SoxSport

Bailey's soundness is questionable, but so is Street's. Beane will want either Reddick or Kalish. Bailey is controllable, so they can start Bard and go after a RHd bat for RF/DH with the $10 mil or so they have to spend if they sign Ortiz.

The Dent HR was bad, but the '86 WS was worse--because the Sox hadn't won a Championship since 1918?, and they were so--o close. They were ahead 4-2 in games, and an out or two away from winning. The champagne was in the clubhouse. By 2011, the Sox had won a couple of championships, and making the playoffs was expected. It was the underachieving aspect of this team that pissed everybody off.

From Valentine's comments this morning about keeping Magaden, I would be surprised if Buckner was in the cards. They have enough baggage problems from last year. No sense in creating the possibility of more. Buckner, by the way, was victimized by his manager in that '86 WS game. He never should have been on the field at that point--hobbled with bad ankles, while his defensive replacement sat on the bench.

They are pretty much hamstrung until the Ortiz situation is settled. Unless he is extended now, they'll have to wait until Wed. If he rejects arbitration and is still unsigned, chances are they might finess themselves out of keeping him and use the money where it is needed more--in pitching and maybe a RHd bat for DH/RF. Part of this is PR. They might be secretly hoping he gets an offer they can't match--in which case they can go free agent hunting. You know the Orioles might be just waiting out the Red Sox. Who blinks first. The other option they have is trade--Street or Bailey for closer. They have the pieces to make a deal for either. Gio will cost more. I predict the Yankees will get another LHd starter. More likely a free agent, but they have the pieces to get Gio, too. Steinbrenner would hate to have the Marlins hog the spending spotlight.

Yeah, especially after reading that Globe article about how "signing CC and AdGon had long term [salary] implications". In other words, it really killed them as far as signing free agent pitchers this year. Theo really screwed them financially with those signings--especially CC. That cooked his goose in Boston.

It's still hanging out there, and could be a part of the package. They will have to do something at some point. It isn't a myth.

I can understand the feelings of some of the younger guys here, who weren't around in '86. But those that were remember it well. Some not too well. The '86 World Series collapse makes the '10 September collapse look like a picnic. The Mets did not win that Series; the Red Sox lost it. It just wouldn't be fair to Buckner. I doubt he would do it.

The Sox have a few of those. Reddick, Kalish, etc. How many right fielders do they need? Plus the farm system. They have to walk away with either Bailey or Gio. These guys are cost controlled. They have to trade for some cost controlled players if they are going to sign Papi.

You would think that would be the logical conclusion. I don't see how they can re-sign Papi and fill all their holes in pitching--much less a RHd bat in the outfield.

Epstein knows the Red Sox farm system. He also owes them some compensation for allowing him some freedom to roam while under contract. He has a pitcher the Sox could use --Garza. A guy who has pirtched well in the AL east. If Ben C is worth his salt, he should be able to swing a deal with Theo for Garza.

The Globe says the Sox have about $20 mil to spend right now on improving the club. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2011/12/how_much_money.html If they re-sign Ortiz, that number drops at least in half, leaving about $10 mil or so to fix what needs fixing. Namely, the pitching. It looks like unless they get deeper into luxury tax country, they really can't sign Papi and get the pitching they need. And if they don't get some starting pitching and/or a closer, they can forget the playoffs--the AL East is about pitching. The conclusion: they have to make some trades. Salary for salary and prospects. Hopefully, Ben and Bobby are working on some trades in Dallas. Billy Beane, where are you.

Don't do it, Bobby. There are too many bad memories of '86. Let the dead stay buried.

Market shrinking for Fielder? A pun, or what? There has to be a concern about his body type. His dad lasted until about 34. He's 27, and should be good for another 5 years. He won't get 8-10 years.

Madson is one of those guys who can either close or start. He could be switchable with Bard in case Bard doesn't cut it as a starter.

I don't think it's a good idea for Buckner to coach in Boston. He still has some baggage, courtesy of MacNamara, and there is no sense in opening any of it again.

Well, they must have something up their sleeve. Bailey and Street will cost prospects. Cordero is still available. Rauch and Capps are marginal. Thornton isn't a full time closer. Bell got 3/27 from the big market Marlins, so the price is coming down. And then there's Madson--Boras. Price goes up again. They have to decide Bard's role--that's part of this.

Didn't see any "crying", but thought he was deferential to Cherington. This was clearly also a "let's rebuild Cherington" news conference as well. V's quite an articulate guy. I can't recall any Red Sox manager being that articulate. A real contrast to the younger reserved Cherington. They pushed all the right buttons publically. We'll see if they can work together privately.

I think they want to go cheap on a closer. They simply don't value closers that highly to spend >$10M. I suspected Pap wound up with the Phillies because the Phillies won't deal with Madson's agent, Boras, because of Drew. I've since seen that elsewhere, so it probably has some legs. The Phillies overpaid for Pap, and you wonder if he can hold up for 4-5 years.

I think the problem is Henry, Werner and Lucchino left the Red Sox to be entirely run by Epstein & Co the last few years. That's the power given after he took off his gorilla suit. Lucchino turned his attention to the ballpark improvements and Henry/Werner to new soccer team investments in Europe. I don't think they paid much attention to player personnel. Sure, they probably signed off on the major free agents, but it looks like it was really a rubber stamp on whatever Epstein wanted. With the collapse this year, they probably took a hard look at the baseball operations, to figure out what was wrong. It didn't take them long to conclude they needed a change in the manager and the GM. Tito and Theo were both given the opportunity to exit gracefully. The problem is, they really hadn't thought out what type of manager they wanted, and left that to the "new" GM, BC, who was a known commodity--the easy way out. At some point, they realized they didn't want the status quo for a manager, and changed the direction of the manager search. Too bad all this was done in public, which raised control issues. I hope at this point the ownership has made clear what LL's and BC's responsibilities are, and what is expected from the new manager. It's long overdue.

The media is saying V is a "risky choice" for managing the Sox. I don't see it that way: On the contrary, the risky choices were all those other candidates who represented essentially the status quo--pretty much the same as Tito operated. That led to a situation where the inmates were running the asylum. As is often the case, what the media says may in fact be the opposite of the truth. I'm wondering which team is going to be annointed this season as the "dominant powerhouse that can't miss." I hope it isn't the Red Sox, because it's the kiss of death.

A lot of nitpicking going on in the media today. You'd expect this for a process that has been way overexposed. Kind of reminds me of the ARod disaster. Except this one has turned out OK--for now. I suspect they've had this decision under wraps until V got back from Japan. That might have been the delay. Pedey had a nice diplomatic statement about V. He'd play for anybody. The rest of those guys better get serious about playing ball--a full season--next year.

Regarding Papi, and the other free agents, you wonder where Valentine stands on these guys. He surely will have an input into the makeup of the team. You can bet that he and Lucchino will be providing the FO with a good deal of guidance on this. If Ben wants to keep his job, he needs to develop a good working relationship with Bobby on personnel issues.