Palodios

I don't think Fielder is the best option. I think that for value, Adam Dunn does a lot of the same things-- either a bad defensive 1B or DH type, who hits for power-- but costs a lot more in money and in prospects. Sure Dunn is five years older and his OBP is a bit lower, but he will only take a 2-3 year contract instead of Fielder's 5-7 $100-150 year contract. On top of that question-- Is it worth trading away can't-miss prospects for him? My answer is a definite no.

Losing two major playors or losing ten. Which is going to hurt a team more?

A few comments How often do the #1-5 pitchers stay healthy all season? Between Atchison, Doubront, and Wakefield, that's 23 starts this season. We all loved a certain World Series run a few years back, but face it, having depth at starter is never a bad thing. Papelbon needs to go. When a player leads the league in blown saves for a closer and still expects to make 12 million the following year, its not a difficult decision. There aren't many big market teams looking for elite closers, so Soriono should end up cheaper than Papelbon would have. Jacko--The bold move by the Yankees is getting Cliff Lee. Its going to happen, and I think most of us have accepted it by now. That rotation cannot survive another season like this one. But Buchholz/Lester versus Sabathia/Lee is a wash. They will likely pick up another big bat, but they do that every season so its not much of a surprise. If Lowell got a 3/45 deal, I see no reason why Beltre wouldn't get something better-- although they'll probably make a 4th year incentive-based. We talk about the potential of getting an elite 1B, but hell, we already have one, and getting an elite 3B instead couldn't hurt. Plus, he's playing just as well as A-gon is right now, and will take significantly less money/years without either waiting or prospects.

For me, there is no question that this team should go into 2011 with him intended as a utility player. That being said, I like the kid a lot. He hit like a monster in 2008 until his wrist injury, and two full years later, he's hitting like a monster again. The last fifteen years, there have been some extremely good shortstops, but usually SS of his caliber do not come along this often-- he's on pace for what could have been a 20+ HR season despite just coming back from two years of injuries. If he stays healthy... I see him being everything Dojji dreams him to be.

Even I'm not arguing that Dice-k has been worth his contract. But because of his injuries, he really hasn't gotten a chance to prove himself. 2007 was an adjustment for him, 2009 he was a little bitch, 2010 he was coming off of a missed season, plus three injuries. 2008 was the only season he really was in full form, and I think he did admirably, despite his inning count.

In all fairness, you've been complaining about the bullpen for a while without making any viable suggestions on how to fix it. I made a list of twelve possibilities to add to this team about a month ago, and you shot all of them down without giving a single reason.

The thing is-- this team is 6.5 games back-- about the same number back they were back at the end of April.

Well, not exactly. At the beginning of the season, this team had 3 elite bullpen pitchers, Papelbon, Bard-- and before you start protesting-- Manny Delcarmen was absolutely dominant April and May of this year. He's a second round pick that the organization has been in love with for years, but in June, he completely fell off the side of a cliff, and I think the team assumed it was injury related, so they figured they'd just wait until he came back from the DL, but he never really recovered. Ramon Ramirez had a ton of potential too-- he has a 0.73 ERA in 24 innings with SF since leaving Boston, so its not like they overestimated his abilities, they just didnt realize how Boston would affect him. It wasn't until July that the team really realized that it was in such bad shape, and at that point, it was too late to find an elite bullpen arm cheap, so they did the next best thing by converting their two best AAA starters to relievers. Realize that the bullpen that started this year was mostly the same that started last year, with Bard replacing Saito. It is not the FO's fault that Papelbon, MDC, RR, and Okajima all decided to s*** the bed the same year. I honestly think its gotta be the training/pitching coaches because this year has been a worst case scenario in so many ways for the pitching, despite being healthy.

Interesting turn around. Cy next year? On a seriously related note-- This is an appropriate thread to post pictures of Erica Ellyson, right?

He had issues early in the season. It wasn't until he went to the Yankees that Wood started dominating.

He didn't pitch in April, and he had a really s***** May, but besides that, he's been a very solid pitcher.

Market values Good relievers - 3-5 million a year. Great relievers/good closers 6-7 million a year. Great closers 8-12 Rivera costs 15. The Sox might be a little short, but Papelbon's 11 million could go a long way towards fixing this bullpen, and helping this team. The simple fact is, he's not worth 11 million a year for 4 ERA and a 75% save chance, he just isn't. Everyone complains about guys not performing for the money, but this is one of the cases where they can just get rid of the player. Non-tender him, or trade him, and your team is in the clear.

Papelbon will get atleast 11 million, because players almost always get raises of atleast 20% during the process. Papelbon won't be worth that money, but because of the way arbitration works, that's how much he will make if offered arbitration. Soriono right now is worth elite-level money, but using his Papelbon's arbitration numbers as a benchmark for his salary is illogical because in free agency, players are paid for what they're worth, rather than 20% more than the year before. Soriono will be in that 10-12 per year range.

Unfortunately, Holliday and Bay are off the market-- they chose to put the money they had last year into Beckett and Lackey. This offseason, Werth is the option they have, and they have money for him because of what was freed up between Lowell and Lugo. Elite players simply get longer contracts when they're healthier, its that simple.

I'm not sure what you're arguing about. At the time, his medical report showed potential health concerns, and that's why he didn't get the fifth year. Werth has a very similar skill set, and does not have health concerns, thus he'll probably get a bigger contract.

I think we've been spoiled by Ellsbury. A guy who can steal twenty bags is not too shabby. The point is-- statistically, its about a wash, and Werth is healthier-- thus an extra year.

Werth is looking at a 5/80 type deal. Boras likes to talk, but he's not getting two more years just because he has superior defense to Bay.

He's not coming to the Red Sox, but I do like him a ton. I heard that he wasn't interested in the mlb right now though, so I think the recent reports are probably rumors.

Derrek Lee has had a mediocre year, and is showing small signs of decline at 35. I don't see him being too expensive. Cliff Lee-- no, they can't afford him and Werth.

Like it or not, he's worth more on this team than would be paid to pitch for another team, plus the no-trade clause doesn't help things any. When he's healthy he dominates, but unfortunately he's had a lot of health issues since his incredible 2008. There are definitely serious issues in the pitching/training programs on this team, because we've seen a lot of elite pitchers completely bust here over the last few years, and its about time we stop blaming individual players and start looking at faults in the organization. Just look at the list of pitchers on the roster over the last two years, and consider how few of them actually performed well.