Boston Red Sox - 2006

[GBrushTWood]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thrasha

Out of curiosity GBrush: Why are you pro over-paying for Drew if we have to, just to get him here, but (from what I recall) you were against doing the same for Damon?

Great question. My response has two parts: 1) I realize the market is changing, and 2) an organization has to dynamically modify its philosophies to adapt to these changing market conditions.

I think if the Red Sox had predicted that prices for all players would skyrocket, they would have been willing to pay more for Damon to stay. Remember, at the time, most people did not believe that Damon was worth the $11-12M he received from the Yankees. I know I didn't. But now that every MLB club is swimming in cash, Gary Matthews Jr is making $10M a year, Carlos Lee is making $17M a year, etc. The mistake the Red Sox made was not accurately forecasting the future, if one counts that as a mistake. I don't, really. I think the Red Sox would now admit they wish they signed Damon, but the conditions at the time didn't indicate an investment would be prudent. This is debateable though (Why could they not see that teams were swimming in cash and that prices for players would spike?).

Getting directly back to your question though, the reason I want them to spend for Drew is because he is the best available outfielder which helps them win baseball games in 2007. Sure, he has his warts and downsides, but he is a legitimately strong hitter with great plate discipline and great defense.

We can bitch and moan "bah, why didn't they pay Damon and now they're backing a truck of cash to Drew's house", but if they do not sign Drew, who is going to play RF in 2007? The kvetching is not conducive towards winning ballgames in 2007. Do you guys really want to endure another Trot Nixon season? I don't. They need a strong #5 hitter, and now that Aramis Ramirez is off the board, Drew is the best bat available.

Now, I just hope Drew gets off to a decent start, otherwise the people in town are going to eat him alive. For some reason, people in Boston love to savage their own ball players, and it is a legitimate concern that Drew will not be able to handle it. Again though, if not Drew, then who?

Now we just have to hope they do not move Manny Ramirez for prospects or other such lunacy. If they are not getting Mark Teixeira in return, I don't want to see Ramirez moved. I want to watch winning baseball in 2007, not f'n James Loney and Chad Billingsley sucking crap.

[boston_sports_rule]

I don't know if the Sox would do it but here is something I heard about.

SD Padres trade:

Brian Giles
Khalil Greene
Scott Linebrink
Prospect

For

Manny Ramirez
Willy Mo

[UMass03]

Quote: Originally Posted by boston_sports_rule

I don't know if the Sox would do it but here is something I heard about. SD Padres trade: Brian Giles Khalil Greene Scott Linebrink Prospect For Manny Ramirez Willy Mo

Can't see Towers going for that. I don't see Manny going to the NL either since he has 10/5 veto power. I think it was Edes in the Globe which brought up the fact that Manny knows the pitching in the AL and can DH for those days when he is feeling lazy perhaps?

[Misfit]

Quote: Originally Posted by boston_sports_rule

I don't know if the Sox would do it but here is something I heard about. SD Padres trade: Brian Giles Khalil Greene Scott Linebrink Prospect For Manny Ramirez Willy Mo

No self-respecting journalist would propose that deal.

[Thrasha]

Jeez.

Even Gammo believes Manny is gone by Saturday.

I know their has always been speculation around this time of year and the trade deadline regarding Manny. But, unless I'm forgetting something, Gammons has always seemed pretty confident it wouldn't happen.

[CWood2]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thrasha

Jeez. Even Gammo believes Manny is gone by Saturday. I know their has always been speculation around this time of year and the trade deadline regarding Manny. But, unless I'm forgetting something, Gammons has always seemed pretty confident it wouldn't happen.

I think the chatter around the league is so much that even Gammo can't ignore that it's a strong, strong possibility. The one thing I have hope for is that Manny pulls a ... well, Manny and vetoes a trade!

If we do pull the trigger (which I don't want to conceed yet), I'd have to think top prospects from the Dodgers could approach a fair deal. And if you're talking with the Pads, I'm all about Jake Peavy even though we need a reliever. Linebrink could be great, but he can't be the central bargaining chip in a deal for Manny Ramirez...even if Adrian Gonzalez is included. We all know how much these relievers can falter, especially coming from the NL. Fair value is three top prospects, or two PLUS a proven major leaguer. If that major leaguer were of the quality of Jake Peavy, then you could go from there. If it's the Dodgers, Loney and LaRoche help us where we need young people most...at the infield corners.

[Thrasha]

I don't see the Padres exchanging Peavy for Manny. 1 step forward, 1 step backward.

And if the best we can do in this market is some top prospects from LA than forget. Not that I believe someone should throw the farm or ML team at the RS FO doorstep for Manny, but their is basically no equal value out there for Manny.

It's bad enough we're going to have to endure JD Drew for 4+ years, it would make the experience a little more tolerable if Manny was still here in that span.

[Stu]

Sox signed Hideki Okijima to a 2 year deal. I don't really know anything about him but we need all the bullpen arms we can get, especially since he's a LH.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...k_okajima.html