jacksonianmarch

I hope beyond hope that you are right. I also hope they sign no one on the market and go completely in house with the pen. That would be absolutely awesome and a best case scenario for me

There are other closers, but you know what you have in Paps. And in this market, Paps will get a 3 yr deal at big money. If the sox dont pony up, they leave a humongous void in their pen that will not be easy to replace

and the rest of the pen is in horrible shape. The sox have almost no choice but to acquiesce to Paps. Otherwise, they'll need to pay top dollar to another closer, and all the others are older and less accomplished

The same guy who died in September? Bard hasnt proven he can close in Boston and he died in September. If Cherington allows Paps to walk and hands the job over to Bard, that would be a humongously ballsy move. Seeing as it would be a tremendous risk

Both had injury plagued yrs and their options were way over market value

make amends? He doesnt need to make amends in Boston. He was the GM for 2 world titles. How spoiled you have become

Young had a magic number of 330 pitches over 3 starts.

I just have a feeling. This season was fun to watch, but I think most Yankee fans were aware that this wasnt their best foot forward. We had a lot go right and we still only lasted 5 games in the postseason. Our offense remained pretty close to the same with Martin being the only big addition. Well, we have the potential to change it up a bunch. Posada is gone and Swisher has an option yr to choose. We could pick up Swisher's option and trade him. We could decline his option, offer him arb and get 2 picks for him. We also could pick it up and keep him. If we move him, we could get a fair amount for him. He's signed for one yr at $10.5 million. He's clubbed 81HR over the last 3 seasons and has an OPS in the .850 range in that time. Plus, he turns 31 in Novermber. He's a middle of the order bat on most teams, yet he's our #6 or 7 hitter. But he's also AWFUL in the playoffs and isnt a big time clutch guy. One of the things that is circulating the news in NY is the Yanks letting Swish go and signing Beltran to a 2-3 yr deal. I think that is a pretty big leap for an unsure gain. Beltran is 3 and a half yrs older and played 140+ games this yr for the first time since 08. And he finished the yr injured anyway. When healthy, he is a better player. His defense is better, his patience is on par, and his bat is better. But if you get rid of a healthy guy like Swish on a 1 yr deal and get an injury prone 34 yr old to replace him, you better have contingencies. It also doesnt fix the problem of this team, which is the age. Our team belongs in a nursing home. To be honest with you, Pujols may not be too far fetched. He has played LF in the past, and in Yankee stadium, playing RF isnt that difficult. You can make up the salary somewhat with the loss of Posada and if you move Swisher (that's $24.5 mil off the books). Alright, drool-fest over. It most likely isnt happening. But, we have a minor league system that is absolutely loaded with pitching at the upper levels and we have a top player that could headline any deal for anyone in Montero. If we wanted to make a splash on the pitching end, we could make any trade. But, I dont know. I just have a feeling that this offseason wont be as quiet. We are going to make some humongous move, book it

The more I think about it, the more I see us doing something big. Unsure what that is, but I initially thought this team only needed some tweaking, but I have a feeling that some superstar will be walking through the door. Watch us get Pujols to play in LF, lol

Once comfortable, I think he gets back into the 40+ walk range. This yr, though, nobody needed to walk him. He was the weak link and everyone went after him

That's an easy discussion. Lackey will be gone. He was an embarassment on the field and is a black eye to the organization with the contract. And, you don't "need" him. Nobody really needs the worst pitcher in baseball since 2005.

5 yrs after his last game. Rickey was still technically active when he got inducted. Pedro said he is done prior to the postseason this yr. He hasnt officially retired, but he is done. He was, without question, the best starting pitcher I have seen in my lifetime over a 5-6 yr span. He didnt have the body to have significant longevity, but his stuff was just stupid and he was very smart.

