Ryan predicts Penny will be dealt

Sorry about the prvious email...

from Kevin Barry (kbarry644 @aol.com)

High in the strike zone straight fast balls go far into the seats when they are presented to good major league hitters. Yesterday's shot off Penny makes that point pretty clear. Any team that gets Penny will need to be able to score lots of runs for him, I suspect.

That said, can the Sox get Cora back from the Mets? They need pitchers, the Sox need a reliable backup infielder.

I think the point missed here, is that dealing Penny "can" get a star here for 'years to come' as the gallup poll won't allow us to select.
The Red Sox have a deep deep plethora of arms; to our gleeful sake - and Penny (while a fortunate pitcher now - his record is more an example of great run-support than great-pitching) will slide back down to being a detriment if kept all year.
Deal high; Sell high.... Penny can be a help to many clubs without the pitching depth we currently have. (i.e. Milwaukee Brewers who are trying to be contenders as we speak -- who lost CC Sabathia already after hoping they'd keep him).
Deal Penny and another (Delcarmen) to Milwaukee and get JJ Hardy (power-hitting shortstop). That would solve the vortex-of-horror at that position.
(yes, I know Hardy is currently sitting on a day-by-day basis due to a recent back spasm....but that heals no problems -- he has no history of this and has had great seasons since his inception.)
The Red Sox have already expressed interest in Hardy over 2 years now.
Deal Penny.... Aim at a resolution for long-term problems.

Just get us a big bat for him that can platoon with Ortiz

the Red Sox would be wise to contact the White Sox (who are in DESPERATE needs for a starting pitcher) in return for Paul Kernerko (seriously, Colon is their #4 pitcher right now). The White Sox have enough bats in their lineup and on their bench that losing Kernerko for a huge upgrade on pitching would benefit both teams as the Red Sox would gain insurance for any injury to Lowell, Youkilis, and Ortiz, plus he can rotate in and out with Ortiz at the DH role.

The only other thing I can think of is trading Penny and a minor leaguer to the Rangers for Teagarden (I dont want Salty as he is the next Scott Hatteburg...wont be a catcher for much longer before moving to 1st base). The Rangers realize they can win the AL West with better pitching.

What happens if smoltz comes back and is a pumpkin. Come on penny has saved us this year. Becketts and Lester haven't been great this year. I think we make a big mistake if we trade anybody. If you trade Penny, nobody will give us a discount again. And could you blame them. Maybe we should look at moving Dice K.(What has he done)

What happens if smoltz comes back and is a pumpkin. Come on penny has saved us this year. Becketts and Lester haven't been great this year. I think we make a big mistake if we trade anybody. If you trade Penny, nobody will give us a discount again. And could you blame them. Maybe we should look at moving Dice K.(What has he done)

Is there any value, intelligence or practicality to setting up a 6-MAN rotation? Would it be arrogant? : )

I think the thought of it sounds utterly dominating. But perhaps you can't mess with the pitchers sense of rest days and workout routine, preparation.

Think of this rotation:
1. Josh Beckett 2. John Lester 3. John Smoltz 4. Tim Wakefield 5. Dice-K and 6. Brad Penny.
....on paper, that looks BONKERS!!!!!

Buchholz's value has got to be at an all time high.. I say trade him now. The pieces are in place this year to win it all again, so use Buchholz to get a big bat in here to push them over the top. They have other young pitchers ready for the next couple of years, so let's go for the WS this year!

I don't think that they should trade Penney until they see what kind of year Matsuzaka is going to have or if one of the other starters is injured. In terms of hitting needs, is Lars Anderson ready should Ortiz continue to struggle.

I understand the premise, but Penny has put in the effort. If you can't get a frontline player for him. Hold on to him!

Penny isn't worth his name. He has only won because the offense has backep him up so much. He doesn't have an "out" pitch. His fastball has almost no movement and without decent command of his off speed stuff, batters can hit that fastball because they know it's coming. Deal him and get us a position player with some power and/or speed. Obvioulsy we won't get a star player, but trade him while he has an apparent worth. Thanks for the help Brad - but see ya!

Brad Penny is 5-1 with an ERA of 5.96. I'll repeat that last part: ERA of 5.96.

