jacksonianmarch

They cannot, I believe, due to the CBA. I believe that any player inked to a new deal cannot be dealt before June 1.

Trumbo is not akin to the type of hitter the sox aspire to acquire. He's not a grinder. He's a basher

There is next to no chance Ellsbury stays. And it makes a lot of sense. They have a GG CFer in RF. They have a kid who is ready in JBJ and if they want to, there are a lot of OF platoon options. They also can splurge on the FA market and in losing Ells, they'll drop only one spot in the draft if they pay a premium FA to replace him. I think the sox are gonna go hard after Beltran as a 2-3 yr deal suits them more than a guy like Choo, who's gonna get 6.

Theyre gonna go insane. And it makes sense.

That's why they are going to put enough into the team for it to be competitive but not to the level we've enjoyed over the past 18 or so seasons. If we're a 85-88 win team and can get below the $189 mil threshold, then we'll be set up for a brighter future.

This year is different for a lot of reasons and George ain't the boss anymore. Money matters to Hal. This is the year to reset that clock. Doing so drops them from an onerous 50% tax down to 0. It also gives them a revenue sharing rebate which, based on some reports, ranges from $50-$90 million. That's a ton of money. Once this year is over, they can spend like mad and by the time the lux tax rises to 50% again, they'll be out from under ARod, Jeter, Tex, and CC.

Yes, they are. Granderson and Cano will likely eat up $40 mil per annum. We have C, 2B, SS, 3B, and OF to fill and we don't have a lot of wiggle room financially

I hope not. The good thing is, NY is apparently active on the 2b market. They've called Cincy about Phillips and are in on Infante.

Yeah, they will. But hell, they looked vastly different this yr. I have seen enough of infields manned by guys who cannot hit their weight and cannot field. They tendered offers to Granderson, Cano, and Kuroda. I let Kuroda and Granderson go. I try to resign Cano unless the offers surpass 6 yrs, which they likely will. Assuming they do, let him walk.

You have a glut of starters and Workman was a big part of your pen. Be careful

WMB is cheap and has shown flashes of being a plus power guy long term. You cut bait now and you'll get 50 cents on the dollar. If he comes out and hits 30 bombs and drives in 100 next yr, you can debate if you want to maximize return

I am setting the over under of total dollars given to Ellsbury at $120 million. I am gonna take the over. Who's with me?

What I like about Tanaka (from reports) is the fact that he can pitch deep into games and has a developed arsenal of pitches. Daisuke had 10 pitches or so, but his slider was his best pitch and he couldn't locate his FB. Tanaka sounds like a guy who locates a solid above avg fastball (91-93) but locates all of his other pitches as well and pitches to contact. The guy's career BB/9 in the Japan league is 1.9, but over the last 3 yrs it has been 1.1, 1.0 and 1.4. I think he might be well suited for the states, but who the f*** knows until he's standing on a mound in America

By doing this, they lower his cap number. They shouldn't have given him this gift, but it does behoove them on the AAV. If he exercised his option, the AAV for the contract would have been $15 mil. Instead, they sign him for 1 yr at $12 mil and save $3 mil in cap space

What do you think they do with Lester? Do they re-sign him, ride out his contract yr, or deal him?

http://www.carolinabirdclub.org/gallery/images/American%20Crow%20Tysinger.jpg I take mine with a side of fried rice and a lot of duck sauce

Every guy he signed had a caveat, exactly the reason why he was able to get them on a 3yr deal. Vic was coming off a terrible year. Napoli was coming off a poor year and had the hip issue. Dempster was torched in his first run at the AL with Texas and was old. Gomes is a platoon guy. I didn't expect Victorino to have 5.6 WAR season. I didn't see Napoli having a 3.9WAR season. Dempster wasn't great, but he game replacement level innings for the most part. Gomes did what he always did. Adding in those guys made the rest of the team better. I thought that all the parts on their own weren't a big upgrade. In the end, those additions turned things around all over the roster. Then grabbing Farrell, who helped remake Buchholz and Lester and shaped Doubront into who he became. Then there was the signing of Koji. At the time, none of these were impressive. Now, with a Monday morning QB look at it, they were brilliant. A GM has to see past face value, Cherington did that. I was wrong, he was right.

If you believe in the kids, you have to ride with them. Maybe that means 2014 isn't a banner year. Maybe that means 2015 will be. Sometimes you have to do whats best for the franchise and that isn't always keep the whole gang together

Guys, he took a team saddled with garbage contracts that was going nowhere in 2012. He dealt away a lot of talent but a lot of bad eggs with big money and got a shot at restarting the franchise. In doing so, he focused on a high character, high intangibles team lead by a no nonsense manager. He added Victorino, Gomes, Dempster, and Napoli in the offseason, all high character guys who were still playing at a high level. He dealt from a position of strength to bring in Peavy, another high producing character guy. He kept his farm mostly intact, bringing up Bogaerts at the right time. Guys, he had the perfect 16 months or so. He's definitely GM of the yr. He might be the best GM in Boston history. Theo took over a good team. Cherington took over a mediocre team, stripped it down to the studs and turned it into a championship in a yr. Damn impressive.

If Buchholz finished 2013 healthy and did what Lester did in the playoffs, I'd say he was a prime candidate for a trade. But he finished the playoffs topping out at 89mph and not being able to go past 4 innings in a World Series game. His stock, even though he pitched brilliantly when on the field, couldn't be lower. I highly doubt the sox deal Buchholz

The reason for Napoli getting a 1 yr deal instead of the agreed upon 3 yr deal was the hip issue. He showed no ill effects from it. Therefore, he boosted his stock. He also posted his second best WAR of his career at 3.9. Aside from his ridiculous outlier yr in 2011 when he hit over .300, he's shown rather remarkable consistency. He's a .250/.360/.470 guy who can play an average 1b. The OBP will lead him to get 3 yr offers elsewhere. My guess is the sox re-sign him to a touch north of the original agreement.

And I will be blown away if the Yankees don't get Tanaka. He might have an $80 mil posting bid, and since it doesn't count towards the lux tax and saves them on paying some revenue sharing, I doubt they don't pay the piper. I bet DiceK ruined the possibility of the sox going balls out on another posted Japanese player

A couple things. Boras wanted $130 mil over 7 yrs after 2011. He subsequently wa rebuffed and looked like a moron after 2012. But in 2013, he produced to a 5.8 WAR and that amount Boras wanted might be a starting point now. Like it or not, Ells has been the catalyst for 2 titles in Boston and showed he was healthy in 2013. He's gonna get big money as the second most attractive offensive option on the marke after Cano. I think the sox would be wise to pass on him. JBJ has the tools to be good and he's ready. No time like the present. If he flops, you have another plus defensive CFer in RF. Napoli isn't going to ask for a discounted rate from Boston. He got $13 mil a yr then got reduced to 1 yr and stayed healthy. He posted a 3.9 WAR and stayed very healthy all season. He's gonna get paid. I expect the sox to retain him, though, but it might be on the order of a 3 yr $40-45 mil deal. Salty was one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, but he benefitted from the great lineup around him. He's a minus defender who couldn't be trusted in the end. You have Lavarnway, Ross, and a few coming down the pipe (Swihart to name one) who make Salty expendable. He's going to be someone's pricy mistake, don't make it Boston's. I have a feeling the sox lose Ells, Drew and Salty. The retain Napoli. And in the shocker of the offseason, they deal Lester for a Shields-esque haul

Congrats guys. They went worst to first in dramatic fashion. Enjoy the night

Ortiz is hitting over .700. That's the equivalent of Leater throwing 2 CG shutouts. The only way Lester can split the award is if he somehow wins game 7