marklmw

Good point UN but did you really have to include the last sentence?

I am very happy to see Cano gone from the Yankees ... the Yankees improved this off season by adding Ellsbury and McCann but they took a huge step backwards by losing Cano.

I brought up Stanton because if the Sox should not sign Napoli or Drew they will have 3 top compensation picks along with their own top 2 picks means 5 quality picks. Not all of the Sox prospects from AA & AAA will have a place on the Sox Majors team. Stanton just turned 24 ... trading and signing him to his first big deal ... 140M / 10 would be hard for him to pass on and it will take him through age 33. This is when a long term contract could make a lot of sense. The guy is 6'6" ... we could keep him healthy at 1B but his fielding value lies in the fact that he has experience playing RF.

Yeah ... I have not heard from Dupree in a while.

Why 5? for Stanton and PTBNL ... why not 4 for Stanton or why not Dempster and 3 and the Sox can eat 3M of Dempster. Stanton would give us a lot of Flexibility in the OF and he would be adding a lot of power for the long term. If the Sox were to make a Deal for Stanton this is where a long term extension would make sense.

What would Boston have to give up for Stanton and would he be worth it?

UN ... signing Crawford was the NY way and I was dead against it and I was right .... that was NY style overkill. To complete in the AL East you have to have the horses one way or another. I am very happy today ... very happy .... Cano is going to Seattle and Granderson to the Mets. Looks like Tanaka is staying put in Japan and Napoli agreed to let the Sox FO match his best offer. I am thinking repeat now ... my ranting against the Yankees is paying off big time.

Good for Nap's ... I am glad that he is allowing the Sox FO to match. He might even have a better season next year.

I do not remember betting any steak dinners on Cano signing with Seattle but no matter I am one happy Gringo right now.

You are almost logical ... Being better than the Yankees does not put a limit the Sox on how much better they can be. When you look at the history for winning the AL East the Yankees have set the standard have they not?

Agree ... we do need Nap's

Well the Yankees may have improved with the combo of Ells and McCann vs. the loss of Cano but the real issue with NY is pitching. If Tanaka is not acquired they will need to sign the top 2 FA SP's to have a chance of competing. I hope that they have to over pay for those acquisitions as well.

The only thing is that Ells will bat 3rd next year and hit 25 HR's with 100+ RBI just to prove something. I hope not but my gut says he has a very productive year.

Somebody throw that glass of cold water in my face now! When the ink is dry that is.

^How so?

It is a nice thought Hitch but unfortunately it does not work this way. To have a good chance at a World Series Championship it helps to win your division. If you get in as a wild card team with the new 1 game playoff it becomes even more of a crap shot. The way games are scheduled a team plays 19 games each season against the teams in their own division. So when you win or loose a game against the Yankees it is a big swing. If you come out ahead in each series against the teams in your division you increase your changes of winning the division outright. For example. Boston 11 wins - NYY 8 wins, Boston 10 wins - Tampa 9 wins, Boston 13 wins - Toronto 6 wins. etc. Also the American League East has been the toughest division in Baseball for a long long time. It is not uncommon for the Teams in the Eastern Division to have winning records against the Central or Western Divisions. The American League teams also play the National League teams during the season now ... (this was not always the case) ... I think that the American League has bettered the National League overall. Anyway ... over time the Red Sox have tried to keep up with the Yankees with respect to payroll but it really is not practical to do so. The Yankees always pay the most for the best available players because they can. If the Sox were placed in the AL Central Division they would be able to compete with a much lessor payroll. Also to your point ... when you create a team that competes against the Yankees you are creating a team that competes against all MLB teams. One is not exclusive of the other.

Look, If you want to replace the Rays with the Yankees as our biggest rivalry then go ahead ... it's still a free country ... at least for another 2-3 years anyway. The Rays do not have a history of pilfering our best players. The Yankees are bullies because they have more money then anyone else. Money = power and I for one have had enough of it. I say triple the luxury tax.

My biggest rivalry is the Sox - Pirates. It goes back to 1903. The Sox were called the Boston Americans back then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Boston_Americans_season

I am not inside your head MVP ... you are entitled to think however you wish to think. If you want to have an imaginary rivalry between the Sox and Rays no one including myself can take that away from you.

I am overjoyed that we won the WS ... truly I am. You must agree however that Ellsbury was a key ingredient to our championship as was Napoli. Both are two top FA's for 2014. He have yet to sign 1 FA of comparable value. What we did last year is not some secret formula to be followed at all costs. Get us Hart or Napoli today!

You do see why the Yankees are hated? Cano takes a discount but Ellsbury not so much. I am disappointed in myself for suggesting that the Sox make a run for Cano ... my bad. Cano is an overpriced loser with half of the heart that Pedroia has. Kuroda? ... why not bring Clemens back?

You are lying to us and yourself then

Jay Z is not going to allow his client Cano to leave NY. If they did increase the asking price by 10M they were never serious about leaving to begin with. For those of you who are putting Baltimore and Tampa Bay in the same sentence as the Yankees ... you have to be joking ... why did you leave out Toronto? Yeah those Sox - Baltimore games are one of the toughest tickets in all of sports ... of course when you watch the Sox play Tampa in Tampa and there are more Sox fans in the seats ... it shows what a rivalry the two teams have now. Where did the Sox trade Babe Ruth to? ... Toronto right. I would imagine that Tampa is going to deal Price. NYY will sign Cano and probably sign Tanaka even if they have to kidnap him and give him cosmetic surgery in Cuba. And knowing MLB ... Arods suspension will go from 220 games to 450 games because it will allow the Yankees to take his contract off the books. If you are the Boston Red Sox and you are not building your team to compete with the Yankees then why sign any free agents at all. Carp can play 1B next year. Nava and Gomes can take LF. If JBJ or Victorino get injured we can get by with Berry on a short term basis. Damon, Boggs, Clemens, Ruth, Ellsbury .... Lester?

It's all theater ... Cano will be back in NY ... just another example why the Yankees are the most hated team in baseball.

Well at least another team is coming to the table to make the Yankees overpay once again ... but then again isn't everyone working in NYC overpaid?