redsoxfan3

Youk will be a question mark, but I believe he will be better than last year. Supposedly he has slimmed down and is in great shape. If that is true, then that will reduce the chances of him getting hurt. I think we will see an improvement at 3B with Youk actually being healthy. I would not be that concerned about SS. Aviles is a decent hitter and when he starts we have decent offensive contribution from SS. His defense is not horrible either. I have seen a lot worse. Punto is great defensively, so that will be a plus with him filling in when needed at SS. You say it is the most important position defensively, but that isn't always true. It is an important, don't get me wrong, but with Youk at 3B, Pedroia at 2B, and Gonzalez at 1B we have a strong infield. We probably have one of the strongest infields on the right side, if not the strongest infield on the right side. A lot of time people consider the SS the captain of the defense, but with Pedroia providing leadership in the middle of the infield, I am not too worried about SS. We will be fine there. I do agree that there will be a question mark there because we do not have Scutaro, but I think Aviles and Punto will be a good combo to fill-in in Scutaro's place. Also, with the 4th and 5th starter situation, don't get too worried as of now. Oswalt, Jackson, and Floyd are all still options. We also haven't even started Spring Training. We will know our 4th and 5th starters once Spring Training is over. We have a lot of competition in camp, we will be able to find someone that will be an upgrade over Lackey and Wakefield. We don't have as good of a closer as Papelbon, but I believe Bailey will do just fine. Don't forget we also have Melancon and Aceves at the backend of the pen, and possibly Bard, depending on what happens in Spring Training. We will be better off in RF and possibly LF as well. CC can't really do any worse than last year and we were horrible offensively last year in RF. Our offense and defense are really not the problems, that will be our pitching. We just need to be patient and see how things go this Spring.

This is a joke. I really hope we can trade for Floyd, because if they are only willing to give up 5 million, then we aren't getting Jackson or Oswalt.

You guys prove some good points that I cannot disagree with. I especially agree with him playing hard and smart.

Career numbers: Scutaro- .270 BA, .338 OBP, .389 SLG Theriot- .282 BA, ,344 OBP, .353 SLG Scutaro's power numbers are better, but in terms of getting on base and average they are pretty close. Theriot actually holds better career lines in those two aspects. Theriot has more speed, although I do admit the last two years he hasn't really been a threat to steal on the base paths. Offensively Scutaro has more power, but they are pretty close in comparison. Scutaro had one of the best years of his career last year and it might be hard for him to duplicate that. Both Scutaro and Theriot have played different positions in the Majors, but looking at SS, Scutaro holds a career fielding % of .974 and Theriot holds a career fielding % of .972. Obviously there are more factors to playing defense than fielding %, but the point I am trying to make is that Scutaro is not all that much better than Theriot. I would take Scutaro over Theriot if money was not an issue, but if I can get Theriot for 3 or 4 million less, than I will take Theriot. I feel that Theriot will add more depth to this team. I would love for Theriot and Aviles to split time at SS, with Aviles also getting some time at 3B. I do believe that we will be fine with Aviles and Punto, I was just thinking a cheap signing like Theriot would be a boost to depth on this team. Instead of having Scutaro, Aviles, and Lowrie like we had last year, we would have Aviles, Punto, and Theriot. I think we will be fine without Theriot though.

I am expecting one more update from MLBTR before the night comes to an end. It has been almost four hours since an update. Hopefully we can sign one of the two tomorrow sometime. I am hoping for the best. Let's just hope we actually offered them respectable contracts, because what I am concerned about is that we offered them below what they want.

At this point I don't care if it is either of the two, I just want us to sign the one that is willing to come here. I am getting concerned because we have made offers and we haven't heard anything yet. If we don't sign one of them by the end of the night, then I will be worried about what is going on. I don't know what to think with it. I hope one of the two wants to come here.

Please Roy, join this ballclub! PLEASE!

I am aware of that, it was still a big financial commitment. It does concern me, I was just saying that they might not be interested in signing Oswalt to a one year deal. If they are content with Feliz in the rotation, then they likely won't sign Oswalt. It could go either way.

That's not what I am saying. This offseason there has been a lot of negativity, especially since how last season ended. I am just saying that it is good for us to have fans that are starting to think optimistically about this team again. Also, just for the record, I have been to Fenway but I live in Fort Myers, so it is tough for me to get to Boston a lot. I know all of the positivity. I saw the line at City of Palms Park for fans to get tickets for Spring Training games at JetBlue for this Spring. There is no lack of support for this team, that is not what I was saying. I am just simply saying that I am happy to see more and more fans becoming optimistic about this team.

