Gom

I upgraded to a 88 Ford Mercury. f*** you.

1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. The way I see it...I buy 10 season tickets, I help pay for it. Even if it is no more than one clubhouse meal, so be it. I feel a connection with my team, and I am one of those that saw "we won" instead of "they won". I don't harbor any illusions that I can walk into Hal's office and dictate what they should do. However, it's fun for me, I enjoy it, and it's what I like as a fanatic follower of my team. Any other questions?

People who rely solely on statistical analysis scoff at those that watch the games, but the best analysis in my opinion uses both the human eye as well as raw data. To ignore one without the other shows a lack of intelligence and understanding when it comes to baseball. Before anyone debates this, ask yourself why EVERY team in the playoffs sends out advance scouts to watch their opponents and potential opponents. If raw statistical data is the only relevant information, why bother?

Buchholz at age 24: 4.21 ERA, 92 IP, 1.38 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 1.89 K/BB Halladay at age 24: 3.16 ERA, 105.1 IP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.2K/9 3.84 K/BB So...in EVERY f***ING CATEGORY, Halladay was better. Every one. So...is this explaination good enough for you? Significantly better in every category. Also, pitching in the height of the steroid era AGAINST the Yankees and Sox. See, this is when you should concede. You ask a question that can be looked up in ten seconds on baseball reference and it makes you look like an idiot. You must be a graduate of Dipre's School of Debating Baseball. Graduated with honors, I see. Conjecture. No proof. He may or may not have pitched more this year with another team, I don't remember if he was injured or not. With the Red Sox injuries to the rotation, and trying Penny and Smoltz and totally s***ing the bed, I don't know the logic for NOT pitching Buchholz more. That's his organization's decision. However, when he pitched, he was average at best. Also, in 2008, he was dogshit. I don't know why he didn't pitch more, but one thing is for certain. He didn't pitch all that well. End of story. Fine. Not a prospect. It's semantics anyways. The debate is whether he'll be the All-Star you believe or the above average pitcher I see...and that may be giving him too much. This is Buchholz's biggest asset, I think. The fact that you may get average production, or even above average production at a bargain basement price. Have I? I don't know if I spoke on Scutaro on this thread or not, but assume I did. I thought the Sox should sign him, Dipre pointed out he had a career year and it would be a bad idea. I agreed with him, for once. Dropped it. However, you've been up Buchholz's ass for years now, and you've been eating crow and still to dense to realize it. You've been wrong a lot more than I have. This thread being the latest example. We've all been wrong before. No one is perfect. However, knowing when you're wrong and admitting it and moving on is what separates the men from the Dipre's. Sadly, I have noticed. He has done a good job, the organization has. For this very reason, I would advocate trading your prospects. Their scouting and development has been good, as well as their financial coffers, so they theoretically should be able to replace the players lost in relatively short order. I don't know who any of these players are, nor do I care. However, when you say that Buchholz has 3 widely-acknowledged plus-plus pitches, and then I look at his numbers...something doesn't jell buddy. Numbers don't lie....Dipre does, but not the numbers. Never said you were wrong. Just said don't believe everything you read. The book isn't closed on Buchholz, even in my eyes. Not by a long shot. Ditto Joba and Hughes. However, there are still MAJOR question marks about their effectiveness. Sorry if I don't believe what your front office or my front office says about their own prospects. What? What the f*** is this paragraph about? Dude, do you even know what you're talking about? Ok...except that Longoria hit the majors running, and Buchholz has s*** the bed, sent to the minors, been injured, gone back and forth...all the while, Longoria is one of the best thirdbasemen in baseball in his second season. Good comparison there, buddy. You worry about cost-controlled players. I'll worry about championships.

