3.82ERA Bonderman 11-5 158IP 144H 151K 41BB 3.76ERA vs Schilling 14-5 166.2IP 172H 149K 22BB 3.89ERA Beckett 13-6 146.1IP 138H 120K 46BB 4.92ERA Wells 1-2 26IP 40H 13K 5BB 6.23ERA All 3 of their starters in this series have a lower era than the sox best pitcher. Their 4 is Rogers who is pretty good, their 5 is a rookie who has been lights out and they have Maroth coming back soon. You really cannot discredit this team's pitching, they have been fabulous.

The Guardians rotation is pretty nice with Sabathia, Byrd, Lee, Westbrook, and Sowers. As a matter of fact, the indian's starters have an era that is 4th in the AL, 0.45 runs per 9 lower than the sox starters who are 10th at 4.91.

He was falling apart before that happened. It is just a convenient crutch for cement head to fall back on.

His production this season is in the 3-4 mil a yr category. 6-7 mil a year for his leadership abilities? In my opinion it is just about how bad the backups are. If Mike Matheny were back there (I know he is injured but still), I think you'd see the same thing out of the pitchers that you saw when tek was in there.

his wrist was fine, it was a finger.

He just made the jump to AA, dont give me that. If you bring him up this yr or even next yr, he will be overexposed. He still needs the rest of this yr and the rest of next yr before he is ready. You preach patience and then you show none.

Nope, but the yankees wont have him either. The sox team is built for now, and as much as theo has fooled the fan base, there really isnt much below the majors in terms of talent ready to help anytime soon (aside from Pedroia). If you are built for the now, then yu embrace it with both hands and go full bore. Letting Damon go and getting Crisp is a move for the future. If you have too much future and too much now on a team, your direction is unknown and you end up as the sox are, a mediocre team overall.

If you sign Cordero it would be for the closer's job. Do you know how absolutely brutal it would be to hand over the job to either Hansen or Delcarmen? Very brutal. Cordero would be a good fit, but he would need to be guaranteed the closer's job. That would move DelCarmen and Hansen into setup roles and get them ready to ascend to closer in another few yrs. Putting either of those 2 there next yr would be akin to this yrs Guardians. Great lineup, good rotation, horrible pen = 25 games out in the middle of august.

Coco has trade value, albeit not what it used to be. Foulke can just be released without any string attached. Clement is the toughy. He wont get traded because nobody would want him even if he were free, so I find it hard to believe he will be wearing anything but a sox uni for next yr. And for Matt, there is no way any package involving Clement nets anything back aside from cash relief if you are lucky. Clement will not be packaged with anyone to get a front line starter. That package would start with Lester and likely have to include at least one of the trio of Hansen, DelCarmen, and Ellsbury.

This is a great debate, solid work dirtdog. I disagree about having the shaky part playing into it at all, over the whole body of work this guy has been a bullpen hoss. Now, what the sox should do is use this as a flexibility point. If the sox can fill out their rotation with a solid pitcher, then paps doesnt have to move at all. If the sox can find a solid closer better than they can add another starter, then he moves. Overall, it should be based on who is available and not on how best to use him.

Just another reason why you don't let proven talent that proves it can play in Boston for the unknown. JD was an icon, you dont let icon's walk away over what amounted to a small difference of worth. I honestly think that of all the offseason moves made, the one that has assured the sox of being in this spot they are in right now is letting Damon go to the yankees. If Damon is a red sox right now, the yankees are 5 back and drowning.

I guess I don't understand how you can have an edge when the other team has 3 starters with lower era's than the starters they are facing. Thus far this season. Robertson >> Beckett Bonderman = Schilling Verlander >>>>>>>>>>>>>Wells 2 of 3 is if the sun is shining on the dog's ass. 1 of 3 is serviceable, you just better hope you don't get swept.

This has to be one of the funniest posts I have ever seen. Robertson is a lefty and the sox have much more trouble against lefties this season. He is also a good lefty which is even harder on the offense. The tigers are a power hitting team, as evidenced by their #9 hitter leading the team in HRs. They like the fastball, they hit HRs and they are not patient. Beckett vs the tigers is like blood in the water to a shark. Beckett better have his curve working, because if it isnt he is toast. One thing people keep forgetting is the Tigers bullpen. Walker, Rodney, Zumaya and Jones have been absolutely lights out. The red sox bullpen aside from Papelbon has not. So even if you matchup with the starter, you still have to hit 100+ mph heat out of Zumaya and Rodney before you get to face their lefty specialist or their closer who leads the MLB in saves. Schilling against impatient offenses is money. I expect him to shut them down......assuming he comes to play. He has been bad in his last 5 starts and will need to miss bats. The tigers are mostly right handed, so he should have an advantage. But with that comes the disadvantage that Fenway is a real nice righty hitting ballpark. Bonderman is nasty. He is an ace and will not easily be disposed. Verlander is a rookie, and not only that, but likely the cy young front runner. The sox have trouble against rookies so wells will have to step up. The problem is that Wells is facing a righty loaded lineup. Overall, the sox at home are a better team than they are on the road, but their pitching has been terrible. The tigers are a more complete team with better pitching overall. To blatantly say that the sox will sweep them is not advised, because you will likely be eating some crow at some point.