Positivity is what this team needs. I know that it really doesn't matter a whole lot, but if there are more optimistic fans out there, that is better for Red Sox Nation. With the addition of Ross and with the addition of either Oswalt or Jackson, I think that this team will be capable of winning a championship. With guys like Kalish, Crawford, Ellsbury, Ross, and Sweeney all in the outfield and healthy together, then that is one hell of an outfield in my opinion. It is always good when you have to make a decision between Ross, Kalish, and Sweeney to start in RF. We just need to get Kalish and Crawford healthy and hope that everyone can stay healthy. Our infield is going to be solid, I am comfortable with Aviles at SS, but the addition of Theriot would be nice. That would allow us to have to decide to start Theriot or Aviles at SS, with Punto trying to get playing time as well. That would create competition as well. I am excited to see what happens this Spring. I cannot wait until the offseason is done and Spring Training starts.

I am assuming that is good news. Since the Cards and Rangers have a set rotation already, then that means we are one of the more likely places to land him. Now BC just needs to get it done. I don't know what Jackson's price is going to be on a one year deal, but I am assuming it is still going to be higher than Oswalt's. I hope we can sign Oswalt to the one year deal at 8 million or maybe a little less with incentives. I really hope we get this done. I took a quick glimpse at the FA SS still left. The only one that really interests me is Ryan Theriot. Does anyone else have anybody in mind? I know Theriot said that he is only interested in coming to the American League if he can start. How does everyone feel about signing Theriot if the his price is right? I feel that he could be a decent addition, maybe a better option than Punto. I wouldn't mind have Theriot as our everyday SS. That would allow us to give Aviles some playing time at 3B and in the OF if need be. I know that Aviles could platoon with Theriot and Youkilis. He could maybe give Youkilis a day off every few games so that we lower the risk of Youkilis getting hurt again. I could deal with the lineup like this: C- Salty/Shoppach/Lavarnway 1B- Gonzalez 2B- Pedroia/Punto SS- Theriot/Aviles/Punto 3B- Youkilis/Aviles/Punto LF-Crawford/Ross/Aviles/McDonald CF- Ellsbury/Kalish/McDonald RF- Sweeney/Ross/Kalish/Aviles/McDonald DH- Ortiz/Youkilis/Lavarnway The addition of Theriot would add depth. We would have Punto as our utility infielder. We try to get Aviles as many at-bats as possible, especially with Kalish and Crawford out to start the year. He could also fill-in at 3B to give Youk a day off. When Crawford gets healthy, then he could split more time with Theriot at SS. I wouldn't mind having Aviles and Theriot as our SS combo. I would much rather have that than Aviles/Punto. The problem here is that we have to figure out how cheap we can get him for.

Offering Ortiz arbitration was BC's worst move so far as a GM. It cannot be changed now. We still have upgraded in RF, we have found some decent trades to make some replacements in our pen. We did downgrade a little bit at SS, but I feel like with Aviles and Punto that we will be fine at SS. Overall, I think this team is right on track. If we sign Oswalt, I think that this makes for a decent offseason, especially with what BC was given to work with. C- Salty/Shoppach/Lavarnway 1B- Gonzalez 2B- Pedroia SS- Aviles/Punto/Iglesias 3B- Youkilis/Aviles LF- Crawford/Ross/McDonald CF- Ellsbury/McDonald RF- Sweeney/Ross/Kalish/McDonald DH- Ortiz/Lavarnway SP Lester Beckett Buchholz Oswalt?/Rodriguez?/Jackson?/Floyd? Bard/Aceves/Silva/Germano/Cook/Carlson/Mortenson/Padilla/Miller/etc. Bullpen Bailey (CL) Melancon/Bard (SU) Aceves/Melancon (7th) Morales Jenks Albers Padilla? Miller? Mortenson? If we do one of the four to the 4th spot in the rotation, then I will be comfortable with this team. Bard would be a decent 5th starter, it would only be an added bonus if we could keep Bard and Aceves in the pen if one of our low risk starting pitcher signings can step up and fill the 5th spot in the rotation. I think we have options. When it is all said and done, this team will be fine.

At this point, I want to trade for Rodriguez or Floyd or sign Oswalt or Jackson. We need to get one of the four. We still have 3 million left over from Scutaro's contract to spend. Does anyone know what the asking price for Wandy is? Would it take some prospects or would it take a Major League player as well. Youkilis better stay with us trading Scutaro.