Sorry, I've been away for the weekend. Lot's of fun...but back to debating.. Mainly because you aren't thinking. Schilling is the only relevenat comparasion because at the same age, he had pitched relatively the same inningd pitched in his career, was still considered a prospect. Quite simple actually. See above. Completely irrelevenat. He hasn't pitched in the majors at a consistent level or consistently. Why is irrelevant. Hasn't is. Thank you. Funniest part of any post in this thread. Seriously. You ask me to spend time finding quotes by you, and this could take HOURS...and in the next part you tell me the prospects that you touted that didn't pan out. Ok..you touted Hansen and Lowrie. I LOVE IT! Which would be about the major league average. Also, out of those 5, only say...one or two become consistent major leaguers? Maybe? You are actually comparing Longoria to Buchholz? Sure...and while I'm at it, I'll compare Cano to Pujols. Longoria came up and in his FIRST SEASON had an OPS of .874. End of story. Sigh...you know, you'd be much smarter if you thought for yourself. First of all, I didn't say that Kelly would be a bust. I didn't even know he existed until this thread. What I am saying is that you ARE being sold a bill of goods. That's the Red Sox FO job. They are supposed to hype their prospects in the hopes of netting a higher return on trading. Don't put words in my mouth. You have trouble formulating ones for your own. Using your Longoria example...the Rays KNEW he would be something special. How they knew, I can't tell you. I am not part of their organization. They never even offered him to anyone. Ditto Jeter for the Yankees. Also, how they knew, I don't know. What is their rate of success, I don't know. It's a guessing game. I remember reading BJ Upton would be one of the top 5 players in the game. He was/is a true 5-tool player. He's definitely shown flashes of it, especially against you in the playoffs. He just hasn't put together all that talent. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. The fact remains is that at 25, Buchholz is NOT an established major leaguer yet, and is still considered a prospect. His stats have been pedestrian. I, personally, would trade that player for a veteran who would make my team the prohibitive favorite to win it all the next few years. You wouldn't. Agree to disagree.

Why? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Tejada is a 3rd baseman now. You want a shortstop that makes Jeter look like Ozzie Smith? Sign Tejada. The other two would be better options, IMO.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Spot on a700. Maybe the prerequisite for intelligence on this board is living in NY. :harhar:

Not really, no. They really aren't comparable, not at the same age. One. I already admitted that. Try reading sometime. You're arguing a point I conceded. However, I was showing a trend. The trend is that most pitchers, by 25, are already established. I was too lazy to do a lot of research, and you did it. The only one was Schilling really. Good job. Completely agreed. However, in 3 years, you haven't gotten much. As Dipre said, it was a cup of coffee in 2007. 2008 and 2009 have been bad and injury plagued. Would you rather have bad and cheap, or average and cheap, or great and expensive? Everyone has their answer here, and it's a sliding scale. This is more of a rhetorical question. I never even heard of Casey Kelly until he was mentioned a couple of days ago as a potential chip for Halladay. I don't even know what position he plays. What is relevant is the results. He could be the next big thing, or just a flame out. When people "project" things, it's wrong at such a significant rate that for the most part, you'd be just as successful flipping a coin. Someone else, who supports the team that I hate and vice versa, is seeing eye to eye with me. This is the reason, or one of them, that I joined Talksox. You see, it's much easier to join a board that supports your team. You flow with the masses. I got tired of Yankee fans who thought along the same lines as you, no disrespect intended on this national holiday. One's who preached that every prospect was a future All-Star, and that the rest of baseball was their as an extended farm team. You don't do it nearly as much, but you are guilty of this to an extent. It may not be the most fair of insinuations, but I'm sure you get the drift. By the way...if the consensus among scouts and execs is correct, he would have been traded already. Could it be that the so-called consensus is pretty much limited to the Red Sox front office? The Yankees were masters of this. They would hype their prospects so much that other teams would fall for it. The Red Sox are engaging themselves into this game, and doing it quite well, it seems. You fell for it. Ok, so do it for me. What do you expect? That years of life have shown me not to believe everything I read. Not just in sports, but in everything. I take everything I read with a grain of salt, and trust raw statistical data as well as my own eyes more than anything else. Once again, don't put words in my mouth. I never said he's completely irrelevant, and that teams have written him off, nor did I say he would be an abject failure and be written off. I said that I believe that he would be a #3 in the AL East, and probably a #2 elsewhere. Is that what you would call a failure. I think the rest of baseball, as well as the Red Sox themselves, would have to admit that Buchholz's star has dimmed a bit. I think this is 100% undeniable. This does not mean that he won't be a star, or that he will fade away into obscurity. If he has a good season, he automatically becomes the one pitcher all teams want. This is also true of Joba and Hughes. If any of the aforementioned pitchers goes 15-9 with a 3.46 ERA and throws 180 IP with a 1.29 WHIP...well...they will be pretty close to untouchable as well as the player everyone asks for. However, two came up with a lot of expectations [Hughes and Buchholz], one came out of the blue and was lights out [Joba]...and all three stars have dimmed a bit. Happy Thanksgiving all.

