WhiteWesWelker88

Sign V-mart, Crawford 2-3 relievers,


maybe find a taker on Dice-K? If we do we can pursue Cliff Lee.




I personally do not want to exercise Papi's option.


Lowell, Papi would be off the books........ that ='s Mad Money



This $$$$ can go towards Crawford, Relievers and possibly Lee. Lee is a stretch.


If we used 4 outfielders anybody could DH I hate wasting a roster spot for a 1 dimensional player.

patriots54

How about Cliff Lee?

dalero

The Yankees want him so they'll get him. The only thing the Sox can do is drive up the price(like that even matters.)

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BC Eagle

The bidding for Lee is pretty much a two horse race at this point. Boston essentially took themselves out of the running for him last year when they signed Lackey, then extended Beckett.

Right now, the most pressing issue for Boston this post-season is surrounding Adrian Beltre.

Needless to say, Beltre lived up to his one year contract, finishing in the top five in the American League in WAR (both offensive and defensive), Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, On Base Percentage, Hits, Total Bases, Doubles, RBI, OPS, Runs Created, Extra Base Hits, Putouts, Assists and fewest errors committed.

Traditionally, Beltre has been a Gold Glove caliber 3B, and it could be argued on defense alone, he's one of the best in the sport. While he takes a fair amount of criticism for his offensive production in Seattle, minus his final season there, he averaged over 20 homers and 80+ RBI (26 in three of five) in a pitcher friendly ballpark.

His numbers in his first (and possibly only) season in Boston did spike (his batting average was over 50 points higher than his norm, and he was 3-4 homers up from his norm), however it is concievable that these could have been him benefitting from a much more hitter friendly ballpark, and being in a lineup with more protection than he had in Seattle and Los Angeles.

Question is, do you give Beltre the reported 4-5 year deal worth $14 million per that he's looking for?

Also, another decision seems to be looming with Victor Martinez. Reportedly he too is looking for a 4-5 year deal with $12 mill as a starting point. Do you give that kind of loot to a catcher who is going to be 32 at the start of the 2011 season, and the essential reality that he's slowly moving into DH territory?

Chances are, even with Boston's payroll as is, there's a zero percent chance they could and will keep both, leading towards the "which do you pick" debate. Of course, there's also the rumors that the Sox could be linked to Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder, both of whom are expected to be shopped extensively this off-season.

You're Theo Epstein. Which avenue do you go with this? Do you re-sign Martinez, do you re-sign Beltre or do you make a run at one of the bashers (Gonzalez/ Fielder) and shift Youkilis to 3B full-time?

Boston Boxer

good post BC. I dont think Beltre is coming back. I think he had a deal with the Sox that let Boston get him for one season so he could get his stock up and he would be able to leave for the west coast (family).

Beltre did his part by signing with the Sox and put up rediculous numbers...now the Sox will live up to their end of the bargin and let him walk. I say he ends up with LAA.

VMart. Interesting to find out why the Sox let him go to FA...they should have signed him when they had the chance. It tells me that VMart will play elsewhere (Detroit). I dont think the Sox want to pay that kind of money for a guy who is only going to catch one or two more years, then play first/DH.I think the Sox will go with Buck (FA) and Salty as the catchers.

I think the Sox will target Crawford (LF), Werth (RF), someone like LaRoche (1b), and then bull pen arms. Come trade deadline, we will trade for Gonzalez.

Would be great if we had an OF like Crawford, Ellsbury, and Werth...JD Drew can play his last year in the majors as our 4th OF. Time will tell.

BC Eagle

Great points.

I never really got the impression from the moment Theo signed him that Beltre was long for Boston. I always felt like he was brought in to be a one-year bargain, and a stop-gap. I think when he played as well as he did, which far and away exceeded expectations of the contract, it put Boston in a tough spot, but I still see them ultimately letting Beltre walk. The Angels actually seem like the best fit for him too, good call on that.

If I recall correctly, the Red Sox did try to re-sign him, and offered him a 3 year deal in July, then a 2 year deal worth more money in September, and he turned both down because he wants a long term contract. Boston rightfully is hesitant to give out a 5 year deal (which is what Vic's STARTING point) to a 32 year old that essentially has one year left behind the plate, maybe two then is headed to the Designated Hitter position. Believe me, he's no Jason Varitek, he's not going to be able to catch to his late 30s. He's always been a suspect game caller, his defense has been shaky, and it's not going to get better with age. He's pretty much peaked as a catcher and is only going downhill from here in that avenue.

I think he leaves too.

I'd KILL to have Crawford manning LF, Ellsbury in CF and Werth in RF. Hell, I'd settle for Crawford in LF and Ellsbury in CF. Can you imagine the speed on the basepaths and the range the two would have manning that OF?

Being completely unbiased, I think for the Red Sox, they're going to be in the running for one or the other, not both. In this case, whereas Werth has better power and more shiftability (he can play all OF positions), I like Craw a shade more because of his defense and speed.. I sure wouldn't lose sleep over signing either though.

I've actually heard grumblings that Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel are free agents. I'd like Boston to get EITHER as a cheaper alternate to Werth to play RF. Drew at DH would work for me too.

Boston Boxer

either Cuddyer or Kubel would be outstanding. No problem with one of those guys on the Sox roster.