RiceLynnEvans

Papi, Shaw, Pedy, Wright, Porcello, Hembree.....even JBJ or Holt - all worthy candidates, but I'm giving my vote to Hanley. All of Soxdom expected the worst, but his play at 1B has been excellent, and aside from some baserunning gaffes and a couple of moments of "Hanley being Hanley", he has been a very, very pleasant surprise. With the whole Pablo fiasco, we're lucky Hanley hasn't been basketcasing things.....another year of two sunk contracts would supersuck. Plus, we haven't seen Hanley do what he does best....rake, rake, rake! As the weather warms, we should see Hanley heat up as well.

It's tough to get behind CB.....he has head-spinning stuff when he's on, but it seems that he lacks that certain mix focus and competitiveness that pitchers like Price make a living on. He'll seemingly have his stuff some nights, then a walk will distract him, then that leads to more baserunners and more mistakes......that night last weekend in Houston when he was seemingly hitting a groove after a shaky start....he got two outs in the fifth or sixth, then a walk, then baserunners, then he serves up an 0-2 grand slam to their cleanup guy......he threw two ballbreaking benders to get Rasmus to 0-2, then a flat wheelhouse gopherball. THAT is CB in a nutshell. Every season he seems to get hot and show that promise, then an injury.....or a three month slump.....or we get the Clay that looks like he'd rather be anywhere than on the mound.....that lackadaisical Clay that gives us a few innings of nothing, then tells us at the press conference how everything was working, just wasn't hitting my spots. CB....BS.

Maybe HanRam as the future 1b? He's got infielder's instincts, and it's the spot where he'd least likely end up on the DL (think Youk - healthy and hitting when at 1b, old and in the way at 3b or, ugh, left field). Try him out, give him reps....keep him infield ready in case X goes down (injury or P'tckt), and if the FO can grab pitching by adding Nap to a package, then maybe sell high on him. If Sandoval wants to man 3b, let him earn it and think about making a change later - the guy's only 28. That said, trading Nap now would be the wrong move - he's playing for a contract and looks great slotted in the 6 spot behind Pedy, Pap, Han and San. Pretty nice heart of the order book-ended by Castillo and Betts, eh? Hanley in the OF just sounds wrong....there is a glut of premium players there. His value may be as insurance against a Craig fade out and Nap leaving, thus putting the team in great bargaining shape. They look great for baseball card swapping right now; they're just not a team, yet.

I've seen Sandoval a lot over the past few years, and I'm still surprised how highly he's valued. He'll field what's hit at him, but his range is below average. He doesn't really hit for power and he swings at everything. There was a stretch where even the SF fans were calling for his head. Is any team really going to give this guy a six-year deal simply because he gets hot in the postseason and the dolt announcers lick it up? His postseason is going to make him rich. I'm not really a Headley fan either - a guy heading over the hill with back problems. He's an excellent fielder, yes, but he hasn't hit for power (even his power stats are inflated due to a few "fly out" dingers at Yankme Stadium) and, aside from a career year a few years back, his offensive numbers have been mediocre. Bring in Han Ram to slot into third or try to coax Beltre out of the Rangers. Two years of stop-gap before GC is ready, not six years for a guy who's peaked and, to me, doesn't look at all like a future dh (you NEED numbers from that spot that Panda just won't produce, especially in, say, 2018.

Peavy had some great moments with the Red Sox, not necessarily in the playoffs and series - though he wasn't awful and could have been much worse....it seemed he always would give up 3 or 4 early, then settle in to hand it off while still in the game. 3 or 4 were fine for the 2013 team, they'd claw back; in 2014, they didn't get those 3 back...really frustrating for a pitcher to battle but get no support. Peavy's a fighter who knows how to pitch in big games, and if he's your four or five guy on a NL team, then you've got a solid rotation. The Nats aren't showing it, but that's a pretty potent offense - about as near to an AL lineup that the NL has, Peavy two hit them over seven (then again, a reliever named Petit nearly did that last night, too....maybe I overestimate the Nats bad bats). That said, I still wouldn't want him back....in fact, the best deal BY FAR the Sox made over the winter was the return they got on Peavy.

