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Supposedly pretty much a done deal. It's everywhere.

I believe in that instance we were arguing about Napoli vs. Hamilton, not Napoli himself. If the Sox had the money to sign Hamilton + another offensive piece plus pitching i'd rather have him than Napoli, but someone's going to give him 7 years apparently and in that case, it better not be the Red Sox.

Read my above post: Signing Napoli does nothing if they don't improve the pitching first. IF they improve the rotation, signing two of Napoli/Ross/Swisher (who all have their own ifs mind you) makes sense.

They have enough money for both on one year deals, as well as two of Swisher/Napoli/Ross on longer term deals without going over the lux tax for 2014.

That's why you sign Haren and Marcum to one year deals, which is reportedly what they're looking for to rebuild value. Signing offense does nothing if the rotation doesn't improve.

Another example of statements made without prior research: Jon Lester career average fastball velocity: 92.5 MPH. Jon Lester 2012 average fastball velocity: 92.6 MPH.

Napoli's career averages: .259 /.356 /.507 .863, 126 OPS+ There's no need to extrapolate anything. The guy has always had massive power. An .863 career OPS and .507 career SLG are nothing to sneeze at. Put him on 1st where he should be able to play a lot more games than he could as a catcher and watch the fireworks at Fenway.

What are you talking about? Another albatross contract is exactly what we need so the team doesn't lose fan interest.

This conversation may become moot anyways. I get the feeling that Tampa's going to deal David Price, and that the guy they'll be gunning for is Myers. No way can the Sox compete against that.

But the bad teams are skewing the numbers. I understand where he's coming from, hence my above post.

Isn't calculating an average basically "meeting at the middle" of a player's numbers? The guy had a myriad maladies last season and did not have a very good offensive season. Yet he still clubbed over 20 homers and got on base at a very good clip compared to his batting average. My theory here is that playing him at 1B would reduce the wear and tear on him and he'd post numbers much closer to 2011 than 2012. Now i ask you: Why does the argument have to be about what position he has in the lineup? And more importantly, with that roster, who would be a better option? Would you like this lineup better? CF- Ellsbury RF-Swisher 2B-Pedroia DH-Ortiz 1B-Napoli 3B-WMB LF-Gomes/Kalish C-Ross/Lavarnway SS-Iglesias/Ciriaco They could also acquire a SS who could hit 2nd (Stephen Drew? Although i don't like him) and hit the catcher 9th: CF-Ellsbury SS-Drew 2B-Pedroia DH-Ortiz 1B-Napoli RD-Swisher 3B-WMB LF-Gomes/Kalish C-Ross/Lavarnway In either of these scenarios, you have your two absolutely best, no question mark hitters hitting 3/4. And you'd still be significantly under the lux tax for 2014.

Would you like .320 /.414 /.631 /1.046 from yours? Because that's his line from 2011. Let's assume he settles right at the middle. That would be production i'd want from my cleanup hitter.

And they should. Because the forecast for 2013 is suckitude unless Cherington gets his ass in gear.

Ellsbury: Still the prototypical lead off hitter. Pedroia: No need to explain. Ortiz: Old but still an elite hitter and signed short term. Napoli: His hitting 7th in Texas is a testament to their depth, not Napoli's production. This is a guy a year removed from a 1.000 OPS/30 HR season and who should be able to improve on last year's numbers (being healthy, not catching and Fenway can only help) and get him closer to his 2011 numbers. He's a legit power threat with on-base skills. Swisher: 25 HR's/.360 OBP/.850 OPS like clockwork. WMB: His stick shouldn't be a question. He'll go through growing pains, but the kid can hit. Gomes/Kalish: No question about Gomes, who can destroy LHP, but Kalish's health is always a question. Ross/Lavarnway: Ross is decent, but Lavarnway did nothing but hit in the minors and deserves a chance to prove he can stick in the Majors. Iglesias/Ciriaco: They could sign a SS, but the rest of the lineup could hide either of them.

Not that i would put them in, but that their projections for next year would likely have them.

A bit old? Yes. Overpaid? Depends on your definition of overpaid. Bad? Not at all.

Think about it: CF- Ellsbury 2B-Pedroia DH- Ortiz 1B- Napoli RF- Swisher 3B-WMB LF- Gomes/Kalish C-Ross/Lavarnway SS-Ciriaco/Iglesias Rotation: Haren Lester Marcum Bucholz Lackey/Doubront/Morales Bullpen: We have a heap of options there, won't even bother. That looks like a contender to me. And one that would keep its farm system intact and would be under the lux tax for 2014.

a700 is blowing smoke, as he tends to do. He was recently converted to the OF and he made enough strides there to play CF competently for a significant period of time. His defense is adequate right now, but with a ton of upside. That's the scout's takes, not mine.

Swisher (4 years/48)/Napoli(4 years/52)/Haren(1/18)/Marcum(1/16)./offseason. And only two of the contracts are relatively long term, but both players can play multiple positions and possess skill sets that age relatively well. All for 59 million dollars, with 34 of those going off the books next year.

The main problem with the Sox FO IMO (and we've had this discussion before) is the overvaluing of their own assets. There are several prospects over the years (Lars Anderson comes to mind) who have been dubbed great trade chips but have been blocked by in the farm system and position yet the Sox stubbornly hold on to them. They do this even though they really don't have a clear-cut future plan for the prospect and trading them to improve a position of weakness would improve the club overall in the long-term. That's not how elite baseball teams operate.

But remember jung, that the Sox could get Myers then flip him in a package (or trade separately) with Ellsbury and some lower-end prospects for a couple of young pitchers who can help now and in the long term. That's what i would do, mostly because as you say, offense is really not that difficult to find in the FA market save for certain prohibitive positions.

In the case of Myers, he also has outstanding plate discipline for his age.

Nathan posted 2.80/38 saves on a two-year deal for a significantly lower cost. Would you have complained if we had him instead of Papelbon? Just a question.

In principle, this is true, but i have to disagree with certain parts. Under certain conditions (guys looking to recoup value, middle-tier talent with upside and certain imports). It's very possible to find free agent bargains: Guys like Adrian Beltre when he signed with the Sox; Joe Nathan last year with the Rangers; Hideki Okajima; Russell Martin (who was coming off a bad year offensively, but C is a D first position, and that was not in question); Wei-yin Chen and Bartolo Colon even with the PED bust. The constant here is risk. If you take risks on players with questions marks, you create the possibility of finding significant production for insignificant cost. In big FA contracts you usually pay for "certainty" in production, or the lack of risk, when ironically, there is no such thing as "certainty" or "lack of risk" in baseball.

John Sickels on Wil Myers: