Boston Red Sox Ramblings

Boston in 4.

Horrible game last night. Beckett needs to be dominant tonight if the Sox are to have a chnace in the series. Win one and bring it home to Boston to close out the series...

You must be mistaken for the prophet prophesied "Boston in four."

Their offense is looking like the SF Giants right now... It looks like it's ovah for the Sox this year, though I still have a bit of hope. They've come back before a few times with their backs against the wall. If they can get some momentum by playing at home they have a shot.

Sweet bullpen ...season's over!!

I think HUGE changes are coming this offseason for Boston. Ortiz or Lowell (one of the two) and Paps will probably be traded. King Felix is a name being thrown around. They also want to get a big bat in addition to resigning Bay...

Rumors I hear are that the Giants are going to make a big push at Jason Bay. MY PREDICITIONS: Let's assume SF signs bay away from Boston. Boston will then pay big bucks to acquire Matt Holliday who'll be a fixture in left field for however long his contract will stipulate. He has the potential to put bigger numbers than Bay and has better plate discipline than Bay.

Boston may pick up some cheap pitching with some upside that may work better than the Penny and Smoltz debacle of last summer. Names? Ben Sheets and Rich Harden. One of these guys may fill in for Buchholz should he be traded to the Padres in a package to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Sox need to maintain defense up the middle...with V-Mart and Ellsbury they need to retain the golden glove of Alex Gonzalez at SS (his bat was above average with Boston too). Lowrie can sit the bench or be included in a package to land Adrian Gonzalez.

Supposing these moves are made...and it's quite possible... here's a look at the revamped Sox line up:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury - Centerfield
2. Dustin Pedroia - Second Base
3. Kevin Youkilis - Third Base
4. Adrian Gonzalez - First Base
5. Matt Holliday - Left Field
6. Victor Martinez - Catcher
7. David Ortiz/Mike Lowell - DH
8. J.D. Drew - Right Field
9. Alex Gonzalez - Shortstop

Starting Pitching:

1. John Lester (LP)
2. Josh Beckett (RP)
3. Dice-K (RP)
4. Rich Harden (RP)
5. Tim Wakefield/Ben Sheets (RP)

Relievers:
1. Ramon Ramirez
2. Daniel Bard
3. Jonathan Papelbon
4. Hideki Okajima
5. Manny Delcarmen
6. Takishi Saito
7. Junichi Tazawa

Sox get Hermeida for prospects (Hunter Jones and Alvarez). Low risk move with some potential. Will he be part of a bigger rade coming up or is he Baldellis replacement? Or Bay for that matter

ESPN's Peter Gammons says it's possible, though highly unlikely, that the Red Sox and Josh Beckett's agent Michael Moye are so far apart during contract ngotiations that the team would consider dealing their ace. He also says that unless there is "some unexpected understanding," Beckett will hit the free agent market after 2010.

Fine, then trade him this year to Seattle for King Felix or include Beckett with a few prospects in a deal with SF for Lincecum.

•Tony Massarotti of The Boston Globe says that the Red Sox "had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off discussions involving (J.J.) Hardy since the trading deadline." Massarotti's source says the Brewers wanted either Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard, but Boston was only willing to part with Michael Bowden.

Brewers are stupid. They trade Hardy to the Twins for a chump Outfielder with a batting average not much better than Varitek but they don't want Bowden when the Brewers have crap for pitching. Hardy would have been a good SS for Boston.

Moves made so far:

Jeremy Hermida: good pick up a bench player and spell Drew and Cameron in the outfield.

John Lackey: not a big fan but has the potential to put up a good record for the Sox joining Lester, Becket, Dice-K, Buchholz, and Wakefield.

Mike Cameron: can handle Leftfield and the Monster with his good defense despite being ancient. Will play center if Ellsbury is traded in a package to obtain Gonzalez from San Diego.

Boof Bonser: who????

Marco Scuturo: again I'm not a big fan of this former Bluejay...but if he puts up 15 HRs and a .300 batting average plus excellent defence then I'll be content.

Fabio Castro: who cares??? hopefully just arms for the farm and batting practice.

Scott Atchison: who cares?? same comments as Castro.

My grade thus far for off-season pick ups: C+. Sox still need a BAT to make up for Bay's HRs and RBIs even though Bay K'd lots.

Lackey is really the only move they made. Everything else is maintenance or a set up for a future trade.

If they get a bat at the trade deadline then I'll give the moves a B+. If they don't get a bat then I give it a C.

Time to adjust my grade...

Red Sox sign Adrian Beltre to play Third base for around 9-10 million for one year . . . great defensive player and should make the Sox infield one of the best defensively in the game. Beltre I do not doubt will benefit by Fenway Monsta' and should have enough pop - if healthly throughout the year - to put up 20-25 HRs and 100 RBIs and hit at .280-.285 for average ... without the juice of course.

Signing Beltre may mean one or both of the following:

1. Mike Lowell is gone. Already there were talks with the Mets to trade Lowell (12 million per year) for Luisw Castillo ($6 million per year for two years). Supposedly this would be better economically for Boston than keeping Lowell. Castillo -unless he's traded again if Boston did acquire him - would be an infield back up spelling Scuturo and Pedroia.

2. Casey Kotchman now is expendable (although he would be IMHO an able bench player). There may be a trade that would send Kotchman to Seattle for at least a prospect. Does this mean Lowell would not be trafed to NYM but rather would be an outsnading bench player . . . Lowell could fill in at First Base, Third Base, and DH against LHP. Lowell has the character to accept such a role I think... and collect $12 million for being a back-up. Great insurance in case of injury to Beltre and/or Youk or Ortiz.

My revised grade with the Beltre signing: B-

Long-term implications: Sox are freeing up lots of cash for later moves in the next two years . . . Lugo and Varitek contracts coming off the books . . . Ortiz contract soon to expire . . . Sox need to sign V-MART and maybe Beckett or some other impact FA.

Will the Sox still pursue Adrian Gonzalez during the regular season? I think they will.

Update:

Mike Cameron will be playing centerfield and Ellsbury will be playing leftfield.

Looks like another former Brewer, Bill Hall, will be joining Boston. As part of Kotchman going to Seatlle, Hall will be coming to Boston and add depth to their bench as he is able to play the OF, 3B, and SS. His batting needs to improve though.

Even when the Sox win they don't look good. Papelbon has no consistency as a closer. Deal him to a team like Milwaukee in need of a closer. Start grooming Bard to be the closer. This year is over anyway.

Gotta be impressed with Boston's much vaunted defense. Great job by Scuturo . . . two errors. Team ERA stinks.