Dojji

I wouldn't put strong odds on that fan being alive by the end of the evening. If he is, someone was looking out for him.

How many times have we seen fans dive over the railing after foul balls? Stuff like this is inevitable eventually, they can install safety measures and fans will just defeat them.

He was going after a Nelson Cruz foul ball, fell out of the upper deck, Guardians @ Rangers bounced off a railing and landed in the lower deck somehow. Only got this on radio, but I doubt we'll be seeiing a replay. Play was delayed as they attended to the fan. That 's all I know.

Not as important when his performance conforms to a greater sample size.

Unbelievable.

*checks* yep, still good. .870 OPS , .380 OBP, lots of solidly hit line drive doubles. Pretty much the same way he's hit at every level he's played at. If he ever gets settled in enough to unleash a power swing a la 2008 age-29 Youkilis, look out.

I wish, but somehow it never seems to work that way.

Oh and let's not forget that Dusty Brown and Mark Wagner are out, so our choices for a replacement are officially Juan Apodaca (Who? Exactly) and Expo.

Lowell isn't a solution for anyone who has players on the DL, as he is currently on the DL himself.

Which of the current contenders IYHO would go after Papelbon?

Kelly I save either to start for us or to fetch a bigger return in the offseason. I honestly don't think we have the horses to go after Soria without giving up multiple top prospects. Most of our big prospects arenn't doing very well performance wise this year and that saps their value, and most of what we have, we'll be needing for ourseilves in the next 2-3 years (SS, OF, P, C). Love to have him, but I honestly don't see how it gets done right now. KC knows what they have there.

I think if we want Dejesus, we're looking at Doubront the other way at this point. If I was in the Royals' shoes that's the price I'd ask for since it would be the right combination of iimmediate potential impact to a small market team, future value, and availability. If Theo says no, I look for Bowden and something A-ballish where you can get some upside because guys are far away from the show.

http://rainbowlens.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/pepto-bismol.jpg

Mostly the only one doing that (comparing to NYY) is Jacko. I've thought we needed a new stadium for years. Fenway isn't going to last forever and trying will just hurt the franchise. Carry Fenway into Y2012 and the centennial, and then rock her gently to sleep and move to new digs.

And if that happens, and Beltre refuses the option, we should be able to get some picks out of it.

Coello's worth a look. I wouldn't exactly dub him a closer of the future but as a MR, any pitcher who's effective in AAA is in the mix by default and I like Coello's numbers.

This is the longest Oki's struggled without putting up a signfiicant run of bounceback innings, but he has recovered from a poor start to the year before. Patience is still the order of the day. Besides, our ability to replace him with a quality lefty is highly suspect, unless you want to try crowding Felix Doubront onto the roster.

Whew

Wait wait, don't go to Paps yet!! I think that we could still squeeze another couple pitching changes into this inning!

I'd sign him to a Wakefield style perpetual option year set at ~$9-12M. Contract years every year, and plenty of moola to tempt Boras.

the Patriots' Day Game, at least, should be a Fenway game. I could just see a handful of Fenway nuts, if Boston really decided to move out to the burbs, trying to find enough funding and backing to get an NL expansion team to play in Fenway. I don't know if they'd have a chance, but you know someone would try it.

I've said this before, but my ideal scenario for Fenway Park is a kind of semi-retirement. It might be impractical, but I'd like to see a few "Fenway Games" a year, at least for the first couple years after any new ballpark opens. I don't think anything happens before 2012 anyway though.

Lowrie, not Hall, was supposed to be our backup infielder. Hall's just filling in as best he can. And suitable replacements for Pedroia aren't falling off trees. I mean maybe you could get a Willie Bloomquist or something but is that really what you want? EDIT: Hmm, actually now I think about it, even with his offensive ineptitude, Bloomquist would actually be a half-decent fit. Fill in at both IF and OF depending on what's needed, adequate at 2B, came up as a SS, and we really have zero speed on the bench right now, so there's a couple niches he could fill.

I'm sorry, but yes. Yes I am. I have the misfortune to be one of those people who are not only unusually tall (6'6") as well as broad shouldered and big-framed, but also have their set point needle stuck somwhere around "Goodyear Blimp" on the dial. I am, no mistake about it, huge, and as a result have trouble sitting through an hour long flight in seating designed in 1970. Fenway's seating is designed for people literally a third or less my size. Sitting in that park is not uncomfrotable so much as cripplingly painful. Even if I was as trim and svelte as I'd like to believe I am (for my height and build, doctor says I should get myself down to about 270 pounds) , I'd still have a hard time walking out of that ballpark. If I'm a paying customer, I have a right to expect that my comfort is important. The idea that my comfort is NOT important, that it is I who should accomodate the ballpark rather than the other way around.. well if I'm paying for the privelege I really resent it. I recognize that Fenway's a lot bigger than I am, but I won't be attending a baseball game in Fenway with the way the seats are right now. I have no chance, none at all.

Yes. We do. But we will deny it, because at this point Fenway's like a member of the family. You don't throw members of the family out on the street just because they're no longer flashy and handsome, develop a tendency to natter on for hours and hours about things that happened 45 years ago, and start to lose their hearing and pick up a few eccentric habits. you only move them to the retirement home when they demonstrate a clear inability to care for themselves -- and as old as Fenway is, it's still an economically viable ballpark as long as a team is willing to own it and fans are willing to pay to go there. But ultimately, we DO need a new stadium. I'd like to find a way to keep baseball in some form in Fenway Park, but the Sox need to stay competitive and Fenway won't allow them to do that past a certain point.