Finally...a decent post from you. I do see the value of player development. However, I put less emphasis on it since I am a Yankee fan, and we can buy what we need better than any other team. To me, a farm system should be used to "feed" the major league club. Whether it is by bringing the players up, like Jeter, Mariano, Posada, Bernie, or Andy....that's fine. Whether using those players to get a Justice, a Swisher, a Chacon, etc., that's also fine. However, and we can agree to disagree here, I, like SFOC, put more value in veterans with a track record than prospects who project. If you get a chance to get one of the top 5 pitchers in baseball, and one that has dominated both the Yankees and Red Sox in his career, as well as drastically shifting the balance of power in your favor, for a couple of high-end prospects, I don't hesitate. It was the very drafting and scouting and development that allowed you to make the deal in the first place. Buchholz will never be a Halladay...ditto Hughes, and Joba. It's no different than stocks, or any other speculative deal. Sell high, buy low. Every once in a while, you'll get burned...but baseball history shows that acquiring veterans for prospects is more likely to result in a win for the team getting the veterans.

How long were they in the majors before they started producing at a very high level? Let's take a look at the players you listed: Pedrioa: 2nd year Youkilis: 2nd year, improved pretty much every since Ellsbury: Right out of the box Cano: 2nd year Papelbon: Right out of the box Lester: 3rd year...oh..didn't he have CANCER? Buchholz: Going into 4th year... That's why this year is pivotal for Clay and Joba, and important for Hughes as well. Time to put up or shut up. Every player you listed was already playing at a high level in LESS time than Buchholz. He still hasn't gotten there yet. I'm older than a lot of you here, and I've been listening to the Yankees PR machine for longer than some of you have been alive. I stopped listening years ago. Now, I'm hearing the same from Red Sox fans. Until they do it up here, it doesn't mean anything to me. I'm not saying a team should gut it's farm system for a utility player. However, when you have a player like Halladay, who is such an obvious difference maker and makes you the prohibitive favorite to win it all, not just this year, but the next couple of years, you have to take that chance. Considering the fiscal advantages both of our teams have over all the other teams in baseball, you can always draft another high end prospect. By the time you need them, it won't be before a few years and probably a championship or two.

Easy. It was mediocre. A quality start means a 4.50 ERA at worst. Technically speaking, any pitcher with an ERA under 4.50 can pitch a quality start 100% of the time. In my opinion, a real quality start is 2 runs in seven innings, not three in six. Of course, this is my opinion. Still, no one has convinced me that Buchholz is a star in the making. The only things that I've learned is that his career track is similar so far to Schilling [although they are completely different pitchers] and that he has a better fastball than I originally thought. See, this goes back to the debate I've had here with others for years. I am more about the veteran players. Hughes, Joba, and Buchholz had more value two years ago. Why? They were PERCEIVED to be better than they have been. I'll take production over projection any day of the week. That's why I'm not that high on Clay.