Crawford came into a terrible situation to succeed and just wasnt a fit this yr. He's a hard worker, but he also appeared scared and stubborn, which is an awful combo. Stubborn in that his swing needs retooling. He obviously lost some bat speed from 2010 to 2011, which seems a little early, but certainly possible. Thing is, his stance doesnt allow him to take the quickest path to the ball. Easy fix, close the stance up a little and drop the hands down a little. His bat speed will be back. And scared in that he entered a lockerroom full of high paid "professionals" with the voices of the team already in place. In Tampa, he was the lead man. In Boston, he was just a cog in the machine. It takes some time to become a leader on any team, and he just didnt seem comfortable. That will come in time. The biggest thing I saw out of him was the fear on the bases. Looked like he lost his nerve, something I am unsure he can get back. It seemed to get into his head. Even with his down yr, he should have been over 30 SBs, easy. Instead, he didnt even get 20. Great basestealers have swagger. They get cut down and they cannot wait to go after that next bag. No fear at all. Well, Crawford seemed to lose that. Regardless, I am unsure he will get back to what he was in Tampa, but I bet he can be a lot better than he was last season. I also think that with some adjustments to his swing, he'll show more power as he ages. He might be in the .270 range next yr with 20+ steals and 15+HRs.

The hosts actually arent idiots, for the most part. Well, Mikey is a retard, but the rest actually seem knowledgeable. I just dont know how they dont throw 3/4 of the callers off the air and ban their phone numbers. I actually heard a dummy call in and propose a package for Felix centered around DiceK. Really?

Sounds like Young was pretty lax and expected his pitchers to do their work on their own time. Obviously, they didnt. Young is still a good coach, but just doesnt fit when your players are overpaid fat cats. He would be good in spots where he has kids with hunger who will work their fingers to the bone. He can guide them. But Boston was a no win situation for his style

I have listened to WEEI and strayed from this site for the most part. But I have to throw my two cents in on the Beckett issue. I have heard idiot after idiot after idiot demand Cherington (strange, lol) deal Beckett. Digest this... 30GS 193IP 146H 175K 52BB 2.89ERA 1.03WHIP The only dig you can make at his production is his IP. Even his September wasnt bad by most standards. WHIP of 1.34 with 26K in 23IP is pretty nice. His ERA was more a product of bad luck than anything else. He's 31 yrs old and signed for 4 more yrs at reasonable money when you talk about top of the rotation options. He got out of shape at the end of the yr, well, the easy fix is to bring in a disciplinarian pitching coach a la Farrell. The problem is, reasonable money is still too high for half the teams in the bigs to stomach. And the other half dont necessarily need a Beckett enough to give up an MLB ready package for him. Then you are talking about a sox team that died on the mound and you're talking about moving your best pitcher from that team without a viable replacement. Beckett's going to be a sox in 2012. That's a given.

And for the Doj, just a few stats to back up my Laird comparison... Laird Age 22 season- AA- .291/.355/.523 23HR Middlebrooks Age 22 season- AA- .302/.345/.520 21HR In 2011, Laird played in AAA and was pretty average, with a .710OPS and 16HR, but the lack of patience was exposed at the higher level with Laird only drawing 17 walks. He did win the IL version of the gold glove at 3b, though. Both can field their position. Both can hit the ball out of the park. Both have a problem with plate discipline. I think both of them end up as either utility guys (Laird can play 1B, 2B, and the corner OF slots as well) or a lower tier starting 3b. Neither of them will put up Youkilis or ARod (newer version) type offensive seasons, because their patience is incredibly limited.

Balls and Strikes should not be reviewed. Either they go full out automated or full out human. The obvious line calls and out safe calls should obviously be.

It will be a player package, yet it wont be McNutt, Sczcur, or Jackson

Epstein is going to be the President, not the GM. Theo is trying to hire a GM.

I would assume the number would be more like 33%.

PG is spot on. The sox have no bargaining power at all. And they are proving it with their demands. Initially Garza, then Brett Jackson, then some power armed kid deep into the minors. The Cubs are effectively going to get it down to cash because the Sox truly cannot take him back. Hell, Theo is starting to put together his whole FO already in Chicago.

My guess is they would have to eat over $30 million to make the deal palatable

I feel bad for his two young kids and young wife. He died doing what he loved, but way too young. I still dont see how Indy is even legal. Those cars are effectively modified go-carts that can go airborne at speed over 220mph. Not sure how there arent deaths at every race