jung

I would not be surprised to see the Sox do something with Salty before ST. What are they going to find out about him that they don't already know? He plays the position the way he plays the position. There are so many holes in his game that he looks like a fountain when he takes a drink of water. His one saving grace is that he has power. K's like crazy but he does have power. Once he stopped trying to do everything at light speed (the sure sign of a lack of confidence) he developed a decent arm and actually started to throw some runners out. While I just don't see Salty developing more from here, I can see somebody wanting Salty to split time between doing some catching and being a DH batting down there around 6th or so...with the ability to clean the plate adding some pop from down there, 6th or 7th in the order. We just signed our DH to a two year deal. I still contend that having a full time DH really does tie your hands. Ortiz is one of the few DH's that make it worthwhile but in truth, he has to be slotted into the DH role and everybody else must either play a position or sit...that is it.

We have lots of holes to fill. We should have little interest in spending a bunch of cash on one potentially problematic bat when the pitching is kinda' iffy. Our owner may well be looking for ways to avoid large long term commitments going into a potential sales process.

I read something that I just glanced at without really taking the time to absorb that appeared to be saying that Kemp has got some sort of injury thing goin' on and the Dodgers are lookin' for some protection for Kemp.

Dodgers rumored to be chasing Hunter hard and trying to land either Sanchez, Greinke or Kuroda. I suspect they will outbid anybody for any player they actually want as they are in that kinda' mood at the moment.

I think the Sox did it cause they wanted to buy some stability at the position for a couple years. Lavs is a question mark at this point and Salty is well Salty. Of the two, I think it is Salty that ends up being traded to somebody for something with Ross providing a degree of security for Lavs. Sox might be thinking that they are stuck having to step up and give Lavs the position in order for him to continue to progress but want a guy to help him along. I don't think they will keep Ross, Salty and Lavs and I think they are out on Napoli.

Ross signing makes a lotta' sense. I would prefer they trade Salty and keep Lav and Ross. Salty has not got much in the way upside defensively and he just drives me batty when he is back there.

The following includes clips from the email that the investment firm sent its remaining clients just this week “This is to notify you that JWH has determined to cease managing client assets effective December 31, 2012,” Amy B. Hanson, a marketing manager of the firm, wrote in an email to clients on Friday. “We will not be providing performance information going forward.” Apparently JH intends using the firm to trade for his own purposes but that will be it. While the losses are pretty bad on a percentage basis, I don't wonder if investors got uncomfortable with allowing JWH to trade for them in highly leveraged investments while trying to run FSG. I would be willing to bet that as bad as the losses have been most of the decline in funds under management has simply been defections. As much as we comment about JH and lost focus regarding the Sox, it may have all just gotten to be to much at a time in his life when he just was not prepared for a full commitment to anything. They were managing $2.5B in 2006 and are down to $100M now. Surely some of that is clients simply pulling out. Their losses this year from trading are pretty nasty.

Well some have been out and out predicting the near term sale of the team here and others have been close to it. Although I don't think any of us would have considered the demise of the investment firm as the catalyst for a sale. I am really beginning to think it is in the best interests for the Red Sox Organization and Team anyway. More and more this is looking like a group that is just plain past it. I had not looked at the investment firm much. Had to have been a high risk, high potential reward kind of deal to sustain 30% losses. Stll and all, losses of that scale suggest a stubbornness that I think we have seen in the way the club has been run as well. Probably has had something to do with the fact that it has been bricks and bats and Jerseys and caps and kitchen sinks as well.

I guess we can take some comfort in realizing that JH must not have been running a ponzi scheme. I heard a couple weeks ago that the investment portfolios in the investment company had suffered 30% losses. Once folks start to pull the plug, with those kinds of losses you start coming up short of cash pretty quickly if you have been scheming. But 30% losses....Holy Mother of God...that is just hideous performance.

Well as early as the 2011 regular season I was posting here that the Sox were in trouble at the bottom line and we needed to stop looking at the revenue numbers when the team was running in the red regardless. What the hell is going on with these guys. Looks to me like Henry might have to sell just to keep living in the style that he has grown accustomed to. Most of his paper profits must be tied up in the Red Sox at this point. Sounds like he is getting to the point where he is going to need that money. Talk about coming crashing down in short order...Jeez Henry probably has a Theo voodoo doll that he sticks pins into these days. Although JH probably has nobody to blame but himself. Apparently could not keep his baseline business, the real goose that laid the golden egg in line.

By the way I supposes I should state a position. I would prefer that the Sox stay out of the Hamilton sweepstakes. They have enough to do as it is.

I would love 3 years but if they want Hamilton, I don't see 3 years getting it done.

The problem with offering Hamilton only two years and really big money is that it could easily just be money down a rat hole. There are simply to many question marks in the Sox pitching right now and while there are pitchers that can help bolster the pitching there really is not a good way to feel like you are truly set with your rotation in the short term. If you could get your hands on pitching that would resolve the rotation issues, you would spend the money there first. As it is, if you sign Hamilton for two years, those two years could be here and gone and all you might have done was win a few more 12-8 games than you would have otherwise. Remember, right now the Sox have: Buchholz, who has not proven he can give you 30-32 starts in back to back seasons for a good long time, MUST give us 30 starts and close to or over 200 innings Lester, at this point working to resolve his mechanical issues, having made solid headway toward the end of 2012 Lackey, coming off of TJ, complete question mark Felix and Frankie, as yet young and developing and....the flotsam and jetsam that make up the remainder of current Sox rotation guys So lets say the Sox sign Kuroda...heck of an addition but he would have to remain healthy and pitch solid through the entire season and ALL of the Sox rotation question marks would have to fall to the plus side of the ledger. There are no sure things available out there for the Sox to bring in at a price they are likely to pay yet they must bring in at least one quality SP AND the guys that they are banking on being in the rotation MUST all work out. That is just to much of a long shot to bet two years at huge money on Hamilton. If the Sox were to sign Hamilton, four years is just about perfect....not to long, not to short. Not saying they should pursue him but the term should be four years, not longer and not shorter.