Some people are really complaining about signing Ross? He is not the best OF in the world, but he is an upgrade and is RH. I would rather have Ross than McDonald. I am a lot more comfortable with our OF situation. He will probably start the year in LF, but once Crawford gets healthy, then he will be in a platoon role with Sweeney in RF. Sweeney and Ross in RF will be better than what we had last year. Ross will give us a little boost in power from the right side as well, definitely more than McDonald would have done. His OBP is better than McDonald's, he has more experience, and he is younger. We needed to add depth to the OF and this did it. A good cheap pickup by the FO. If he can hit .260 with 20 HR's and 75+ RBI's, then I will be extremely happy with him. That is what he is capable of doing. I like the move. This move keeps Aviles at SS and I would much rather have Aviles start at SS most of the time, instead of Punto.

Personally go up to Pedroia and tell him you don't think his arm is strong enough for SS. That is the exact reason he loves to play the game. There are always doubters and he always proves them wrong. I would say that you have a logical opinion, but I personally think he is capable of playing SS. Well, that is basically what I was getting at. In the end, it depends on who pans out in the majors. Everyone is saying that they don't like Iglesias's bat, but maybe Tejeda will have a better year in AA and will improve his bat. Only time will tell and this is just hypothetical. It is good to have options. The scouts say that Bogaerts will be too big to play SS, but then again scouts are not always right. Only time will tell with him as well. He is one of our best prospects. Personally he is right behind Middlebrooks in my opinion. 3B will be blocked by Middlebrooks most likely, so if anything, I hope this kid is playing SS or an OF position for us in the future.

Here is a thought for everyone to think about today. I know that we have a gap at SS right now. I mentioned this before. What if Pedroia is moved to SS? I feel that Punto/Aviles would be a good combo at 2nd. I know that Pedroia definitely could be a good SS. My logic behind this is about the future. We have Iglesias probably ready to play SS next year if everything goes as planned. But, we also have Oscar Tejeda as a possible future 2B. It is hard to estimate if he will pan out, but say he is ready for the show in a couple of years. We could have Middlebrooks at 3B, Pedroia at SS, Tejeda at 2B, and Gonzalez at 1B. I hope Pedroia is around for a while, but we also have Bogaerts as a future SS, along with Iglesias. I guess my logic is, whoever pans out, Pedroia could play SS or 2B. I don't see him moving to SS, but it might be worth thinking about.

I just don't understand the fake names. I know that they try to cover up their age, but they are still good enough to play baseball in the MLB, so why try to cover it up? It is stupid and the consequences aren't worth it. More than likely someone will find out.

It is a tough call. No one knows for sure when he will be back. I have heard this summer sometime, so that could be June, July, or August. You also have to factor in our pitching need at the time of his come back. If we have five solid starters at the time, then he might barely get any innings. Maybe the pen is an option for him at the time if that is the case. If we have only four solid pitchers and we need some help in the rotation, then I see him obviously getting a shot. I would say if we don't need him in the rotation, then less than 50. If we need him in the rotation and comes back in July sometime, then I see him getting 50+.

I just got home from an 15 hour of work and I am pretty happy with what I read on MLBTR. I will miss Scutaro. He was a good solid SS for us last year. We got rid of salary, which is really good. Now we have the chance to sign Oswalt. I know a deal isn't close, but the chances of us actually signing him now are a lot better than they were. I am glad we can keep Youk and we still found salary relief from trading Scutaro. I am kind of interested to see what Mortensen can do. I hope we sign Oswalt into as our 4th starter. If we do sign Oswalt, then Mortensen can compete with Bard, Aceves, Silva, Cook, Carlson, Padilla, etc. to fill in the 5th spot. I really hope that we can keep both Bard and Aceves in the pen. Bard would still be a decent 5th starter if he gets the job though. I am now a lot more confident that are pitching will be right where it needs to be. I just hope we sign Oswalt. Obviously SS is a question mark now. We have really no depth in the outfield either with Crawford and Kalish out to start the year. I hope Iglesias will be given a shot at SS. Then hopefullly Aviles can play in an OF spot to start the year. That way we have Aviles, Ellsbury, and Sweeney in the OF until Crawford can start. By that time, we will know if Iglesias will work out, if not then we send Aviles to SS and Crawford will obviously be back in LF. My hope is that Iglesias works out and Aviles can platoon with Sweeney in right when Crawford is healthy. I know that everyone is unsure about Aviles in the OF, but I feel like he will be decent. Time will tell. Obviously we always have the option of getting another OF. The thought crossed my mind of Pedroia moving to short and Punto playing 2B. I feel like that would be better defensively than Punto being our main SS. I doubt that happens, but it might be something for the FO to think about. To me, I feel like we are in a better situation after the trade then we were before.