marklmw

I do not know Jacko ... I think the Yankees are getting to old. They need to get a lot younger. Don't they have anything on the Farm?

What if they are willing to take Dempster, Webster and that 2nd baseman we have at AA ... what is his name Watts?

IMO .... I doubt that the Sox even want to sign Salty at 3/30. Salty sucks at receiving the ball ... he is the only MLB catcher that turns strikes into balls. Lester realizes this so he asked for Ross to catch for him. When Salty throws the ball it tales away ... left to right .... just terrible. I do not want him back and I am hoping that management feels the same. Hell, the FO would not even give him a QO cause that did not want for him to accept it.

There is the rub ... we have no idea what the Dodgers would want in return nor how much of Kemp's contract they are willing to subsidize. The Dodgers need to deal with Hanley and Kershaw going forward so a 15M Salary dump for the next 7 years might be a good play especially since they proved that they can win without him. Kemp could also land in Seattle.

I say have Butler, Vazquez, Lavarnway, Ross battle it out in the Spring.

Yankees overpaid for McCann ... the only thing that might save the deal is the House that Steinbrener built.

Is Peralta going to the Cards?

Good Point MVP ... playing left will be less strenuous than playing CF but my point is that Kemp at 1B can help keep him healthy.

15M per is not too much to pay for a top hitting 1B ... the other advantage with Kemp is that he can also play OF including center. Not nearly as well as Ells but none the less. What do you think UN? How much better can Kemp's hitting be if JBJ handles CF and Kemp only has to deal with playing 1B ... his offensive numbers can go really high.

How about Kemp at 1B ... he might stay healthy there .... guy can hit. If it only cost the Sox 15M per maybe that is what they are thinking.

Sorry Fred ... I was just playing with you. In the end it is all about winning games and setting the team up for multiple successful seasons. The way things are with the Sox right now I think from a fan's standpoint we should be looking to see how we can position our team for the 2015 season. Think of making the playoffs in 2014 as a bonus just as 2013 was a jackpot. This is what I see in 2015. Bogaerts, WMB, Pedey, Vasquez, Napoli .... make up the infield. Maybe Nap's will be playing for another contract. The outfield of Victorino (FA year) JBJ, Nava ... Lester, Buchholz, Owens, Doubront, Barnes. And the best part we will be way under the Luxury Cap ... we can make some moves.

Get Lester a catcher and he can win 20.

McCann to NYY.

Fred I hate to burst your bubble but rumor has it that Nap's is going to sign with the Rockies. Turns out that he and his wife are very close with Troy Tulowitzki and his wife. They even spent 1 month sharing a chalet in Switzerland. Turns out that Colorado is willing to give him a 3 year deal.

Jung, The pay scale of minor league players is an interesting topic and would require a lot of digging to clearly understand the issues related to it. Most players are best served to go the college route but every now and again you have a phenom come along and like any other sport it makes more sense to skip college and big ones career. You also have to take into account that many of these players are getting some pretty decent signing bonuses that it takes the average person 10 years or more to earn. I think when players embark on a career in baseball they should be giving themselves a time frame to reach various milestones. Most eventually leave the game. A kid that goes go college and is playing Division 1 ball is getting an education but they are not living high on the hog unless Daddy and Mommy say so. I guess that I would have to spend some time in the minors at age 18 - 26 to know how difficult life is. As far as the majors and FA are concerned I think the system is working pretty well for the players and the ownership. I am a big fan of the free market system.

Hell yes! Financial security for the player and his family.

I just did a little research on Kemp's injuries ... man there are many and he might not age well at all. The Dodgers are on the hook for 8 more years at 20M per. They may want to even the score with us for Beckett. My gut says JBJ all the way!

Come on man ... We get Kemp + 4M per year and LA gets Dempster ... I think you have a case of California Dreaming.

I think the author could have come up with a better term than mercenary ... mercenary has negative connotations. Players have worked their asses off to get to the majors and for every player that does make it how many drafted players do not make it. People paint Boras as some evil doer but the guy is just doing his job and representing his clients to the best of his abilities. Dustin Pedroia gave a home town discount to stay in Boston ... if his wife was unhappy in Boston it would be an entirely different story. Fans should not take things personally. Most of these players have grown up in other parts of the country from where they play. They still have family back home and if they do have an opportunity to be back closer to their family and friends that is their option. Free agency is a good thing for the players. Most of the free agents have been underpaid prior to their first free agency option. Trout has been paid the league minimum the past two seasons.

I see the Cards got better today.

What's the catch?

It really does not mean squat ... but Hassan is a gold glove caliber OF at the same time. The Sox are loaded with talent I think we should be planning for the 2015 season as many of our younger boys on the farm will be making moves this year.

This is true as the same thing happened when I pointed out Mike Trout's first stint in the majors ... not comparing JBJ to Trout ... that would be foolish ... I was just pointing out that JBJ's numbers this year at the major league level are not unexpected and should not be used against him going forward. If they did that with Trout then who knows ... or if they did that with Pedey same thing ... JBJ will be a very solid performer ... I am thinking more a Bernie Williams type player as Trout is on schedule to break some records. David Dejesus is a fine player but nothing for a promising 22 y.o. to aspire to at this point in his career.

As it stands now however Ellsbury would be favored over Kemp ... Kemp only had a great 2011. WAR = 7.8 Me thinks that the Dodgers want to even the score with Boston cause they know we got the better of them on the AGon deal. We have so many good prospects with high ceilings I would hate to loose for a player with injury issues.

Back to Puig ... the comparison with Puig was not comparing Puig the player to JBJ the player but Puig and his situation to JBJ and his situation should he be our starting CF next year. Puig came up and played and he made his share of mistakes. He is learning on the job ... we need to give JBJ the same latitude. I mean how bad was Lugo when we signed him and he was a veteran and he made one stupid play after another. JBJ is a sound player and I wish Dojji would just cut the crap about him not being ready.