Wish I could be as optimistic about the FO opening their wallets; I think they'll make moves, but something about the tone of things coming out of the FO that makes me wonder just how far they'll go. I really didn't think it was smart opening the season with two rookies and AJ up the middle, that stiff WMB at 3b, aging Vic (it wasn't "if" but "when" he'll get hurt) with Nava/Gomes and JBJ as the starting outfield. Too many expectations with far too many uncertainties - overestimating the market on Drew, not giving Salty at least a qualifying offer, and, again, Nava/Gomes, JBJ and Vic with no real safety net for Nava's early nose dive, Vic's inevitable injury and Gomes' lack of d and hot-(mostly)cold bat. I thought there were going to be more fireworks after the big trades at the deadline - it seemed that all the moves pointed to flipping Cespedes or Craig along with a mix of vets and kids for a game changer or top-tier prospect. Maybe the flip is yet to come - with our history with the Dodgers, maybe the flip will be for Kemp and/or Hanley....but with Craig's value having plummeted, maybe not. I hope they'll pay Lester, but I know if they do they'll be dumpster diving for a #2 .....first in the classier joints, then at Kelly's, but they're sure to end up overpaying for someone like Ervin Santana. Castillo cf Pedy 2b Hanley ss Ortiz dh Kemp rf Markakis lf - steal this guy! STEAL THIS GUY! Nap 1b Headley 3b - solid defender, + bat, short term deal Vazquez c Nava, Holt, Betts, FA catcher Lester, _____, Kelly/Buch/Ruby/Web/dumpster FA....that's a BIG blank; season may hinge on it Koji, Taz, Hap, Britton, Layne, Wilson, MILLER (bring Miller back with Markakis; hated losing the Miller just when the guy had learned to pitch) Cespedes, Vic, Craig, JBJ, X, WMB, Mujica - out, don't know how far they'll dig into prospects - just hope they keep Betts. I wouldn't really want Kemp (injury-prone) or Santana (peaked, got pounded in the Braves stretch collapse), but it'd be better than the Brandon McCarthy/Justin Masterson/AJ Happ scrap heap (not to knock these types too much, but they're not the #2s and #3s that are pitching the Sox back to October), but even this I feel is waaay overstretching what I think they'll do. Cespedes stays, Vic stays, X stays, JBJ stays, Craig stays, WMB stays and the offense sputters; they sign Lester and Hammel, maybe add Romo to the pen and we turn into the Tampa Rays. Ahhhh, either way - should be fun watching how this all unfolds.

My heart's with the O's for reason very similar to Spudboy's; I also loved Brooksy and Boogs - great ballplayers with personalities to boot. That said: AL A's over Royals.....Lestah! Tigers over O's.....it seems every postseason Detroit's big bats don't hit and the 6-9 hitters are nonexistent offensively; this year it reverses - Detroit's post-season experience overcomes the O's lack of it. If Detroit can hit and get anything out of their pen, they're the team to beat....the team is built for the playoffs....if the 'pen performs, they win the WS. Angels over A's.....the A's have sucked over the second half, and the Angels have been one of the best in MLB - Lester will get the A's in but can't pitch every night. Tigers over Angels.....should be a fun one - if the 'pen holds, the Tigers win. NL....really don't know too much about the NL, but: Pirates over Giants.....they're hot - the winner of this series goes all the way to the WS Pirates over Nats....they're hot Dodgers over Cards....going to be a good one with both teams pushing each other until one prevails but is too spent to take on the Pirates. In the end, I'll give it to Matheny over Mattingly. Pirates over Cards....they're hot Tigers over Pirates in 5.

Seemingly, a very disappointing day, but I feel things aren't done yet. Cespedes just doesn't fit in with the FO's approach, plus too much clutter in the outfield (and I really hope they saw in Betts what a lot of us saw) - I'm expecting one in the stable of outfielders (BJr!) plus Craig or C'sped with perhaps a pen arm thrown in for a top right-handed power bat/blue chip prospects/an elite strarter.....or a bonafide leadoff guy with a gold glove at ss or cf. Is that you Auntie Em? Pa? Has the fever broken? Either way, it'll be very interesting to see how things look when they break training next year.

Don't like this one bit....unless, of course, Lester comes back. Then, not as bad, but when you have last year's World Series hero Johnny Lester and what he's done so far this year, especially over the past couple of starts, you've gotta get more in return. Cespedes is an upgrade over Gomes, but Cespedes is the polar opposite of the team approach, and some of his hacking makes me doubt that the FO has this guy staying in town for long. He's gotta be a cog in another trade. There's definitely something else going on....if not, no need to cool Fenway next summer, Naps, WMB and C'sped will fan enough to cool the whole Back Bay.

Remy used to crack me up, haven't heard him in years, though. When he first started at NESN back in the late 80s, he was wildly popular....probably 'cause he took over from snoozy Mike Andrews. It seems his popularity has dwindled of late....and his parenting skills called into judgement. He's had it rough the past few years, still wish him the best.

AJ's has been on a lucky streak....worm killer base hits.

Key here is get JBJ on.....NEED some timely hitting.

Again, Nava had a pitch to hit (the second strike) and just didn't pull the string. Something's off

Choo is a tough out....he would've been my #1 choice to replace Ells. Of course, the price and years put him way off the FO's radar, but I just love Choo's skill set....solid all around player and will be for the next five years.

He went around....strike two.