Dojji

Ehh I still think he has the ability to be a very good roleplayer, but those don't start for the Sox. Let him go find a team whose roster he might actually crack.

Nah it's cool to break this out into its own thread. We don't need to megathread EVERYTHING, and this is an acquisition that reports immediately to Boston so it's apropos.. Good trade. REally surprised we got a 25 year old lefty with that kind of stuff for a PTBNL, even if his command is below average.

He's one of the guys we mauled back in 07.

It's true that the AL has become a much more... defensive league recently. I don't know what's driving that trend.

Not for nothing, Salty with the lone RBI and a good game by his pitcher.

Who's left? Tony Pena Jr? Kyle Weiland?

Bah. Just don't let another guy get hurt.

A change to what? There is nothing out there. No team has 2 good catchers right now. You guys are just going to deal with the fact that unless Salty breaks out, our next great catcher is most likely going to be a guy we develop internally, most likely either Expo, Fed or Lavarnway. My position on the subject of catching was, and remains, that we should not have let George Kottaras go so cavalierly. He's better for Milwaukee than anything we have left right now.

I think he very much has a chance. Even for the Yankees, orchestrating 4 straight World Series rings is something, and as the starting catcher each of those 4 years Posada had a big role in that.

You're looking too recently. Sure Duquette couldn't go toe to toe with the Yankees when they were pushing all the buttons right, no one can, but go back a few decades, or even kore than a few. Think of the Williams era. The Yaz era. The Rice era. Think of the early Clemens era. These were teams built to dominate the league, and they died on the doorstep every time. How can you say Tito's any worse than about average, when he can take a team over the top and all those good teams couldn't do it? The 2004 team was a good team, but not absurdly so. Sure, they had a good one two punch in the rotation and a knockout lineup, but they also had a flawed pen, weak team defense and had to open the year figuring out what to do with a pouting all-star. Trot missed pretty much all of that regular season. The entire infield was in flux. That was the year the shortstop-go-round began. Second base had been a bad joke for years other than one good year of Walker in '03, and if Bellhorn hadn't had one of only two solid years he would have in his career it would have been more of the same there. Only Bill Mueller at third base knew he had a job going into spring training and was actually right. Bout the only positions I'd call really great for the Sox that year are DH, CF and Catcher. 1B, 2B, and for the most part RF and SS were filled with plug guys and roleplayers. 3B was solid, but not worldbeating. Manny can hit, but he isn't going to help the pitchers. The result was a team that had a flaw for every strength and it was anyone's guess what was going to happen that year. This team only really came together as the one we remember down 3 games to 0 in the ALCS. Before then they were just another Red Sox team.

Because the Red Sox aren't in a position where they can "do just fine" and miss the playoffs this year. If you can't get a Reyes I'm fine with sticking with Lowrie, but Reyes is both a defensive and an offensive upgrade at short, and adds a speed dimension we don't have access to from either Iglesias, Lowrie or Navarro. I doubt Iglesias will ever be the Plan A starter in Boston unless he can at least hit something like .280/.330/.420. A guy with Ozzie Smith defense can't hack it in Boston if it comes with Ozzie Smith offense.

I don't think predicating the deal on an extension is all that crazy. It's unlikely that the Mets can extend him, but we certainly could. We practically did the same thing for one year of Adgon, and then followed it up with a contract extension. Adjusted for position, Reyes is about as special as Adgon, even with the injury troubles of the last couple years factored in.

And Iglesias isn't cheap? You think I'm underrating Iglesias, I think you guys are seriously OVERrating the prospect. Sure, Iglesias looks slick defensively, but until the jury is in on his bat, Lowrie's vastly superior offense is at least a balance to Iglesias' defense. You can't have a just-a-glove guy out there in the modern AL East. Not going to happen in Boston. Even Alex Gonzalez was good for the occasional dinger. Unless Iglesias at least starts to hit a little in the minors, he needs to go to the NL or else out west, where you can stand to have that kind of offensive production shortfall and still win. I'd still throw them both into a deal that brought home Jose Reyes (Mets might take it too, Iglesias at SS and Lowrie at 2B and Reyes' contract off the books would be a step forward for them). Short of that though, it's Lowrie. Unless Lowrie is simply unacceptable defensively you need to go with a guy who can hit.