Trade him before he turns back into a pumpkin? I'd say he was out in the patch right now available to be plucked.

About Ortiz. Magadan says ' the reason this has been cast upon you is that you can handle it." WHAT...? The reason it has been cast upon him is that he simply can't play anymore. PERIOD

All of this assumes that everyone in the Red Sox rotation is going to remain healthy throughout the year. That's not happening. Last year it was Beckett. This year, we've already had Matsuzaka. They should hold onto Penny at least until they see what they can get out of Smoltz and until Matsuzaka can string together something resembling a few good quality starts.

Sox are in enviable position to trade pitching to fill holes. Bullpen is set, barring a lefty specialist, and existing pen gets lefties out, so less need.

Lowrie addresses short, but his range coupled with Lowell's somewhat reduced range has me wanting a defensive replacement on that side of the infield, whether addressed by a decent defensive first base backup to move Youk across the diamond at times, or by a pure defensive shortstop.

Ortiz--it will be interesting to see if he is in the lneup come the All Star break.

Penny's value will only increase over time. Maybe they'll deal him around the end of June, if what they want is available.

The name of the game is pitching!!!!!

Penny or Bucholz only for a respectable shortstop....end of discussion

I think Penny would be a solid middle of the rotation guy for a lot of teams. He's not _great_, but he's solid. Figure that he's going to go about six innings, and give up about three runs. There are teams that would take that, no question.

The Sox wouldn't get a _lot_ for him, but they'll get something and they've got a lot of good pitchers they need to make room for.

What has Dice-K done is asked by some clown above? Gee, I dunno---18 and 3 last year looked pretty good to me.

How about a .660 winning percentage in his first 2 seasons? Over 350 K's? Sub 4.00 ERA? 4th in the Cy Young voting last year? Oh yeah, don't forget his 2 RBI's against Colorado in the World Series...

You're right, Dice-K's done nothing---you ignorant tool.

Actually, Penny's stats are skewed because of two bad starts. In nine starts he has six decisions. In every game in which he has a decision he has given up three earned runs or fewer. Like Penny, Beckett and Wakefield both have six of their nine starts in which they has given up three earned or fewer. Lester has only done it in four of his nine. Matsuzaka has yet to have a game wherein he has done it, and has yet to pitch into the sixth inning.

Ok guys, so far we have J.J Hardy and Konerko as possible targets. Two questions:
1) Is that a package (Penny + DelC or something)?
2) Other names that could be targets with a package (or only Penny)

Please trade David "Mendoza Line" Ortiz while your at it!

Why not trade Penny to Texas for Jarrod Saltalamacchia?
He can catch and DH.

My vote for "turning into a pumpin" would be Wake. He eats up innings in May-Aug but I would not count on him being healthy & effective later in the season & certainly not the postseason.

We need to address our black hole at SS and an imminent opening for a catcher in that order. Michael Young is an established SS who isn't happy at 3B in Texas, Texas always needs pitching. Make it a blockbuster in going for both Young and Teagarden and sacrifice a young pitcher as well as Penny.

"Deal Penny and another (Delcarmen) to Milwaukee and get JJ Hardy (power-hitting shortstop). That would solve the vortex-of-horror at that position.
(yes, I know Hardy is currently sitting on a day-by-day basis due to a recent back spasm....but that heals no problems -- he has no history of this and has had great seasons since his inception.)"

Point 1: Penny and Delcarmen would not be enough to snag Hardy, even with his current troubles. Hardy's probably one of the top five or six shortstops in the MLB.

Point 2: Hardy actually does have a history of it, it's just not particularly well publicized. When he first started having the problems this season, which have been off and on bugging him all season, he mentioned he's dealt with it since college.

"In terms of hitting needs, is Lars Anderson ready should Ortiz continue to struggle."

Far from. He's hitting at a lukewarm .234 and he's striking out a lot more than walking and he's doing all that in AA. Even if he was raking, bringing him up would be the wrong thing to do. You need to develop talent and popping him straight from AA to the MLB would really mess with his development.

In terms of Penny, I think he should be dealt come mid-June if possible. His value's at about its highest and he could bring us back a decent utility guy or a mid-level prospect. David Wells was spun into Kottaras who, while not nearly working out to his potential thus far (Though he IS only 26 and catchers tend to develop slower than most), has been a decent piece.

