Dipre

Reminder to the FO: Don't get Carl Crawford. It's not about overpaying for a shiny toy with platoon issues, but setting up a roster that has the chance to win now and in the future. Get Lee and Ordonez instead.

suns, in all seriousness ,go away. You're not in. Period. I don't care about you enough to talk about you but you did flip your s***, and you admitted it yourself. So let it go and let us continue with the redraft.

Ital WhiskeyBreath Yrtb Flyn Y228 JBay Divinity Keeper Dipre

Everyone's invited, and hell, i'll pay air fare for one lucky TS member.

I'll host a keg party with strippers and a local band if they don't sign him. I'll add a foam machine if Petitte retires.

I like the salary cap idea, but if people aren't happy with it, i'd be glad to introduce some other variable to increase the challenge of the draft.

Let's all begin loving each other in a non-gay way. On topic: The reason i asked you the question a700, is because i wanted to know if you would have considered it a smart decision to void the trade contingent on health issues.

You're still not telling me anything. Couple of pointers: A) In the AL, "Ace-type production" is basically lower 3's ERA and a healthy amount of quality starts. B ) Bucholz' current age is one that (like you have excitedly said about Phil Hughes so many times) lends itself to peripheral development. C) Your initial point was shot down, you resort to "he's done it with year" but if you have any knowledge about Buch's stuff and minor league numbers (and you do) and the Sox developmental approach (See: Lester, Jon) you know that there's a pretty good chance that Buch's GB numbers maintain themselves next season but his peripherals improve. That being said: His ERA will obviously not be in the low 2's next year, but all seems to indicate (except your bias) that aside from a BABIP correction which isn't as significant as you're trying to make it seem, there's no real reason why he'd regress as much as you state he will. Agree to disagree if you'd like, but expect the call-out post once the stellar 2011 season with similar GB numbers, increased K rate and decreased BB rate rolls along with a very low 3's ERA. Calling it now.

Terry Francona just finished up a 27-minute session with the media. Here are a few of the highlights: • He doesn't see a platoon with J.D. Drew in right field, more dropping him down against lefties. • There is a better understanding with David Ortiz that if they sit him against certain lefties, he shouldn't take offense. That said, Francona feels Ortiz need to stay in there against lefties on occasion because it helps his overall game. "Our first choice is for David to rake," he said. • "We signed Cam to play," he said about Mike Cameron. That sounds a lot like left field. of course it also could mean some right field, some left field, some center field and some DH. • Felix Doubront will come to camp as a reliever. So there's one spot in the bullpen filled. • He did not feel need to reach out to Jonathan Papelbon in the wake of the team making an offer to Mariano Rivera. He joked that Papelbon probably didn't even know about it. • Francona said he can't figure out Dice-K. But said if he's the fourth or fifth starter, that's a good rotation. • He said Jacoby Ellsbury was still feeling something in his back a few weeks ago. But they expect him healthy for spring training. • They see Jed Lowrie as the utility man, playing first, second, third and short. • Adrian Gonzalez won't be able to swing a bat until March 1. • Francona is comfortable with the Salty/Tek catching combo and predicted Varitek would catch more often than the average backup. • Kevin Youkilis, he said, is excited about playing third base. He has always considered himself a third baseman even when he was at first. Straight from the horse's mouth.

But based on what? As i said before, there's a pretty good chance his peripherals (specially BB/9) improve as his BABIP normalizes. You're not giving me a reason why it will correct into the high 3's instead of low or mid 3's. and what if the BABIP remains flukey next year given the significant amount of GB (50.8%) he induced? What if the GB% stays the same and the K's improve? I'm not following here.

All i can say is that what i said initially wasn't meant as an insult, but because he's constantly complaining that he's getting "shafted" in every league he brings down how competitive the league is. Then he went and flipped his s***. Nobody else has ever complained or fought on re-drafts or anti-fantasy leagues. You can read the other threads for proof.

Do you really believe his BABIP returning to normal levels is going to alter his ERA by an amount of a run or more? If the answer is no, then you know he'll still be within Ace range of production, if the answer is yes, i'd like to know why. Given his age, there's as much reason to believe his peripherals will improve as to believe the BABIP will correct itself.

It's complicated because this is not MLB The Show 2010. 1) It's not a sure thing they'll be able to sign Lee, specially with the Yankees bidding for him. 2) It's not a sure thing the Mets will trade Beltran to the Sox. 3) They won't create holes they'll have to re-plug just because they want to go after two players they may or may not acquire. That's simply not how negotiations go, and it would be very difficult. Your stance here basically is: "Well let me dismantle part of my roster to see if i maybe get Lee/Beltran and then i can worry about plugging the holes i had no need to create".

Ok, you wait for all that then. They won't non-tender Papelbon, Bowden is not a sure thing, Wakefield? uh-oh.

Except for the fact that that's unrealistic. Move Papelbon, create the need for another BP arm, so the 15 million you needed increases. Trade Scutaro, need to replace him, increasing the cost. Besides, who'd wanna pony up 12 million for Papelbon? And even if they did, would they really trade him for nothing. Let's stay realistic here.

That's not how it works. They currently have 121 million tied up to payroll without arb contracts. 121 + 32 on Lee and Beltran= 153. With Papelbon's 12, that becomes 165. With Ellsbury's 3, that becomes 168. 168 million was the payroll last year and it's the area they want to stay at, so again, how do you fix the bullpen? Then you'd have to create other holes to open up payroll. If they want to sign Lee at 22 per, they need to find a cheaper option than Beltran, whose cost is actually 18.5 per, but i'm assuming they trade Dice-K for him, which creates another set of problems. Lee + Ordonez sounds much easier to pull off.

I like Beltran. But i'd say no to him unless the Mets pick up part of the tab.

Excellent analysis. If you go out and spend 22 million on Lee, plus 10 million on Beltran, how do you fix the bullpen? Get rid of Papelbon, then that's three bullpen arms you need instead of two. It doesn't make sense either way.

You're smarter than that. You know they're operating trying to avoid hitting the luxury tax. The Red Sox are not the Yankees.You could get Lee and another player, but Lee + Beltran at Beltran's price doesn't make sense.