I think the lux tax limit will be 130mil next yr and that is the # the sox want to stay under.

draft and follow

Merloni is not a major league player.

Exactly. That is one thing I think the Yankees do that they get s*** for, but in the end get some production for their moneys-worth. Here are the 10+ mil contracts the sox have given out over the last 2 years. Manny- worth the money Schilling- worth the money Ortiz- worth the money Beckett- jury is still out Varitek- jury is still out Renteria- gone and not worth it Clement- clearly not worth it Only 3 of those guys are clearly worth the price of admission. Becket has not been worth it yet, but could be. Varitek had one good yr and one really bad one, but he has 2 more. ERent and Clement were expensive busts. For the Yankees, here are their 10+ mil players Posada- best catcher not named Mauer in the AL Giambi- worth it every year except for 2004 Jeter- worth it ARod- only eating 14 mil a year of that salary and he is worth the cost Damon- worth it this yr Matsui- injured, but worth it with his track Sheffield- 13 mil a yr for a scary middle of the order hitter was worth it Mussina- overall earned his contract Johnson- one bad yr, one good yr, not worth 16 mil, but they are getting something out of it. Pavano- clearly not worth it Brown- clearly not worth it Bernie- earned his contract Even though they have overpaid for their players, they still got at or near the production out of all but 2. Sometimes you have to pay more now to save yourself the headache later of trying to get rid of that bad second tier deal. In actuality, the Clement deal was the sox trying to cut corners and now that corner cutting is going to cost them more than it would have to just pay for the premium.

Wells is not a FA after this season, it is after next season that he is a FA.

I agree. But think of it this way. Theo does not want to break the magical 130 mil barrier because luxury tax gets pricey as you pass that. Look at the $$ coming off the books assuming the sox re-up Wake and Mirabelli for the same costs this season. Nixon 7.5mil Loretta 3mil Cora 1.4mil Foulke 5.75mil (after 1.5mil buyout) Gonzalez 3mil Seanez 1.9mil Snow 2mil Timlin 3.5mil Wells 4mil That is 32 mil coming off the books with the sox already up against the 130 mil barrier this season. So that means no added payroll and more importantly, no sunk costs. Thet cannot afford to eat 10 mil unless they absolutely have to, because that is 8% of your team salary. That also means that the sox will have to fill one middle infield position (and if it is Lugo you are talking 8-10mil a season), the entire bullpen, and at least one rotation spot on 32 mil. It can be done, but if you create another open pitching spot and force the sox to also add either another starter or a closer (should paps get sent to the rotation), then you are talking about breaking that 130mil barrier. I don't see Theo doing that.

Rookie relievers from the NL who cannot find the plate. (14BB in 22IP). Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

I am not trying to one up you or anything, but how many times have they been wrong? Granted, every one of us has been too, it is just their opinion. I just feel as if Theo will make 100% sure that he cannot get anything out of him before he throws 10 million into the wind as sunk cost.

As for the Yankees, they have a little less wiggle room. Here are their FA's. Cairo, Dotel, Lidle, Mussina, Ponson, Sheffield, Sturtze, Villone, Williams, Wilson. That leaves them with every position player spot filled. Now, there have been rumblings that Sheff is learning 1b, which is not much of a stretch as he came up as a 3b. Many people have also said that the yankees will likely exercise his option and either keep him at 1b/DH or trade him. Either way, they will either get a 1st and a sandwich pick for him leaving, get a prospect in a trade for him, or have one of the best lineups in the history of baseball next yr with Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Sheffield, Giambi, ARod, Matsui, Posada, and Cano. On another note, Craig Wilson will be leaving and will be a B free agent. Meaning that the yankees traded Shawn Chacon for a solid role player this yr and at least one draft pick next yr. How stupid are the pirates? As for the rotation, well that is where the fun begins. For starters, Lidle will be leaving and will garner the yankees another 2nd rounder as he will be a B free agent as well. Mussina has a 17? mil option that will be rejected. I do have a feeling that he will resign for something like 2 yrs 20 mil with the yankees. I also have a feeling that the yankees will buy out Jaret Wright at 4 mil to open a spot in the rotation. That leaves the yankees with. Mussina, Wang, Johnson, Pavano, ??? Pavano will have a backup in Phil Hughes who will likely serve as the 6th starter next yr when Pavano makes his trips to the DL for a hangnail and vaginitis. That 5th spot will likely be filled by Daisuke Matsuzacka, the Japanese dude with filthy stuff who was the WBC MVP. That would make for one hell of a rotation for them, if Johnson was the 4 or 5. Granted, he isnt what he used to be, but he sure has the capability to dominate on any given night. As for the pen, Dotel has stated a want to prove that he can pitch as a yankee, and I have a feeling the yankees will resign him for one year. He will join Farnsworth, Proctor, and Rivera in the back of a deep pen. Myers will still get his one pitch ventures and JB Cox will likely get some time in the bigs as well. Either way, the yankee farm is rising in the pitching market and their offense will be nasty. If they make the above changes, or even more crazy if Mussina leaves and they add either Schmidt or Zito, then there will be no stopping them. Or will there be? If the sox add Oswalt and Papelbon to their rotation and the yankees add Matsuzacka, Hughes, and Schmidt/Zito how nasty will those battles be. This offseason is gonna be great.

