Ok, with the post below discussing the infield, what about the outfield?
Looks like Manny is staying...So we'll (for the time being) put him out in left...
Center field? The arbitration deadline is approaching so this forces Damon and Boras's hands...They definitely won't accept arbitration...
I can't imagine Damon going to NY, but anything is possible.
If he does leave, I don't want the Sox to try to get Coco Crisp...not at the asking price the Indians want. Not worth it...
For CF I go back to Lowell (picking up some of his salary) for Torii Hunter.
I guess we'll have Nixon in RF. I haven't heard anything different.
Kapler as the 4th outfielder? Will he even be ready for the season?
With all the positive talk about the moves so far this offseason, I am not too confident in this Sox team if this is the plan...
So combined the infield and outfield posts and our lineup looks like the following:
CF Damon/Crisp/Hunter/????
2B Loretta
DH Ortiz
LF Manny
C Varitek
RF Nixon
3B Lowell
1b Youkilis
SS Cora
Very interesting. And I know this is not Laugh-In. But so much is going to change, what with Manny hopefully being cured of his " I want to go " state of mind by Dr. Papi, and Boomer's seemingly invisible trade wish looking like it ain't going to happen. We shall see. To be continued.
ReplyDeleteKapler definitely won't be ready for the season - likely by the ASB if lucky. I imagine Stern is the extra OF.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why you are down on Crisp. They guy is a player and he is trending up and still young. As for the asking proce too high - Clement or Arroyo? Arroyo's last useful year will be this year, then he will start to get expensive. I'd rather get something for him now. And Clement is a gamble of sorts. Kind of like Renteria - get something now or suffer the last two years of the contract. (At least that is what I assume they are thinking).
The Crisp thing is a bit troubling from another aspect - if the Sox make a deal for Crisp now (or any time between Jan 8, the real deadline with Damon), does that pretty much guarantee Damon is going to NY? If the Sox and now apparently LA are out of the Damon stakes, the Yanks can swoop in and get him for the 4 years everyone seems to want to pay. This falls into the Aaron Boone trap if the Sox get Crisp - in other words be careful what you wish for.
One note on Crisp - if they do decide to go that direction, maybe Lowell could go to CLE (eating some of the salary) since CLE would appear to need another bat over pitching even with the loss of Millwood.
SS is what probably worries me the most. Gonzalez is a terrible hitter so I don't want to see a push for him. If they kept Johnny and Manny, maybe there is protection enough for him.
I'm sure the next couple weeks should crystalize some things. The list of potential non tenders, so far, looks slim.
Geez, one more look at Crisp's numbers and I think he actually is Johnny Damon - if you go back six years (their age difference) and there numbers and trajectory are essentially the same.
ReplyDeleteOf course I still hope we keep Damon so he does not end up in NY and NY probably does not have what it takes to land Crisp.
Well, Cleveland also wanted Marte (the 3b prospect)...I'd give up Arroyo or Clement for him, no problem.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to add that I don't know if the Yankees really have interest in a 32-year old outfielder with a bad arm in a place with very large gaps (I said "large gaps)...They would also more than likely have to give him a guaranteed fifth year as Damon seems to have turned down 4 years/40MM from the Sox. They just got over Bernie Williams...
Okay, I had not heard they also wanted Marte. In that case then yeah I would say no way.
ReplyDeleteI agree on what you are saying about the Yanks. although I heard that Damon has not turned down the $40MM, just that he has not even responded. I guess my point was if the Sox say forget about Damon and move on and make a deal for Crisp, then doesn't that limit the suitors for Damon and theoretically his price. Not to mention that he feels spurned by the Sox and decides to go to NY as revenge? I know it is a bit far fetched of a scenario, but possible.
Yeah, it limits Damon's possibilities, but then shouldn't he be pissed at Boras? The Sox have made him a great offer (maybe even too good). He'd be 36 when it is up, and they probably wouldn't balk at an option (triggered by performance).
ReplyDeleteYou know, the more that I think about it, make a deal with Cleveland but don't include Marte. Crisp is younger and way cheaper. It is better for the long run.
I don't see this year's upcoming team being any better than last year's version, and if we can be better for the next few years, with younger players, then so be it...I would take:
Crisp
Loretta
Ortiz
Manny
etc...
Obviously there are still some holes to fil, but they could be better than last year.
ReplyDeleteThe offense
I think the key is Manny. If they keep him and get reasonable performance everywhere else, they should again be number one or two in runs scored. I'm not crazy about some of their options (like SS), but Lowell could bounce back a bit. Hell last year they gave almost 800 ABs to Millar and Bellhorn, so I think the dropoff from last years offense should be minimal.
Pitching
This should be the key to this team. They won 95 games last year with virtually nothing from Schilling and Foulke. With the new young arms, I gotta believe if they can get either Schilling or Foulke back to 75% of their 2004 selves. Also with what appears to be more depth, if they encounter a meltdown like Embree last year, I dont see them waiting until his 40th appearance to let go.
One more thing on Damon - I think what screwed that whole thing up was Furcal getting $13MM per year.
BINGO..I was waiting to see how long it would take for someone to mention the Furcal deal. Big wrench-big plans. Good job.
ReplyDeleteI am not too pleased about that one. When Damon and Boras bring that up I would say "okay, you want $13 million, no problem. Hell we'll even give you $14million because we like you sooo much. But you also have to take only 3 years." Of course Boras is not a reasonable man.
ReplyDeleteOr if you want 7 years, fine take them at the same $8MM you just played for. At some point the security of a long(er) term deal should be offset by the $$ per year. Last I heard this is not like AJ Burnett where 20+ teams have been inquiring about Damon.
And for Furcal, it actually is pretty smart - he gets decent $$$ in what presumably will be his 3 most productive seasons (27-30) albeit in a pitchers park. And then gets to hit the FA market again at age 30.
And now Manny is auctioning off some of his Red Sox stuff. That got me going, and you have to know to watch out when I get going. Well, I wrote a letter to Manny to explain a couple things to him, the good things that will happen when he realizes he's staying. Find it on my blog-just click on my name. Bookmarking would be nice, but I can't expect the world here. Enterainment value is off the wall though.
ReplyDeletePeter -- your site's been linked here for a while now! (It's on the right.)
ReplyDeleteManny said he will not reort to spring training if he isn't traded. So he either has to be traded, or the Red Sox aren't getting anything...
ReplyDeletewww.socalsportsfreak.blogspot.com