Spitball

I agree the Rays have done a better job of drafting, but they have had an advantage by being crappy for years. Between 1999 and 2008, they had four number 1 overall picks, one number 2, one number 3, a number 4, a number 6, and a number 8. In the same period, the earliest Red Sox pick was number 17 and most were way down there.

Wandy Rodriguez might not exactly be on the low, but his contract might at least reduce the return the Astros could demand. The Sox don't have a lot of major league ready prospects, and Houston is at least a few years away from contention. They might match up well with Boston. Again, Rodriguez is NL, but the Central Division is full of hitters' parks. Also, the Sox would not need him to be a top of their rotation starter, but a pitcher to pitch well in the 4 or 5 spot.

No, this list was just thrown out there to spark disussion. I hope there are others out there basically to fill out the rotation and create insurance against injury. None of us want to see Wakefield or Lackey out there again , and Miller is not the type of insurance we want next year. His control has been terrible since TJ surgery, but he throws very hard with lots of movement. He had a superior change before the surgery, but I have not heard much said since. Like you said, he is cheap and has a high ceiling. You are probably right. He is too expensive and too injury prone. Kenny Williams is a proactive gm though and may be willing to work something out finacially if he decides to rework the structure of the White Sox. I also wonder about working something out with the Mets for Santana. He is also has injury problems and expensive, but maybe something could be worked out with the Mets to balance out the risk. Just a thought.

Then why not move on and respond to another thread? I don't blame you if you think there is no reason to look towards alternative methods to acquire a pitcher on the low end, but at least give another suggestion.

We are talking about maybe four at bats per game with some pinch hitters factored in there. But, the point is how to acquire a quality pitcher at an affordable rate. Lackey piched in the AL, faced DH batters, and look how that worked out.

Maybe this belongs on the off season thread, but it seems to stray from the main idea. Anyway, the Red Sox need to acquire help for the rotation. Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz seem set but injuries obviously happen. Next season it will need some help and current long term failures and a depleted stock of prospects seem to have made a major acquisition difficult. It greatly bothers me so I have brainstormed some possible options. These are some pitchers who might be obtainable without signing to a long term contract or without giving up major prospects. I have probably left out some names and have not looked up every pitcher's status. Hopefully, this will give us something to discuss. Edinson Volquez - My favorite buy low candidate. Once traded for Josh Hamilton. Has electric stuff. Started game one of playoffs last year for Reds against Phillies . He had TJ surgery in 2009 so that might explain recent problems. Bruce Chen - Maybe Jamie Moyer lite. The Sox almost acquired him to pitch the playoff that never happened. A crafty lefthander who has gotten better with age. Ryan Dempster - A bulldog who has a player's option with Cubs for 2012. His contract is expensive at about $12 million. Aaron Harang - Former NL strikeout leader who had a bounce back year. Javier Vazquez - Who knows what he will do from year to year. He will give 190 innings and better than the Sox had from anyone not named Beckett, Lester, or Buchholz. Jake Peavy - He could have a bounceback year. Injury prone but an ace-type stuff. Carlos Zambrano - Hmmm...maybe a change of scenery. Others - Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Kevin Slowey, Joe Blanton, Jon Garland, , Jeremy Guthrie... I know there are a lot of NL pitchers here, but I don't buy the AL east vs NL failure theory that so many here buy into. Buying low requires a willingness to take a chance for a high end return. I am more worried about the pay big bucks for long year theory that resulted in Lackey and Burnett type failures.

The Rangers can have Beltre and that contract. I would never trust him long term after what happened in Seattle. And damn, what was with that psycho head rubbing phobia? Major red flag there.

:thumbsup: Classic stuff!

I have always loved the Red Sox uniforms, but hated the hats of 1975 through 1978 like the Luis Tiant is wearing in my avatar.

Haha! But, really that outfield should belong to the Yankees.

I agree on selling high on Ellsbury, but with Heywood, Bourne, and Costanza, would they still be desperate enough for Ellsbury? Heywood suffered from the sophmore jinx but is still a highly thought of player.