First of all, very good post. Let's go through this one by one. I stand corrected on the fastball numbers. Guess he has a better fastball than I thought. What makes you say that? I think this is completely wrong. Jeter, Pedroia, Pettitte, Lester...and that's just from our teams. I think you're way off on this one point. Problem is the logic is faulty. Buchholz hasn't PITCHED up here. First of all, I'm throwing Gibson and Koufax out of the comparison. Different time, different game. Secondly, they haven't done it yet. Take a look at Joba. So far, in his career so far, Joba DESTROYS Clay. He's one year younger than Clay. He has a better ERA. He has a better WHIP. He has a better K/9. He has a better K/BB. By your comparison, it's not even close. Joba is better in every way imaginable. Now, for the idiots out there, I don't want this to regress into a Yankees/Red Sox prospect war. I'm just making a point. Clay, Joba, Hughes...they haven't shown much yet. The body of work is too small to trade, and you guys, a lot of you, believe the brief flashes you see and what everyone else tells you to think. In other words, the Red Sox PR machine. At the age of 25, Clay's been injured, hasn't pitched all that well, and more importantly, hasn't pitched all that much. With the exception of Schilling, all of those pitchers were already established major league pitchers. Clay, Joba, Hughes...not so much. I disagree. First of all, you had an idiot GM that publicly stated that he didn't want to trade within the division and that wouldn't grant an extension window. Now you have a new GM who will grant a window and is willing to trade within the division. You also have a Yankee team that won the World Series, so it puts more pressure on the Red Sox, which puts more pressure on the Yankees...a positive feedback cycle. I think he gets MORE than he got offered last year. Think about this. It's a given that Buchholz's star has dimmed a bit from two years ago. He had just thrown a no-hitter, he was a babe-in-the woods. This was the guy who at 23 was a deal breaker in Boston's attempt to trade for the best pitcher on the planet at the age of 28. Two years later, he's part of a package to get one of the best pitchers, not the best, who is 32. See my point? If he isn't traded, and goes out there with a 4.60 ERA in 120 IP this year, he'll be an average pitcher. Of course, if he goes out there, throws 200 IP, has a 3.17 ERA and nets 16 wins, it's a different ball game. However, which one do you think is more likely? Once again, I don't know much about him. The only times I saw him pitch were against the Yankees. I just look at his numbers, and realize that at 25, he hasn't had a full season of work. If I was the Toronto GM, I wouldn't believe your press clippings, or the Yankees. I'd look at the numbers, and so far, they're nothing to write home about. He may or may not have elite "stuff". His production has been mediocre. He may be a star, but I see him as a #3 starter in the AL East, and a #2 elsewhere. By the time this guy throws 200 IP in a season, he'll probably be 30. [Yes, I am being facetious].

I don't understand why you'd lose Beckett. After this season, Ortiz and Lowell come off the books. Ortiz will probably come back at a discount, a huge one. There is more than enough money to bring back Beckett. Lowell is gone. Youk slides to third, Martinez takes over first, and you sign a defensive catcher on the cheap. Where is the problem?

I didn't realize I had to post sources to NEWS THAT IS A WEEK OLD. Is the internet that slow on that island you live on? It's so funny. He talks about one year, not even realizing that week old news states that the Jays will allow for an extension. Then when I say it, he calls it a "gom exclusive". Then when I give him multiple sources, he claims....get ready for the laugh...drum roll please...I have no credibility [which by the way, is the word he hypes on since I called him out on it on another infamous thread]. However, when I thought the Sox should sign Scutaro, he called me out on it and said it was a career year. I looked it up, and Scutaro had a good year. I said I didn't realize it, admitted it, and dropped it. Even when he is raped, he still acts like a f***ing immature child. It's the internet version of "I know you are, but what am I?". At least he had the sense to go away tonight. Kilo, I'm not debating whether they should trade Westmoreland and the other guy. Honestly, I have no f***ing clue who they are. My point is that Halladay gives you THE dominant team for three years. With the resources both of our teams have, that's plenty of time to recoup those losses. Eventually, trading tomorrow for today will bite you in the ass. However, with the fiscal inequalities inherent in baseball, well, the money renders that damage as negligible, if not virtually non-existent.

Thank you Kilo. I think that if you have to trade Kelly AND Westmoreland as well as Clay, you do it. Same with the Yankees. They ask for Hughes, Montero and Jackson, and I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on that deal. There will always be another prospect that's hyped and ends up being forgotten. If you get one championship from the trade...it's a good deal. Again you question me, and again I give you more proof that you know f***ing nothing about anything, and you just like to run your mouth. This isn't new news, or a GOM exclusive, this s*** is a week old. Go back to flipping cheeseburgers. Nov. 17th. http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/11/jays_gm_keeping_an_open_mind.html http://www.mlbnotebook.com/2009-articles/november/jays-to-give-halladay-suitors-a-negotiation-window.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mlbnotebook+(MLB+Notebook) Nov. 18th http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/article/2009-11-18/jays-gm-willing-give-teams-time-talk-contract-halladay-before-making-trade Now go away and let the adults talk. We'll let you back in at the beginning of spring training. Maybe.