Nice video. Talk about two guys who could use a little time in the sun!

The only way I'd trade Buchholz is if the Sox could get either Hanley Ramirez or Joe Mauer in return. Either do the deal straight up or add Manny Delcarmen.

Even though I love him, you can't continue to think Wake will be reliable through the rest of the season. July 31 is still a long way off and too much can happen between now and then. I'd take Penny (who seems to get stronger with every start) over Wake.

Geez... how could we get Hanley Ramirez?

We can only hope that Florida sinks badly over the next few weeks then maybe we could do a Lugo, Penny, Lopez and maybe one more for Hanley to play shortstop.

There is no upside to trading one of the young guys like Buchholz or Bowden. These guys are going to be the future: the Sox have a very deep pitching program in the minors. What they need they can get with Penney. Brad is not that old, and he is showing that he can pitch with the best of them. He's 5-1 against American League hitting. Trade him for a top-rated minor league SS or a solid DH/OF. And to sweeten the deal, throw in Delcarmen or Javy Lopez, or even Kotsay if he is ready to come back. And forget about trading for Konerko; he's done. If the White Sox are willing to shop him with the junky team they have, that tells all.

I think Smoltz will be ready to contribute, and you bring up Buchholz and Bowden and ride with that staff. Good, young fresh arms are what is making the Rays who they are (don't be fooled by their record, as they will be in this race.) You can't sacrifice young pitchers: they are too important and too rare. Penney has more downsides than either of the two young guys. The Red Sox plan all along was to keep Penney as either insurance or trade bait: it was a brilliant move, but as they say I fear the clock could strike 12 before July 31. Trade him now, and go with the young guns.

Remember, good pitching ALWAYS beats good hitting. If the pitching-poor Red Sox teams of pre-2004 didn't teach you that, then you will never get it!

With Ortiz done, we need a guy who can hit,someone not on the juice. I say we package Smoltz, Penny and Buchholz together, maybe throw in a reliever or two if necessary like Masterson or one of the lefties, and get a guy who is likely to hit 20 bombs a year. Maybe we can get back Kevin Millar for the above. I would think Toronto could benefit from some pitching and might be willing to part with Millar for the above package, especially since they don't have Burnett anymore. And the Sox have plenty of pitching, so it's not like moving those guys is a big deal for us.

Recently, an opposing team visiting Fenway said that Penny really had nothing special. All he did was throw high fastballs and that they will easily adjust the next time they face him (was it Tampa). He's leaving the cheese high, close to the moss.

His velocity is better than expected, but he just throws fastballs. This will catch up with him and he will resume the pounding he took early on.

Trade this pig while his lipstick still looks good ...

You never have enough pitching. Never. All it takes is an injury or two and you're in the position the Sox were in when they were losing. Keep Penny. Give the future pitching stars more time in the minors to fine tune so that when we need them, they'll be ready. A big bat coming in to the Sox won't eliminate the Big Papi problem. What are you going to do? Sit Papi for the rest of the year? He's just going to have to work through it, but in the number 7 slot. Then, when he starts hitting, move him up. Bay and Youk together make a great 3-4 in the line-up.

I don't know who is more painful to watch, Ortiz or Matsusaka. What kind of bat could we get for them if we toss in Brad?

the earned run R. Ramirez gave up in Seattle after the error by Green---how can that not be an unearned run???---had he not advanced to 2nd on the overthrow, he never could have scored on the ensuing single to left---this has bothered me???

Penny in a 3-way trade to a NL team bringing back a DH-type as insurance for Ortiz. How about Giambi: 1 yr deal, high OBP (low avg.) has 5 homers so far. Good clubouse guy.

I don't see why the Sox should trade Penney. He has gone into the 6th inning for several games, and his May stats are a strong improvement over April. This says that he's finding his touch. Over the past several seasons injuries have made a huge impact (mostly negative) for the Sox. Let's keep the pitching we have and let Tito worry about how to use them all. If we're going to get anyone in a trade, I would say our number 1 need is a reliable shortstop. How about trading Delcarmen, Bailey, Lugo, and Green for a starting shortstop (Jack Wilson?). Lowrie would be a good backup. Kotsay can play first when Youk needs a rest. Keep the pitching and get a shortstop. Defense wins championships.

