win red sox

should have had 2 doubles last night.

he's going to have some walks because he lives on the black. Only a couple of the pitches he left up got squared up. I would assume his next start will be better. But of course you should never assume anything in baseball.

agree

there's alot to like with dempster tonight and moving forward, 7 ks in 4 ip and could have been 10k's if for not some borderline calls, only a couple of pitches were squared up(I think the homer was actually a decent pitch). I look forward to his next start.

If I remember correctly his first 2 starts with texas were horrific, after that most of his starts were quality starts.

4ks in a 2.1 ip, yeah pretty average

that was impressive

love the aggresiveness

I think the kansas city royals are on this plan. Seriously, we are a large market team, large market teams have superstars which entails large contracts. Does Boston even get to the playoffs without Manny Ramirez 8/160 in 04 and 07? I understand that the Crawford contract was not ideal, but that doesnt mean we shouldn't acquire elite talent, Boston's adtvantage over most clubs is it financial resources, why not take adtvantage of it? I would be ashamed and disappointed as a red sox fan if the ownership did not field a competitive team with the realistic goal of reaching the world series.

I would like to see Ben put a competitive team on the field while acquiring young high ceiling pitchers and a young firstbaseman. free agent signings 1) Josh Hamilton 3/75 with a mutual option 4th year 2) Anibal Sanchez 5/65 3) Dan Haren 2/28 (I just dont think he would sign a 1 year contract to come to Boston) 4) Stephen Drew 2/24 5) Ortiz 2/26 6) Mccarthy 1/12 Trades 1) Boston sends Ellsbury and Lester to Washington for 1b Moore,sp meyer, and rp rodriguez. 2) Boston sends Buchholz and Iglesias to Arizona for cf young and sp trevor bauer. Rotation Haren Sanchez Doubront Lackey Mccarthy Lineup ss Drew 2b Pedroia rf Hamilton dh Ortiz 3b Middlebrooks 1b Moore c Lav's/salty cf Young lf Kalish/Sands I believe this team could compete in the al east, will any of this happen? probaly not, but the point is you can put a competitive team on the field while still acquiring young high ceiling pitchers.

I wouldn't mind signing youk to a 1 year deal, but the front office should be focusing on young first basemen that are currently blocked at the major league level. There are three that come to mind 1) cj cron angels 2) tyler moore nationals 3) matt adams cardinals.

while appreciate your well thought out response, I disagree. Paying a pitcher 27.5 million for his age 37/38 age season is borderline retarded, but i see value in mentoring young pitchers. The phillies have several positions they need to address this offseason (3b,rh of bat, bullpen) and this would allow them to pursue upgrades. There farm system is lacking in position players so im assuming they would be looking for prospects. I actually think its probaly an overpay. Prior to this year Victorino was looking at a 5/75 contract after he ops .847, this year has been a disaster for him as his ops has dropped to .687, he would be the perfect buy low candidate. Miller has been eratic this year at best with a era just under 5.00 and St Louis has a plethora of starting pitching at the mlb and minor levels(I actually prefer Carlos Martinez) , my point on this acquisition was to get a firstbaseman that is close to being ready and a young pitcher that has front of the rotation upside. I don't know if St Louis would be interested in that trade, but thats the type of trade i would look for, if not hold on to him and get the draft pick.

I would hope this offseason that the sox stay committed to developing and acquiring young talent and with that I hope they target a 1B and more starting pitching. My ideal roster would be centered around moving Ellsbury and some specs to St Louis for 1B Adams and sp shelby Miller. cf Victorino 1/15 2b Pedroia dh Ortiz 2/26 3b Middlebrooks 1b Adams/Sands rf Ross 2/14 c Lav's lf Sands/Kalish ss Iglesias U Aviles U Ciriaco C David Ross 1/1.5 sp Lee via trade centered on Cecchini,Workman,Jacobs sp Buchholz sp Doubront sp Lackey hopefully has a good 1st half and can move him at july trade deadline sp De La Rosa cp Bailey su Hanrahan via trade centered around Salty and Wilson rhp Tazawa lhp Morales lhp Miller rhp Atchison rhp Bard/Carpenter I would move Lester to Texas for one of prospects(Buckel or Grimm) and some high end specs. I have no idea what Aceves trade value is but im assuming he's gone trading for cliff lee would be huge, his contract sucks but he is a true ace and someone young pitchers could look up to.

you would think 6 k's in 3 innings would mean that doubrant is pitching well.

