cp176

I don't think that this great debate centers just around Price. Others out there will come with a similar price tag.

There is a very good chance that you might be right on this one. I certainly would not bet my own money against your position. The key for me would be the potential for that great success over the next three years. I would like to see them take that risk. That being said, I also would like to see them explore all options to improve their pitching via the trade market. There will not be room on the roster for all of the young talent that we have coming along if it is as good as advertised.

We all know that most of the contracts are ridiculous. Nothing new there. You are absolutely right - I would not like the size of the contract but signing Price makes sense to me. He would fill a need that should have been filled last year. I have a hard time accepting the logic behind signing Ramirez. Actually I didn't and still don't accept it. I am happy for you that signing him was a solid move. Trust me, I would feel the same about signing anyone to a huge contract if they were a position player who had to change their position in order to play. I do have faith in the organization. Signing a top of the rotation pitcher represents an entirely different situation to me.

We do have some good players in the organization and everyone seems to be giving Ben credit for this. He was allowed to walk because of what he did not do. I think we all give him some credit. To say that he left us with a "golden" team set up for sustained success is going just a bit over the top. To get to 85 wins they still have work to do.

How old is Greinke? I like him too for about a 3 year contract. Don't see that happening.

I know that you are a serious person so I will just leave it alone. I do not think that it is even a remote comparison if you are talking any conceivable connection between Ramirez and Price. The Ramirez signing was questioned not just by the fan base. I think that you know that. If a top of the rotation guy had been signed, Ben might still be here. The Ramirez sign would still look bad. It was certainly questionable last spring.

Extending Porcello to big money on the hope that he becomes (note the optimism) something he has never really shown signs of being was a big risk. Signing Ramirez was just a huge risk by itself for all of the reasons previously beaten to death. Signing Sandoval at least made some sense. We needed a third baseman, we got one. Even a fat one was better than what we had going in. Each of these signing s would have made a little more sense to me if the Red Sox had then done what we thought they would do. Sign a real pitcher. A little numbness would have been ok if they had backed it hope with an actual common sense move. They did not. This off season I think that we will see them bring in a true top of the rotation guy. Someone who has actually been there. If they do this, we will all have to just suck it up and live with the fact that they have finally done something that at least going in to spring straining makes some sense. If it doesn't work out, so be it. Those types of chances makes sense to take.

I actually enjoyed watching Mickey Lolitch just as much. Pitchers are tougher when they have to hit. Throw Marichal right in there with Gibson, Koufax, and Drysdale. I also just read that the great Dean Chance recently passed away. We had just enough to beat him in 67.

I'm with you for sure here. I don't care how much of the in coming money they spend at all. It would be nice to think that when huge chunks are spent it isn't akin to just flushing the toilet. There is one hell of a difference between spending the money on players that you hope might perform better and remain healthier than they ever have before and signing the likes of Price and or Grienke. For the record, if they choose to waste $ on long term contracts, once again their money. Problem with the Sox is that they tend to let it stand in the way of their younger and potentially better players. I love them but not enough to worry about the size of their payroll. they raise ticket prices to the point of being ridiculous = me staying home.

Thanks for that post. How about Gibson knocking Clemente down every time. Bautista has got to be smart enough to know that sooner or later he is going see some pay back by someone on the mound who is just as tough as he is. It is part of the game. Much like that body numbing "slide" into second, we hate those guys unless they play for us. When they play for us , it is a whole different ball game.

Much of this discussion centers around what constitutes a "star". Ramirez, Sandoval, and Porcello are not in the same category as Price. Their contracts were ridiculous regardless of what market trends seem to be. I won't be back in Fenway until the product on the field might justify raising ticket prices as they have continually done year after year.

I had forgotten about the size of his contract. I don't like it anymore now than I did then. I think that you are right. He might be hard to move. I'm tired of the potential tag applied to someone his age. Benintendi and Margot may both be much more consistent produces sooner than anyone thinks.

If JbJ and Castillo are still around come spring, 2016 will determine whether or not they continue to play in boston. It is possible that we have players in our system who can give us more. That being said, no one tops JBJ in the field and Castillo still looks "potentially" very good. If they don't get it done early though, the younger better players will push them aside. Personally if one or even both of them were traded, I think that we would still be ok.

I am not a Maddon fan in particular but I would not have been disappointed if he had come to Boston. When I look at these Cubs, I keep thinking Lester, Theo, Rizzo, and Maddon. Good luck to them.

I really hope that Sale, Harvey, and Gray will be the types of top of the rotation guys they go after. Through free agency, Price than Greinke I hope will be the top two targets.

Obviously if he can unload Ramirez i think that his common sense meter is too good for him not to do it. We probably will be stuck with him. If that is the case, he will a DH in waiting posing as a first baseman. Believe it or not, the day will come when Ortiz hangs it up. If that happens sooner (as in a year or two), Hanley might actually still figure into things.

One of each would be a good thing I think!

Anthony Rizzo - Where have I heard that name before?

It was borderline late for sure. If the ss had not had to turn away from the play Utley might have eaten the throw to first. It is part of the game. He plays hard.

I would be stunned in a good way if Lackey actually had any interest at all in coming back to Boston. Once you get past Price, I don't see an body worth the big bucks. Price - yes I think that he would be worth the risk. if the scouting reports are accurate, you have Moncada, Devers, and Guerra, Benintendi, and to a lesser extent maybe Margot projecting to be more than just contributors on a contending team. Throw a catcher in the mix along with Owens, Kelly, and whoever else and I have to think trading for a young ace or maybe more than one is a possibility. We all love our prospects and I know they are all very young but Red Sox have a history of hanging on to or not bringing up potential players who could help out the big club. you could make a case for anyone of these guys being blocked for quite some time. It won't benefit anybody. For instance take Moncada. Being brought along as a second baseman. Many consider him to be our number 1 prospect. How long do you think it will be before he gets a start at second in Boston? Guerra is a gifted young ss. I don't think he will ever play in Boston. See anybody currently standing in the way of those young outfielders? I do. What is going to happen at third? I am not saying that any of these guys are ready just yet but if we try to hang on to everybody it won't work.

Plus - He really wasn't all that bad offensively or defensively this year. Maybe it is a stretch but I think he was pretty good regardless of the age and experience factor.

I agree with you on this one. To go one step further, we saw some encouraging signs from JBJ as well as from Castillo, but the only one that looks like a solid all around keeper out there at this point is Betts. As good as they look defensively, they have to be able to hit a little. No one is going to let a young ace go for hood ornaments and hopefuls. If Betts, XB, and E-Rod are off the table, who would you be interested in. I know who would interest me.

I think that he would make that type of move in a heartbeat. With Betts, XB, and E-Rod probably off the table, most teams will want something significant for a player like Gray. I hope he sticks but Swihart's name is going to get thrown around a lot. If he isn't our starting catcher next year, I think that he plays somewhere else.

When I first fell in love with the game, Yogi was a fixture. God bless him. He was the real deal. What a player - what a person.

I don't see Betts moving to the Mets. Unless you have read or heard of the Red Sox targeting Harvey during the the off-season. My guess is that who ever they decide to go after, the team they deal with is going to be very excited about the possibility of acquiring a young catcher. If Harvey was the only potential number one out there, possibly but he isn't. Pretty sure they kick the tires of free agency before they decide to ship anybody for anybody.