Trade him for a 1st or 3rd baseman, make Lowell your DH or platoon him, let Papi go off into the baeball sunset.

Why do they need to trade either one of them. That's stupid! You can never have enough pitching! The big problem is what to do with Ortiz when the Sox finally acknowledge that he's done and bring in another full time bat from a team that wants to move a contract? Would the Dodgers be willing to take Papi to hold Manny's hand?

Six man rotation? What's in the water?...Cut back your ace by 50% in appearances so you can throw a couple of rookies?

I DO like the Penny for Konerko deal...that would give us TWO Rhode Islanders on the team! And when he gets hot...Holy Toledo! We've got almost enough to go the distance with the present team...NY Yanks stand in the way in the AL...Tampa has lost its way as Iwamura was a key element of their defense (check out last night to see how he's missed)...TX will fade in the heat...Toronto pitching has been exposed...Angels just cannot close the way they used to...Philly and the Dodgers lurk in the NL, as does St. Louis and Milwaukee...fortunately there'll only be one standing at the end, and none of them is head and shoulders above the Sox...no need to mortgage a future strength for the WS, when it is already within reach. Does anyone honestly think we'd lose to the Phillies last year in the WS?

Ryan and Finn aren't paying attention. Penny has made ten starts for us - eight of them were "quality" starts, and in the other two, he was bombed. It's because of those two disasters that his WHIP and ERA are so high - and both of those starts came in April. (For instance, nearly half of his 17 BBs came on those two days) It is absolutely untrue that he's succeeding because of run support. If you throw out April (which is only fair, 'cause, remember, he's coming off a year in which he suffered from numerous injuries) you'll find *nothing but* quality starts, and an era around 4.00. And if you look at his career stats, you'll find that this is the pitcher he's always been, except when hurt.. I'm not saying he shouldn't be traded; I'm just saying he's a fine pitcher who deserves credit for what he's done.

Buchholz AND Bowden and a few lesser players for Hanley Rameriez. SS is covered for a few years and we get the bat.

If you bring up Bucholz now and then ship him back to the minors when Smoltz is ready(I know these things have a "way of working themselves out" yawn) what does that do for his development? Unless Bucholz can be given his spot to stay let him get his work in the minors... Did somebody say what has Dice-K done by the way?? Just win games that's all....

Once again, the great Bob Ryan is ahead of the curve—saying what we've been thinking for weeks. Absolutely we should deal Penny—nanoseconds after the 6/15 deadline. A SS like Khalil Greene would be nice or another 1B/DH type like Nick Johnson.

I think the Sox pitching staff is so deep that they need to part with two big names and get a huge hitter and shortstop.. I'd trade Penny and Delcarman and get something huge Hanny Rameriez ??? in return.

I also think another option is trading Papelbon. His contract is coming up, they will not resign him to the money he wants. He can't throw anything but a fastball and I think there are other closer choices in the making.

Theo has stated before that they Sox don't "go for broke for ONE year" (ala the Marlins) but rather choose the approach that they want to be built for MULTIPLE years.

Trading Bucholtz does nothing to secure competitive longevity.

Penny's not getting younger. Beckett isn't getting any younger (though is still young enough to be among the top pitchers any given season--just not every season, IMO). Smoltz isn't a solution past this year (and we don't even know HOW WELL he'll even do!). And as much as we all appreciate Wakefield, you're a liar if you KNEW he'd tear it up the way he has been this season.

Beckett, Lester, Clay, Masterson and Dice-K are the future pitchers for this club. ...and I mention Dice-K because no one is going to take him so we all need to deal with that.

Goody... What has Dice-K done? He's won 33 games in two years and has a career ERA in the mid-3s. He also has a large contract attached to him.

Dice-K this year has been hurt and actually pitched pretty well in his last start until the guy at short messed up the DP.

i think the sox should start looking at catcher
they are weakest in that position
there are some nice young catchers out there. one is jeff clement who needs work on his defense but is a good hitter and developing great plate discipline. the mariners need pitching and that is one thing the sox have. why not trade youth and potential for youth and potential. a good trade doesnt have to be one sided. the beckett and lowell trade was a good one for both sides. it is time to get younger and clement is about ready to be in the bigs. next year he could be the starting catcher.