From MLB Trade Rumors: •Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts likes the Red Sox organization, not just Epstein, according to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). That could mean the Cubs are interested in assistant GM Ben Cherington. •The Red Sox would surely demand and obtain compensation if the Cubs hire Epstein, so Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wonders how much he is worth. Cameron isn't sure that spending big on recognizable executives makes sense, since there's a steady supply of qualified candidates who are available more cheaply.

•The Red Sox will consider Phillies coach Pete Mackanin as a managerial candidate, sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com-From MLB Trade Rumors

Would the Cubs really trade Garza for Epstein? I think Epstein's stock is down while Garza's worth to be the Cubs outweighs their need for a gm. There are lots of qualified candidates out there.

Which is the point of Hot Stove threads. They are for fun and not likely to happen. For many of us, we start thinking baseball in February and are not capable of turning off the thoughts when the Sox happen to end their season. That said, I'd like to make a few points...just because I can't stop. * The Red Sox' greatest need is to improve their starting pitching. - There is the option of C.J.Wilson as a free agent, but he will be an expensive gamble over 6 or 7 years. Boston is not his likely destination. Lackey and Matsuzaka have proven this to be unsafe road to travel. * The Red Sox lead the AL or were second in the major offensive catagories. -Even with Ellsbury out of the totals, they have a wealth of offense on the roster and pretty much in the system. * Jacoby Ellsbury just had possibly a career year. -Minor league statistics are an accurate predictor of future production, and Ellsbury had never broken double figures in homeruns an any one season. -He will be a free agent in two years. * The Giants have a terrible offense. - It cost them a chance to defend their title. * The Giants have wealth of starting pitchers. -Lincecum, Cain, Baughgarden, and Sanchez. * Lincecum may not be untouchable. -Stats show some decline. It is not significant but is steady. -As has been pointed out, his size and delivery are factors. -He will be a free agent in two years. * For the Sox to acquire substantial starting pitching improvement, they are going to have sacrifice something of value. - Free agency money is unlikely. -They will have to trade a player or players of value. This all brings us to two years of Lincecum for two years of Ellsbury. With the current market for free agent starting aces, two years of any starter sounds ideal (safe) to me. In two years, the Sox hopefully will have developed some other options for developing a starting staff. Ellsbury will test the market after two years. Boras clients do that. Some here may be old enought to remember when Fred Lynn and Jim Rice came up with the Red Sox at the tail end of 1974. Both were highly touted, but it was Fred Lynn who was the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in 1975. Rice was good, but Lynn was golden. If judged on that one year, Lynn would be in the Hall of Fame and Rice would be just another in a line of good Sox outfielders. As it turned out, Rice was the HOFer because he had a better career. Lynn, like Ellsbury, played centerfield and that took its toll on his health. If Lynn had played left or right his whole career, he may have stayed healthy enough, but we will never know. Injuries are hard to call, but centerfielders have to cover a lot of ground to either side and do wear down and get injured. If anyone is still reading, thanks for putting up with this rambling post.

The Giants signed Aaron Rowand to a monsterous contract, and they signed Miguel Tejada all in the hopes of improving their offense. They are a team in need of offense. The Red Sox have had similar problems signing starting pitching (Lackey, Dice-K). Ellsbury is only under contract for two more years. Lincecum is under contract for only two more years. It is a good match. I am afraid there is not a good match on the Red Sox for his services.

You know, Jung, I might have developed the same permanent face creases for similar reasons.

I do totally not disagree.

Ha! you are missing the point. First, Bautista's production does not parlay into Ellsbury's future production. There is no historical evidence to prove the two players have parallel abilities or production. Absolutely none. Second, Ellsbury has Scott Boras as an agent and Bautista does not. Forget Reyes. The Red Sox, like most teams, could use the guy, but he can't be a priority. You seem to be blind to the obvious need for pitching. The Giants won the WS last year with much less offense than the Sox have now. What was the difference?