BSN07

Team LEAGUE G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG 1. Boston Red Sox AL 162 5619 820 1510 327 16 192 777 2445 672 1056 51 23 .351 .435 .269 2. Oakland Athletics AL 162 5500 771 1429 266 22 175 735 2264 650 976 61 20 .340 .412 .260 Ok yes BOS has a better offense, but it's not by leaps and bounds.

First, Matsuzaka is not only really good, he is only 26, the same age as Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon (who turns 26 on Nov. 23). When he was MVP of the World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka was dominant with great stuff, great command and unpredictability. He didn't turn 26 until Sept. 13, so his three-year record at 23, 24 and 25 was 547 1/3 innings pitched, 437 hits, 125 walks, 553 strikeouts. Boston still has Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield. But if the Red Sox get Matsuzaka, they not only go into 2007 with a formidable five-man rotation, but also -- with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard on the horizon -- could have big starting pitching for the next five years That was from Peter Gammons weblog. Does he really expect for Bucholz and Bard to be up on the ML team this soon? Just thought it make for good debate.

Ya I don't have a crystal ball and have no idea how it will work out. But I still rather have him on the team then half the guys that are free agents. Maybe someday he will be a closer. But for know the starter experiment is on! So let's try not to run the guy into the ground if he struggles. As Red Sox fans we can have a tendancy to be "what have you done for me lately"bunch. Not all of us but every some of us out there and you know who you are!lol:)

Cora is one of those guys you just know will be a great coach when he's finished playing the game. That said he's not that great everday player and 2 million might be hi but it's not crazy. Is it that bad of an idea to have him around for pedroia as sort of a mentor? We all agree he is baseball smart. And he's decent guy to have to give someone a rest.

I just wouldn't be surprised to see him struggle a little out of the gate. Just until he get's used to the new role. I hope it doesn't happen, but I'm not gonna be unrealistic towards the guy and expect him to shutdown everyone just like he did when he was a closer.

And all I was stating is that someone had already been captain obvious buy saying if Zito had more run support he would win 20 games. I was trying to be sarcastic lol sorry. But for that person making the offensive argument. Here are how the AL was in Offense. Oaklan yes was bad, but BOS is only 1 higher. Friday, November 17, 2006 print this page Sortable Team Stats American League Hitting Stats, 2006 Next Stats >> Select up to 5 teams G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG 1. Minnesota Twins AL 162 5602 801 1608 275 34 143 754 2380 490 872 101 42 .347 .425 .287 2. New York Yankees AL 162 5651 930 1608 327 21 210 902 2607 649 1053 139 35 .363 .461 .285 3. Toronto Blue Jays AL 162 5596 809 1591 348 27 199 778 2590 514 906 65 33 .348 .463 .284 4. Cleveland Guardians AL 162 5619 870 1576 351 27 196 839 2569 556 1204 55 23 .349 .457 .280 5. Chicago White Sox AL 162 5657 868 1586 291 20 236 839 2625 502 1056 93 48 .342 .464 .280 6. Texas Rangers AL 162 5659 835 1571 357 23 183 799 2523 505 1061 53 24 .338 .446 .278 7. Baltimore Orioles AL 162 5610 768 1556 288 20 164 727 2376 474 878 121 32 .339 .424 .277 8. Los Angeles Angels AL 162 5609 766 1539 309 29 159 737 2383 486 914 148 57 .334 .425 .274 9. Detroit Tigers AL 162 5642 822 1548 294 40 203 785 2531 430 1133 60 40 .329 .449 .274 10. Seattle Mariners AL 162 5670 756 1540 266 42 172 703 2406 404 974 106 37 .325 .424 .272 11. Kansas City Royals AL 162 5589 757 1515 335 37 124 718 2296 474 1040 65 34 .332 .411 .271 12. Boston Red Sox AL 162 5619 820 1510 327 16 192 777 2445 672 1056 51 23 .351 .435 .269 13. Oakland Athletics AL 162 5500 771 1429 266 22 175 735 2264 650 976 61 20 .340 .412 .260 14. Tampa Bay Devil Rays AL 162 5474 689 1395 267 33 190 650 2298 441 1106 134 52 .314 .420 .255

I agree that Beckett is the better starter. But I also think Papelbon in time, maybe not this year, will be a quality starter. He will develop those pitches he needs to so that they work at any point in the game for him. I see him having too much poise and talent to be a 5th starter. But if it would ever come down to it, I think they would make him back into a closer rather then have him as a fifth starter. He will just have to change his training so that the shoulder problem occur less.