Everyone is assuming Smoltz is 100 %.He may help, but the kids are more viable options. Still, trade Penny for a good LH bat,....soon as you can. He isn't close to the pitcher he was 3-4 years ago.

Yeah, good idea and they should trade Youklis and Bay before they have a hitting slump too. Until we see Buckhotlz and, or Bowden pitch a major league game this year why would they want to dump this years most consistently winning pitcher. At this rate Penny could end the year with a record of 15W - 3L. We won't get anything of value for him now. Let him continue to eat innings so long as he keeps winning keep him pitchin'.

So once again, ESPN is out there trying to do the Sux 's bidding and drum up interest. Buchholz has a good game in AAA and all of the sudden he's "big bat worthy?" Penney is serviceable and has been fortunate of timely run support as another poster said, but not the Penney of several years ago.
To the poster who thinks this rotation is bonkers:
1. Josh Beckett 2. John Lester 3. John Smoltz 4. Tim Wakefield 5. Dice-K and 6. Brad Penny. You're bonkers and need to put down the kool-aid.
Granted, I don't watch that many Sux games, but of those it seems that Wakefield has been the ace.

G

they wont get much for penny, teams just are not that stupid. without all of the run support he would have lost nearly every game.

penny could be of use to Chicago WS, Texas or Oakland. These teams have Paul Konerko, Omar Vizquel, Teagarden and Bobby Crosby would good additions to the soxs with out giving up much more than Penny.

I think Ryan's stirring the pot to give himself something to talk about. They're not going to get anything of real value for Penny, so why risk the overall strength our ptiching has become? (Granted our starters have been inconsistent, but that should level out -- and if not, DL someone and use the extra arms to fill in.) Penny's been improving, slowly adjusting to AL hitters and style. We still don't know whether Smoltz is going to be able to perform at the Big League level (AL to boot) and Bucholz could struggle again. Give some of the starting 5 some breaks in August and September by mixing in or extra starters and plan on using the best 4 for the playoffs.

Brad Penny is pitching better than Dice afewKs. Why not trade him? Because they so overpaid for him that he's untradeable? John Smoltz may be a post-surgery unknown but Dice K is a known. He clobbers bad hitters, gets mediocre hitters out, and good hitters clobber him.

If the Sox can get an able bat for Penny, I say trade him. But a word of caution...the last time the Sox dealt because they had an overcrowded rotation, they picked up Wily Mo Pena for Bronson Arroyo. I'm sure Theo learned a valuable lesson there that will make him rightfully cautious.

I've been on board for a six man rotation for a long time...rested arms are healthy arms

Penny is still working himself back into top form. Trading him now would mean selling low. If he works back into form, then in a couple of months we very well may be able to get something very good for him. Or keep him in the rotation.

The dynamics of the team will be much different in two months than they are now. Two months ago, who would have guessed that Big Papi would be hitting 1something and slugging 2something?

Keeping Buchholz down the farm doesn't hurt. He went 2-9 with a 6.75 last year. He needs the confidence and experience of a full year in AAA. And Penny is on the books for reasonable money ($5m) and this extends our "control" of Buchholz a year.

penny for bill hall (brewers), good pop and can play 2b, ss , 3b and OF

I would trade Penny for Bucholtz in a heartbeat, so why not trade Penny for what ever we can get and call up Bucholtz now? At worst, Bucholtz will not do any worse than Penny, and trading Penny could give us some much needed positional depth.

The Sox need to hold onto Clay as protection from being forced to pick up Beckett's $12 Million option at the end of this season; which could be troublesome should he fail to represent $12 Million in value and is not a foregone conclusion should he repeat his 2008 performance.

Whereas, should Penny have value in the trade market,it is more than the Sox could have hoped for when they signed him.

Trade Penny, Papalbon, and Lugo for some heavyweight bats. Paps will be gone when his contract expires.

"High in the strike zone straight fast balls go far into the seats when they are presented to good major league hitters. Yesterday's shot off Penny makes that point pretty clear."

Um...Mr. Harrington, The homer Penny gave up yesterday was on a hanging breaking ball.

