SoxSport

I would avoid Kemp. He had a big contract season, then has had injury problems since then. Pass. I would also avoid Beltran--the Cardinals were lucky with him. 37yo with no knees. One problem the Red Sox have is they have so much money to spend they sometimes go looking for excuses to spend it. The result is they often block young players, with the excuse that "they aren't ready." What they should do is throw money at their NEEDS. That means maybe McCann--a guy who can catch as well as hit. Perfect compliment to Ross. Then you have to ask how Lav fits in the picture. I don't know. But with those veteran pitchers, a good game caller and pitch framer (watch Ross work behind the plate--a master) is needed. Epstein missed the boat not signing Martin instead of Salty several years ago. Martin much better defensively and timely hitter like Ross. Nap fits a need, and should be re-signed as a priority. They have the inside track on him. Ells and Drew both block young players. I say no, at Boras' inflated prices. Bogaerts can play SS, JBJ or Vic in the OF. An OF of Vic,Gomes,Nava,Carp,JBJ looks OK. Beltran would add depth, but at what price? Giving up on Middlebrooks and switching Bogie to 3B so early in his career would be foolish. They can lock up the left side of their IF for 10 years.

Anybody who pays $20 mil to Ells is overpaying. He's more of a Bourne type of player who had trouble getting $14 mil. He's lucky if he gets $15 mil over an extended period, and I doubt it will be in Boston, with Bradley waiting in the wings. The priority at catcher should be defense. That was abundantly clear in the World Series. It hit them on the head.

I doubt this one. Unless they can persuade some Japanese team to take Dempster. One of those prospects will likely be ready, and there is already a logjam in the rotation.

I hear they might pay big bucks for McCann, particularly if they let Ells go. That's a good tradeoff considering they have JBJ waiting in the wings. I would be happy with Ruiz, too, who is very good defensively and game calling. Ross is too old to be catching 100+ games, but great in roles like the playoffs. McCann is tight with Ross. I also think they'll re-sign Nap. They would have been more serious about Abreu if they didn't have Nap in the bag.

I see Cherington in the Herald today was quoted as saying Epstein said after winning in 04 you had to change the chemistry because you never get it back anyways with the same guys. Or he said as much. Where did that get them? They didn't win again until 07. If Cherington thinks he should tear apart this team and rebuild it again to repeat, he is dreaming. You never know you have chemistry until you have it. You have to be LUCKY. It is hard to do a priori. Once you have it, hold onto it for dear life. Now that doesn't mean retaining everybody, but it does mean identifying and retaining the key players who aren't replaceable. That should be his first task. I see Nap as the only guy right now that fills that description. Maybe Ells, but he will come grossly overpaid and they have a clone in JBJ ready to replace him. Same deal at SS. Bogaerts is liable to be better next year than Drew will ever be--assuming he keeps improving. You don't want to block that kid. And Middlebrooks could bounce back big after the common soph slump. You don't want to give up on these guys and block them with overpaid veterans on the decline. Drew is overrated in Boras money. Already the clamor is to be bold (in the Herald), and trade the farm system, etc for Stanton. I think that would be a mistake. Stanton had a poor year, and you don't know what he's worth. Furthermore, they don't need him. What they may need is a CF replacement long term for Ells, and that should be JBJ. Vic is too old for that role--at least long term. Stay put, Cherington, and give the younger players a chance.

I doubt they will be serious bidders. They hardly have any room for the pitching prospects they have. The question is what they do with Dempster--they need his spot in the rotation. Cherington will have to get creative to unload him.

Vic discovered he could hit righty all the time--even against RHP--and hit better. That was an important discovery, because it raised his value and he is locked in for 2 more years. The logical thing is he stays in RF and JBJ takes over in CF next year. Never mind the PR--Ells is replaceable, and will be replaced if Boras salary demand hits $20 mil and more than 4 years. When I think of Boras, I think of skyrocketing ticket prices and cable bills.

I think Ells will wind up elsewhere. They'll take the draft pick. He's 30 years old, a bit fragile, and they have a prime replacement for him in JBJ. Did I mention Boras? That's a synonym for overpaying. Him and George Steinbrenner personify salary hyperinflation. I hear they made QOs to Ells, Drew and Nap for $14 mil each. With Ells you go maybe $16mil/4 yrs. Nap 2yrs. Drew is overpaid at $14 mil, especially with Bogaerts there. I don't buy the 3B argument--he's a SS. Drew is really a role player who was valuable in the playoffs, even if he didn't hit much. But Boras will try to make him look like Tulowitski. The price for him will be beyond reason for the Red Sox. You figure Middlebrooks will have a good year next year after the soph slump, which affects a lot of young players. They would be foolish to give up on him--imagine having Middlebrooks and Bogaerts to play 3B and SS for the next 10 years? They are lucky.

