BSN07

Go shove rotten fish in a horses mouth and proceed to lick it's big ol flappy horse lips. About the closest you could hope for in realism I would imagine.

I like the idea of my 3 team deal. It's not too outlandish like some of my other ones are. And it seems to be reasonable. Who knows, Holliday could be revived playing in Fenway for a contender.

It is isn't it

That too, but it may end up risky. Say he signs with the Yanks, who also sign Lackey(hypothetical), if Lackey is higher rated(last it was discussed he was close) then Bay. The Sox get the Yanks 2nd round pick and a Supp. Instead of a 1st rounder and a supp. Just playing devils advocate. Holliday would likely get you the better picks, or might even have a good chance of re-signing. Unless the Yankees sign all 3 which is possible.

Sano is probably being tested. A lot of the guys that claim to be 16, 17 or 18 are sometimes 20, 21, 22. Which might change the opinion of scouts. I mean look at the Hernandez brothers. El Duque was like 3 or 4 years older then what he was supposed to be. His brother has suspicions as well. Contreras is probably older then what he claims as well. Chapman will be an interesting one. He has a lot of money riding on his age. If he's 21, then he has time to build up secondary pitches and become a SP. If he's 26, he's probably going to be a late inning RP. Big difference in $ cheddah $

Not sure if it's been mentioned but I'll throw it out there. What if the Sox traded Bay? His production has been marginal since the start of the season. He has shown he wants to test the FA market(completely well with in his rights). And that means there's probably at least an 80% chance he signs with the Yanks. Given their recent FA signings, the Sox might not even get the Yanks 1st rounder out of it. I'm going to suggest maybe a 3 team deal of some sorts, SF- Bay Oakland- Combo of prospects Boston- Holliday SF is in utter desperation for a bat, Holliday would be nice, but SF and Oakland don't trade with each other like the Yanks and Sox don't. Bay could be the answer. He will be one of the better hitters available this off season. So offering him arb holds little risk. Holliday is having a down season, and Oakland might be weary of offering him arb. Which could lead to uncertainty about compensation for him this off season. But if the Sox throw in a decent prospect, while SF adds 2 or 3 depending on how good they are, a deal could work out for all involved. The Sox would most likely not have much fear in offering Holliday arb. They probably wouldn't mind him on a one year deal anyways. Then if he leaves they get picks. Or they sign him to an extension, which might be their goal anyways. Just floating that out there as a possible scenario.

No that's not what I was getting at really. It was more "glass half full". Yes it sucks the team is going through a prolonged stretch of mediocrity. But given all that, and all the thing s I mentioned before, the team is still contending for the division and the playoffs. Yes some changes need to be made. A lot of teams might have folded if all that had happened to them. What other team could still be in or close to 1st place after basically starting the first month or two without there 2 top SP doing anything. And the DH doing his best Alex Cora impression? Take CC and AJ away from the Yanks for the same period of time(hypothetical of course) and I doubt there close to the top of the division. Just saying it could be worse.

I can't believe no one used "Mate" or even "Bro" LOL a700, to posters who are new to you, it does look like your contradicting yourself. You did call guys like Bowden and Masterson bottom of the barrel type guys for the rotation. Then said you wouldn't want to trade any of them with Buchholz for Hanley. Those guys are probably thinking to themselves, "trading 1 high potential SP and a couple bottom of the barrel guys looks like a steal for Hanley?" But I've been around you a little more and if I had to make a guess at what you really think. I would say the fact you wouldn't trade them for Hanley proves you don't believe them to be "bottom of the barrel" type pitchers. You just have trust issues with guys who don't have proven track records in the Majors. Hence your preference of ML veteran players, over young more unproven skillful players. But who knows, I could be missing the boat by a mile;)

It's Arod doing his typical "ballwashing".

This seems like a phantom DL stint. Wake gets about a month off while missing only like 3 starts. I don't mind this at all. Buchholz gets a few starts and Wake has a fresh arm starting in August. I wonder whether or not Buchholz is really being showcased and they needed a spot in the rotation for a few starts. Could the Sox be working on something big? I have contended all along that if Buchholz is in any deal, it's going to be for a big time player. I'm talking Hanley, Adrian Gonzalez someone top tier. ...Removing tinfoil hat... Wake is 42 years old. He could have strained his back doing just about anything.

His 2nd half numbers are worse then his first half. But not by leaps and bounds. Penny's inability to get passed the 6th inning stems from a few things, some I have noticed are. 1. The Sox having him on a strict pitch count. So as to protect their investment and no tax his surgically repaired shoulder. 2. Penny's inability to manage the pitch count that has been given to him. 3. The 3rd time through the lineup might be giving him problems. He lives on his FB. And we all know that can come back to haunt you( See Beckett 06). Most games he gives a quality outing. But he's normally around 100 pitches in the 5th or 6th. Similar to what Dice-K gave last season(this year it was 100 pitches for 2 IP while giving up 3 or 4 runs(I exaggerate)). This is just one point of view though. I'm sure there are many leading factors to Penny not being able to pitch late into games.

Lee and Halladay will have to been sorted before Penny's value will really get up their. If someone misses out on the two or decide there too pricey, he could net a decent return.

Depending on which pitchers are available. If Halladay and Lee are both gone, then a desperate GM might fork over a good prospect. He's at least worth a "B" level type guy right now IMO.

Well he might be a good option if he doesn't cost a 1st rounder again this off season. If he does then pass. But KC might not even offer arb, so it might not be an issue.

There gonna want Buchholz. They might settle on Bowden and friends.

I have no idea if Wright is available. But with the Mets finances, the fact he's a 10HR, lots of 2B's guy at the moment and their pitching staff is lousy. It might not be a bad move that would help round out their team. I haven't read or heard anything about this. It's just me speculating. If it pans out I look like a genius, if not, I look like my normal eccentric self;) Cruz? Outside of having Jones/Lopez in the BP, it's not too bad. They could do worse.

Bay hitting .211 since May. probably deserves to be targeted more then others.

Listen I said it was a doozy. But honestly the Mets rotation is pathetic. Getting 2 SP of that caliber could really help bolster there rotation. And help sustain it for a few years. Is it that hard to believe the Mets would have trouble replacing Wrights production at 3B? If he was on pace to hit 30 again I would totally agree that he wasn't going anywhere. But his production can be replaced. Especially if they sign a good bat for 1B. Hell Russel Branyan could probably give them similar production. Just for argument sake let's say they make the deal, sign Figgins for 3B, and Branyan or Blalock for 1B. Having Wright, or having Dice-K,Bowden, Figgins for a couple years(less money the Wright), and Blaylock, Branyan. What would make the better team?

I guess he would be ok in LF on a short term deal if there was no other options. His HR will surely take a splash. But he could probably get OB at a decent clip out of the lead off spot.

I posted my thoughts on a Red Sox- Mets trade in the Gammons thread. But I don't think it will happen "in season". It's more of an off season thing. Wright for Dice-K/Bowden+ 1 position player prospect was my initial thought. The details/reasoning are in the other post. Mets get a Good SP with some up side/ concerns. And a top of the rotation type SP in Bowden, which they currently don't have anything close to him. Maybe add Anderson. Delgado is a FA after this season.

Penny has shown a tendency to fall off in the second half in his career. It is a concern to some extent.

Since we are talking hypothetical replacements for next season I'll start with the one I have been thinking of recently. The Mets are a mess with injured old players. Some of those old injured players are coming off the books soon. Wagner, Delgado and some role players off the top of my head. There rotation behind Johan is very suspect. And they have nothing in the pipeline coming up anytime soon. There is a couple scenario's I could see the Sox getting in. David Wright. I know I know he is signed at a reasonable deal, and is an all star 3B. But just hang with me for a minute. Citi field or park or whatever the f*** it's called is absolutely killing Wrights power out put. Right now his numbers are the same as Pedroia's. All fine and dandy but those aren't corner IF numbers. Add in the Mets recent financial debacle. And his contract could start to look a little big for a guy thats on pace to hit 10HR, when they signed him to hit 30. I propose this, Boston get's , Wright NYM get, Dice-K/Bowden, with possibly Lowell as an add on. There are a few 3B that could replace him that are FA, off the top of my head there is, Adrian Beltre SEA Hank Blalock TEX Geoff Blum HOU Joe Crede MIN Pedro Feliz * PHI Chone Figgins LAA Troy Glaus STL Mike Lamb MIL Melvin Mora * BAL *have options. The Mets get a SP to put in behind Johan. With good upside. Plus a young SP with top of the rotation type ceiling. Which is better then anything the Mets have currently coming up. Maybe they will have to add Reddick or some other position prospect. Wright in Fenway could be a 30 HR threat again. And a nice added pop to the lineup. Also sign Holliday in this scenario. My second situation is if the Mets really go broke and need to move a bigger contract. Mets get, Dice-K, Buchholz(or 2 of Bowden/Masterson/Hadagone/MDC), Anderson, Reddick. Sox get, Wright and Beltran. Put Beltran in LF or RF. And the added depth to the lineup would be great. Yes the Sox will have to give up some good prospects. But I'm just throwing names around for conversation sake. So be gentle.