I can't believe how many idiots now consider themselves part of Red Sox nation! None of you clowns has any clue what you are talking about! Obviously Ryan's statement is predicated upon the fact that either Dice-K returns to form, or that Smoltz steps in and pitches right away...both of which are still questionmarks! To the boob who thinks we should trade Bucholz for a "big bat," realize that we are also going to have to trade another young arm at some point to replace Varitek. Bucholz is the piece we were holding for Saltalamaccia. If you dump him for a bat, you likely will have to move a young Lars Anderson who may be able to fill that big bat role at the end of 2010 and you'd have him MUCH CHEAPER, which would allow you more money to throw at free agent pitching in 2 years! Think ahead people. You hold Penny until you're pitching is solidified. None of our starters have been consistant this year other than Wakefield, who is historically the least consistant pitcher in the game! He is either lights out or gets shelled!
Hold onto Penny until after the all star break and reevaluate the team then. If you have pitching to spare and the right deal comes along, then you move him. If the pitching remains inconsistant, then you keep him.

I think we should trade Beckett and Lester. They are worth so much right now. Maybe we could get Jason Giambi and 4 prospects in a package deal to Oakland. Or maybe send them to the mets for Reyes, Wright and Beltran. Or maybe we can send them to the Yankees for Wang, Cabrera and Jeter. We would win 120 games easy.

Also, Mike Lowell should be leadoff because he has a name that is from Massacusetts and Massachusetts is the greatest state of all!!! Go Red Sox forever!!

Yeah, that would be great.....

We want Hanley!!.......Somehow,some way,get him!..........My two cents (sense to me) says put Wake in the pen, (great arm saver) bring on the kids.But somehow bring Hanley Ramirez back to Boston.I don't care if he makes errors.We need his bat............If we don't grab him for sure our Nemesis will......Tito,time to shake a leg and bring the Power back to Boston

Penny has not been lights out, but consider this his ERA in may is 4.40 and he is making 5 million this year. Compare that to AJ Burnetts 5.13 May ERA and 16 million salary, or Andy Pettitte's 5.46 ERA in May and his 5.5 Million salary, or Joba Chamberlins 4.42 ERA in May. Or how about outside NY where Santan has an ERA over 7 and Lackey is at 6.00.

Penny has value and if he pitches to an ERA of about 4 will continue to because so many teams are short on pitching.

Trading Buchholz is in my mind insane. Doesn't a pitching staff anchored by Lester, Buchholz, and Dice-K for the next five years seem great. With Masterson, Bowden and Casey Kelly all waiting in the wings for rotation spots. Trading young on the cusp pitching at the trade deadline is like taking the ugly girl home at closing time -- it satisfies a need but you regret in the long run.

I'm sick of hearing how great the pitching staff is. Beckett and Lester were totally gassed in the ALCS last year and have been shaky so far this year. There is no way everyone stays healthy the whole season -- and don't get me started on Dice-K. They need to go to a 6-man rotation to have something left in the tank by October.

If the Red Sox can get something of value for Penny, they should do it ASAP. I'd happily take my chances with Smoltz, Buchholz, Bowden and even Kason Gabbard who must be on injury rehab somewhere. They don't need to get a stud for him, not even a player beyond this year. Just someone to put into the 1B/OF/DH rotation who is hitting better than 200. Or a SS who is better defensively than Lugo. Maybe they package him with Delcarmen and get a minor stud.

If the Red Sox can get something of value for Penny, they should do it ASAP. I'd happily take my chances with Smoltz, Buchholz, Bowden and even Kason Gabbard who must be on injury rehab somewhere. They don't need to get a stud for him, not even a player to keep beyond this year. Just someone to put into the 1B/OF/DH rotation who is hitting better than 200. Or a SS who is better defensively than Lugo. Maybe they package him with Delcarmen and get a minor stud.

OMG! If one more person questions Wake I am going to lose it. He is a bargain 4th or 5th starter and practically carried this team early spring!

Trading Penny? Ok - But we still have to wait a few weeks before that can happen. Anyone wanting to keep Penny over Wake has surely lost their mind!!

OMG! If one more person questions Wake I am going to lose it. He is a bargain 4th or 5th starter and practically carried this team early spring!

