jacksonianmarch

Yankees are in on Hairston. Sounds like he's looking at a 2 yr deal. He's exactly the kind of guy we need in the OF with our trio of lefties in our starting lineup.

Jackson has at least a 3 yr deal from Texas in his pocket.

Pal, I am disagreeing with the sentiment that the sox team that started this offseason was a .500 team. I think right now, the sox are around a .500 team

I think the sox can look at the Bailey deal as to a reason why they need to avoid dealing for overpriced back end guys. Hanrahan is going to look at Papelbon's deal in terms of AAV as a starting point come 2014. And if the sox do end up dealing the package above, Cherington should be shot. The above package could net them an innings eating middle of the rotation pitcher, something the sox still need. They have enough candidates for their pen, adding another while depleting themselves further will only serve to f*** themselves royally in the end

His K:BB ratio was WAY worse at home than it was on the road. 2.1 vs 3.0. The stats defy just a fluke. He was completely horrid at home and an ace on the road.

The bolded part is the most extreme level of rose colored hogwash I have ever seen. The sox were 60-67 when THE TRADE went down. They went 9-26 in their final 35 games. That is NOT a .500 team. You could make the case that if they stayed intact that they'd be a .500 team, but the team that finished the yr wearing Red Sox uniforms was not even close to a .500 team.

Theo was a guy who created 2 things when he was in Boston. He created an aura around himself based on the guys he pulled off the scrap heap and turned into all-stars. And he then bred an incredible farm system that pulled up all star caliber talent on a yearly basis. Well, he stopped delivering the scrap heap signings and when the farm dried up, he was forced to go the high priced route and it backfired. By asking for Theo back, I am sure you are pining for the guy who ran the team from 03-09 or so

I think Youk can be valuable if the Yankees dont think of him as a full time third baseman. If we're running him out there 5 or 6 games in a row, then we might as well stick a fork in him. If he is alternated at DH with Jeter for the first half of the season, he might be fresh enough to last the yr and be productive. But if he's at the hot corner for a month without a ton of time off, then we better hope ARod comes back healthy enough to play the field

Yeah, Youk sucked, and he may still suck come 2013. How you can truly overlook Lester's yr and just chalk it up to a fluke is hilarious. 5 more homers at home in 10 less innings, a much higher walk rate as well. Yeah, the BABIP was up as well. He both sucked and was unlucky. So it's a fluke that, on the road, he pitched past career norms and on the road he was abysmal. You don't really enjoy reality do you?

They're loading up on shorter term deals which allows them the capability to make a run at the pitching coming available next season. You have Halladay, Lincecum, Garza, and Wainwright who should be on the market, assuming the Phils dont pick up the $20 mil option on an aging Halladay

No, it doesnt. Starting last yr, each team got a slotted amount of money they could spend on IFA's and if they went over it, they'd run into the same issues you'd run into with the draft. Seeing as the sox sucked a gaggle of cock this yr, their IFA slot will be much higher in 2013, so they can go nuts without repercussion. The same can be said with their draft allotments. The sox lack any comp picks, but their first and second picks are going to bring high slot assignments, and if they pick a guy in the first round who signs under slot, they can reassign a lot more money to the later picks

Zach Greinke is a #2/3? Really?

Jackson had offers enough to turn down a 3 yr deal in SD. He's the last real innings eater without major questionmarks on the market. He's gonna get his years and his money. Last yr, Boras held out for the big money contract and got left with a 1 yr deal. This yr, he wont be so patient

It's a mental thing until proven otherwise. And good lefties have gone to die in Fenway. Viola's final season ended after 6 starts with an ERA close to 5, btw.

He just turned 33 and has the production to warrant a 3-4 yr deal. He's a lefty power hitter with big K rates on a team full of high K guys and in a park that limits lefty power pretty heavily.

They have an effect on preparation and repetition. Once gameday comes around, they're help is trivial. It is obviously a mental thing with Lester. Why would the guy go beast mode on the road and suck worse than Lackey a la 2011 in his home stadium? Mental issues are the hardest to overcome. If Lester goes out there in his first Fenway start and gets his titties lit, then he's gonna be in for a long season

People throwing out 85-90 wins really need to also look at the division and see where those wins will come from. You have 72 of your 162 against teams in your division. And with the division being so good, it will be hard to really say that the sox are likely to be over .500 at all. The team that finished the yr was actually a .300 team, when you look at the post-trade production. So basing things off a team that won 69 games isnt really accurate since the group that finished the yr would have won 49 games should they have played an entire season Throw in a healthy Ortiz and Middlebrooks plus the cadre of what-ifs in Dempster, Victorino, Gomes, and maybe Napoli and you have to wonder how many wins those guys offer. Plus, you figure the Blue Jays markedly improved and with the O's coming off a playoff bid, the Yankees pitching being healthy and back in the running for best rotation in the AL and the Rays always being a fly in the ointment and you have to wonder how many they win. I've said all along that I have the sox around 75-80 wins this yr barring a miraculous acquisition or ridiculously lucky season