I am not so sure about buying out Clement. Theo is not one to just sink cost while getting nothing in return. In ERent he at least got a top tier prospect, Clement will get nothing in return. The one situation I could see happening is Theo shoring up the bullpen, keeping Papelbon as the closer, then giving Cement head one more month. If he pitches well, then he fits in as a 5. If he doesnt, then they convert Paps back into a starter and move Clement to long relief. I just don't see him eaing 10 mil as lost cause and watch him walk away. As for Pedroia, Olney said he has been hearing rumblings about maybe moving him back to SS if the sox cannot land Lugo. Then they'd retain Loretta and have Pedroia move back to SS, his natural position.

Mo has already been guaranteed for next yr. His option was guaranteed a week ago with another save.

Alrighty, I have seen a lot of blogs and articles on who the sox and yankees will be eyeing come november. First of all, here is a list of Red Sox who are FA's. Alex Cora, Keith Foulke, Alex Gonzalez, Jason Johnson, Gabe Kapler, Javy Lopez, Mark Loretta, Mirabelli, Nixon, Seanez, Timlin, Wakefield, Wells of that crew, only Wakefield and Mirabelli are likely to return. Cora will find a starting spot somewhere. AGon is great defensively, but the sox have had a hard on for Lugo for awhile now. The funny thing is, Lugo is asking for Renteria money and he has been better than ERent was in his season going into FA. If the sox get Lugo, look for Pedroia to take over 2b. At the same time, the only guys I think the sox offer arb to is Loretta. Low risk move with a chance to pay off with draft picks (they wont get a 1st rounder though) or having a high priced utility guy. I dont think the sox take that chance with Nixon, who could easily warrant 9-10 mil with his numbers over the last 2 years. So that leaves the sox with a lineup of Lugo, Youkilis, Ortiz, Manny, WMP, Lowell, Vtek, Crisp and Pedroia. No need to add to the lineup. But, let's look at the rotation. 1. Schilling, 2. Beckett, 3. Wakefield, 4. Clement, 5. Lester. Theo won't be able to dump that contract of Clement and I don't see him as a type of guy who will sit a 10 mil player on the bench going into the season. Now there have been rumblings that the sox obsession with Oswalt will carry over into the offseason, where the astros may be more willing to accept a set of prospects than they were in a pennant chase this yr. Think about it, the Astros will lose both Clemens and Pettitte, and with them will go the hope of any type of playoff berth. So rebuilding would be nice and they would likely look at a guy like Lester and a bunch of minor league, or current major league players to sure up their bullpen. That wouldmake the rotation: 1. Schilling, 2. Oswalt, 3. Beckett, 4. Wakefield, 5. Clement. Now that is a nice rotation. Just imagine if Theo actually tries to convert Cement head into a reliever and moves Paps into the rotation. 1. Schilling, 2. Oswalt, 3. Papelbon, 4. Beckett, 5. Wakefield. That is LETHAL. If they do that though, Timlin, Seanez, Delcarmen, Hansen and Papelbon will be gone from the pen and they will have to rebuild from the outside. Here are the available options. Cordero, Dotel, Wickman, Hawkins, Rob. Hernandez, Mesa, and Williamson from the right side and Guardado, King, Kline, Reyes, Romero, Schoenweis, and Villone from the left side. You could build a serviceable pen to go around a sick rotation if that were the case. Imagine the possibilities, Beckett being a #4 and Wake your 5. The sox would raise a banner if they could do that. Or could they? Yankee predictions will come later, I gotta go.