Trading Penny? Ok - But we still have to wait a few weeks before that can happen. Anyone wanting to keep Penny over Wake has surely lost their mind!!

No more steroids look at Ortiz

penny seems like he's betting better from his fist few starts. did u guys forget penny was a all star only a few years back. i think while he's winning it's builing his confidence for the rest of the season. if he could lose the belly i think he could become a dominant starter once again. i say no way trade penny unless we can get a huge bat and i dought that we can get that so no way do we trade him. for 5 mill he's worth every penny. no matter what u say about his era he's getting the w and at the end of the day the w is what counts!

To Postern #33, you are willing to trade 100's of innings for 20 homers a year? Idiot.

Forget dealing Penny... if you want some quality players ship out Ortiz. He's old, slow, and a useless (what good is a DH who can't hit?). The guy was a product of good fortune (a.k.a Manny Ramirez) and because that era is over he'll revert back to his prior performances with the twins. Papi needs to be put out to pasture. At least Penny is putting up W's which is more than can be said for Lester thus far. Unfortunately I doubt theo would ever consider trading shrek so all I can do is pray for that miracle.

The Sox should definitely put together a package featuring Penny and some minor leaguers for one of the following deals:

- Michael Young & Taylor Teagarden (The Rangers mash but they always need pitching. Plus they could move Blalock to 3rd which in turn gives them the opportunity to call up Justin Smoak.)

- Jhonny Peralta (The Indians are rotting in last place and I’m sure they’d entertain the idea of moving Peralta if the Sox ate most of the money.)

- JJ Hardy (The Brewers are currently in 1st and they definitely need pitching, just like the Rangers!)

- Freddy Sanchez (We have a history of wheeling and dealing with the Pirates, so why not get back what was stolen from us in ’03?!)

Or they should put together a package featuring a sick prospect (Bard, Bowden, Buchholz etc.) for a big bat like:

-Adrian Gonzalez (Obviously, he’d cost two to three top prospects but he’s certainly worth it! Imagine what his numbers would look like if he didn’t play half his games in Petco!)

- Victor Martinez (Again the Indians are rotting in last place and they may throw in the towel and start to build for the future.)

- Jermaine Dye (Chicago has been trying to move this guy forever. I know he’s on the wrong side of 35 but this dude can still hit!)

The Sox should definitely put together a package featuring Penny and some minor leaguers for one of the following deals:

- Michael Young & Taylor Teagarden (The Rangers mash but they always need pitching. Plus they could move Blalock to 3rd which in turn gives them the opportunity to call up Justin Smoak.)

- Jhonny Peralta (The Indians are rotting in last place and I’m sure they’d entertain the idea of moving Peralta if the Sox ate most of the money.)

- JJ Hardy (The Brewers are currently in 1st and they definitely need pitching, just like the Rangers!)

- Freddy Sanchez (We have a history of wheeling and dealing with the Pirates, so why not get back what was stolen from us in ’03?!)

Or they should put together a package featuring a sick prospect (Bard, Bowden, Buchholz etc.) for a big bat like:

-Adrian Gonzalez (Obviously, he’d cost two to three top prospects but he’s certainly worth it! Imagine what his numbers would look like if he didn’t play half his games in Petco!)

- Victor Martinez (Again the Indians are rotting in last place and they may throw in the towel and start to build for the future.)

- Jermaine Dye (Chicago has been trying to move this guy forever. I know he’s on the wrong side of 35 but this dude can still hit!)

Enough talk about bring Hanley back to Boston. There's no way Florida is going to deal him without emptying our coffers. There are plenty SS better than the Lugo/Green show that we could get at a reasonable rate.

The Red Sox needs (in order of importance):
1. Defensive SS
2. Bat

Brad Penny can make one of these happen and should. Ben Zobrist almost fills both these requirements but might be tough to get from a division rival. In which case we should look at Clint Barmes, Jimmy Rollins (if the price is right), JJ Hardy or Brendan Harris. Hell I'd even look kindly on Marco Scutaro at this point. If we can't someone like one of these guys we might as well get a prospect and make due. We can always platoon DH with Kotsay, Drew and Ortiz and Rocco filling in the holes.

We have a lot of options and there's no hurry to make a decision.