Except that the new Blue Jays GM said he'd be willing to grant an extension window. Is there anyone here that is really that stupid to believe that ANY team would make a deal and NOT sign him to a long term extension? Seriously? Honestly? If you do believe that, there is this really nice bridge I'd like to sell you in Brooklyn. If it makes you feel better, assume any team that trades for Halladay extends him for 4-5 years. Whatever. A team will make the deal, if they can't sign him to an extension, the deal falls apart. Absof***inglutely. Are you clinically insane? Remember, this is the guy that the Red Sox wanted to KEEP in the Santana deal. They were more willing to give up Lester. Would you give up Lester or Buchholz at this point? Two years ago, Buchholz was 23, and from what I read, was the next big thing. He had just thrown a no-hitter. You really believe the two subsequent injury plagued/mediocre years, with ERA of 6.75s and 4.32 IMPROVED his status? Honestly Dipre, you're just on this board now as comic relief. You ceased being a legitimate poster a while ago. See how others make their points? Try it some time. Again..all you do is bluster, and you can't prove s***. Forget about me, because that's embarrassing you, but I can't remember you winning a debate here...and a lot of posters here are 13-15 year olds whose balls haven't dropped and you're the lawyer. Word of advice to all. NEVER break the law in the Dominican. You might get Dipre as your attorney.

Yes, it was for shock value. This is the kind of garbage on Yankee forums I would see all day. It's getting that way now here. Halladay is a SEASON changer. Not just a game changer. I heard on the radio after the trade deadline that the only thing that worried the Yankee players was Halladay going to Boston. It doesn't really matter who the Yankees give up. A rotation of CC, Halladay, AJ and Pettite? Forget it. Book the parade now. Halladay, Beckett, Lester? Party at Fenuiel Hall in October[did I spell that right?] Halladay makes either team the prohibitive favorite to win it all. It will take more than one prospect who PROJECTS to be good...but hasn't been anything but mediocre so far. Put Buchholz, Hughes, and Chamberlain in that group. The truth is, Buchholz had more value two years ago. Ditto Hughes and Chamberlain. Tell me I'm wrong.

He matches up better than Carpenter, who did nothing until he went to the NL. Roy Halladay..not even close. 2.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 6.32 K/9, 2.71 K/BB. Schilling...about the same, I'd say. However, they are drastically different pitchers. I just don't see it. Really. How much would you laugh at a Yankee fan if he came on here and said "I wouldn't trade Hughes or Joba straight up for Halladay". So...convince me. Show me why Buchholz is such an extreme talent. Don't bother Dipre. Seriously. I'm looking for people who not only understand baseball, as well as people who will quote stats that are real. Seriously...convince me.

I don't know why he is so "coveted". To tell you the truth, I think that's more the Red Sox PR machine more than anything. How do you know this is what teams are asking for? You make s*** up well, kid. You really do. How does he project? This is up your alley Dipre, you can make up all the s*** you want. However, just a quick look at three dominant pitchers in their late 20's and 30, he doesn't compare. Not even close. Tell you what. Show me a dominant pitcher that is pitching now that put up his career numbers up to age 25. I'll buy it then. Again, I'm not saying he sucks, I'm just saying that so far, at 25, his career has been mediocre. That is NOT really debatable. Dipre, you fall into the category of someone who knows just enough to look like an idiot. Again... Someone with CREDIBILITY please show me why Buchholz is supposed to be that good.

Buchholz for Halladay straight up? Are you f***ing kidding me? NEWS FLASH: Yankees acquire Lincecum for Melky Cabrera and Ian Kennedy. Get f***ing real. I don't really see what you guys love about Buchholz so much. Everyone knows I'm more of a veteran than prospect kind of guy...but his numbers are not overwhelming to me. He's 25 years old. He only pitched 92 innings. He hasn't had a full season in the majors yet. He had a 4.21 ERA with a 1.38 WHIP. He had 6.7 K/9IP He had a 1.89 K/BB ratio You can't compare him to Felix who is in another league and younger. Beckett? At the same age: 3.38 ERA 178.2 IP 1.18 WHIP K/G 8.36 K/BB 2.86 CC 4.03 ERA 1.26 WHIP 7.36 K/G 2.60 K/BB Santana 228 IP 2.61 ERA 0.92 WHIP 9.25 K/G 5.29 K/BB I just don't see it. He hasn't pitched a full season, he's not exactly young for a prospect, most of these pitchers had been pitching YEARS in the majors. He doesn't have a blazing fastball, he doesn't overpower you. He's got a great curve when it's working. In my opinion, at best, he's a number three in the AL East. I'm not here touting Hughes or Chamberlain as superstars...they're not. To think you can get Halladay that easily..well, you're believing your own team's press clippings. He's just not that good...better yet, he's nowhere near as good as most of you believe. I'm sure if you go check out most pitchers who had similar numbers, you would find that Buchholz can be a decent pitcher...but not an ace. If I was the Jays, and this is as objective as I can make it, I'd probably want Hughes more than any of the three. He's got an assortment of pitches, and he's got two years on Clay. However, I'd want to restock my entire farm system if I was them. I don't know who they'd want from the Red Sox, but I'd be looking at Hughes, Montero, Jackson and maybe Cano. The Jays are in an incredible position. As long as they grant the team time to work out an extension, they can restock their team and they hold the balance of power in the AL East in their hand. They can effectively gut one of our team's farm system, and turn themselves into a solid team in three years with the right move. I really think Philly is a sleeper here. They can dangle Drabek and Happ. Both of those pitchers have shown more than our big three of Clay, Joba, and Phil. Also, the Dodgers can throw a whole bunch of solid young players at them. You guys are way too high on Clay. Way too high. My opinion, anyways.

