A roster of issues

given his age and injuries the last 2 postsesons plus the unpredictability of a knuckleballer it is time to say goodbye to wakefield ,the sox should go out and get a number 4 guy and let buckholtz or bowden compete for the number 5 spot,then get a middle of the order bat texiera,holliday, bring back tek,but find a catcher,martin,saltyy and keep lowrie at short he is a solid shortstop and had almost 50 rbis in half a season.

All of these players are gone via walking out the door:

Byrd
Lopez
Timlin
Schilling
Casey
Cora
Kotsay
Varitek

At least one of these three gone via trade (depending on how much they are willing to eat in salary):
Lugo
Lowell
Crisp

The reality of it all is that 2008 was approached by Sox management as a "rebuilding year" (note that the major offseason acquisition was Sean Casey) and as a result, we will see a 40% turnover on the roster this offseason. I would say that many sox fans do not realize this.

The main concern is Ortiz. Unless they are certain that his his downward spiral is a result of injury and lack of conditioning (i.e. something that can be reversed), then they need to obtain a legit clean up hitter.

Youkie as a backup to Texiera at first? Right. The Sox will put a .300, 30, 100 (and gold glove) guy in a backup role. If Texiera is signed, then Youkie or Lowell goes. But it's only a marginal upgrade over either guy, especially at a huge salary increase. The Sox won't know if Lowell will be his old self until well after they would have to sign Texiera. And what other position can they really upgrade if they trade either guy? Unless there is a stud catcher someone is willing to part with, fughetaboutit

what about chris carter devern hansack charlie zink gi velasquez et al. ?

Where to begin with this one....

Sox are not going to sign Texiera due to cost and length of contract. They just got rid of an 8 year $20 million a year guy. And, dumping Lowell means that they have to eat some of his deal as well making Texiera a $24-$26 million a year guy.

Trade Bay for Holliday???? Are you smoking crack? Tell me what Holliday brings here that Bay doesn't. They can negotiate with Bay or trade him plus additional talent for a guy who is a Coors Field Special?

Trade Ellsbury and keep Crisp? Look at the dollar costs between the two, the ages and Ellsbury will be staying put. Likely both will be kept though.

Forget Kotsay's batting average? Sure. No problem. Not like we needed him to get hits, draw walks or score runs tghis past series with the Rays.

Cora? Ha ha ha ha ha. A left handed hitter with no doubles power, limited range and no speed.

Delcarmen? Try a complete loss of confidence in him by the manager. He's not cut out for Boston.

The Sox will be looking for another starting pitcher, a power bat or two off the bench and at least 2-3 arms for the pen. Aardsma and Timlin are gone and Lopez/Delacarmen are on the bubble.

They are not going to dump Lugo in an offeason trade. No one will take him. Bet on him starting, Lowrie getting a game at 3/4 infield positions per week so as to keep the team freasher for the latter part of the season.

If they are going to keep Wake and Cash then offensively they have to improve.

How about seeing if Cora can play first base (utility/back-up) so they can buy out/get rid of Lugo and not clog up the roster with a first-base only backup (like Casey)?

Hello, Great evaluation, no one gets to be 100% correct here but my guess is you are very close. I read with interest your comments on Timlin, whom I think must retire this year. What comments to team mates? I have never been a fan of his "I threw good pitches, they just hit them.", whenever he got clobbered but without his two walks and a pop up in game two there was no game seven to lose. I also agree that if Varitek decides to go for the gold we should let him. I believe this move would demonstrate the same integrity the Sox front office showed when they dumped Manny mid season. Thanks for your time, Dave Ferrier

Crisp is a valueable commodity given Drew's fragile health. The chances that Drew's contract is voidable after next year are good but keeping Crisp around for next season would be wise given we don't have an adquate backup like a Moss or a Kotsay. Crisp is a very valueable bargaining chip that could be useful to teams looking for speed, defense, and a leadoff hitter. If you can get a nice return on Crisp and find a platoon/very good backup outfielder I say trade him.

if Casey goes, it should open some room for Jeff Bailey, who was pretty good hitting lefties, be great to get D-Lowe back in the rotation, I'd rather have Holliday than Bay as well, fewer holes in the swing. Don't count out Lugo yet, maybe as backup in center as well, best range of all the shortstops.

The Sox will have a lot of money to spend without Manny in their payroll. I think, given the increase in the competition (Rays, Yankees and, don´t forget, that the Blue Jays are going to be good) this offseason could be a crucial point to guarantee the continuity of this Red Sox dominance of the last few years. Thy need a stud in the middle of the lineup, no doubt. Teixeira and Holliday are the most obvious names. They need someone like that, no question. They could also consider a number 1, 2 starter. 2004, Pedro and Schill. 2007 Beckett and Schill. If everything goes right, Lester and Beckett are the two in 2009. But it may be necessary to get aother top tier pitcher. Pap need help at the bullpen also. Time to reload! Theo, get this preseason right and we will be crucial for the next five years of the franchise. Time to spend that money wisely. Lets go for the fences...Tex, and a number one pitcher...

Varitek is worrisome ... he still thinks he can hit ... bad timing on his part to get a divorce in his contract year, that may have messed with his mind more than he will let on. I think they have to sign him, it is a question of keeping good team chemistry. Nobody is more of a leader, even when he can't hit a ball off a batting T.
The pitchers love him ... give him two years/20 mil and be done with it.

What is it with Theo.The blunders he has made over the years signing shortstops,then paying them to go away.This strange infatuation,this year,was the most absurd with "No Hands Lugo" was the worst deal he's ever made.Why he did'nt keep Cabrera was truly stupid.Cabrea truly wanted to stay 2005 and beyond.OK,now it comes time to settle on next year......Keep Varitek,let Wake and Cash go.I can't understand Why you'd get a catcher to provide a pitcher his need......Go get a CATCHER,use Varitek to back him.There is NOBODY smarter than Jason in all baseball.Great teacher,,Mentor.Then go get a BIG BAT

i think sox need a power hitter somebody like texiera and a pitcherlike peavy. with the health of somebody like backet and lowell we will be fine.

Must go: Timlin, Byrd, Casey, Cora, Lugo, Wakefield, Francona!
Bubble: Varitek, Crisp, Ortiz, Lopez, Delcarmen.
Build on the remaining players.

Hoss I'm not sure you can consider 2008 a rebuilding year when the team nearly made the World Series.

Also, there's a big difference, I believe, between having Sean Casey as your major off-season acquisition by choice and being forced to make a trade or spend loads on free agents because your team lacks depth.

The job the team has done with the farm system allows Theo to choose what course he thinks is best. They have the pieces to make trades, the money to sign major players, and developing young talent that can make both those things unnecessary.

Simply because the Sox didn't make a major move in free agency or via trade during the 2007 offseason does not mean they considered this a rebuilding year. All you have to do is look to the Bronx to see what happens when you're forced to sign generally overpriced, generally washed up talent year after year. The Sox are in an enviable position for any team. For the most part, they're setting the terms for their offseason, not having them dictated by forces they can't control. It's a good situation to be in, I think.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Varitek. He's slipping at the plate but they love him and still need him. I think having Boras as an agent will be a factor because after the Manny debacle they must be bitter at Boras and not want anything to do with him.

Good update. I hope to see Jason Bay return. He`s proven he can hit in key situations and put up 30 HR`s and hit for average. Holliday may not be the answer. Key is Mike Lowell. If the Sox can sign Teixeira and move Youk to third, now you have depth in the middle of the order. At what cost though as I`m sure the Yankees will increase his price. Also, another top pitcher wouldn`t be so bad but again at what price?

If they trade Crisp and casey doesn't come back that should yield 300-400 at bats for Kotsay. Why not try to keep him?

Why panic and pay what Texiera will demand when you have Youk and Lowell,
with Anderson on the horizon? Keep Tek, even if you have to overpay some. For once, how about overpaying for your own rather than other people's free agents (Drew, Lugo, etc)!

A healthy Ortiz and Lowell will give us enough offense to go the distance.

Those who can, pitch. Those who can't, throw the knuckleball.

It's time to say "thank you" and "we wish you the best," Mr. Wakefield.

