Spitball

Right. This is the philosophy we need to learn to accept. The Red Sox need to move away from their old practices (expensive long term contracts/trading prospects) and move toward a wiser use of all assets. I think it will be hard for us because we have become used to "big splashes" in the off season. The Yankees apparently are moving in that direction, also.

I wouldn't want him as a full-time first baseman. I would want more than a .742 OPSer there. He is a much better hitter left handed so he could be a platoon with Napoli at first and Lavarnway at catcher. I wouldn't want him to take too many at bats away from either but to complement the line-up versus right handed pitchers. He might catch once or twice a week and spell Napoli or Gomez once or twice.

Right. Besides, there have been many of us who were never happy with Salty. I'd like to see Saltalamacchia as the back up catcher, first base, dh. Let him play four or five games a week but limit his time behind the plate.

He will be 36 years-old and hasn't started more than 47 games at catcher in a season since 2007.

Varitek might be helpful, but the Sox already have one of the best in Gary Tuck.

Several posters have expressed concerns about the catching. Jarrod Saltalamacchia seems destined to start and David Ross stands to be the back-up. Ryan Lavarnway will likely be in Pawtucket. How does everyone feel about this? Personally, I was hoping Saltalamacchia would be traded but don't really see that happening at this point. I fear he might be partly (to greatly) responsible for the failures of Jon Lester and other pitchers on the staff. David Ross is suppose to be a great clubhouse guy, but I fear he might be a bit over-rated defensively. I know he was a Bronson Arroyo drinking partner, but why was he DFA by Cincinnati a few years ago? They brought up Ryan Hanigan, but they had Paul Backo and Javier Valentin who could have been let go. Why Ross? Lavarnway might not be ready defensively to catch in the major leagues. I think triple A is probably a good place for him right now. I know catching in the major leagues is scarce right now, but what direction should the Sox go with their catching? Does anyone else feel Jarrod Saltalamacchia is a negative behind the plate?

I am not crazy about each acquisition this winter. There were some overpays, but at least there were not any really long term overpays. The return might take some time. Hopefully, Bogaerts, Brentz, Bradley, the farm system, and wise spending will bring the Sox back into contention. The old way of throwing big bucks at the Crawfords and Lackeys did not work. Trading top prospects for the Victor Martinezes and the Adrian Gonzalezes was not wise balance for growth and a healthy budget. Hopefully, the Sox have learned to think differently and plan intelligently.

Does this mean they actually flew someone (or more) to Venezuela to look at him? Surely, they could have saved some bucks by merely looking at his most recent statistics.

I am not a Jonny Gomes hater. As I understand it from Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, he has some intangible positives that he adds to a dugout and clubhouse, but a .223/307/425 slashline is not a real good arguing point for a corner outfielder. Gomes has bounced around because teams could sign him for a bargain price. Then he would be permitted to walk because his production was generally replaceable when his price tag was going up. Look at his time in Tampa and Cincinnati.

Gomes has been with three teams in the last two years. No one has ever paid him as much as $2 million a year. He had been a bargain when teams were signing him for less than a million. As the right handed half of a platoon, he will not get as many at-bats the left handed half will get. The signing of Gomes is a head scratcher.

If Stanton becomes available, teams will be lining up with offers much better than Middlebrooks and Doubront. There should be no question about that.

I had not seen Marcum pitch often until the 2011 playoffs. Damn, he was awful. I just don't think I trust his abilities.

I bet the Sox go with Buchholz, Lester, Doubront, Lackey, and Dempster in their rotation. Last year Boros tried to play hardball with Edwin Jackson and Ryan Madson, and they ended up having to settle for one year contracts to re-enter the market. I can't see him doing that with a 34 year-old Lohse, but if he does, the draft pick compensation should still scare off the Sox. I bet he ends up with the LAA, Rangers, or possibly the Guardians.

As I understand it, Lohse wants at least a three year deal and will cost a draft pick compensation. With those factors and the signing of Dempster, I can't see the Red Sox going for him.

I can't imagine Bailey is at peak value right now. He probably has more value to Boston right now as a comebacvk candidate.

I was talking about 2009. The four had decent OPS numbers, Youkilis .961, Martinez .912, Lowell .811, Varitek .703. The team won 95 games and made the playoffs. Kotchman wasn't on the 2010 team.

Hanrahan's control and Bailey's health make both pitchers question marks. It is a good idea to hold onto both in case one falls back into old problems. Actually, Hanrahan fell apart, like the entire Pirate team, in September. I like the trade. They gave up, at best, AAAA minor leaguers.

Fred mentioned the Sox have one prospect way down the list of top 60 named Travis. You supplied the Shaw part. I don't think anyone suggested that Shaw was a viable choice for the Red Sox vacant or future first base job.

Kotchman holds the record for consecutive chances with 2,379 consecutive chances without an error as a first baseman. His .998 career fielding percentage is best all-time. He's also been among the league leaders in his career in total zone runs as a first baseman. Mientkiewicz was good, but he was not Kotchman.

I respect your opinion, but Mientkiewicz can not be declared significantly better defensively than Kotchman. Absolutely not. Personally, I'd take Kotchman defensively over Mientkiewicz. I'd also take others significantly over the guy including George Scott and Keith Hernandez.

He may have been, but I understand Epstein's thought process. Kotchman has averaged less than two errors per year for nine years. He was supposed to be a Mientkiewicz-like part to a team effort.

As SeanJohn said, Kotchman was probably better suited to the back up role, and he is a great defensive first baseman as his .998 fielding average tells us. Despite LaRoche's .995 fielding average, he is not Kotchman defensively. I will agree it was not a good trade for the Sox, but the rotation of Varitek, Martinez, Lowell, Youkilis, and Kotchman sharing three positions was pretty affective.

As I remember it, SeanJohn is correct as to how Epstein explained the trade. I looked at it as similar to the acquisition on Doug Mientkiewicz in 2004. LaRoche is a very good defensive first baseman, but Kotchman is a superior defensive player. With Lowell hurting, Youkilis was expected to play some third base. Victor Martinez would be playing some first, but he was not a good defensive player at the position. Kotchman was a strategic piece in the big picture.

Haha! At least SoxFanForsyth gave us some statistical evidence that indicates Shaw is not too bad. What do you have to support you contention? Frankly, an unsubstantiated opinion doesn't reach Talksox standards for an informative post.