He actually pitched very well at Fenway in 2011, so it's not farrell

As some of the long time sox fans can remember, you dont see a lot of success from left handed sox pitchers because of the Fenway bugaboo. Guys come in, light the world aflame and then all of a sudden lose it. You didnt see that with Hurst, but guys like Viola, Avery, etc have found measures of success prior to Boston, and even some success in Boston before completely unfolding. Some guys find it after leaving Boston, others are finished. But the one thing that is showing some paralells here is the bugaboo with Jon Lester. Prior to 2012, he was a beast at Fenway. But in 2012, a weird thing happened. Jon Lester remained an ace on the road yet completely fell apart at home. The numbers are shocking. On the road: 3.20ERA 7.3K/9IP 3K/BB 1.16WHIP At home: 6.31ERA 7.2K/9IP 2.1K/BB 1.58WHIP I am wondering if this is just an aberration or if this becomes a trend. Fenway was a hostile environment for a lot of pitchers this past yr, but Lester took it to an extreme. If he continues to show this trend, he might need a change of scenery and with his splits being so ridiculous, he might be able to command a little more out of teams since he is performing to career norms outside of his home stadium

You need to build from within, but sign some more stopgap options for your rotation. Right now, the rotation is... 1. Buchholz 2. Dempster 3. Lester 4. Lackey 5. Doubront Buchholz is a guy that some of you guys are pinning as an "ace" yet he had a much worse season than Phil Hughes, a guy who also started off terribly and most people on here thinks is garbage. He's a guy who is streaky, injury prone, yet if he could ever put a strong full season together has the potential to give innings and effectiveness. But, he's still a questionmark Dempster is a guy who gives innings and has been effective the last few seasons. He transitioned poorly initially to Texas, but came on strong at the end. He's a veteran who can avoid bats even with a diminishing arsenal. I think he is going to be your "ace" by season's end, but more a guy who goes 200IP and can have an ERA in the 4.00 range Lester is a complete enigma. He gives you durability, starting 31+ games for 5 straight yrs. But his effectiveness has waned significantly from his banner yrs from 08-10. His K rate has dropped in 11 and 12. His walk rate started rising in 2010, plateaued in 2011 and came down a bunch in 2012. But his BAA, and more importantly, hit HR allowed have risen sharply. That shows a guy whose stuff is dwindling a little, even though the velocities are only down a little. But it shows a guy who is wild inside the zone, something that will get you killed as a lefty in Fenway. And that is where he has sucked the hardest. On the road, Lester was an ace. 98.1IP 87H 35ER 10HR 27BB 80K 3.20ERA 1.15WHIP 7.3K/9IP 3.00K/BB, At home, he was f***ing terrible. 107IP 129H 75ER 15HR 41BB 86K 6.31ERA 1.59WHIP 7.2K/9IP 2.1K/BB. Lefties who start seeing phantoms in Fenway typically dont correct on their own. If this bugaboo continues, he'll be wearing another uniform come mid season John Lackey is a true wild card. For a 5 yr stretch in Anaheim, he was your prototypical #2 pitcher. 200IP, solid performance, bulldog mentality. He came to Boston and he got hit hard in his debut season, but gave 215IP and was still a warrior. His 2011 season is being blamed on injury, but it was one of the worst statistical seasons a pitcher wearing a sox uniform has ever put up. And he has now missed 2012 after surgery. He just turned 34 and prior to the elbow wearing out, his stuff had started to dwindle. Some guys get some velo back after TJS, but those are typically younger pitchers. The older guys coming back from this typically lose a little velocity. So, the question is, which will it be. Will Lackey come back as the guy throwing 93mph bowling balls and geting groundball after groundball again. Or will he come back as a guy throwing 87mph sinkers up in the zone that end up on Landsdowne street? Who knows Felix Doubront is a guy that some on this site seem quick to want to shed because they didnt like his up and down season from a yr ago. I would think that to be a mistake. He wasnt perfect by any means, but he also went through a stretch where he wasnt getting any support. He also succumbed like most rookies to in the dog days of summer. He was your best pitcher through July, then got a little injured, sucked ass in August and September and left a sour tase in your mouths. But this kid has some serious promise, even though he is also a questionmark. He needs to keep the ball in the yard more, he needs to drop the walk rate and continue to miss bats. But in the end, I think he ends up a solid starter for you. Overall, each spot has a questionmark. I am pretty sure that Buchholz, Lester, and Dempster will give you some production enough to justify their spots in the rotation. But having guys in the top 3 with questions and then having the bottom two be humongous questionmarks leaves you having to have a lot break right just to contend.