If the Sox field a line up of:

Ellsbury (assuming he learns to bunt, take walks and hit)
Pedroia
Ortiz (Doc claims he will be okay with rest)
Youk
Lowell/Bay/Drew
Tek/Cash/Other
Shortstop

with 4 good subs off the bench and a good pitching staff of 5 starters and only 6 relievers I suspect that Theo will be looking mainly for pitching and depth. He is not going to jack up the payroll for no appreciable return on performance. They lost Ortiz's power and had Kotsay replacing Lowell in the line up. If those 2 were healthy we are back in the world series. How many times did Ortiz come up and do nothing with men on base? How many times did Kotsay do nothing whereas Lowell would have gotten us a few doubles and a homer or two?

I would like to see more speed available off the bench though. That and a couple of guys with doubles and .OBP potential.

with

Joe Mauer!

Bay is staying and will put up 30hr 100rbi next year

Lowell needs to go..They need to sign Texeira and put Youki at 1st..

They need to get a 1,2 pitcher and wake has got to go..sorry to say

It was a "rebuilding" year in the sense that they were going to let things play out with what they had and let some of the young talent get thrown into the mix to see the long term possibilities. That is why Delcarmen, Hansen (prior to being traded) Lowrie, Lester, Masterson, Bucholz, Ellsbury, etc. were all given significant playing time.

The longer term plan had them clearing approx $45 million off the books for 2009 and having a chance to sign an FA or two AND reduce payroll. It is a must that they reduce payroll because the 5 year expansion / refurbishing of Fenway has ended and there are no clear revenue producing projects currently slated.

To put it bluntly, anyone who believes that Sabathia, Burkett, Holliday, or Texiera is coming here is out of their mind. The Sox will not commit the large dollars / long years to any player. Also, please stop the "keep Varitek" foolishness. He's a Boras guy and will not take a paycut. The Sox will not pay $10 million over multiple years for a .220 hitting, .300 slugging catcher who pouts when he gets pinch hit for. The "suggestions" here and elsewhere that the Sox keep Varitek "as a back up catcher" or part-timer are completely and utterly absurd.

They definitely do not NEED varitek back...and its really the one place they actually need to upgrade. If his skills are "calling a great game" and "working w/the young pitchers", then why did Lester struggle in his first season, why did Bucholtz, Delcarmen, and even Masterson struggle this year? Why did the Sox have a 4+ERA this year? Obviously the answer is the pitching staff, but if you're going to blame the pitchers, you can't then say VTek "calls a great game" In fact, if you watch a game, he gets shaken off quite a bit...not to mention he doesn't have an exceptionally strong arm. The whole "great defensive/pitchers catcher" is media BS. I'm sure thely ove him, and he's done great things for the organization, but its time to move on. An American League team cannot have someone starting 140+ games, 400+ at bats, and hit .220 and a .300 OBP. You're basically playing w/a NL lineup in the AL...and it makes it really tough to score runs when your 7/8 batters struggle. The fact that he gets angry when he gets pinch hit for, and for some reason wasn't hitting in the 9th spot in the playoffs made it even worse! I'm sure if asked Beckett and Lester if they'd rather have VTek catching in the TB series and hitting .056, or someone like AJ Pyrz of the white sox...who may not be as good as a receiver, but would hit .275 and drive in runs, they'd rather have a guy who can put a few runs on the board for the team. Obviously there aren't a ton of quality offensive catchers, but even a Ramon Hernandez (Balt) would be a serious upgrade...and he only hit .260.

After the 2004 season Boras was trying to get the moon, it was Tek that decided on what the Sox were offering, what makes anyone think that he’s after a big contract?

I will be totally surprised if he demands a long and large contract, hopefully he is true to what he says he is, a fair person and enjoys playing in Boston, but let’s be realistic, no one is expecting him to play for nothing either, he’s not the best hitter, but he’s very good with calling a game and how he handles young pitchers, and if they decide to bring up more young talent they will need him.

Let go of Delcarmen, Lopes, Timlin and let’s not forget Pauley, he cracks under pressure, what better way to develop young pitcher than having him around big league pitchers that could help him, so bring up Bowden start him in the pen as part of his development. I would keep Wakefield, even if he’s moved to the bullpen.

Cora, Lugo, sorry to say Casey, if first baseman Lars Anderson is a good hitter then bring up to the major league and let him develop into an infield utility player. By the time Lowell or even Youkilis is ready to move on; he could take over either 1st or 3rd base.

If Theo Epstien actually thinks thinks the Sox have enough to win right now (and in their farm system) he has got to be KIDDING. Was he even watching how many baserunners the Red Sox stranded over the course of the ALCS? Or even how David Ortiz hasn't quite been himself since the wrist injury?

THE SOX NEED A BIG BAT, plain and simple; and a failure to get one could result in a "smoke and mirrors" team that fades down the stretch, similar to 2006. Whether that big bat comes via Free Agency (Mark Texiera) or via trade (Matt Holiday) still remains to be seen, but they need someone who can hit in the #4 spot behind Ortiz, especially if Manny goes to the Yankees. In fact, I would go far enough to say that NOT signing a big bat would make this offseason a complete failure.

Trade Bay, get Texiera, put Youk in LF.

Trade Bay, get Texiera, put Youk in LF.

Did Bob really just suggest getting rid of Tito? I am honestly speechless...Man, I love this town!!

Definately need a middle of order power hitter. But NYY will drive up Texiera price to unreasonable levels.
One more good starter like Peavy or someone like that.
Tek could probably give them one or two decent rebound years.
Like Bay. How much more than 30HRs and 90 RBI's is someone like Holliday going to get?
Wake eats up some innings, once in awhile get a very good start. Had some tough no decisions. But he's what, 42, 43? Old days knuckle ball pitchers would throw a ton of innings/pitches. He comes out after 90 pitches like anyone else.
Kotsay? Like Marvin Gaye said about war: not the answer. .240 hitter with no home run power. Decent defense. 40 at bats in post season with no RBI's or walks, hitting .250 maybe.

The rumor-mill/ hot stove comments are flying here....let me add my 2 cents by throwing out at least one surprize that Theo will cook up and none of us would even think of....my guess is that it would involve acquiring a starter,,,,if he leaves Masterson in the pen where he was effective, and Byrd is gone, a rotation of Beckett.Matsuseeka [my spelling]/Lester/Bucholz/Wakefield ....clearly cries out for an outside addition....and I am sure Theo, has his eye on someone that conceivably step in and win 15-18 games, a pitcher who has had a bit of success, fallen off and Theo has him targeted....believe me, you can never have enough pitching.....

Are u guys out of your mind...these have to be th dubest fans I have ever read in my life....First off The person who said Francona must go, has to be the most rediculous comment ever. All 32 teams would offer him a contract......Secondly what does holliday Bring that Bay doesnt, probably 20 homeruns, something we desperatly needed in the playoffs.......What does Teixeira bring that lowell doesnt,,,,,,Ten good years 25 homers and reliable to play everyday....And they guy who said Delcarmen is on the bubble.....we pay him nothing, and he looked good at the end of the year and in his mid 20's.....

PITCHING
The Red Sox need a to trade or FA sign #1 or #2 starter - flat out. We've seen how easy your rotation dries up with an injury or string of bad performances. We have Bard, Masterson, Bowen and Buccholz that can fill the #5, go to the pen or be used as trade bait. Wakefield - so he's cheap but inconsistent. Big deal! Red Sox needn't worry about payroll and I'd rather consistency. Remember our team is going against Halladay, Wang, Chamberlain, Rivera, Sields, Garza, Kazmir, Ballfour, Price next year.

CATCHING
I love how people can attribute "off-field problems" to Varitek's offensive slump yet these same problems dont seem to affect his defense or game calling. Face it - he cant hit anymore. If his handling of the rotation is THAT good, then accept that he's an automatic out. You know what youve got in Varitek now and its not in the bat.

BIG BAT
Im not sure what the fascination with Matt Holliday is. I'd rather trade Lowell and sign Texeira...its just too bad that he's going to be the subject of an outrageous bidding war with the Yankees. I cant imagine his price is going to be worth it in the end. But we need someone to replace Manny's production - i just have no idea where that someone will fit on the field.

Bob is an idiot. Must go Francona..the guy should be ahead of Belicheck on God-like status. And Ortiz on the bubble? Get him a healthy wrist and we'll see where he's at next year. The more I type, the more I realize how dumb you are.

Wakefield is turning into the poor man's baseball version of Brett Favre. There is nothing sadder than an athlete who doesn't want to, or can't, recognize that it's time to hang 'em up. If Wakefield truly cares about this team, he will give up his spot for a younger pitcher with a larger margin of progression. Everyone in Boston has a love affair with this guy, because he's been with the team since 1995 and donates money to the Jimmy Fund. Great. But what can he do on the field? He's old (42) and his record is average (178W-157L, 4.32 ERA). People say he doesn't get enough run support...so then he must be the unluckiest pitcher in baseball since he hasn't had any run support in 13 years in Boston (while all the other pitchers have?). And on top of that the Sox need to have a catcher just for him...and usually these catchers have been mediocre at best. If the people love him so much, he can retire and I'm sure management can find him a front office job. But seriously, his time is up. He needs to retire, along with Timlin ASAP.

Could Youks pull a reverse A-Rod and move to short thus allowing the Sox to get Texteria (errr whoever you spell his name)? I'd bet he could do it. If there was no Pedroia Youks would easily be the MVP of the team and in the top 6 in the league.

The Sox need to get another stud starting pitcher to compete with the Ray's staff. Wake is certainly not the answer. Jake Peavy would be an excellent addition. We have all that the Padres need. A catcher is a must...........Varitek had an awful year. We need a bat also to protect Ortiz.

russell martin for catcher, I've been listen to west coast radio and they are talking about him being on the block, trade buchholz and crisp for him

This is no time to panic... Sox have potentially dominant 1-2-3 starters and with a healthy Lowell back in the line-up, a lot of run production returns. A big bat in the middle would be ideal, but relegating Youk to a back-up role would be insane. Tek's situation is a bit more tenuous... for the pitching staff's sake, they need to bring him back. Maybe a month spent with Papa Jack in the off season could fix his swing (and would someone please tell him to stop batting lefty). Bay has to fix a few holes in his swing, specifically with the curve ball. Wake is ultimate teammate and an innings eater and his $4mil a year gets you 12-15 wins as a #5 starter. We have a lot of depth; as I said, no time to panic. We could definitely use some more thump in the line up but shouldn't be forced to overpay for Teixeira or Holliday. I think Papi’s health has contributed more than anything else to the downturn in his production. If he can no longer remain healthy, then we have a problem. Tito should have earned everyone's respect by now, so all of you haters out there, get a grip!

There are certain classic considerations. You need power at the corners of both the infield and outfield. Youk isn't a classic power guy but you would never let him go, but between that and the uncertain present of Lowell and Papi, you need an infield guy like a Texeira (see what a luxury A-Rod is, a power guy at short/third), and because of the uncertainty of Drew, develop an outfield guy like Willy Mo was supposed to be.

From Bob - "Must go: Timlin, Byrd, Casey, Cora, Lugo, Wakefield, Francona!"
I'm amazed you have enough brain power to turn on a computer - good thing your name is a palindrome or you'd probably have misspelled it. All Francona did in 5 years was manage us to two WS, plus 2 other playoff berths, almost making it to a third this year. What more do you want??? Moron.

JB, obviously when he said Youk could "back up" Teixeira, he means Youk would be starting at 3rd and could go over to first if Teixeira got hurt.

Is Ortiz a holy grail. It seems we tip toe around the old vs. the the now Ortiz; and whether or not not it is solely attributed to injuries. I heard the announcers articulate, when Ortiz was on first with a runner on second and one out in the 8th, with the score 3 to 1," they won't pitch run because Ortiz may be needed in the lineup if there is extra innings" .....are you kidding;.to what extent do we close our eyes. Francona keep him in the heart of the lineup as not to crowd the automatic outs at the bottom of the order....period. What about next season with Ortiz the white elephant in the room.

All this talk about free agents, spending money etc. Do it the honest hard working way. Build the farm system, after all thats how you got one of the best players in the game,Dustin Pedroia. Do it like our RAYS , develope your own young talent, and stop relying on someone else's over priced retreads. "Red Sox" nation (built on only 2 World championships in 90 years , OK I guess) it was quite a ALCS series and kept us RAYS fans on the edge of our seats, but in the end it just shows what money CANT buy. i.e see 43 million dollar payroll.
From a full season RAYS ticket holder, have a nice winter, thanks for coming, and spend, spend, spend.

I think you let Varitek walk. Unless he's willing to take a "discount" to stay with the Sox. The guy just can't hit. As good defensively as he is, it doesn't make up for his lack of production. He had a homerun in the ALCS but that was his only hit! 1 for 20 in the ALCS... he's just an easy out. Some National League pitchers have hit better than him. The Phillies pitchers Cole Hamels is 1 for 5 and Brett Myers is 3 for 3. You can't have a starting catcher that is an easier out than a pitcher. That negates the DH in your American League lineup, because you still are only working with 8 potential hitters. I don't care how well he handles a pitching staff. Maybe someone like Clay Buchholz needs Varitek, but Lester, Shilling, Beckett and Wakefield don't.
There must be a decent Catcher available in the free agency pool, no?

If the Sox sign Texiera, what is the likelyhood that Youklis could play Shortstop?
If he could, we could have an exceptional infield, with some much needed power, and a versatile backup in Lowrie. No need for Lugo, Cora, or Casey.

I finally found someone who said what needed saying. Francona should go (although he won't). A genius he's not. Not enough space to record all his head scratching genius decisions. Lest we forget he had four losing seasons at Philadelphia.

Paul A.

Didn't like some comments but overall assessment good. First and foremost I believe the priority is signing a new manager. Sorry but it just drives me crazy to see Tito gorging on double-bubble, chips, water, seeds and whatever else while Beckett or whomever is giving up runs so we're forced to come from behind too often. Is Jim Leyland available? Change pitchers after they allow a max of 3 runs like Sparky Anderson did back in the mid-70s - The Reds won over 100 games at least once following that approach. And....please stop thinking of trading Crisp. In terms of intensity and talent he's maybe third to #1 Pedroia and #2 Papelbon.

It will be one interesting off season you have two big Red Sox vetrans that might not return....Schilling will likely retire and Varitek might not return....I do like the Nixon idea

The Sox need to sign Jake Peavy, Mark Texeira and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Re-sin V-Tek for 1 year but not as an everyday player. Trade Lowell (too many injuries) and Lugo and keep Lowrie at shortstop.
Rotation:
Beckett, Peavy, Lester, Matsusaka, Wakefield/Buckholz.
Bullpen:
Masterson, Del Carmen, Okajima, Buckholz, Papelbon
Lineup:
1 Ellsbury - CF
2 Pedroia - 2B
3 Ortiz - DH
4 Texeira - 1B
5 Bay - LF
6 Drew - RF
7 Youkilis - 3B
8 Saltalamacchia - C
9 Lowrie - SS

For all those who said Tito must go, how about this,

Ask John Henry sale the team back to John Harrington, bring LouLouLou back as GM and Hobson back as manager ?

Geesh.

Holliday is fool's gold. Please look at his numbers away from Coors. Texiera is the one Sox should dish out the big money for. Bay is solid and will give you 35 HR"s and 110 RBI next year. What does this guy have to prove to some of you that he is a very good player??? The key is Lowell's health...if you believe Papi is the same player in 2009 as he was in 2006 , you are in for a BIG letdown. Love to see Lowell back and healthy, but not sure he will be. Better get Tex and sign AJ Burnett. Keep Bay and , sadly, try to trade Papi. His bat speed is slow. He's done as the player he once was..BTW...all of you Bay detractors, he led the team in most categories in the playoffs Without him, the Sox lose to the Angels.

We need another lefty starting pitcher. FA is not an option as they are the most over-valued positions. Our emphasis will be on the farm system as in the years past. Most teams have shifted roster management strategies. Young, talented, and cheap players create room in the salary cap for teams to make needed acquisitions in mid-summer with means to reach the postseason. I assume they know which big hitters will be available summer '09 and make offers then. Also, the collective bargaining agreement has decreased the amount of revenue shared across smaller market teams. The sox have a lot of cash and are under pressure to regain their dominancy in the A.L. East. However, spending freely and horrific scouting must be avoided. This was the cause of the Yankees downfall. That and their new stadium.

Based on performance this year, it appears that Lugo, Cora, & Varitek will not be back next year. The Red Sox can utilize their farm system to fill some holes, and pitching will have to be looked at. See how people are healthy to determine if they stay or go. As for trades, I do not see the Sox going for a big priced player after the Manny incident and some past deals. Rebuild w/ what they have and we will do even better.

I wonder what you all are thinking. A huge bat will not solve the problems. During 2004 and 2007, it was the Manny and Ortiz show. How many teams can say they had that? Here is my suggestion.

Bring back Tek. There are no catchers on the market that are worth going after. If you trade for one, there goes the depth in the miners. Find a young catcher that can be developed and groom him for the next couple of years.

What hurt hte sox the most was pitching. They had three good starters and two pretty good starters. But when Becket got hurt, they were down to 2 good pitchers. Dice K and Lester were it.

Lets look at the injuries.
Lowell
Becket
Ortiz
Drew

Those look like pretty big bats and one really good pitcher to me.

Theo is not going to buy a big contract like the Yankees did for so long. What he is going to do is find the players that fit into the system. Let the Farm produce the players and watch them grow. Geee something like the Rays have done. It will just go faster in Boston.

"All this talk about free agents, spending money etc. Do it the honest hard working way. Build the farm system, after all thats how you got one of the best players in the game,Dustin Pedroia. Do it like our RAYS , develope your own young talent, and stop relying on someone else's over priced retreads. "Red Sox" nation (built on only 2 World championships in 90 years , OK I guess) it was quite a ALCS series and kept us RAYS fans on the edge of our seats, but in the end it just shows what money CANT buy. i.e see 43 million dollar payroll.
From a full season RAYS ticket holder, have a nice winter, thanks for coming, and spend, spend, spend."

Ok, so now that you have 1 year of being in the World Series, you can write this garbage. Most teams do use alot of their farm talent and cannot even get into the playoffs. The Sox have been more and more relying on their farm system and that is why we are more successful. Your Rays had, what?, the first pick in the draft in the last 10 years, so you should be finally having some success. But, your team has done nothing yet - 1 year of success is a building block - who knows about the next year for the Rays. The sox have 4 ALCSs since 2003, so until then, shut your flap.

Having read some of these comments, I'm glad Henry, Theo, and Tito are running this team, even if they can't seem to figure out the shortstop position (of course they had a lock in Hanley Ramirez, but ...). To Patrick from Tampa Bay, I'd prefer not to spend 10 consecutive years in last place, even if you get a no. 1 pick each year.

1) Solidify the rotation with Peavey
2) Cut bait with Lugo & Drew by absorbing most of their salary in a trade for one of the 3 most needed positions: middle relief, shortstop, and catcher. Would probably have to sweeten the deal with a young arm, Bucholz perhaps.
3) Power bat, not Texiera, preferably Holliday. Either Bay or Holliday can play right.
4) Gotta go: Cora, Casey, Kotsay, Byrd, Timlin and Varitek unless he's a reasonable sign.
5) Lowrie is a good utility infielder and the 4 outfielder rotation is fine unless there is a knock your socks off trade offer for Crisp.

Hoss:
You had two on the block that make no sense given the dollars involved.

Javier Lopez is what he is, a situational lefty. Keep him.
Cora is what HE is, a solid, dependable, but backup middle infielder / manager in training. Keep him.
'Tek is gone if Boras thinks he gets more than 16M over two years. No three year deals for Varitek. I would be shocked if Tek gets more than 20M from anyone.
Lugo--Not sure what Theo's block is on Shortstops, but time for Julio to move on, along with some sort of buyout.

Lowell and Crisp stay, unless Teixeira comes, and either Youk or Lowell goes. Crips goes in a trade for pitching, if at all.

Ok Why the hell are you talking about his years in Philidelphia...........He has one two worldseries in a 4 year stretch....something 54 managers before him couldnt do....Are u guys serious...................Any other sports town would be finding a place to put a statue of him somewhere, u guys are calling for his head!!!!!!!! If u asked people around the league, (who knows what they are talking about) who has been the best manager in baseball for last 5 years, i would say 95% would say Francona, year in and year out he has been there and braught a team one hit away from the world series with a very beatup lineup....Nobody is getting on Belicheck for not having a great team this year because their are key injurys/.....the whole redsox season was filled with key injurys and he still braught us to game 7 of ALCS

When are the Sox going to make Youkilis an offer that is worthy of his consistent effort, production and proven value? And he's still a young dude. Get this guy signed on good terms that he's earned. Time to say thanks and good bye to Wakefield. Keep Coco and Ellsbury. Give Lowell, Drew and Ortiz another year to show that they can stay healthy and still have it. Tek, we love you but please make yourself into a better hitter.

If we could trade Lowell and Buchholz for Texiera and get Holliday for Crisp and Wakefield I'd be happy. Go get a catcher and sign Tek to like $3mil to be a teacher/backup and get another starting pitcher I think we'd be great.
1. Ellsbury
2. Pedroia
3. Ortizzle
4. Texieria
5. Bay
6. Holliday
7. Youk
8. Catcher
9. Lowrie / Lugo (ugh!)

pitching
Lester, Beckett, Matsuzaka, Masterson, Other

So worried about his "click" has Papi been
munching on Mo Vaughn's candy bars?.
Should Santa on Xmas morning deliver
him a bathroom scale?

Or was the loss of Manny's bat really
the loss of two bats?

Sligo

1. Any person who says Francona should go is crazy. He is the best manager in Red Sox history. We all saw what happened to the Yankees when Joe Torre left. Baseball today is about handling the clubhouse...and Tito is among the best. (By the way, who do you want to manage?)
2. We will never get Teixiera. The Yankees will outbid us...and it is clear that he will go to the highest bidder.
3. We need to add one starting pitcher. Sheets or Peavy come to mind.
4. We will probably have to trade for the big bat...Adrian Gonzalez or Holladay.

Mazz, you're a fool. If a guy is washed-up... Tek, Wake, Timlin, etc ... then keeping them on the roster because they don't cost as much as the average in that position is a stupid move. The SOX should keep, aquire (be it Free Agent and Trade) and promote (from minors) players that can produce, And use their deep pockets to make that happen.

Patrick Mullen, thanks so much for your "wise" comments. I bet you're a real baseball pro, having followed baseball for, what, two or three months now? When (and if) your team has more than one year out of the basement perhaps we'll follow your advice. P.S. I think I hear a cowbell...

I about fell out of my chair when Bob suggested that Francona must go. Do you have to get your team to the World Series to be considered an outstanding manager?

What about bringing back the OC at SS? I believe he is a free agent and he has proven to be a performer in Boston, unlike the other SS signings. That would solidify the defense. Lowrie can play the utility role that Cora held. Also, with that kind of infield defense a signing of D-Lowe would be feasible, provided he would come back to Boston. It would be great to see the OC hoovering all those ground outs. That way Masterson can stay right where he needs to, setting up Paps. Clearly Masterson was key to stablizing the pen.

Bar bet for 2012, sure winner unless you get a total stats geek:

Name the Red Sox starting pitcher who won 17 games in their World Championship of 2007?
By then, Lester will be great, Dice-K will still have good numbers.

No one will remember that Wakefield won 17, because he was hurt in the playoffs.

I feel that many of the comments posted above reflect the truly spoiled attitude that has become common among fans in New England over the last decade. We aren't going to win the championship in every sport every year. This season was not a failure, and we lost to a VERY good team who had been better than us all season. With that said, it is undeniable that the Sox' roster needs some work during the offseason. But the answer is not to replace half our team and/or overpay for every big name available as has been suggested above. I hate to say it but many of the "BUY! BUY! BUY!" comments posted above could be posted verbatim on a Yankee's forum and would fit right in.

Neither Ellsbury nor Lowrie will make much more of a statement that they've done so for, unless the learn to hit like the small, slim guys they are. Lowrie has a very nice swing, except that his best efforts in terms of power are only good enough to approach the warning track. Ellsbury, with one of the most awkward stances and swings in recent memory can go deep with major mistake pitches, but both of these guys should be thinking SLAP ! Everytime Lowrie hits a long fly ball to short right field, or Ellsbury puts anything in the air, all I can think is maybe we can recruit Rod Carew to teach these guys to swing.

Ortiz has been reduced to a mistake hitter, and it is not going to get better. He is certainly worth keeping, but not in the three slot. Think much lower where he can come up with a better shot of having more than one man on base. And, is he too old of a dog to teach a trick, like hitting those outside fast balls to short stop, where nobody is playing?

PM

Robert Saenz, you can't just "sign" another team's players. Peavy and Saltalamacchia are not free agents. You would need to trade for them. Get rid of Francona, lewdwinsky? Why not get rid of Pedroia and Youkilis as well, didn't they make an out during the playoffs? Let's blow up the entire team and go with young players like in Tampa as Patrick said. Then there would be plenty of seats at Fenway, just like at the Trop!!!!

Bob, you are out of your mind. Francona has done an admirable job. Baseball is not a science and you could question just about every decision made in every game. However, winning 2 World Series is 4 years does not merit dismissal. As far as all this talk about getting rid of Wake, why? He had the lowest WHIP on the team, 6th best in the AL, pitched the 2nd most innings, had 10 wins with the lowest run support out of the top 4 starters, and will only cost $4 million. You can never have enough pitching and we couldn’t find a better 4th starter for the money anywhere.

Seriously, what’s up with the “if only X had been healthy” argument?

In the case of Lowell, the guy is as old as Manny…and yet we let Manny go “because of his age” and should somehow keep Lowell, as if he is any younger? Lowell was hurt, didn’t have nearly the production that Manny had (either here or in LA), and quite frankly due to his having surgery at the age he is having it, I seriously question his production for ANY team, let alone the Sox.

In the case of Ortiz, his numbers went down because the dude (as much as I truly love him) is sick in the HEAD from losing Manny. He has lost all confidence in himself because he was always protected by Manny…and without him or some other big bat (Teixeira, Holliday) behind him, he will continue to play the way he has for the past few months.

Of the players who were injured, the only player who will actually return to the same or BETTER shape post-healing will be Beckett. The poor guy threw well all year, and it just so happened that when he was pitching our bats were not on or the relief blew a great outing by him. I’ll never forget his first outing this season when Delcarmen gave up that grand slam to Thomas and the Jays after he pitched a 2 run game…set the tone for the entire season, in my opinion.

Regarding Tek, he is a great team leader and he is great at calling the game for the pitchers…but physically his arm is gone and he has no bat. I suppose you have to weight these pros and cons against each other to see what the best decision would be with him.

Lugo stinks…he made error after error after error…and as far as offense goes, I can’t imagine Lugo would have ever done what Lowrie did during the ALDS.

More to say…but will have to post again…

There are a lot of great farm kids out there that can replace loads of so-called seasoned players in the biggies.I can't imagine some of salaries that are going to people who can't field and run.......so they can hit..so what.......Look at what willie Mays did...not big,big average.yes he had power,but his primary gifts were,I believe,small ball stuff.On the bases and in the field ,he was at his best.The Sox have loads of young talent.Bring 'em on.Let's have some fun.Get rid of these .250 hitters that can't run,save some money and go out and get " A VERY BIG BAT!"...These 5 to 7 million ball players could be cut and get some kids with guts!

Varitek absolutely SUCKED this season, except for the one dinger...let him off to the pastures....he's past his prime.

I think those that are calling for Wakefield to go should take a look at his statistics from this past season. He improved in all categories (Besides Wins) from last year. He's only had 5 other seasons with a better ERA and anyone who knows Wakefield knows that his value is in his ability to pitch a lot of innings. This season he was second on the team with 181 innings pitched. When the knuckle is working he gives the bullpen a rest that pays dividends later in the season.

Can Youk catch? He does everything else, why not. Lowrie reminds me of a switch hitting Michael Young.

Good riddance to these players:
Varitek
Timlin
Wakefield
Lugo
Lopez
Get the - out of here ...

Big words Patrick Mullen. Your RAYS have one good season and you talk about them like they're gods. One good season means nothing. If you want some respect for your beloved RAYS try making it to the post season more than once every ten years. With that being said they were a great team this year and will earn my respect if they can become a perennial powerhouse..... like we need another one in the east.

As for the Sox there are a few directions they can go in. Who has any idea what Theo has up his sleeve? I'm sure there will be a surprise or two given the amount of $$$ we have to spend. It would be nice to see a #1 or #2 starter such as Sabbathia or Peavey but cost might prohibit us from going for CC and Peavey will likely stay in the NL unless he gets an outrageous deal from a top AL club which could translate to way more $$$ than Theo and co are likely to dole out.

We have to get a big bat and Texiera could fit that bill and would require us to move Youk to 3rd and trade Lowell... something I was rooting for when the Angels snagged him. I like Mikey but a trade might be a good idea. But then again the bidding war might put him out of reach in terms of what we "should" spend on him.

I think it'll be an interesting off season. I'll eager wait for some moves to me made. Let's just home they are smart ones. With Theo calling the shots I think we have a good chance of that being the case.

Greg (roncone) - you are nuts if you think they should get rid of Wake. In case you didn't notice. Wake pitched 22 games in which he gave up 3 or fewer earned runs during the regular season. He pitched 5 outings giving up 1 run and 5 giving up NO RUNS AT ALL. He is always ready to help the team and can eat up innings if we need him to save the bullpen. And on top of that, we only pay him 4 million dollars while less gifted pitchers are getting twice as much. Keeping him around is a no-brainer. He could have won 20 games this year with a little run support. We are lucky to have him.

Ben Nation.... Texiera is a free agent so we can't trade for him and there is no way Colorado would part with Holliday for the lowly combo of Wake and Crisp... not that I would offer much more than that for him.

Tony,
Love your writing and have great respect for your analytical skills. You're a great addition to the great Globe baseball writing tradition. That said, I think you're giving up on Papi way too soon. He was hurt for most of the year. Given the time to heal, there is nothing to suggest that he still can't or won't hit. To suggest that he's somehow slipped when he missed a good portion of the season and still managed 23 HR, is a bit of a stretch. If you're using the playoffs as gauge, 12 games is not a good measuring stick.. Players go through bad stretches over two weeks all the time during the season. It's just magnified because it was the playoffs.

All you Tim Wakefield haters need to shut-up. This guy has been a real asset to the team and can fill a Paul Byrd like role no problem. As far as needing a back up catcher to keep him - WE NEED A BACK UP CATCHER ANYWAY! I mean this is a guy the team has relied on year in and year out. There is no doubt in my mind that he got lit up in the play-offs because he was pitching on a cold slightly windy night at Fenway Park. He's not someone I would want in clutch situations, but as far as a pitcher than can greatly help this team throughout the SEASON, that would be Tim Wakefield. Hopefully, Theo and Terry have more sense than you people.

How about trying to move Papi and alternate the dH among players who can actually hit AND field??? Bay, Drew, and Teixeira would be very nice with Youk and Pedroia in the lineup. Then if you want Holliday ( I don't), you have 3 power corners who can play/DH daily instead of a rapidly sliding ex-superstar who wears "Got manny" t-shirts in the clubhouse after a game 4 loss to the Rays. It's time to say good bye to Papi...unless you want his bat with similar results next year. Please don't talk about how he hit all those HR's vs Texas...against good pitching, he can't get around anymore. Wish Lowell the best, hope he is able to comeback.

Peavy wants to say in the NL or West coast. They need to trade a couple of pitching prospects to Texas for Salty. Varitek is well past his decline years and
should be let go. A six year minor league veteran could go 1-20 in a playoff series. Bay is a keeper. Now... if Beckett and Lowell and Papi had all stayed
healthy in 2008 all the above ruminations (including mine) would be balloon
juice. As for that smug individual from Tampa Bay, the Rays lack the financial resources to keep all your their talent once they get to arbitration and free agency.
Enjoy it while you can.

Big Popi needs some roadwork. Run about 5 miles a day. He'd be awesome in '09 with a good off season workout routine.

Put Mo Vaughn at First, Boggs at third, Greenwell in left and Ed Romero at Short. This will solve all our problems in '09.

People....enough of the Tuesday morning General Manager talk. Theo has put together 2 World Series winning teams....I think he knows what he is doing.

Sit back and enjoy the offseason. March is only 5 months away.

Would love Texiera - but cannot imagine him getting to us over the Yankees or Angels; it will be ARod money in the end. IF by miracle we got Tex - I loved the idea I saw yesterday - put Youk or Pedroia at short. Youk is a great athlete, Pedroia played short in college some. Now that is a power packed infield.

On Varitek - only way we keep him is to get creative and sign him to a "career evolution" deal. Long term services contract transitioning from player to front office/coach type role. If Boras insists on 3-4 years as a player, Sayonara. I cannot imagine there will be any market anywhere for him. Would love to get Saltalamacchia. He had a down year - but big upside.

I agree that a Derek Lowe return would be outstanding. He has got to be missing Boston big time by now.

Some of these posts are a little off the mark.
Ben Nation- Texiera is a free agent, we don't need to trade lowell and Bucholz for him. And no wayyyy is Holliday gonna find his way to bean town for our dirty laundry (Crisp and Wakefield). And just where does JD Drew fit in your scenerio? Unfortunately 12 million can't sit on the bench.
To get Holliday (who they will make a run at) the package would probably be like Ellsbury and either Clay or Masterson.

I also see them going after a setup man, probably Brian Fuentes, and one of Texas' 3 excellent young catchers, probably Teagarden or Saltalamacchia

I wish teher was a way to banish Lugo ro Kansas City and get someone that can play shortstop but I don't think that'll happen

The Sox lost the ALCS because each of the starters contributed a weak start. That Wakefield would come up big in the ALCS was strictly hope. Next time, the Sox need a #4 starter who is not a question mark.

On offense, the Sox won some games on timely hitting, but the lineup was plagued all season with a power shortage and weak, inconsistent stats after the top 3. If keeping Tek means absorbing his .228, then everyone else on the field needs to have proven and current productivity. If Tek, Ortiz, Lowell, SS, and CF all show up in 09 with lingering injuries and Tekian numbers, that is unacceptable.

Type your comment here...

I wouldn't count anyone out with Theo making moves, but take a look at Holiday's #'s. They improve EVERY year. What does he bring Bay doesn't? A better avg. and more power. Not to mention his presence in the lineup is more of a concern for opposing pitchers then Bay. The Rockies also have Fuentes, and Corpus in the pen that can be added to a trade.
Tex would be nice, but doesn't make since. he is not an upgrade on the corner. Youk and Lowell are the best in the buz. He adds more pop than Youk, but on avg.? Plus, we know Youk can handle Boston, I'm sure Tex can, but it does take some players time. In Theo We Trust!

not sure if you are interested in this n. you know these guys.

No Way will the sox get Texiera! Too much money. Best cather availible Josh Bard.We had him once and the Padres dumped him at the end of the season. I would love to see Peavy in a sox uni but odds are against it. I doubt that we can rid ourselves of Lugo. The best shortstop we have is Yamico Navarro with Arscencio Diaz running a close second! Bowden is not major league ready,and neither is Buccholz.Bard on the other hand might be since he is a reliever. If Lowell and Ortiz return to form then there is no need for another power hitter,if they bomb out then the sox have Anderson in waiting!! Cora will make an excellant 3rd base coach maybe he can replace hold 'em Hale who cost the sox 3 runs at crucial times during the rays series.As far as pitchers go maybe the Sox can sign one of the top 2 pitching prospects in Japan (their names escape me at this point in time),Catching is a diffficult postion to fill but Tek god love him had a very bad year!!
I'm not sure he has anything left.Our best catching prospect is Wagner and a 17 year old named Vasquez..Our minor leahue system is chocked full of potential super stars,kids like Reddick,Lin ,Place, Navarro,Diaz,Kalish,Bates and this is just a small sample of the of the pieces the Sox have stashed away in the minors..Well in closing here's wishing everyone in Red Sox nation a happy off season as we all know there is work to be done to improve our team.

I agree with Bob and John A. regarding Tito. Tito's good, but not great and has some flaws that often exceed his strengths, as in game 7 of the ALCS, when he wouldn't pinch hit for Tek in the 7th and 9th innings. And bringing up Lowrie to pinch hit with the series on the line? If Johnny thinks this is good managing, he has a different concept of that than I do. With Tito, you always gets the bad with the good and you keep your fingers crossed that the "bad" Tito doesn't screw up the "good" Tito. And, sorry, but I can't see those 30 other teams itching to sign Francona. Basically the question in this column is about assessment. Can we upgrade at any position and what might that take? Can we upgrade at the managerial position? I would say "yes," but I don't think it would happen. Guys like Johnny would be flabbergasted.

David Ortiz will turn 33 this off-season. He has gotten by for a long time as the "overweight slugger", but unless he improves his fitness, his decline of the past two years will not reverse itself. I know he's had injuries, but it's not just random bad luck that has sidelined him while Manny kept playing. For all his faults, Manny Ramirez does the work to stay in good shape.

And yes, I think the priority has to be getting a "big bat" - somebody at the level of Teixeira or Holliday. As for Varitek: the Sox need a catcher that can hit. Until they find one, why banish Varitkek?

Cora and Timlin must go. Don't re-sign Casey (too slow and bat and glove not what it used to be). Don't sign Matt Holliday - his stats away from Coors are troublesome. SIgn Teixeira and trade Lowell and eat a bunch of money. We NEED a catcher - trade for Salty from Texas (but don't give up Lars Anderson). We need a couple more quality arms from the pen. That was the key difference b/w the Rays and the Red Sox this year. They won a bunch of 1 run games against us b/c their pen was better than ours.

First the mgt staff has done a great job. This team needs to reward players that have no leverage. Thy ought to make Kevin Y a real deal and Pedroia as well. It is always been in all businesses that we forget the customers or employees we have while trying to get new ones or hire new people. These guys will have long memories when THEY have the leverage on their side.

Dance with the one that brought you

no way could manny have done what bay did for this club...how many other players out there could give you 30 plus hrs

wakefield keep and don't let him pitch in september or october...those are bad months for him.

we were one short of making the world series..we need very few changes...a healthy lowell would have been the difference of our getting to the world series.

Terry blew the series when he pulled a Grady and left Beckett in to blow 3 leads and give up 8 runs in the 2nd game.Theo blew it by not giving Michael Bowden and/or Lars Andersen a chance at make their bones in September and the playoff roster.

Who closed out the series for theRays? 23 year old September call up David Price.
Youth must be served. In a 162 game season-a kid who announces himself in Sept-Oct is just the ticket- How did they win last year? Lester, Ellsbury, Pedroia.

Re 09- The Yanks will be back with a vengeance- They will probably sign both CC & Texeira.

They need foremost - A Power Bat - Holliday@ a fair price. Pitching they have in the system tho if Peavey could somehow be acquired I think you go the distance for him
Ev.en A healthy o9 Papi will not be the Big Papi of years gone by. IIfance

Loweel does not rebound Youk to 3b & Lars gets is ch

It always comes down to pitching - we have good arms in Beckett, Lester and Dice-K. We have excellent potential in Bowden, Bard and Buckholz. Delcarman though inconsistent still has a lively fastball and Masterson is only going to get better. If we add another top of the rotation guy like Peavy we may not need to worry about the line up.
Texeira is a class act but the money will be too much - we need to keep developing and be shrewd
Tek as much as I like him as a receiver can only stay if it is on the Sox terms - which I would think is two years short money

Ben Nation...wow, where do I start? For one, Teixeira is a free agent. You don't have to trade anything to get him. Second, Crisp and Wakefield for Holliday? You have got to be kidding! Colorado would literally assassinate Theo Epstein for making such an offer. It would take Buchholz, Bowden, and Lars Anderson, MINIMUM to get him. Let's also trade Cora for Albert Pujols, then trade Javier Lopez for Jake Peavy!

Please stop this ridiculous media-worship of Tim Wakefield, who is undoubtedly a wonderful person. We've been hearing the "but he's an innings-eater" BS for years. Can we finally deal with reality: for several years he has been an ineffective pitcher who takes up two roster spots (no-hit backup catcher) and adds no value to a post-season roster. It's time to give him his gold watch!!

Texiera is a FA Ben Nation and like the Rockies would trade Holliday for Coco and Wake come on ,I think your pink hat is on to tight . hopefully the Sox can pull the trigger on a deal for Peavy , Txiera would be a great addition but he's going to cost a boatload of money. Now one last thing Bob you must be related to Ben Nation if you want Francona fired GET A CLUE !!!!!!!

Trade Lowrie, Buchholz, and Jacoby or Crisp to Florida for Hanley and a reliever.

Trade Bay and Youk or Lowell for Holliday and a reliever.

Sign Texeira First, to a multiyear contract.

Boxsox will be ready come April..............

Nice to see - in a year we WATCH the world series - that Tito is finally getting his due...that the fans are finally getting off his back. His reward? Back surgery.

This team - in order to contend with what is now the best division on the planet - will require shutdown starting pitching...1 thru 5. If that requires getting 2 frontline hurlers: do it. The rest of the team will fall into place. The years of a 4th/5th rotation starter giving this team innings and a .500 mark are over. In lamens terms, Dice-K's 100-pitch 5 inning stints won't cut it as a #3 pitcher. A 43 year old knuckle baller in the 4th slot is western division thinking. And Theo's '08 reliance on Pawtucket for the #5 pitcher was a failure. This is a very good pen with Masterson...so long as the starters go 7 innings. A STRONG FIVE in the rotation means one less necessary arm in the pen - and one more vitally needed right-handed bat off the bench.

I see Ellsbury and Masterson as major impact players in '09. I LIKE Delcarmen. "He has the best stuff on the staff". (Cash's words). I like Carter AND Baily off the bench. Lugo/ lowrie likely to split ss duties. The bats will be fine with shutdown pitching taking the pressure off. I look for '09 Papi to pepper the wall more, use the shift to HIS advantage. Lowell will be productive, but out of the 6th slot. No cleanup. Learn from '04: Learn from the Rays: It all comes down to STRONG starting pitching.

Texiera will get stupid money from the Yankees. Count on it. Giambi will be available....lol. I don't think he will fix what ails the Sox.

Keep dreaming guys. Varitek will make you all happy signing a 4 yr deal somewhere else for big money. Catchers are in short supply but the buy it now mentality appears alive and well in NY and Boston. Tek and Manny will make the playoffs next year. Rays and Yankees duel for AL East crown and wild card in 2009.

While I can appreciate some of the comments from the other posters, I think cooler heads must prevail. Did the Sox have a great year....maybe. Will there be changes next year...definately. Will Tek or anyone of their free agents be resigned....we'll have to wait and see.

Don't forget people, it's only been 2 days since the loss in Game 7, and free agents- to - be can't file for at least 3 weeks. Let's let the braintrust do what it does best, and that is evaluate and determine what changes, if any, are required. Don't forget, thanks to Manny and Schilling, the Sox are in a position to have 20.5 million to play with if they keep the team as it currently is composed.....

Give it time, folks!!!!!

Sox don't need a long ball threat they have a HOMER in M.ass.arotti. Earth to Beantown your team is on the decline and they are only going to get worst...

Bunch of things here, come on people-- think realistically...

THE PEAVY SITUATION
Get this deal DONE! I'd do a 3-for-1 combo of (Masterson OR preferably Bowden), (Ellsbury OR Lowrie) and Buchholz. It is almost impossible to aquire legitmate aces in this game so if you can, you damn-well better.

THE BECKETT SITUATION
RELAX! What everyone here is forgetting is that the reason he wasn't as great as last year was the post-season pitching in '07. That factor is by far the most overlooked concept in baseball. Look at Buerhle, Garland, Garcia, etc. in '05. They were pitching complete games in the post-season! Then look at them in '06. Look at Pedro in '05. Schilling won 20 games in '04 and that was his last great season. Blame his ankle but the bottom line is that the ankle situation sums it up perfectly: pitchers leave it all out there in the post-season. It's do or die. No 15-day DL, no rehab starts-- it's "win today or pray you get another shot an entire year later." Beckett will be fine. (He would've been even better if they lost in the ALDS but oh well...)

MARK TEIXEIRA / MIKE LOWELL / KEVIN YOUKILIS
This one is a tough one. The Yanks will 100% for sure be involved. Scott Boras is involved. Teixeira is known to be one of the biggest buyers of Boras's philosophy. All that in mind, he will NOT be cheap. I'll say that for years I have dreamed of him being a member of the Sox (as well as Peavy) so obviously I'd love to see it happen, but that being said, not if the price isn't right. For starters, they never should've re-signed Lowell (love him but let's face it-- he will not be worth $15 million a year towards the end of his deal). They should've moved Youkilis to 3B and started Casey for the year and THEN considered Teixeira this year since now aquiring Teixeira will likely require moving Lowell and therefore likely eating a chunk of his salary. Anyway, what's done is done but that being said it makes you wonder if the Sox do legitimately intend to go after Teixeira. If I knew that he'd be a free agent after the '08 season then so did Theo and therefore this fact surely had to have entered his mind prior to signing Lowell. What would I do?... trade Lowell, sign Teixeira, move Youkilis to 3B. Will that happen? If I had to go with my gut I'd say that he'll be in the AL East, but in pinstripes.

MATT HOLIDAY / JASON BAY
First off: Holiday is (yet another) Boras client. That being said, there is no need to trade for him with only 1 year on his current deal remaining since Boras will definitely bring him to free agency. Here's what to do:
-Get Bay an extension. This guy can play here and he loves it. He hits for average, power and OBP. Enough said.
-Wait it out a year and sign Holiday as a free agent IF they do plan to go after him at all. That way they don't lose prospects in a trade AND tons of money once he inevitably reaches free agency. So where do you play him IF you extend Bay? Perhaps 1B if he can, depending on how the Youkilis/Lowell/Teixeira scenerio plays out. Or... Ortiz isn't getting any younger. Just something to consider. A backup OF and everyday DH? Can't beat that.
Quick Holiday note: don't put TOO much stock in his home vs. road stats. Tons of players just hit better at home, regardless of the whole Coors Field thing.

THE CATCHING DILEMNA
Sorry to say it, but Varitek is not the problem. The real problem is that he shouldn't be catching 4 of the 5 starters these days. So the problem is the fact that keeping Wakefield requires keeping a second catcher who provides no offense. Don't get me wrong-- I love Wakefield, but it is he and Cash who have to go. As for Varitek, in the '04 offseason he eventually stepped in and told Boras to just get a deal (with the Sox) done. When all is said and done this could eventually happen again, depending on how close the 2 sides are. The question is who do they aquire for their #1 spot? I'd love Saltalamaccia but what needs to be given in return? Not much of an upgrade over Varitek via free agency. Maybe give Josh Bard a second chance? He did great in '06 with San Diego once he left here. If I had to choose any option for the time being, I'd go with that. A decent fix for the next 2-3 years. And who knows what could happen in that timeframe? Maybe wait out Joe Mauer becoming a free agent? Deal with that then.

Here's how the core of my ideal team would look in '09:
-ROTATION: Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester, Peavy and whoever isn't dealt in the Peavy deal
-INFIELD: Teixeira (1B), Pedroia (2B), Lowrie (SS *depending on Peavy deal*), Youkilis (3B), Bard/Varitek (C)
-OUTFIELD: Bay (LF), Crisp or Ellsbury (CF *depending on Peavy deal*), Drew (RF)

REPLACING FRANCONA
Seriously, shut up. There are 162 games in the regular season and to win the World Series a minimum of 11 more. Do you Francona-haters really expect him--or anyone else for that matter-- to make ZERO wrong decisions in that amount of games? They were burnt out. The started the season in Japan. They played an additional 14 draining games in '07. They JUST won the World Series. They won another in '04. We went 86 years without ONE. Don't you all think we're getting just a little greedy around here now expecting a championship EVERY SINGLE YEAR? At least they put up a valiant effort defending their title. They'll be legitmate contenders in '09 and for years to come. Let's quit the bitching and think about how many other cities have had an NBA Championship, 3 Super Bowl Championships and 2 World Series Championships this century.

WOW!!! Spring Training is in a few months boys... I think some of you need get a grip. Moves will be made. Some you will hate to see, but they will happen. In the mean time, enjoy the Bruins and Celtics.

I can't remember a time that we went into the off season and saw so few holes in the Red Sox. Always seemed like the winter of spending, and now I don't see the need. I agree, we're stuck with Lugo. I don't think that the Sox will eat 10 million just to get rid of a player. My guess is that Lowrie goes to camp but could start in Portland/Pawtucket while they see if Lugo can do anything. I'd love to get Texeira but where do you put him? You have a 3B, 1B, and DH. Unless they try to trade Youk for pitching and stick Tex at 1B. The thinking there could be you're giving up a slightly better fielder for a slightly better hitter. Just watching Tex in the playoffs I'd say Tex is a very scary hitter that could be the protection again for Papi. Varitek is definitely the biggest question. I say the Sox offer 2 year/10 million take it or leave it. I'm sure the argument from the Varitek camp is that they signed for less to stay in Boston four years ago, and the Posada signing definitely doesn't help. But lets face it Varitek will hit 9th and can't even put the bat on the ball some nights. My only thought is that some personal issues took up his time this year which caused the slump, so maybe coming into spring training he has a clean slate.

Go Phils!!!!

1. Ellsbury CF
2. Pedroia 2b
3. Holliday LF
4. Ortiz DH
5. Teixeira 1b
6. The Youka 3b
7. J.D Drew RF
8. Varitek/Cash?
9. Lowrie
Bay and Lowell are great players but with a line up like this they would be young and it it would be around for a while. The Sox have plenty of talent and money to pull these types of trades off.(Crisp, Bowden, Buchholz, and Bard)

I see one of the so called ray season ticket holders is telling theo how to build a team. dont you ray fans realize they will have to spend spend spend to keep their team together? or do you expect the uptons of the world to keep playing on the cheap?