Hamilton's per annum and term will have to fall into a range that allows the Mariners or Brewers to play and Angelos may well nix a deal even if his FO pursues one with Hamilton.

Well there are only so many teams that can even consider signing Hamilton. Some of those have shot their wads on other players. I would guess that there is something like 5 maybe 6 teams total with a legit shot at signing him. With that kinda' field I just don't see somebody upping the anti in term for a Hamilton....total money I can see but not term.

I don't see Hamilton getting less than $20M per year and probably more. That will be the way teams go after him I think....less term but big money per annum. Try go get the best years out of him, limit the exposure to injury and/or other issues and pay him big money per annum for it.

Agreed wyo and I just do not have a lotta' faith in the guys they have at the moment without seeing an add or two to that rotation. I think it interesting that because the Yanks are sorta' stuck with Arod and want Cano, they may not be able to justify the cash for Kuroda.

Well 5 years for Hamilton suggests that a team can get some real, practical, language in the contract that they can bring to bear in a very real sense and I just don't think that will happen...hence I think he will end up at four years but with juicy per annum salary.

That was last year. IMO, the last year we will see of this nonsense for awhile if ever again. Also I suspect both of those teams will be left rather unsatisfied. I could be wrong. The 2013 off season is barely off the ground....we shall see. Also I have stuck my neck out farther than that even. I am suggesting that the criteria will get tighter up and down the line with regard to term.

Often when you look at game log stats for a pitcher at least using ER's what almost always leaps off the page is how few less than sterling starts it takes to pump up that ERA unless you manager is predisposed to pulling you early....maybe during a bad early inning or any inning thereafter that starts off problematic, like with a no-out BB. I think it will all boil down to whether Lackey regains control of multiple pitches in his first year back from TJ. If he does I think he can do really well in the AL we have today, East or West. If he can't well then I think he will struggle.

IMO, the long term deal is dead because teams don't need them any longer. The advent of monster cable money and/or team ownership of sports networks has created a sky raining $$ for teams. However that does not appear to be working in the player's interest. Teams can now see their way to solvency under just about any condition they can practically realize and as such are not thinking that signing specific players is critical to their economic solvency. Thus they are not willing to go out on a limb in contract term. Sure, viewership translates into more revenue but that difference is huge revenue versus very comfortable revenue, not live vs. die. You will get an occasional deal like the Ortiz deal with the Sox seeing it as worthwhile to secure his big bat mainly because Ortiz is a tie to past glories. Teams again IMO will be willing to trade some of those cable TV $$ by opting to offer shorter terms at marginally higher per annum salaries. However they will have little interest going forward in sticking their necks out extending long term commitments to players. The guaranteed contract may finally come back to haunt the Players Association. LA is at least temporarily willing to suck up these idiotic contracts in an effort to build a fan base for its new owners but in truth, New York, Boston, Philly and maybe Chicago are the teams that swing the pendulum one way or the other. The Rangers may join that exclusive club. I think the big four are done with these whacky long term deals.

Well I am not convinced you could get much contractual protection for a "condition" which is what Hamilton has. That is surely how it will be treated contractually. In any event I do not think anybody will go past four years in a Hamilton contract but I think he will get four since the Rangers have drawn the line at three. No chance he will get five. I think for term at least at present: the ten year contract is dead seven years reserved for young healthy highly productive players five years reserved for late 20's/early 30's, productive players with manageable injury issues four years going to late 20's productive players with questionable injury issues three years going to older productive players two years or less going to fill in guys, average guys or mid to high 30's players I suspect teams will begin their negotiation with players about one tier south of where they are willing to go with players beginning at much longer terms but getting virtually no action at the longer terms. Hence the possibility of an eventual collusion suit since the phone will be virtually silent at the longer terms. Obviously this post is reeking with opinion just to be clear.

There is going to be such a rejection of long term deals in the MLB this year that it might even get to the point where the Players Association feels justified in a collusion suit against the leagues teams. But in this case, I don't think they will have a leg to stand on if it happens.

Swisher at 4/$40 well OK I guess if you want a guy that performed at the plate in the regular season and then was totally overmatched when he saw better pitching game after game.

Not a bad way ta' go...not really expensive....real gambles in that rotation though. If it pans out that would be great. However Lackey, Masterson and Lester could one or all not pan out. I think Lester will come around. I like Masterson to at least not be a complete bust even worst case. Lackey may be fine especially the way AL hitters are helping pitchers these days. The way AL hitters are hitting if you can hit your spots and control two and especially three pitches as a pitcher, you stand a chance of getting through the order at least twice if not more. I did not like Lackey coming over to the AL East a few years ago. They way hitters have gone in the AL particularly he could end up being lights out IF he regains his control coming off of TJ....very difficult for a guy with multiple pitches.