Spudboy

Precisely.

I am totally against making Betts the centerpiece of a deal to get Hamels. And as would any person with a functioning brain, I agree with Pal's reasoning.

Life will go on if Lester goes elsewhere. Although I still would prefer to see him return.

Sandoval should be cast as Adam Richmond's replacement in "Man Vs. Food".

The only advantage gained by reading an article by Mazz is that you don't have to listen to him. He irritates the hell out of me.

It's not even open to discussion. For all his perceived flaws, Hanley remains one of the very best pure hitters in MLB. Sandoval is just above average. And I would wager that if Hanley can stay healthy and in the lineup in 2015 he will provide equal to, or greater power than Cespedes.

From MLB Trade Rumors: Jon Lester Rumors: Saturday By Mark Polishuk [December 6, 2014 at 2:47pm CST] Here’s the latest on left-hander Jon Lester… Lester was visited at his Atlanta home by Red Sox owner John Henry on Friday, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford and Alex Speier. This is Henry’s second visit to Atlanta this winter, as he and other members of Boston’s ownership group met with Lester earlier this offseason. The relationship between Lester and Red Sox ownership was addressed by Joel Sherman of the New York Post in his recent analysis of Lester’s market. A source involved in the negotiations described the two sides as “frenemies,” as Lester’s trust in the Sox organization was badly damaged by their lowball extension offer to him last spring. In pursuing Lester, then, the Sox have been doing everything they can to repair that trust, with Sherman comparing it to how Dan Gilbert (owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers) had to atone for his past errors when convincing LeBron James to rejoin the Cavs last summer. Lester “never even comes up in discussions” in the Yankees front office, one team executive tells Sherman. It is looking less and less likely that the Yankees will make a last-minute entry into the Lester sweepstakes, leaving perhaps the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants as the four finalists. Also from Sherman, Lester’s good friend Tim Hudson is working hard to convince the lefty to join him in the Giants rotation. Lester was reportedly “very impressed” by a meeting with manager Bruce Bochy. I do not believe the bolded text.

Does anyone doubt that this will come down to money? I'm of the opinion that if Henry did not bring an open checkbook to the meeting with Lester that he has just wasted time.

I disagree with you Doc. I don't see why building a rotation about as good as the one they started 2013 is not possible. And Miller, as well as he pitched for one season, is replaceable. Cherrington said that there are several ways to build a rotation ( other than signing Lester ). I'm not convinced that the Sox will be "all in" in pursuit of a title in 2015. I'm thinking that they may still value the chips they hold and will chase arms in a more abundant 2016 FA class. But to say that the Sox can not build a rotation and replace "a Miller" in one off season is disingenuous or wishful thinking.

You forgot Dubront. Lucky you.

Well at least the Yankees have MLB talent in their rotation!!!!! Even if some are not ready to go.

So, old friend Ryan Lavarnway has been claimed off waivers by the Dodgers.

And IF Tanaka comes back healthy and IF Sabathia pitches well and IF they sign Lester / Scherzer the Yankess will have a good deal of pitching. Lots of ifs.

Sure but I was thinking of the idea of a 4 year deal for a reliever in particular.

Good move near term for the Yankees. They will need a strong pen. But 4 years for almost any reliever is kind of risky.

Lester would make a ton of sense for the Yankees. As much as I would loath to see him in NY I believe this is what happens.

That would be a legit reason to value him lower, I guess. I'm just old timey. Not only have I been a Markakis fan, I saw him as an O and never thought he would leave. Especially for "just" 1 million / year more. There is probably more than meets the eye here. Oh well. I hope that the Os are weaker in 2015.

It sure looked as though he was lost when he was put on show at the A's presser. So I doubt that Ortiz is off here. I would like to think that Lester is not one that would now thumb his nose at the Sox only because he did not want to be traded. Even the stupid 4/70 offer he should ignore. It's hard not to let sentiment enter ones thoughts when discussing Lester. But business is business. The Sox had some plan when they dumped the pitching staff. We have only seen part of that plan to date. What they do this off season and next off season when there will be many more good arms available in FA will likely reveal what their intentions have been. For the record, I do not see Lester being comfortable in Los Angeles. Just my hunch. Of course if the Dodgers offer blows the Sox out of the water he will probably sign there. I still think this whole matter comes down to the Cubs, Sox, and Yankees.

Fred I believe that things are well past that point if Lester did want to return at any point. I still can see the faces of Lester and Gomes at their Oakland intro. They both looked as if they had just watched their little dog run over by a car. Stunned. It was never a foregone conclusion that Lester would resign with the Sox. He offered a home town discount but who knows what that meant to him at that time? Now the Sox have bungled it and have moved on. Maybe by design. I can see how they will spin it if or when Lester signs elsewhere. They will talk about how great a young man Lester is and how they assigned a value to him and exceeded it with their offers, blah, blah, blah. Like yourself Fred, I have been hoping against hope for a return. Let's just wait to see what your boy Cherries has up his sleeve in building the rotation. As long as the Sox can keep XB, Betts, Swilhart, and possibly Owens and maybe Shaw I don't care who they move to get it done. Unfortunately with needing to trade to get pitching I see the Sox loosing one or two of the top prospects. Oh well.

A move like that would not be out of character for the Yankess. If they do sign Lester they better hope that he stays healthy for a while because the Yankees are not ready to compete for a title now. This is a little different because when they have added big pieces in the past they were almost always in the hunt. Now they suck almost as badly as the Sox. I find no solace in that.

Count me as one of the people that think that the Sox could have taken care of this issue long ago. I have never believed that he was coming back here once he was traded but will be disappointed if or when he signs elsewhere. I hope to hell it is not in New York ( Yankees ) but if it is I will continue to be a fan of his. There is nothing bad that I can say about the guy. He carried himself as a mature and respectful person while in Boston and he always looked as though his heart was there when he pitched. Even when he did not do so well. Right now I am anxious to have him sign so the Sox can start to make the other moves ( on way or another ) necessary to build a MLB rotation. In my mind they need a number 1 type, a #2, and a #3 or #4 plus the pen needs more pieces. I am hopeful that the Sox pull off a big splash move or two to yield legit top of rotation talent. They certainly have the resources to do it.

No one should begrudge Lester for taking advantage of this opportunity to score a big contract. This is his one big chance to do so. It will be really interesting to see how people here and in the Boston fan market react if Lester does end up in pinstripes.

And why do most fans and many in the media say his defense blows goats? Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. Maybe his glowing evaluations have more to do with a few highlight reel catches and some bombs in the HR contest. I can only speculate that the folks who have voted for him just have not seen him play enough to see his flaws. To me it is very telling that a truly talented ( and possibly declining ) defensive outfielder that has a decent bat gets only 11 m/yr and soon Cespedes will demand 5-6/15-20 just because he can hit 20 HR while playing average defense at best and is not an on-base threat. I do love Cespedes' power even if it's only 20-25/yr. That is a sign of the times because it used to be the true power hitters did more than that. I won't miss Cespedes in Left. Even if Hanley is no better. At least Hanley can hit.

Are the O's idiots or do they have some stud OF prospect on the verge? 4/45 is very reasonable in my view. Granted, I am a Markakis fan. Still, the O's must have wanted him gone because that is chump change to most MLB teams.

So in the non-news of the day we see that the Sox did not tender Juan Fransico.