DocHolliday

I figured it would be easier to make a bet with Bigfoot than with a Tampa Bay Rays fan...

If the Orioles overtake the Yankees and win the division it will be absolutely comical. I'd love to see it but after the way they celebrated on the field after the final game of last season, I'm not sure they'd be able to top it if they win the division.

I'll go out on a limb and predict a 27-6 finish to the season At the very least, it will be the kids struggling and not the overpaid and underachieving group that we miraculously dealt away to Chavez Ravine. BTW, did anyone listen to Steve Lyons, the Dodgers road broadcaster on Felger and Mazz today? He had a really defensive and naive take on the megadeal and the Boston perspective on it. I know he's a Dodger guy and is going to say it was a good deal for them, etc. But he lost my respect when he said we drove Beckett out of town for the wrong reasons and compared it to Manny's exit in 08.

It's definitely worth looking into, but I'd much rather use the front line prospects for a guy like Felix if given the choice. This team has always been at its best when the pitching is solid. Offense has never been a major issue with this organization recently. There will be enough options in the offseason to fill the holes on offense than there will be for the pitching.

Rays lose 1-0 to Rangers, have lost 4 straight after being red hot. Now 2 games out of the WC in the loss column. Glad to see we're not the only team that struggles against Texas.

Atleast NESN let us watch the 2nd Iglesias AB. If that was any indication, I like the improved approach at the plate. Fouled the hanging slider straight back and didn't chase the off speed pitches in the dirt. From his few AB I've seen in the past, he had a much more aggressive approach. Indications from his recent time in the minors are that he's really improved the approach.

To me he just doesn't look completely healthy and it seems to be affecting his approach. He lacks the confidence he showed at the plate 2 years ago - which seems to be a reflection of his admission to shoulder soreness.

All or nothing with Salty's ABs. If he's going to K this much, he's got to improve his walk rates.

I'd like to see Tek get a coaching position in the organization- probably in the minor leagues. He's probably too close to many of the players still on the ML roster to be an effective manager now. After a few more years pass and he gains some coaching and managerial experience in the minors, he could eventually get the nod as manager or pitching coach for the major league team.

Hopefully tonight is the start of a stretch through the rest of this season and into next season when Iglesias takes the SS job for good into the foreseeable future.

I'd be fine with them playing well down the stretch and knocking the Yankees, Rays, and/or Orioles out of the playoffs. Fascinated by the possibilities of improving the team in the offseason from letting some of the kids play full time to trades to select FA.

Good to see more of the kids and the future of this club getting the nod tonight. Go Sox!

It may be a weird time to be a fan but I consider these times necessary for any true fan of any team to have to endure. Things aren't always going to be positive and, after the megatrade went down yesterday, this team is heading back on an upswing towards better times. Being in a large market helps to reduce these downswings and for that I'm more than thankful. When the Sox get back on their next long run of success, it will be all the more rewarding, for me at least, for standing by them through the tough times and seeing them climb out of it.

He represents the true lesson I hope this FO learns going forward. They made a mistake in judgment with Gonzalez and gave away their future 1b and a SP who would make a lot of sense on this staff. I'm convinced that they will need to value their top tier prospects, particularly pitching prospects, more going forward. Luckily, they found someone to eliminate their original mistake.

It makes no sense to me to trade for a $22 M pitcher - even if it's a 1 year deal. Why would SF want to give up the guy in the first place? If they only owe him 1 year, they aren't likely to trade him when his value is at an all time low and he's due for a bounce back year before he hits FA.

Next year this team will most likely have Morales and Doubront in the rotation. Lackey is coming off of Tommy John and Buchholz has had injury issues. What they will need is a consistent innings eater - and they can do a lot better than Dice K with what will be out there. If Boras is still Dice K's agent, he will probably push for another team to sign Dice on a 1 year deal to re establish his value much in the same way he did with Beltre. As a hitter, Beltre went from one of the league's worst hitting parks to one of the best. Dont be surprised to see Dice pitching for Oakland, Seattle, or the Dodgers next season.

