jacksonianmarch

I sincerely hope you deal something of value for Ross. He would get his ass dominated in Fenway

Miley is the only one likely to be there for a long time. Masterson is on a pillow contract and Porcello is gonna leave via FA after the season. If this is a change of philosophy, then you cannot have a minus defensive SS or else you'll kill your staff.

Buch may have been worth a $12 mil contract after 2013, but after last yr, he's worth more a $6-$8 mil deal with incentives. You are right, though. Someone would probably take him off your hands if you ate a little money. There isn't much value in return in dealing him. You're better off holding onto him and seeing if he can recover. If he can, great, if he cannot, cut him

The reason why I say this is due to the money that would be required AND the years. Shields is gonna get 5 years or more. And if you were questioning going 6 (eventually you did) to bring back Lester, a known commodity, then you cannot fathom going 5 or 6 to get a guy without Lester's track record who is two years older. I think getting Shields would be a disaster in the press, which seems to be the method for which the sox have done business these days. Also, I am not sure Shields is a #1 anymore. He shrinks from big games, which makes his nickname hilarious. Plus, he has a TON of miles on his arm. 223IP a season for the last 8 seasons is a lot, especially for a guy about to turn 33. His velo has stayed well for him, but his K rate is dropping. Hamels is on a 4 yr deal, but to get dealt, he'd have his option picked up. 5 yrs at big money for a lefty in Fenway coming from the NL while also having to give up major prospects doesn't make sense, IMO. Cueto is now one of the only constants on a staff that lost 2 solid starters. They also seem to be trying to extend him. I bet he's a mid season target, because dealing him away now would require so much that it'd be prohibitive/not worth it, IMO

Yes, Bogaerts will have good guys on either side, but he is still gonna be the SS and you cannot shield that. Remember man, I've been watching a statue at SS for 2 decades. You cannot avoid it. Thing is, thought, Porcello is a stop gap. You don't change org philosophy and deal away a potential franchise SS because of one pitcher for one season

BTW, I am pretty confident, yet not terribly excited, that Scherzer will be donning pinstripes.

Don't get me wrong, the Yankees and sox have some of the same problems now. The thing is, though, the sox are relying on guys to come back from injury AND return from subpar performances. Buchholz is chronically injured and seems to have an issue putting a full season together, plus he was one of the worst starters in the AL last yr. Masterson has had some injury issues and he sucked ******* last yr, as he was one of the only pitchers worse than Buchholz when he was dealt to StL. Kelly was the Clay Buchholz of the NL prior to his trade, stuff off the charts but couldn't stay on the mound and showed wild inconsistency. Add to that a lefty who didn't pitch well last yr who has trouble with the homerball coming to the Fens and a guy who is nearly completely reliant on the defense and you have the makings of a disaster. That being said, you have the ceiling of a solid yet unspectacular rotation. Your floor to ceiling distance is absolutely huge. We have some of the same issues. Our top 2 right now have ace ceiling. Thing is, only one of them is healthy and Pineda isn't necessarily an ironman. He hasn't put a full season together since his rookie yr. Tanaka was the Cy Young leader at the ASB, but he has elbow issues that are concerning to say the least, and he missed a lot of time. We could have one of the best 1-2 punches in the AL, or we could have our top two on the DL for the season, who knows. Our #3 is coming off TJS and likely wont be back until after May (Nova). Sabathia hasn't been Sabathia since 2012 and he has a chronic knee issue. Our #5 is David Phelps, who has his injury issues as well, although he is a pretty decent #4/5. Thing is, I am pretty sure we are adding to our rotation and likely at the top. I don't think the sox are going to add an ace level pitcher at this point, as there aren't many out there and Shields/Hamels would require big money guarantees for more than 3 yrs.

Porcello, Miley, Masterson, Buchholz, Kelly. Interesting. Masterson's career has been rather overhyped due to 2 solid seasons, 2011 and 2013. Otherwise, he's been a back end starter. I don't think he's as good as he was in 11 or 13 but he definitely isn't as bad as he was last yr. Regardless, he's another 4

Porcello is a ground ball pitcher who will be at the mercy of his defense. For years his FIP had outpaced his ERA, but with a better D behind him last yr, that trend changed. Bogaerts is gonna be under a little pressure with him, but he's a good piece to get. Miley is a 4 in Boston. Porcello is a 2/3 depending on if he can replicate his ERA from last year. this is a good move on a couple levels as now you can get a draft pick for Porcello when he leaves via FA next yr, something you couldn't get from Cespedes

Miley had a 0.8 WAR via ESPN with a 1.4 WHIP and greater than 20HR allowed each season. While Chase field might be a hitters park, a lefty moving to Fenway is definitely a downgrade in that respect for his numbers. He pitched to a 4.4 ERA in Arizona without the DH. My guess is this guy has a bad season and six fans want him gone immediately. Also, why deal RDLR for him? The kid had similar numbers with much more upside. Miley had Rubby on durability, but I think Rubby will be the better contributor long term. There are better, cheaper options out there

Miley had a 0.8 WAR in the NL with a ton of homers allowed. He moves to the NL east in one of the toughest ballparks for lefties to pitch in. He's gonna give innings, but they won't be good ones. I also don't get the trade. De la Rosa had some potential and had great stuff. Miley is who he is.

Cueto is better than Hamels and doesn't come with a huge 5 yr deal attached. Also, the Reds plan to contend in 2015. Getting him in the offseason would require more than what the Phils want for Hamels

My bad UN? My phone posted before I was ready, then the kids attacked. It's hard to say what that number would have been, but if he got a near market value contract prior to ST last yr, they'd have him for far less than what they offered

He said he'd take a discount.

Henry and Co screwed the pooch on this one. They had a chance to offer Jon a 5yr $100-$110 mil contract extension and instead they cheated out. Then, they get in a bidding war where every single outlet was pointing to $150 mil and 6yrs being the target and they come up $15 mil short. Now, all they are left with is Cespedes, who has no position right now and has lost value in the process due to his defensive and attitude concerns. The sox also lost in the court of public opinion when they put out their new "philosophy" and then went against it 5 months later with their bid on Jon. They'll try to spin this, but the moment they offered him a garbage deal was the day their chance at a discount dried up. Now, you're talking about Shields? You mean Small Game James? A guy who's gonna get 5 or 6 yrs on the open market and is 2 years older? Shields is going to get at least 5yrs and $90 mil

UN, I like Refsnyder a lot. Look at his minor league info.

Kennedy allows 38% of the balls in play to go in the air. Also, aside from 2011, Kennedy has been around 1.2-1.3HR/9IP while in Arizona. He moves to SD and miraculously, his HR rate got cut in half (nearly). If he goes to Boston, he's gonna see an ERA north of 5 with LOTS of HRs

Gardner had the highest OPS of any starting Yankee. And exactly, our offense sucked last yr

As it stands right now, the Yankees starting 9 are as follows... 1. Gardner LF 2. Prado 3B 3. Ellsbury CF 4. Teixeira 1B 5. McCann C 6. Beltran RF 7. Rodriguez DH 8. Refsnyder/Pirela 2B 9. Gregorius/Ryan SS

You need stability defensively. Ryan is an elite defender in his own right. My concern is whether we'll actually get worse offensively, which is very hard to do

Not to mention, your payroll constraints. The Sox aren't jumping up to $240 mil this offseason and currently, they're pegged right around the $165 mil mark right now when you factor in arb raises. You can build 1-5 if you buy the top 5 free agent pitchers or trade for Hamels. But signing Lester, Shields, and McCarthy while dealing for Hamels will cost you about $70 mil AAV

Saying that you cannot build a championship rotation in a single offseason when the parts you currently have suck 1-5 is asinine? Alright, it is nearly impossible, but I guess not completely impossible. Is that better?

the sox can build a rotation in one offseason, just not a championship caliber one. And to add onto the losing out on Miller thing, he was a stalwart in an otherwise steady part of your team by the deadline. Removing him and leaning on Koji a little more is a precarious position, especially since Koji was abysmal after July

When Jon Lester was dealt, you were 12 games under .500 and 13 games back of the Orioles. Since that time... You have gained: Yoenis Cespedes Hanley Ramirez Pablo Sandoval Allan Craig Joe Kelly You have lost: Jake Peavy Jon Lester John Lackey Andrew Miller On a team that had given up the most runs in the AL East at last season's deadline and scored the least, you have added some serious offensive firepower and dropped some serious arms. It's not like you had a surplus that you dealt from to even things out. Your rotation is a disaster. You need to replace and improve upon Lester, Lackey and Peavy in the rotation and Miller in the pen. It cannot be done in one offseason. You need some kids to develop and some big fish to bite.

I can absolutely understand people who are worried about the sox rotation. Currently, your rotation looks awful. Buchholz was one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball last season. Joe Kelly looked like a swing man and walks the park. And neither of the above two pitchers are exactly known as iron men. If Clay and Kelly were 4 and 5 of your rotation, you could live with it. They aren't. You need a 1, a 2, and a 3 in the same offseason. That is hard to find