Dojji

Technically they could, if you were willing to jettison Kotchman and try Lowell out at 1B. He seems like the type who could make the transition fairly smoothly.

You rang? If I have to give up Buchhhoz or similar value in prospects to get Adrian Gonzalez, but can score Nick Johnson for just the price of the contract, the scales in my mind tip pretty heavily in favor of Johnson.

I wouldn't read too much into a 3 game stretch even if those 3 games were the 2009 ALDS. This is also mostly the same offense that was pretty effective in the 2008 playoffs. Adam LaRoche is a free agent, and so is Nick Johnson. both would replace the production we lost when Lowell started getting older. They're Type B as well according to Cot's so all they'd cost is money. I'd look into "spending just money" on one of those two before I blew the farm on Adrian. But that's just me.

I'm not sure. None of us would object to having him on the roster of course, but I think we all recognize that we wouldn't like the price tag.

Assuming we get one of Bay and Holliday do we have a "real need" for Adrian Gonzalez? Recognizing that there's a difference between "would represent a re-frickin-ridulous upgrade" and "real need" of course.

Holliday is the better player, BUT until free agency begins we should be bending all our efforts to re-signing Bay anyway. My reasoning is simple. We still have Jason Bay as a captive audience until free agency starts. It makes no sense at all not to make use of that. If he wants to test the waters and files for free agency, then the two are on equal standing and you should probably go more after Holliday. But don't ignore Bay even then, he's a huge asset in left field even if you accept the premise that Holliday's better. Realistically I'd go hard after both. I don't think there's any particular reason to make the call as if we can only have one. Sure it's highly improbable to actually GET both players, but if you go hard after both the chance of getting at least one increases IMHO. The worst case scenario here would be going after Holliday, losing him, going back after Bay, losing him. There's 29 other teams and many of them could use either guy and many of them have money to spend. BTW I have a secondary reason for preferring Jason Bay. Bay is not a Boras client.

I think a deal for Stephen Drew makes some sense, but frankly I don't know if Arizona is willing to deal him for a relief pitcher, however talented. You know as well as I do that there's multiple schools of thought on whether a high priced relief pitcher is actually worth it to a midmarket team. Add in the fact that the Dbacks aren't really in position to go for it now and I'd say the only way they deal for Papelbon is if they think they can stretch him out.

Might as well post it if you have it Dipre. It'll be needed before too much longer anyway.

LOL right back at you. I now know how seriously to take you. Jonathan Papelbon may no longer be invincible, but he's still a fine closer. I think we all knew it'd wind up like that as his career went forward and more people saw him in action.

None of the guys you mentioned are as reliable as Papelbon. Don't let a long overdue correction mask that fact.

Dojji's Minimalist Offseason. This is the offseason you absolutely have to equal or exceed if you want to make the playoffs next year. Sign Jarrod Washburn to be our inning-burning, league average 5th starter. Trade Delcarmen for JJ Hardy, solidifying SS Release Varitek (treat his $3M player option as a golden handshake and wish him well), and play one of Kottaras or Brown (preference: Brown) behind Victor Martinez at catcher. Re-sign Jason Bay (5/80) Sign 2 relievers from the surprisingly rich bullpen selection this offseason. (Fernando Rodney and Justin Duchscerher are both Type B's that could be effective for us) Ellsbury CF Pedroia 2B Martinez C Bay LF Drew RF Youkilis 1B Ortiz DH Lowell 3B Hardy SS Brown, C Kotchman, 1B Lowrie, OF Baldelli/FA bench OF Beckett Lester Buchholz Daisuke Washburn Papelbon Oki Bard Rodney Ramirez Duchscherer Wakefield/Jones/Bowden

The Rangers are having financial problems. I think they're out, and in fact, if someone wanted Michael Young, I think the Rangers wouldn't be able to turn them down.

I could definitely live with that. Bay or Holliday and a top of the rotation pitcher would set us up amazingly well, especially if we could also complement the roster with a solid defensive C and a shortstop that can play well on both sides of the ball. Having the left field question settled would allow us to take a chance on someone like JJ Hardy, who even in the worst case is a more than competent defender, in the hopes that he gets his power stroke back and really turns the lineup into a force to be reckoned with.

I'm trying to point out how much Papelbon's insane performances in 2006 and 2007 spoiled us. Seriously, if anyone has a bad word to say about Papelbon's performance this year I don't know what to say.

I'm a little worried about Lackey's recent injuries. We should be in on him sure, but I don't think we should offer him anything market-setting. I'd put the chance that Lackey re-signs in Anaheim as high.

For Pap it was a bad year. Objectively, based on a reasonable view of what you'd expect from the closer spot, it was a fine year.

That someone is not Alex Gonzalez. Just for the record. He's a competent professional defensive shortstop with a good head and good hands, and that's useful, but this is not Ozzie Smith we're talking about. It'd be intriguing if that Cuban feller they got -- Iglesias was it? -- put himself in the mix. But that doesn't really sound like something in character for this team.

Daniel Cabrera is a meathead and a total waste of brilliant Godgiven talent. He is completely uncoachable and is too old for me to believe he will ever come out the way people once thought he would. he's the Wily Mo Pena of pitchers, in other words.

More to the point, it'll be the Mauer camp requiring it.

Holliday is a Boras client. If the Cards GM really thought he was going to be able to extend him I don't have a high opinion of his baseball cunning. Other players, among them Johan Santana and Miguel Cabrera, have done what I suggest is possible with Mauer. There's enough of a precedent for it that I can say it's possible to do it in Mauer's case unless there's something specific saying it won't.

Cliff Lee makes me very nervous. I'm not sure how he'd react to pitching half his games at Fenway. He strikes me, perhaps unfairly so, as the kind of pitcher who would struggle in that situation.

Yeah, but I think that if they trade for Mauer, a contract extension is going to be part of the deal, so that problem is only one if Mauer isn't keen to be a Red Sox long-term. In which case we weren't getting him anyway.

Sure, and I understand that. I think that's the only way anyone would ever countenance trading Mauer away -- is if he's in the last year of his deal and making salary demands that are so big that if you give in you don't feel like you'll have money left to build a team around him. Of a group of players including Joe Mauer, Adrian Gonzalez, Felix Hernandez and Hanley Ramirez, if Mauer isn't at the top in value he's second to Felix.

*jaw drops* Holy crap, I agree with Kilo.