With the sudden reduction in future payroll commitments, I think the first thing the Sox should do from a LT perspective is to enhance their scouting and player development personnel and facilities - particularly in international markets. The new rules with the draft slotting, reduction in compensation picks, and the small market lottery rounds all make it difficult for the Red Sox to solely rely on the draft for their player development. Most years, they won't have a top 15 pick like they will in next year's draft because, hopefully, they will return to being successful. They will have to add to their current resources in the development/scouting departments to remain competitive in the long run. From a more short term perspective, I still feel they will be best off avoiding the high priced FA (Hamilton & Grienke) but should be big players in the next tier down. Position players should be guys who fit the needs of the team and have the work ethic and personality to thrive in Boston. These types can be signed for shorter term deals and can be used to supplement the core of the team that remains. Guys like Mike Napoli and Cody Ross come to mind. The pitching is going to be improved long term with renewed commitment to the farm system to generate the supply. In some cases, trades can be made when the system is thin. The top tier of the pitching free agent market should be viewed the same way proposition bets on the craps table are - with much scrutiny and a lot of risk. Going forward, I hope the FO uses the FA market for pitchers as a way of finding value for the back end of the rotation and supporting bullpen spots. In this offseason, I think they can wait out the market and acquire guys on value laden, short term deals to help fill the gaps.

It all depends on what he's asking for. If he wants Lackey or Beckett money and years, no thanks. If he's wanting a 3-5 year deal at around $10-12 M a season I'd be willing to consider it. He may not be the true ace we all want, but we won't have to give up any of our top prospects to get him either. If we have the chance to acquire a guy like Felix Hernandez in a trade, I'd forget about signing Shields altogether. But true aces are very hard to come by and will require a large group of prospects to start the conversation. What if, by some chance we acquire a Felix Hernandez type of ace, and he doesn't perform to ace potential here? Then we're back in a similar situation we were with Beckett, albeit with less financial burden. Perhaps our best route could be trading for prospects with ace ceilings, where we wouldn't be risking as much in the way of $ and years. Or acquiring pitchers through trades like today's trade who are close to the majors and have ace potential. Use the FA market to get middle of the road $ pitchers to round out the back of the rotation. Easier said than done of course.

It really does seem to feel like a new era tonight. At the very least, it will be refreshing to watch this team and truly have the inevitable disappointment night in and night out removed. There are zero expectations for them the rest of this season. Get to see the kids come up and play their hearts out for their big league futures. Maybe we'll get lucky and derail some of our divisional rivals road to the postseason.

That is way too much to give up for Moreland. At best, Moreland is Teixiera at the plate with less power. Realistically, he's more along the lines of a Casey Kotchman 1b. Still not convinced on Olt. But he's highly coveted and will be tough to pry away.

What's wrong with signing short term (1-3 years) stop gap solutions for the positions that we're losing talent and let the pitching prospects develop? If a true ace is made available in a trade, listen in and consider. The FA class this year has a lot of risk, no need to tie up all of the $ with more underperforming players for the long term.

I know many are high on John Farrell but the timing may not work out. Mike Maddux makes a lot of sense to me from a number of perspectives - particularly his background with pitching and the success he has had with the Rangers. This morning on D&C, Tim Kurkijan mentioned Brad Ausmus as an example of a former player without previous managerial or coaching experience (see Robin Ventura and Mike Matheny). Whoever it is, it needs to be someone who will hold the players accountable, work well with the FO, manage relationships well, and have either a strong background in and/or strong emphasis on improving the pitching performance.

Still going for the MLB injury record this year?

James loney scratched from Dodgers game tonight

If the mega waiver deal goes down, I'm sure there will be plenty of interest in the Sox this offseason. Of course hindsight is 20/20, and your original prediction of how this thread would go down probably did not include the possibility of unloading 3 of Theo's biggest blunder contracts on one day. I'll just say this: There will be renewed and positive interest in this Red Sox team if they show us they are committed to the future. That commitment is showing with their acknowledgement of past big $ mistakes. Whether or not all of these players are moved, they have Atleast acknowledged there is a problem. If they are willing to eat $ on these guys, that's a step towards winning back my respect. As for the players that may be leaving, I have no doubt that they will collectively perform better than they have while they've been together here. The fact is they were not capable of performing here as a group. I'm willing to accept that their success elsewhere was not possible in this environment.