Wouldn't mind replacing Francona with Tek anyday. Player-manager anyone? But that's just me thinking of weird scenarios. Seriously the problem is that Tito sends a guy out there to do his job and the guy doesn't do it. Tito gave him a bullpen full of has-beens and almost-weres and they aren't getting it done. It's a common sort of thing that just happens with GM's and bullpens. If I had to hazard a guess as to what was going wrong, I'd look to the infield defense. Pedroia and Lowrie are good players, but neither of them are amazingly rangy. Youkilis is only a decent 3B, he can't really make up for anything the way Beltre could. That means a lot of baseballs that could be fielded aren't just because they don't have the mobility to be there in time. That was always the big downside of the get-a-1B-and-move-Youk-to-third scenario, and it's biting us a little now. Pitchers have to be a bit sharper in a division where their margin for error is already the thinnest in baseball. Unfortunately, the configurations that make the most sense as fixes take a big bat out of the lineup (either Ortiz, Youk, Gonzo or Crawford) and replace it with Iglesias. Makes it a real tough call.

There is no way you trade an excellent offensive shortstop in order to play a guy with no stick unless he's a total butcher defensively -- which Lowrie isn't. We have NO guarantee Iglesias will hit at the big league level. Absent that, Lowrie is the answer at shortstop and IGLESIAS is the trade bait. Navarro is the ideal fit for a infield reserve at the moment -- or will be once he gets healthy. Lowrie is your starting shortstop until he proves he shouldn't be -- he's earned at least that much with his play so far this year. Where is the room for Iglesias? Honestly I'd trade him. Any of a number of National League teams would be extremely pleased to have him.

LOL Molina. Maybe 5 years ago, but people age. Molina certainly has. He's old and out of shape and if he was anywhere near what he used to be he'd be starting for someone. Forget him. As for jumping 2 levels with Federowicz, that's nearly as bad, only in this case you're actually ruining a prospect instead of just wasting your time with a past-it veteran. We have exactly one alternative to Salty, and that's Expo.

If you put Salty in the minors, you release McKenry. But you don't put Salty in the minors because that would be really freaking stupid. There are no alternatives right now that are any better than he is. We've been spoiled for more than a decade and a half at the catcher position, first with Hatteberg, then with Tek. Time to experience what the rest of the league has to deal with every year when it comes to the catcher's position, and just suck it up if you don't like it. There are no more easy answers for us than there are for the 18 other teams desperate for a real two-way catcher.

And Molina's going to solve our problems? Pff. Please. The man was a very good defensive catcher in his prime -- you know, 5 years ago -- but gimme a break, we're going to be any more patient with this guy than we were with Salty? Seriously? You keep Salty until you have an actual young replacement. We don't. There's a reason this guy ain't working, and it isn't because the league has too many solid two way catchers. At least with Salty, he could break out. Molina is just Molina. Which kid is Saltalamacchia blocking right now? Expo and his sub .550 OPS in AAA? Our future DH Ryan Lavarnway? Adalberto "24 years old and as raw as unprepared sushi" Ibarra? There is no one within 18 months of being more than a big league backup right now. That's why Tek is still here.

With his bad I'd love to give him the chance to try. Guy who can play SS can usually hack it in corner OF, if he can add CF to that, then we have a really useful player here. I can't think what Navarro would have to do more than he's doing with the stick. It all comes down to what you can expect out of his glove. If it's solid, then he's just waiting for a space.

Translation: You sillyhead. In order to trade Braun, the Brewers need a reason to do so. He isn't expensive, so getting rid of the contract is not that reason. THe Brewers are also trying to run for the playoffs, so they aren't going to "rebuiild" by trading Braun for a boatload of prospects. That leaves Boston making the kind of offer that knocks them off their feet. And for a guy like Braun, it isn't wonderfully likely that the Sox even have the pieces to meet Milwaukee's price, extension or no, because we'd have to put them over the top with a no doubt trade for them. I don't see how the Sox do that.

It's not a question of whether we could afford him. More why the heck would the Brewers even make him available, as they can afford him..

LOL@Boston fans.