No wallace returned right around the same time Tek went down. I would say that had more reasoning behind the pitching staff debacle. Plus with all the young arms we had throwing this year, we had to expect half the pitching staff to hit that so called "wall."

Thanks for all the wonderful memory's B.M.! You showed us what someone looks like when they play for the love of the game.

He won 16 games with a 5 ERA. And don't say the offense bailed him out every game because our offense wasn't like it has been in the last couple of years. If you can with 16 games with that hi of an ERA you have to have some talent. If he learns how to adjust to the AL he will be a 20 game winner. He was pitching very nicely at the end of last season. I only mention the ERA because, someone mentioned that if Zito had the run support he would have won 20 games. All i'm saying is the same argument can be made for Beckett, if his ERA was lower. There both ifs. And it's not as tho the Athletics had no offense either, they where decent. I'm just sayiing i'll take Beckett over Zito any day.

Manny is staying... time to move on from anyother thought. I was reading espn insider and they said maybe the Texas Rangers would be interested in him, but he has a full no trade clause so don't see it happening. Why the hell is everyone so hi on trading Manny and replacing him with lee? Lee is like 300 pounds and from what I hear gains everyday. Sorry in no way shape or form could Lee ever be a good replacement for Manny. I like the idea of getting Drew for a couple of years. I like Beckett95 line up but I would change one thing. Put Drew in RF, and WMP in center. He seemed to beable to be half decent in CF, he was awful in RF.

Ya and the same argument that could be made that if Beckett's ERA was around 3.50, he would be a 20 game winner. Beckett has shown he can win on the big stage. He is just young, and like every young hard throwing pitcher thinks he can stike everyone out with his fastball. If he learns to change speed he might be the ace everyone thinks he can be. I'll take Beckett over Zito if I had to pick one for one game.

100% agree

Yes there just priming the fire for the first NYY VS BOS series that Matsuzaka will pitch in. The rivalry puttered out for them when it wasn't BOS and NYY in the ALCS. So they have to find something else they can air for an hour before the game starts. Just espn propaganda lol

No Beckett has too much promise. Yes he had a hi ERA, but all he has to do is learn to change speeds, I bet he is close to top of Wins next year in the AL barring any injury. Look at it this way, 16-11 5.01 ERA( Beckett, AL East), 16-10 mid 3's ERA AL West, anyone know who the 2nd stats are from? Bary Zito, Beckett had just as many wins and 1 more loss, yess his ERA was Higher but it will come down. Zito is sought after as an ace, Beckett is right there with him, so no they won't be dealing him.

He did play in 146 games last year, the most of his career. If he plays around 145 games a year I think that is good enough. He might finally be over his injury bug and his attitude problem. He's 31 now maybe he has grown up. And playing in a place like BOS might spark a new fire in him. Or it could go the other way cause he has been known not to have thick skin and you know if he slummped the media in BOS would auto matically starts questioning his motives. If he hits .290 or so with 20 something homeruns and 100 or so RBI's then yes sign him up.

There is some positives and negatives to WMP, i'll try to list them here. Positive 1.Young/inexpensive 2.Enourmous Power 3. Loves the game and wants to play. 4.Being around Manny and Papi should elevate him to the next level. 5.His upside is tremendous, but really unknown Negative 1.The only pos. open on the sox is RF(that he could play), and RF at Fenway is one of the hardest in the league. 2.He K's alot because he does think he has to hit HR to keep his spot. 3.His defense is spotty at best. With all that said, Manny's D was terrible when he got to BOS, but honestly over the last few years it has improved dramatically. Yes I know every once and awhile he has a Manny play but thats ok. Manny plays the wall as good as anyone has for a very long time. So teaching someone how to play D in Bos. is possible, cause if Manny can do it anyone should beable to. RF I think is just gonna be to difficult for Pena tho. I wouldn't mind seeing him at 1B. Give him all winter to practice and it might turn out good. We had Mo Vaughn at 1B for how long? Pretty much same build with WMP having better physical skills. Then Like Becket95 said, move Youk to 3rd and trade lowell for bullpen help. He might be good at first, I mean giambi,Thomas( in his prime), Vaughn,Howard, are/where not the greatest fielders and they have done well at 1st. We can always get a good glove for 1st base, have him on the bench to come in in the late innings like Dougy boy did in the 04'season. I do believe he just needs a full season and daily at bats to get over his swing for the fences approach. But the FO might not see it this way and maybe 1st base is out of the question, in that case I see him going to a team that is gonna have him play the outfield everyday.

OK, i'm gonna try this as an idea. Hold onto WMP for a little while longer. Why you ask? Well most teams are looking to add a bat. There are some good options on the FA market, but not enough to go around. Wait until the big guys sign( Soriano, lee, Drew, ect.). With all the big bats off the market, a young Talented( raw talent), power hitters value all the sudden goes up. With his value being higher and if you throw a prospect in the mix you you have some pretty good trade bait for a closer. We all know that Houston is in the market for a big bat, if they don't get one, send WMP and a prospect to them for Lidge. Yes it might cost more then that but just bare with me, this is just a thought, no exact figures here. If Houston really wants to trade Lidge then he is our best bet at closer. I know some of you will say he had a bad year last year but not to worry. Besides MO in NY and Hoffman in S.D., most closers after a few years need a change of sceneary after facing the same hitters all the time. I mean come on I know the N.L. Central isn't the A.L. East, but Foulke came from a weaker division and before injuries was well beyond good enough to close in BOS. The only other Closer known to beable to pitch in pressure is Gagne. If his price tag is not outrageous, and if the docs look at him and think he can pitch the he's another option. But after that i'm afraid the sox don't have alot of options. Of course we where in the same spot last year, and we threw a rookie in there, and that turned out great. But it's something you can def. not count on.

A closer, bullpen help, RF/SS is the order I see them heading in.

Dealing Manny is not going to happen. We have gone threw this every year. he has 2 years left on his contract he will go elsewhere or re-sign in BOS, so lets not worry about him going anywhere unless it was ablockbuster trade and I dont see it Happening. Michael young? I agree with the earlier crack statement. In fact I think old Theo would have to be dead and someone else signing his name on that one. As much as some people dislike Manny for sitting out at the end of the year I'm glad they did it. We had little shot att the playoffs and with our pitching was looking at an early 1st round exit. So why risk the greatest tandom since babe and gehrig for that? It was a smart move, move on......

2008 he can be a FA. If he goes back we get to do this all over again next year. Then if that doesn't work out, he will be a FA for 2008.

Totally agree.

Schilling was injured two years ago and 30 pounds over weight and couldn`t push off the mound........ Why would you want him like that? Schilling is not going to ever be schilling of 03. He might be better next year then he was this year. As far as Coco goes. Well if he can prove it was just the injury bug last year and he can get back to old form the sure lets give him another shot. As far as Drew goes, if he will get over himself and play to his potential, he would be a great RF and a 5 hole hitter for us. There´s got to be some clause in his contract tho because he needs to be motivated. Sign him for 11 million a year(what he left on the table in LA) and maybe put some performance bonus´s in there to make it like 13 mill a season. That should motivate him. Exsubmariner, theres no way in hell he signs for 8 or 9 million. He left LA cause Boras convinced him he could get more then 11 million somewhere else. In fairness it could back fire on him, but someone will pay him.

Yes I agree he is a great player when healthy. I would not be mad at all to see him patrolling Rf at fenway. He's a much better def. option then whatwe have and what's out there. He left 33 million over 3 years on the table tho, this scares me cause he will prolly want more. I say the give him a 4 year 45Million(somewhere in there because he will command more then 33 million). Load the front 3 years of the contract so that he makes more then 11 million a year for the first 3 years. This might interest him enough to come to Boston. But he better play his ass off cause Boston fan's won't put up with his lazy attitude. We have Manny already but he bats .300+ 35hrs 130RBI so we look the other way.

And if the Sox got him prepare yourself's for the"i'm glad we didn't get him" NYY fans.