In response to southpaw777's comment:

 
Ben didn't say anything about Salty sticking around southpaw.  From what I read, He said Salty "as of now" is the starter heading into ST because he has played well "maybe in his eyes" because even Tek was better early on and later in his career.  Ben also said he wasn't going to trade young prospects in order to improve the club.

So what is he really saying?

#1 We sign a FA or two in hopes of improving our club, but wait, as of now we don't have AGon and have yet to sign Ross so he better grab a slew of FA's.

#2 Lavarnway plays in AAA which I don't see happening for very long but then again Ben says he won't trade top prospects to improve our club.

#3 Beckett gets replaced with Lackey OH BOY!

I hope Ben is just throwing out smoke and mirrors and has a real plan to improve this club because everyone in our division is now as good or better..

In response to craze4sox's comment:

Craze4Sox,

No one in the Front Office is going to publicly discuss who they may or may not trade.  It's common sense.  It's been rumored that the Sox have actively shopped Salty for weeks now, but they aren't going to give him away, since he still has value to the club.  The catching market has yet to develop yet, so it may be a while before they do anything. 

Also, not sure what you read or heard, but Ben Cherington or anyone else who makes personnel decisions in the Front Office never said that "they aren't going to trade any prosepects." They will trade prospects this winter, that's a fact.  My guess is the only one who is "untouchable" is Boegarts, and even he could be made available in the right deal.  A good G.M. will feed the press crap and keep them in the dark, which is exactly what he's done. 

Looks like Salty will be the starter with David Ross the BU, but getting more starts than a true BU. That tells me it might be more of a 90-70 type split in games started.

Lavarnway is still young for as long as he has been catching and should be in AAA for one more year. Salty should get his final arb year to put it all together. Hes improved, whether any of you guys believe it or like it...IMO, He deserves, and has earned to start his final arb year. I hope this is what their final decision is. It would be the best move.

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2012/11/cherington_on_t.html

 

edit: I hate the fact you cant edit the title if you accidentally spell something wrong. Hear that forum creators???

In response to EnchiladaT's comment:

Lavarnway needs as many games played as possible to improve. He wont get that in Boston right now, and shouldnt. he needs more work. Salty has one year left and pitchers are familiar and comfortable with him. Ross is the Vet we need back there.

If Lav only get 60 games starting, that does nothing for the future and his development. AAA can provide him the workload he needs to improve. 2014 would be better once Salty leaves if lav shows lots of improvement.

In response to southpaw777's comment:

I just assumed you lived in Australia for a while when I read the "It looks loike"...:)

Put Lava in at starting catcher w/Ross back up and get rid of Salty please.

It does seem like the Sox are waiting while they see what the other teams in the division are going to do.  Toronto is now much better, the Yanks are back to normal pretty much, the O's are status quo from last year and the Rays have the pitching and not the hitting as usual.  I do think it is time the Sox make a major move or two for credibility purposes if nothing else...the fans needs something to cheer about besides a BU catcher.

In response to traven's comment:

I think they're waititng for the market to settle out.

Try to sign a free agent now, and they're either going to wait for a higher offer or demand a high one to start with.

It's been said many times before; you can't force free agents to sign what you offer.

Looks like Salty will be the starter with David Ross the BU, but getting more starts than a true BU. That tells me it might be more of a 90-70 type split in games started.

Lavarnway is still young for as long as he has been catching and should be in AAA for one more year. Salty should get his final arb year to put it all together. Hes improved, whether any of you guys believe it or like it...IMO, He deserves, and has earned to start his final arb year. I hope this is what their final decision is. It would be the best move.

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2012/11/cherington_on_t.html

 

edit: I hate the fact you cant edit the title if you accidentally spell something wrong. Hear that forum creators???

In response to southpaw777's comment:

Salty does SO alot but if he can get his SO's down this year then i will be very content with Salty and Ross being the 2 catchers. For Lavarnway going to Triple A will benefit him more by working on his overall catching skills. It will be interesting to see Butler and Lavarnway sharing the catching duties down in Pawtucket

In response to Alibiike's comment:

Don't give Softy too much credit on the CERA thing...you have to remember how he couldn't wait to see Varitek go.  Harness, OTOH, built a great case for Varitek's CERA value. 

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

Interesting how quickly Softy embraced CERA after Tek left.

Sad, Salty is clumsy butcher with an uppercut swing who will cost at least 3 to 4M for his ticket to FA. They should deal the bum now, while the can still boast about his HR total for 2012.

Now that Ross has been paid nearly double what his market value is, Ross and Lavarnway should do the catching for 2013 and 2014. They should attempt to acquire VMart or Napoli to play 1st and allow flexibility on rotating the catcher position during some of the games. Offer the Tigers 2 prospects from the farm that aren't any of the top 6 prospects (farm scraps). If they turn it down, offer Napoli 2 and base 10. If the market is more than that, simply go with Ross and Lavarnway.

Salty has mental and physical issues and is a career journeyman for a reason.