That value is a waste of time. It's arbitrary. Abreu was worth $11.1 million. Why did he sign for two years, 19 million then? You'll be able to sign Matsui for 7-9 million for one year. Why not? I absolutely would not give him more than a one year deal, but for 25+ homers, a 280+ average, and the ability to perform in the post-season? No brainer.

Easy. I'm a Yankee fan. Seriously, the Yankees are in the post-season next year. It's pretty much a given. Even if they don't sign anyone but get comparable players, it's hard to see how they won't. The Angels are the class of the West. The Red Sox will be there. Are you really telling me that the the number two teams in the AL West or Central will knock off the Yankees? Baltimore, Toronto, Oakland, Seattle, Kansas City have no shot. The rest of the AL Central is not going to do it either. I don't think Tampa will either. I would build a team for the post-season. Cashman did it last year, and it worked perfectly. Cano reminds me a lot of Soriano. He destroys bad pitching. However, pitchers with control own him. In the playoffs, he will see better pitchers, and they would shut him down. The trick to Cano...just don't throw him a strike. Mediocre pitchers will miss in the zone and he'll kill them. Quality pitchers own him. Unless he develops a good eye, his value is much less than you'd think. I don't hate Posada. I love his bat as a catcher. I f***ing despise him for his defense. Matsui was hurt for a lot longer, and from what I've seen over the years, Matsui hits good pitching better than Posada. Question: Game on the line, two on, two out, Yankees down 4-3 in the ninth in a playoff game, who'd you rather have up? There is a misconception that you need a player to play every game. What's wrong with giving Matsui a day off against a tough lefty? What if one of the aforementioned players gets injured? Then you don't have a DH. Matsui is a given, a known, and will come very cheap considering the market. He's had success, he's had success in the post-season, he wants to come back, and there aren't many other options that can be had as cheap as well as for a short duration. Signing Matsui and Damon to long term deals is folly. Signing them to one year deals is perfect. This allows the Yankees to bring up their young players or sign good ones as they become available. Long term contracts hamstring teams. Look at what we had to endure with Giambi and Pavano. If we can get them on a year to year basis, by all means, we should. Lock up the star players for years, the CC's and the Tex's, and go year to year with the Matsui's and the Damon's and the Swisher's and the Cabrera's. That would be my call.

I respectfully disagree. I think that there are simply many teams that just don't have the money. There is no team willing to make that huge splash. I think that teams will wait....and wait....and wait. I think you will see a lot of players signed in the last two to three weeks of the off-season ala Abreu last year. I would be surprised if a free agent broke 100 million this year. Think about this for a minute...Boras is saying that he thinks Damon should start at Abreu's numbers, 19 mil for 2 years. Let's say he gets it. That would be approximately a 25% DECREASE from what he made last year. I think this off-season centers around Lackey. The Red Sox are in the position to do the most damage this year. With a bevy of young talent, signing Lackey would allow them to make a huge splash for a hitter in a deal like Gonzalez or even Halladay. A lineup with AG-Youk-PaPED would be fearsome. A rotation of Halladay-Beckett-Lester-Lackey would be devastating. In my opinion Lackey is the key.