Obviously all of the above--of varying importance. Clubhouse? What was the clubhouse like? I don't think anybody knows. The media talks about "clubhouse" but they never say what is going on there--maybe they don't know either. Schilling said they didn't. Maybe clubhouse means the "beards" , etc. If so, yes. That gave the team character and identity. We do know they had excellent chemistry on the field--a bunch of role players who contributed down the line. 25 guys. Guys who could get the big hit or pitch the big game or inning. Farrell and the coaches must also be big factors. Farrell was a lot more visible than the coaches, but the coaches must have been a factor as well. Farrell and Nieves probably had a lot to do with the pitching--no championship without the pitching. The other thing --maybe the most important--is you had all levels of the organization rowing in the same direction. That was not the case last year. The communication lines were reopened. You could say Farrell was the glue here. A lot of stuff just came together, as it does for any team which wins a championship.

One priority is to figure out a way of getting rid of Dempster. He's a liability--they have young starters waiting in the wings that need opportunities. Drew is another who is blocking young players. You also could say Ells or Vic are blocking Bradley, but they may be able to fit JBJ in an outfield backup role if he's ready. Salty also blocks the younger catchers, and Ross has established himself as the no.1 now based on the World Series. It's clear defense and game calling have to be the priority at catcher--not hitting.

LOL. I don't remember how I voted. I would say yes, but Ells has to come at a local discount. Boras will pass him off as Jesus Christ, and there may be a lot of overbidding. They have an alternative in Bradley. That will be a factor. Victorino is at an age where he misses games.

You have to give Cherington credit for putting together the right chemistry. You only hope he is smart enough to keep that chemistry, and not tinker with it, as often happens.

Tough call right now. Middlebrooks is still inconsistent. They have other talent in the minors at 3B and SS, so Will could be traded. On the other hand, Drew's agent is Boras, and I doubt they will overpay for him with Bogaerts there. Bogaerts looked pretty good to me defensively at both positions, and he is bound to get better. Drew is far from an elite player. Bogaerts could be another Tulowitski--without the injuries.

I heard it mentioned on TV that Tim McCarver was in the HOF. He wasn't that good as a player, so I checked it out. He was elected to the broadcasters wing of the HOF last year. The thing is, nowadays, the media doesn't make any distinction between media types and ballplayers who are in the HOF. They should. It just shows how much TV has taken control of sports due to the immense revenues. Nowadays, the path to the HOF is often easier for a ballplayer who gets into TV broadcasting or analysis.

ha. Doesn't sound like it's possible. tell the umpires who called that obstruction play in game 3. I do believe there is cynicism about Boston sports teams in the media--largely in the networks based in NY (CBS, Yahoo, ESPN, etc), their main market. Probably due to competition for the New England market. NY teams get first play on the League TV channels and network TV feature games--plus some LA. That's pretty obvious by now--at least outside of New England.

It does help to rally around something. This year, it was the Marathon bombing. Plus the beards. Those beards were a uniting factor, too. Just like the old Dirt Dogs. Builds team character. These guys have an identity now. You don't want to lose that.

Yeah. I think there is some anti-Boston in the "national" sports media. Maybe because they are all based in NY, and NY is the major TV sports market (about 15%; LA is 9%; Boston is about 3%).Boston is a competing market with NY--some overlap. Where I am in the northeast, what you get is a healthy dose of NY teams in all the sports. That's because the TV advertising revenues are higher when NY teams play. It's about money. Even the league channels (MLB,NFL, NBA) focus on NY teams. They also highlight name recognition: it's the Yankees, Dodgers, etc. vs Boston, Philadelphia, etc. As if fans didn't know where the Red Sox and the Phillies play. The two team city bit is a bunch of crap. It's about advertising.

This could be the greatest turnaround in baseball history, considering what happened the previous two years. I guess there were two keys: one was Henry's salary dump to the Dodgers, the other was Cherington's free agent signings this past year. Every signing, except maybe Dempster, turned out to be gold. And then you have Farrell and the coaching staff. Doubt they could have done it without them. MVPs all. Everything worked out incredibly well. To think they made two deals for closers and both went down. The guy they signed to setup turned out to be maybe the best closer in baseball by the end of the year. It was a magical year. Everybody contributed. 25 guys. You go down the lineup, They all won games with big hits at one time or another. And the pitchers, too. They all came up big at one time or another. Even Dempster, a few times. Peavy was a huge pickup for Cherington in the 2nd half. Solidified the rotation, added another fierce competitor to go with Lester and Lackey. This is a helluva team right now they've put together, and they'd be crazy to change anything. That's 3 championships in 10 years, after none for 80+ years. Henry must be doing something right.

I don't know about that. He's still in play.

That's Farrell's next act.

good job. Farrell will now walk on water for his next act.

I think they have to resign more than Nap.

I would stay with Taz here. Why create another variable? Especially a rookie.

Don't f*** it up, Farrell, with overmanaging.

Papi reminds me lately of Ted Williams in '57. He didn't make an out in September until the last week--average dropped from .394 to .388.