Palodios

I'd argue that Buchholz pushes them past the Tigers.

What doesn't this team have right now? 9 above average hitters in the lineup. Great defense up the middle. The best closer in baseball, and a pretty solid group behind him. The bench consists of the best prospect in baseball, a monster in Mike Carp, a great defensive mitt in David Ross. And don't forget Buchholz, Lackey, Lester, Peavy.

If Buchholz picks up where he left off, this is a world series team. Legit, no homerism involved.

He's facing the top of the lineup, that's probably why.

Would I get banned if I bumped this thread? http://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/15911-Is-Buchholz-an-Ace/page23?highlight=buchholz Better question... Would it be worth it?

Buchholz drops his ERA from 1.71 to 1.61. :D:D

Come on guys, Buchholz is pitching a shutout, and you guys are talking about Lackey?

One hell of a sac fly Salty !

Price was pitching a perfect game, but somehow had 65 pitches with only 4 IP. The Red Sox have been working their asses off to get him out of the game.

QO'd players are very similar to Type A free agents. Not all the guys I mentioned are Type A's, but some were. My argument is that small teams do spend money on mid-priced free agents. They are not perfect examples, but they are applicable examples. I am not counting out big market teams either. You are mistaken. http://www.fangraphs.com/library/business/luxury-tax/ I would argue that teams are much more willing to spend money that they have than money they will have in the future. Here are the factors I see 1) Stephen Drew has shown he has recovered from his ankle injury and that he can be a very good offensive and defensive shortstop. 2) He won't want to be a glorified backup for Bogaertz. 3) He is represented by Scott Boras. 4) Teams will get atleast 25 million in extra TV revenue. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/28/the-new-tv-deals-are-going-to-be-a-windfall-of-all-30-teams/ 5) The luxury tax is going up. 6) He *may* be willing to play 2B. Worst case scenario, the Red Sox get a very good SS for 1 year. Not the end of the world.

Glad to see the Red Sox start the year against a team OTHER than the Yankees.

Everyone seems to find it completely ridiculous that small market teams aren't capable of to paying 10 million a year for Drew. It is almost as if no one here has ever watched what happens in free agency every year. Figgins - > Seattle. Willingham -> Twins. Adam Dunn -> White Sox. Martin-> Pirates. Milwaukee-- A-ram. Rockies-> Cuddyer. Houston used to be a 100m team, now they are at 20m. Same with Miami. Next year, every single team in the MLB is getting roughly 25 million dollars from TV contracts, and the luxury cap is also going up. Not every team will re-invest that into players, but added revenue means there will be more spenders, and more spenders means higher bidding. Shortstops have very recognizable names, but how many of them are good and/or consistent? The majority of the guys you mention OPS in the .600's.

Grounded in reality? Almost every major league team has gone for a mid-range free agent signing at some point. Besides the poorest of the MLB poor, almost every team could afford 3/30-3/40 contracts. Do I need to go through all of the biggest free agent signings from teams like Miami, Seattle, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Colorado? Last offseason Boras was trying to sell Drew as more than just a shortstop. Based on his role with the Red Sox, it seems that he wants to stick at SS, but I don't think it would be out of the question to see him at 2B. Kansas City is in win-now mode and could use a shortstop. The Angels may go for broke and replace Aybar after a mediocre season. The Yankees could very well make Jeter a full time DH. The Pirates might want to try to win themselves a fanbase. The other factor is that GMs all across baseball will be looking at how the Red Sox rebuilt a team from nothing to a World Series champion, and will probably try to imitate the effective strategy of hitting on mid-range signings.

You have to realize that roughly 25 teams can afford a 3/39 player. This isn't a huge amount of money in the big picture. Remember when Seattle signed Chone Figgins to a 4/36 deal? Drew isn't only going to appeal to the top spenders. He'll appeal to almost every single team with a gap at SS, and maybe even desperate teams looking for 2B/3B.

Its funny... This was a very explicit point that people have complained about. Man, they only won 1 division in the last 10 years. And now they're in the midst of winning it the first time it actually matters, and those people have not brought it up once.

Yankees and Red Sox, or Patriots opening day? Tough call.

Too many whatifs in that situation. They wouldn't have needed Peavy so maybe they picked up another reliever. Maybe they still have the Iggy/WMB/XB/Drew logjam on the left side.

Would you like to be?

Corey Hart is probably going to be just as expensive, he's coming off missing a full year, and isn't an upgrade. His beard just doesn't fit in with the other beards on the team. Unless the Sox are going for Abreu, they should probably give Nap a QO and call it a day.

Who would have thought Victorino was leading the team in WAR? His defense has been spectacular, but David Ortiz is the one guy this team simply cannot be without.

How crazy would it be if Victorino hit 39 million in value this year? Not only is he the best defensive player in baseball (by a considerable margin), he has been the most valuable player on the Red Sox by WAR.

Bogaertz with the first of many to come.

Lavarnway is hitting .300, with a .800 OPS right now. Remember when it looked like he'd be a monster at the plate a few years back?

I miss the days when Ichiro played for a nonYankee team so I could cheer for him. The guy is a legend.

"Hey Lackey. Here is your #$@!$!@ run support." -- Gomes