You need to build from within, but sign some more stopgap options for your rotation. Right now, the rotation is... 1. Buchholz 2. Dempster 3. Lester 4. Lackey 5. Doubront Buchholz is a guy that some of you guys are pinning as an "ace" yet he had a much worse season than Phil Hughes, a guy who also started off terribly and most people on here thinks is garbage. He's a guy who is streaky, injury prone, yet if he could ever put a strong full season together has the potential to give innings and effectiveness. But, he's still a questionmark Dempster is a guy who gives innings and has been effective the last few seasons. He transitioned poorly initially to Texas, but came on strong at the end. He's a veteran who can avoid bats even with a diminishing arsenal. I think he is going to be your "ace" by season's end, but more a guy who goes 200IP and can have an ERA in the 4.00 range Lester is a complete enigma. He gives you durability, starting 31+ games for 5 straight yrs. But his effectiveness has waned significantly from his banner yrs from 08-10. His K rate has dropped in 11 and 12. His walk rate started rising in 2010, plateaued in 2011 and came down a bunch in 2012. But his BAA, and more importantly, hit HR allowed have risen sharply. That shows a guy whose stuff is dwindling a little, even though the velocities are only down a little. But it shows a guy who is wild inside the zone, something that will get you killed as a lefty in Fenway. And that is where he has sucked the hardest. On the road, Lester was an ace. 98.1IP 87H 35ER 10HR 27BB 80K 3.20ERA 1.15WHIP 7.3K/9IP 3.00K/BB, At home, he was f***ing terrible. 107IP 129H 75ER 15HR 41BB 86K 6.31ERA 1.59WHIP 7.2K/9IP 2.1K/BB. Lefties who start seeing phantoms in Fenway typically dont correct on their own. If this bugaboo continues, he'll be wearing another uniform come mid season John Lackey is a true wild card. For a 5 yr stretch in Anaheim, he was your prototypical #2 pitcher. 200IP, solid performance, bulldog mentality. He came to Boston and he got hit hard in his debut season, but gave 215IP and was still a warrior. His 2011 season is being blamed on injury, but it was one of the worst statistical seasons a pitcher wearing a sox uniform has ever put up. And he has now missed 2012 after surgery. He just turned 34 and prior to the elbow wearing out, his stuff had started to dwindle. Some guys get some velo back after TJS, but those are typically younger pitchers. The older guys coming back from this typically lose a little velocity. So, the question is, which will it be. Will Lackey come back as the guy throwing 93mph bowling balls and geting groundball after groundball again. Or will he come back as a guy throwing 87mph sinkers up in the zone that end up on Landsdowne street? Who knows Felix Doubront is a guy that some on this site seem quick to want to shed because they didnt like his up and down season from a yr ago. I would think that to be a mistake. He wasnt perfect by any means, but he also went through a stretch where he wasnt getting any support. He also succumbed like most rookies to in the dog days of summer. He was your best pitcher through July, then got a little injured, sucked ass in August and September and left a sour tase in your mouths. But this kid has some serious promise, even though he is also a questionmark. He needs to keep the ball in the yard more, he needs to drop the walk rate and continue to miss bats. But in the end, I think he ends up a solid starter for you. Overall, each spot has a questionmark. I am pretty sure that Buchholz, Lester, and Dempster will give you some production enough to justify their spots in the rotation. But having guys in the top 3 with questions and then having the bottom two be humongous questionmarks leaves you having to have a lot break right just to contend.

One thing you may see is a physical being performed under the noses of the MLBPA. Hence, a player who passes the MLBPA physical will then be able to avoid this crap that the sox are throwing out there

Open season on management has been in season since the Sept 2011 collapse. The sox management needs to worry about fan apathy. Anger and exhilaration makes them money. Apathy kills the franchise. The fans were exhilarated from April 2011- Augt 2011, they've been angry since. If they continue to languish, they'll reach the apathy stage. I have a feeling a misguided big move is on the horizon

He spent 60% of the season being active, so using "most" is inaccurate. He had an 8+K/9IP with a sub 1.2WHIP and a 3+K/BB, so yes, he did pitch like an ace when he was out there. Getting Garza will cost you at least one big prospect, probably two. And, getting him gives you first crack to re-sign him, and I would assume that any deal would include a window to re-sign

Right now, he's at least worth 1 yr of good production and a draft pick. Sounds like Theo is going to put on the full court press to re-sign him. You arent getting him for a no-hit SS and a no defense power only catcher. Especially since the Cubs have a SS they are committed to long term