redsoxfan3

At least we have about 37 washed up veterans who we can give a chance. You might as well add Wake to make it 38. It couldn't hurt anything. /sarcasm I would rather him retire and us try to give Bard and Doubront a chance in the 4th and 5th spots. It is possible Doubront doesn't work out, so I hope Padilla could give us some decent innings as a 5th starter. I would rather have Doubront or Padilla in that 5th spot rather than Wake. I am hoping we can get by with what we have and we can pull off a trade at the deadline. Maybe Dice-K could even redeem himself when he comes back. I am still holding out hope for Oswalt.

The new ballpark looks good. I try to pass it whenever I can. I got a new job working at the airport as a cook, so I get to see it all the time. I can't wait to go to some games. Also, if anyone is flying in from Boston to Fort Myers (or anywhere to Fort Myers) and you guys fly into concourse D, try to stop into Casa Bacardi. I am a cook there and the food there is really good. You could always ask a server if I am cooking, my name is Nick. I would be more than happy to cook for fellow Red Sox fans.

haha, that is funny. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Wake and Varitek with a camp invite. I hope that they both retire. I would not mind one bit if either tries to work with the organization as a coach in one way or another, especially Tek. I think Tek could help with working with catchers and would be a good mentor for a guy like Lavarnway. I just don't think either has what it takes to play anymore. I hope they both realize that. I want both to retire after playing their last years as a Red Sox. That means they both have to retire this year though.

I agree with you in saying I don't think he has a strong case either, the only thing is that his numbers were greatly improved last year from 2010. I just hope that they don't think that he deserves a 4 million raise, which he shouldn't. The 2/18 deal would be awesome. I wouldn't even mind him accepting 2/20. My only question is if he does something like a 2 year deal for 18 million, how much would he make during each season? I doubt he makes 9 million both seasons, probably a little more in 2012 and a little less in 2013?

You guys are arguing over what type of market the Nationals are in the Red Sox part of the board (as stated before). It might matter to you guys, but it makes no difference to me what type of market the Nationals have. It is creating hostility and it is stupid to fight over something so petty. I love debating and love watching people debate, but leave out personal attacks. There is no need for them.

So after a long weekend of work, I wasn't really around much. What is Papi expecting in terms of a multiyear contract? I know that he wants one, but I don't think we can offer him anything more than 2/20. At this point, I just want him to get the Red Sox offer in arbitration so he is off the books for next year. If we really feel the need to sign him again after this season, he will always be there next year. I am not really comfortable with giving him a multiyear contract, especially for anything more than two years.

Scratch that. I just read that Carlson is going into Spring Training with the understanding that he is fighting for a spot in the bullpen. The 5th spot looks like it will be between mainly Cook, Silva, Padilla, Doubront, and Miller. One of the last three is probably more than likely to get the 5th spot. I hope Doubront can prove himself this Spring. He is young and if he proves to be a decent 5th starter, maybe he can find himself a spot in the rotation over the next few years.

Question of the day: Is Doubront a real option for the 5th spot in the rotation? I think if he can prove himself in Spring Training that he is worth giving a shot. Do you guys see him as more of a guy in the pen as a spot starter/swingman? Also, another interesting starting pitcher that we signed a couple of months ago. I know Jesse Carlson does not have a lot of experience in the majors, but he pitched in the AL East with the Jays for three years and put up a 3.63 ERA and a 1.189 WHIP in those three seasons. He has kind of fallen under the radar with us signing other veterans like Padilla, Cook, and Silva. He has struggled with injuries from what I have read. If there is any chance of him returning to his form in '07, Carlson could be an interesting candidate for the 5th spot. I would be able to deal with a 4.50 ERA and 1.300 WHIP if he can give us that kind of production. That would be an improvement over Lackey, Wakefield, and Miller from last season.

