Spitball

I'd prefer to invest in Victorino for three years than in Cody Ross for the same amount of time. Victorino has been more consistent than Ross and is a better baseball player.

Not to be picky, but Encarnacion played only 68 games at first last season. He is primarily a DH...and a highly suspicious cheater...in my opinion.

I am happy with this signing but not sure I want him as the full-time first baseman. His bat plays better as a catcher. It is odd Cherington went out last season and signed defensive players like Punto and Shoppack, and now he is signing offensive players like Gomes and Napoli. I'm not sure he knows what his philosophy for building a winner is. Clearly his approach last year was flawed.

Links? http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/making-the-comparison-wil-myers1/

I believe Hamilton might be lucky to fend off rumors and concerns to get a much lower than expected contract. http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/10/06/4315633/rangers-are-baseballs-latest-choke.html#storylink=cpy

The Red Sox can't be blamed for not signing Madson. They currently have a closer, and there is no reason to believe he wanted to come to Boston. Madson is from California. The fact that a Boras client signed this early...for so little...has to tell us he wanted to be with the Angels.

I saw Romine catching for Trenton a couple of years ago in Portland, Maine. Geesh, the guy looked like a first baseman trying to play catcher. He had absolutely no movement behind the plate. He reached for everything. In fact, the winning run for the Sea Dogs was scored as he tried to backhand a ball breaking into the dirt to his right. A catcher has to shift his body in front of that pitch. And he wasn't caught off guard by the pitch because the previous three pitches had been almost in the same spot except he had managed to backhand the ones not in the dirt. Maybe he has refined his defensive skills in the last few seasons. That night, he looked like a player totally out of position. Btw, we were staying at the Sheraton in South Portland where the Thunder were staying. We sat in the bar with Thunder coaches Frankie Menechino, Tommy Phelps, and another coach. Phelps was very cool and friendly. He discussed the game like a regular guy. The Hispanic coach was a nice guy, but Menechino was a jerk and way too macho to to be friendly.

But throw out his early years and he has been pretty close for the last four years. It will be interesting to see how the market treats him. The Upton signing can't do anything but help his cause.

Madson had some free will here. He did not want to go to Cincinnati because he knew they might revert back to Chapman as a closer. He surely realized Boston might opt to go with Bailey as closer. The Angels were the safest fit for him.

I don't know what Michael Bourne will sign for, but he is a better player than Upton in every area except power. The Braves would have been better off going after Bourne.

I believe Madson wanted to go where he could close. He wanted that guarantee and wouldn't get that in Boston nor Cincinnati.

Right. Madson is coming off TJ surgery and likely won't be ready for the start of the season. I am not at all upset about missing out on the guy.

I see B.J. Upton has signed with the Braves.

When a guy walks batters at a rate of 3.9 per 9 and strikes out batters at only 4.7 per 9, you have to say the guy has to go far, far away.

I'd rather have Kalish (or many other options) in right field. Ichiro has no power and limited on base abilities at this point. Not what is needed in a corner outfield spot.

But, over a much larger sample size, he had a .307 OBP and .696 OPS for the year. You guys can have him. For a corner outfielder, those are not great numbers, especially at an inflated salary.

He has OPSed below .700 the last two seasons. I think Kalish and a number of other options can do that for far less money. I'd be pissed if the Sox wasted money on a guy who once was decent but now is just a famous name.

I wonder how serious the Royals really are about trading Myers. I would guess the Sox would have to take up much of Lester's contract in order for the Royals to trade an inexpensive young bat. I can't see the Royals giving up both Hosmer and Myers. They would have to get a bunch of excellent pitching and not have to take on too much payroll. I have been watching the Royals' Northwest Arkansas double A team for a couple of years now. They have some gifted young talent in their system. They are maybe a year and a couple of pitchers away from being the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lester is fairly expensive and trending downward. Wil Myers is the third rated prospect in baseball. He would be inexpensive, in the middle of the Red Sox order, and in right field for several years to come.

For their careers, Ichiro has a lower career OBP than Adam Dunn. I find that amazing. Despite Ichiro's batting averages, he has been on base at a lower rate than a guy who typically hits around .245. I don't want Ichiro.

The last two years he has OPSed below .700. I hope the Red Sox let him sign with the Yankees.

This is a tough off season to turn the Red Sox around. Free agency has problems. Napoli played very poorly from June through August in 2012. Hamilton and Greinke have off field issues. Swisher will be overpaid by someone. Also, they don't need to be trading their top prospects if they want to build an affordable franchise. A big problem for us fans has been the recent history of the team. We have seen two championships built using the Theo Method. But that method of throwing money at attractive free agents and trading top prospects for proven players has failed in recent years. As fans, we need to stop hoping for a return to Theo Epstein's methods. The biggest spending teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Phillies, and Dodgers) did not perform as well as hoped in 2012. Now the Sox are in need of a fix...the Sox need to find something new and effective. I don't want to wait for a slow methodical process that takes years to turn the franchise around...but maybe that is best. The rebuilding process needs new and innovative ideas.

I agree with much of what you say here except the comparison to Holliday. They basically have similar tools, but Hamilton's are just better. He runs faster, hits the ball harder, has a far superior arm and defensive abilities. The substance problems are a concern with Hamilton, but he has played very well for several years. He has been clean enough to produce at a very high level for six year. Injuries might be a bigger concern as Hamilton has averaged only 122 games a year since 2009.

I am not certain he is a must, but he is not a terrible target. If the price is reasonable, I would not mind the Sox signing him. He and Napoli would give the Sox several line up options.

Last off season, Reyes and Buerhle were added to a Miami team that included Johnson. It was a team coming off 90 loses in a relatively weak NL East...but that team entered 2012 with extremely high hopes because of those additions. Now those same players have been added to a Toronto team coming off 89 loses in a strong AL East...and the team enters 2013 with extremely high hopes because of those additions. Hmmm... The Angels were a very good team in 2011. They added possibly the greatest hitter of the last 35 years in Pujols. They also added the best starting pitcher available on the market in C.J.Wilson. Also, Kendry Morales was returning. If you follow baseball, you know what happened to that team. Championships are not won in the off season, and Red Sox fans certainly should realize that.