CF - Andrew has pointed out that no one has really mentioned Griffey as potential CF option. I think Cincy would be a potential trading partner - with Kearns, Pena, Junior and Dunn they have 4 OF. And the Sox have extra pitching. So on paper it matches up. Another potential team to deal with is Houston, now that they have signed Preston Wilson. They have Berkman (who may play 1B if Bags retires), but also have Wilson, Jason Lane, Taveras and Chris Burke - so there would appear to be some wiggle room there. Of course HOU does not have any real glaring need. And of course TB have an excess, but I don't see anything there as long as they continue to ask for the moon - which of course is what I would do if I were them. They are a few years away from competing and thus don't really have any pressing needs, so why not ask for a teams best prospect?
Marte - a lot has been written about him lately. And while I agree that Marte for Lugo is probably not a smart move, I do wonder about his status as uber-prospect. As Andrew points out, he has been on the top prospects list for a number of years. Which is exactly why I worry. I hope he does not turn into Josh Hamilton, Sean Burroughs, or Drew Henson. And with ATL handing out opportunities to every rookie East the Rockies last year, Marte certainly could not capitalize (and I know it is a small sample size.) I hope I'm wrong, I'm just wondering. Out loud. Plus there is always the risk of overvaluing one's own prospects a la these blasts from the past - Seung Song, Dernell Stenson (tragically), Michael Colemen, Donnie Sadler and Frankie Rodriguez....
Youk - Interesting insight given by Francona on Red Sox Now last night - he said "Youk can play in the majors every day. I just don't know if he can play everyday in Boston. " He went on to say that there is a lot of pressure and the Sox are trying to win another WS, but still I thought it was pretty telling.
In defense of Marte, it's only been a couple of years that he's been a dominant prospect, and he's still really very young; at age 22, he's even a year younger than the general AAA age. His minor league career has progressed natually, and even a bit quickly, and comparisons to guys like Burroughs, Coleman, Stenson, Sadler are unwarranted; none of them were ever as strong a prospect as Marte, and none were ever as well rounded as players.
ReplyDeleteI generall agree that he is young and still could blossom into a star, I'm just be a bit cautionary and think we should temper our expectations. I would be more than happy if we could turn this guy into say Ben Sheets or Mike Sweeney.
ReplyDeleteJust to be clear, I was not comparing Marte to Burroughs, Coleman or Stenson.
Remember many Sox fans were up in arms at the thought of trading Casey Fossum for Bartolo Colon. In retrospect it only was smart to not make that deal because AZ was desparate enough two years later to take Fossum, 3 other minor leaguers and two exhibition games at the BOB for Curt Scilling.
One other note on Youk (and it kind of ties into the post below where Andrew and GR are debating leadoff hitters) - on the same Red Sox Now program on Nesn last night, Francona pretty much dismissed the idea of Youk being the leadoff hitter.
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