this is getting comical, i would be suprised if we get to 70 wins

The offseason will be based mostly off of Ellsbury signing an extension, I don't see it happening. I would sign Hamilton 5/125 with 10 million buyout in the 5th year and then flip Ellsbury and Lester to Texas for Moreland (.880ops and not elgible for free agency until 2017) and either Buckel or Mendez. Ben should then make a call to kevin towers and acquire Justin upton, I imagine something along the lines of Brentz,Iglesias,Cecchini, and Aceves. Ben should make an aggresive offer to Edwin Jackson 3/42 and make the qualifying offer to Ortiz. Ben will have plenty of pitching options in 2014 with Barnes,Webster, Buckel or Mendez. Kalish cf Pedrioa 2b Hamilton lf Upton rf Ortiz dh Middlebrooks 3b Moreland 1b Lavs C Aviles ss Bench Ciriaco utilty Sands of/1b Sweeney of Buchholz Jackson Doubrant Lackey Delarosa Bailey Bard Breslow Morales Miller Tazawa Carpenter Wilson I'm estimating the payroll would be around 145million, If Kalish struggles, hopefully Bradley would be ready around the all star break, I know I might catch some flack about Hamilton, but he is a #3 hitter we need, and lets don't say his contract would cripple us, for crist sakes were not the Twins.

gonzalez 1st ab is a 3 run homer. nice

The focus should be on 2014, I would go even as far as moving Ellsbury and Lester this offseason and stock up on pitching prospects and maybe a 1B(Olt or Moreland from texas would be nice), another thing to consider is that if we keep losing at our current rate, we might have a shot at Appel in the draft. I would also just make a qualifying offer to Ortiz. Potential 2014 lineup and rotation. Bradley cf Pedroia 2b Ortiz/free agent dh Bogarts ss Moreland/olt 1b Middlebrooks 3B Kalish lf Lavarnway c Brentz rf Buchholz Barnes Doubrant Delarosa Webster

Larry Luccino has come out said the Sox will be aggressive and explore "bold moves" prior to the deadline, so I tried to think of same trade ideas outside the box. 1) It appears that Hammels and Greinke will either be resigned or cost a kings ransom, Ben should call Texas and send Beckett and 15 million for Minor leaguer's justin grimm or will lamb. Texas needs another starter and I think Beckett will accept a trade to his home state. Both lamb and grimm are power arms who could contribute in 2014 and most importantly we get Beckett out of Boston. 2) I do think that Miami and Boston are talking about about a blockbuster trade and I think there is a trade that would benefit both teams. Crawford, Lester, Ranaudo, Salty, Bard, and Gomez for Hanley Ramirez, Heath Bell, and Josh Johnson. I do believe that Miami is growing tired of Hanley and will do anything to get rid of Bell, the kicker is Johnson who has been up and down this year and is a free agent after 2013 but when he's right he is a true ace. The aav Boston would receive from this acquisition would be about 31million and the aav Miami would receive about 26 million. 3) Ben should call Arizona and make a bold offer for Justin Upton. I would offer Iglesias, Brentz, Aviles, Cecchini, and Aceves. I know Upton is having a down year, but just like ellsbury last year he was in the mvp coversation and is only 24 yrs old. This actually is a pretty good deal for Arizona as they get a mlb ready ss as it appears there trying to move drew, they get there future 3b and rf and a swingman in aceves. Boston would take about a 7 million hit on the aav on this deal. Ellsbury cf Pedroia 2b Ortiz dh Upton rf Gonzalez 1b Ross lf Ramirez ss Middlebrooks 3b Lav/shoppach c Ciriaco Sweeney Nava lav/shoppach Johnson Buchholz Morales Doubrant Cook Bailey Bell Miller Hill Albers Padilla Atchison These are bold moves, Boston keeps there top prospects (Bogarts,Bradley,Barnes) and if Hanley,Justin, and Josh don't work out, let them go and get the draft picks.

It's amazing were above .500 with terrible defense and zero offense out of cf.

3rd out at 3b is a big no no, nothing to gain.

An Uncertain Season, how about a lost season. I was very optimistic before the season started and now I'm completly deflated. You would think that Beckett and Lester would have come out smoking after last year's collapse, but instead are extending September's performance. Bucholtz is a shell of himself from 2 years ago and Youkilis can't seem to brush his teeth without injuring himself. I highly doubt we see Bailey pitch this year and with coglomerate of clusterf***s in the bullpen every late inning lead will be sickening. The only thing Im looking forward to is the July trading deadline, hopefully management can show some balls and move this garbage. And to boot, there are no pitchers in the minors that will have an impact this year or next. There is no upside to this team, we'll be at least 15 games out of the division come the trade deadline and it won't matter if we get Crawford and Ellsbury back

found this artice ref releasing a player on a arbitration contract: http://riveraveblues.com/2009/02/the-non-guaranteed-nature-of-arbitration-7503/ It appears Ortiz would have to struggle mightily and another player would have to excel. But, it doesn't really matter anymore due to there are no quality starting free agent pitchers left. I would rather Pay 1/16 than 2/24 anyday and move on. PS this case was the padres releasing Todd Walker after he won his arbitration case, the player filed a grievance and lost.

maybe they traded him become he had zero range, for christ sakes even jeter had more range. I haven't seen Aviles play much shortstop, but I'm sure the red sox advanced scouts have and believe it or not they probaly know more about Aviles than us. Offensively we might lose a little on the obp but will gain on the slugging, so as far I'm concerned this is an upgrade, of course I also believe that are rotation is better than last years.