I don't really agree with you. You can't really say Valentine and Cherington don't know what they are doing. I am sure they are doing their best with the resources they are given. Bobby V is content with the pitching staff because of the talent of Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz. I think they are confident in what Bard can do. In my opinion if you take the production last year from the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation, we can't do much worse. We do have talent on the team and that will be brought out in Spring Training. I think we will be fine. Maybe Doubront will emerge as the 5th starter. I think Cherington is smart because he doesn't want to play games with Boras. He offered Jackson what he thought he was worth and that is it. If he doesn't accept we move on. Besides, Valentine doesn't have much say in who we get, he just constructs the best lineup with the players he is given. 10 million is a little much for an aging Oswalt who might not even be healthy the entire year. Just because we aren't spending as much as we have in the past does not mean that they don't know what they are doing. They are trying to spend as little as possible. This might not be a great year for us, but because we refrained from spending so much money, it will be good for us in the future. With Bard, Buchholz, Beckett, and Lester in the rotation, all it takes is one of the cheap starting pitcher signings to emerge in the 5th spot to have a decent rotation. I find it quite ironic how some people want us to go out and spend 10 million on a pitcher, but yet still are mad over how much Epstein spent in the past. I agree that Epstein made some mistakes, but I also think there is always a limit on spending. The FO has a different approach this offseason, whether we like it or not, we have to deal with it. There are always options via trade. Floyd is still out there as an option as long as we don't have to trade the farm for him. I know I have criticized Epstein in the past, but I also know why the FO is doing what they are doing. I don't agree with every move, especially the Scutaro one, but you just have to move on and deal with the situation.

Who isn't at this point? We have a lot of potential starters. I am thinking when Buchholz goes down with an injury and when Bard doesn't pan out as a starter that we will have a rotation of Lester, Beckett, Padilla, Silva, and Cook. Doubront might get some starts as well. We have so much depth at this point it is ridiculous. Why not sign Wakefield as an insurance policy? That would only make this offseason that much better. I am pretty confident that we will be as good as the Orioles this year. They will be tough competition. Now on a serious note, I really hope we can get significant production from Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, and Bard in our rotation. I don't think we can afford to have Aceves in the rotation as well. If we have both him and Bard in the rotation, then our bullpen will be weak. We will need one of Doubront, Padilla, Cook, Silva, etc. to fill-in and do somewhat decent. I am actually now looking forward to Dice-K coming back. I hope that he could help this team out in July and be a reliable 5th starter. There is always a chance that we trade for Floyd still, otherwise we are probably stuck looking for a pitcher at the trading deadline. I am not giving up hope on this team by any means. Spring Training hasn't even started yet. If we can hang in there right around second place with the Rays by the All-Star break and trade for another starting pitcher, then I think we will be just fine.

I'm not sure what to believe. This morning I hear Gammons thinks we are the favorites and it is likely that he signs a one year deal. Now ESPN says a source is saying the opposite. I hope that the source is wrong and that he is still thinking about Boston.

I don't know what his definition of incredible shape is, but I just hope he makes a strong recovery and can help this team out in the summer. I also hope that we don't rush him too much to come back. Here is a tweet about what Gammons is saying about the Red Sox and Edwin Jackson: I am hoping that Gammons is right. That would be a huge boost to this rotation.

Is there a website that I can watch games on? I live in Fort Myers and don't have access to NESN and I do not want to purchase mlb.tv. I watch the nationally televised games when I can, but I hope to see more games this upcoming season. I do know that in the past someone gave me a link for a website that plays live game streams for free, I just don't remember that site. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the information. I know that Oswalt wants to start, so the Cards and Rangers need to make room for him. That is the positive. I hope he can't join either team and that means that the Sox could then move into a position where we are the favorite. I also hope that we are a favorite for Jackson. A one year contract would be good. I remember reading that and you make a good point about Boras. I just hope that we can land one of the two. I guess I just have to be patient. Hopefully something will happen. Spring Training is only three weeks away.

I am bumping this thread for Theo's compensation. I read in an article the other day that Selig could make the Cubs fork up something big in return. Supposedly MLB wants to prevent GM's from leaving a team before their contract is up. So, if that is the case, do you think Brett Jackson is an option? He is one of the better Cubs prospects. I hope we get something significant in return, afterall, Theo screwed us out of a lot of money. I know that is something that has no impact on the decision, I just hope karma bites him in the ass for leaving for Chicago as early as he did.

Can somone give me an update on the Oswalt and Jackson situation? I read not too long ago that Cherington and Valentine are both content with the roster that we have now. Are Oswalt and Jackson still possible candidates for us at this point? I know I haven't heard much about them the last couple of days, other than Oswalt was meeting with Texas, but might not be a fit with the Rangers or Cards. Also, is Floyd still an option? I don't know what to expect after reading those comments by BC. Were those comments said just in case we don't get another pitcher or are we still actually pursuing one of the three pitchers listed above?