Sox don't need a long ball threat they have a homer in M-ass-arotti.

The Rangers have an abundance of catchers and Gerald Laird is the perfect person to learn from Varitek. One good arm from the minors Daniel Bard for instance can get this deal done

Too scared to print the truth. I justafiabily slam Bozo and you won't print. Same with solid observations on the RS offseason. Graduated in 1983 from the UMASS Sport Management program, interned with Pawtucket in 83. By the way Glenn Wong the biggest user of young talent for his own personal gains. How'd that agent thing with the USFL work out along with the baseball arbitration cases? You're a closed society that buries the truth, if it doen't meet your agenda you choose not to print. I came along 20 years too early, at least Theo has been given an opportunity. Back in my day a team's idea of marketing was to announce when the gates opened. Why let talent into the field when you can protect the good ol boys incomptenence network. That's why I took my talent to the financial field, where it was appreciated and compensated.

How can RSN whine about injuries when the Yankee injuries were more comon, more serious and more long lasting. Some injuries are weird and accidnetal, but expect more accidents when players get older.
As for V-Tek, handling pitchers is over rated. Driving in 100 is a quicker way to be a pitcher's best friend. Want to help the young pitchers? Re-sign Schilling; he is a selfless, giving person they can all look up to.
Build a statue to Tito. He deserves it

>>>>If we could trade Lowell and Buchholz for Texiera and get Holliday for Crisp and Wakefield I'd be happy. Go get a catcher and sign Tek to like $3mil to be a teacher/backup and get another starting pitcher I think we'd be great.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! When youre done playing fantasy sports, feel free to join the conversation.

I don't know why I'm even sitting here reading a bunch of nonsense; badly spelled I might add..
It should be obvious that there won't be a lot of clubs pounding on these guys doors looking for new General Managers.
Get a life. The teams not in complete disarray so lets not go nuts and pay big bucks (which translates into bigger ticket prices) for FAs who might not be significantly better than what we've got.

I think their biggest needs are: another big bat, and depending on where Masterson ends up, a 2-3 starter or middle reliever. For both center field and shortstop, I have some hopes that somebody (Crisp/Ellsbury and Lowrie/Lugo) will make themselves indispensable and claim the starting position. Maybe that's wishful thinking, especially at shortstop? Though I don't expect Veritek to make too much of a comeback next year, I wouldn't sell the farm for a small upgrade, nor break the bank to bring him back. I think they should bring Wakefield back, at worst for a cheap insurance policy. I agree with others that the team needs to have a plan in case Lowell and/or Ortiz don't rebound from injuries.

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Texieria
Holliday
Youkk
Drew
Salty/ Tek

This would be nice line-up
Lowrie

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Texieria
Holliday
Youkk
Drew
Salty/ Tek

This would be nice line-up
Lowrie

1) Trade Drew, even though we would have to eat part of the salary, then acquire Holliday in a trade.
2) Trade Coco, he handled the situation pretty well this year, however, two years may be pushing it.
3) Lugo is the shortstop for another year. Let Lowrie be the backup infielder, which would give him another year to prove he can do the job, and also provide a valuable reserve to keep players fresh, and fill in in case of injuries (Lowell).
4) Bring back Varitek. Any offense he gives is a plus, and he can't have this bad of a year again.

I think The Sox should go after Manny Ramirez!

Look at the Yankees you stupid Jakes. They've spent over a billion 'dollahs' (literally) without winning a championship. Why? They haven't had the PITCHING! Their line up looks the "27 yanks", (but the "27 yanks" pitching staff led the league in ERA at 3.20, and included Waite Hoyt, who went 22-7, which tied for the league lead, and Herb Pennock, who went 19-8. Wilcy Moore won 19 as a reliever). Why did the Sox beat the Angels again? pitching. Why did the Phillies beat the Dodgers and the Rays beat the Sox? pitching. The Texas Rangers had the best offense in either league. How'd they finish? I would spend my money on pitching, especially the bull pen.. Prediction: Rays win it all, why? PITCHING!!!!!

Why panic? We were 1 or 2 key hits away in game 7 of the ALCS from beating the Phillies in the WS. We just need our vets to stay healthy next year and the young guys will keep improving. I believe all the Sox truly need to do in the off-season is the following:

Catcher - Tek, we love you, but the Sox can't pay a .220 hitter $10 mil per year. Take whatever reasonable offer Theo gives you and work on your hitting in the off season. We need to draft a top catching prospect or trade for one for the future.

SS - God I hate Lugo. He is truly awful. If I have to watch him hit another ball off home plate for an easy out, I will poke my eyes out. Good bye. It's Lowrie's job with Cora staying the utility guy.

Pitching - Beckett (circa 2007), Lester, Dice-k, Masterson, one of Wakefield, Buchholz or a free agent. Note: Masterson is WAY to valuable as a starter to be a 1 inning setup guy. The Sox only used him in the pen out of need and to limit his innings this year.

Lowell - We all love Big Mike but does anyone believe he can stay healthy enough to give us 140+ games? If not, then get Texeira, move Youk to third and trade Big Mike for a 5th starter or middle relief.

Can't wait until April 2009!

Lineup
1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury (L)
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia (R)
3. 1B Mark Texiera (S)
4. DH David Ortiz (L)
5. 3B Kevin Youkilis (R)
6. RF J.D. Drew (L)
7. LF Jason Bay (R)
8. SS Jed Lowrie (S)
9. C Jason Varitek (S)

Bench
1. Kevin Cash (C)
2. Coco Crisp (OF)
3. Alex Cora (UTIL)
4. Lars Anderson (1B)

Rotation
1. Josh Beckett (R)
2. Jon Lester (L)
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka (R)
4. Derek Lowe (R)
5. Tim Wakefield (R)

Bullben
1. Jonathon Papelbon (R)
2. Justin Masterson (R)
3. Hideki Okajima (L)
4. Manny Delcarmen (R)
5. Javier Lopez (L)
6. Clay Buchholz (R)
7. Michael Bowden (R)

Coaching Staff
1. Terry Francona
2. Brad Mills
3. Luis Alicea
4. Demarlo Hale
5. John Farrell
6. Dave Magadan
7. Gary Tuck

I can't believe some of this stuff. Get rid of Francona? Yuke at shortstop? Get Texixeria? If you are going to spend that kind of money-get a front line starter. They need another maybe two starters. Whatever happened to pitching and defense? And there are no catchers out there. Cash is a good receiver, better than Tek with a better arm. He can hit at least 220 and won't strike out as often. Has ever a regular taken so many called third strikes and looked like he wasn't prepared to swing? I was taught that you protect the plate when you have two strikes on you. My friends, it gets down to pitching and that's where the Sox have make major improvements.

no need to make major changes,,,just need to get healthy and add a few pieces here and there. holliday=bay outside of coors field,, why would you over pay for him?? thanks for the quality years (besides 2008) timlin, but your time is done. wake is fine for the regular season-a bargain at that, but has no business on a post season roster. varitek at 16 over 2 yrs is fine, but needs his role reduced,, needs to sit some against quality right handers or start hitting right handed only. bryd was fine as a rental, but needs to be replaced. quality arms in the bullpen would be nice to move masterson in the rotation.

Not sure why anyone thinks Holliday is available. Is that all from that stupid throwaway line one of our more moronic columnists wrote before the trade deadline out here? Rox had a miserable, injury filled season but are still very good and very young and play in the worst division in baseball. They're not giving up, and Holliday is second only to Pujols among NL all around hitters (check the stats away from Coors, by the way ... Coors hasn't been a launching pad in years, since they instituted the humidor). Plus he's still in his 20's and they don't have an obvious replacement. The MUCH more likely acquisition is Garrett Atkins, whom they're trying to move because one of the best hitting prospects in baseball, Ian Stewart, plays the same position (3B). Atkins is a gold glove fielder with a consistent 300 bat with power and a natural Green Monster swing. Basically, he's Lowell but 8 years or so younger. It would take probably two very good pitching prospects to get him, maybe Bowden and someone else.

Now that we've seen a full year of both of them, I think we can safely say that Crisp and Ellsbury are basically interchangeable. Ellsbury is a better base stealer and has a bit more power, but Crisp gets on more with less streakiness (is anyone in baseball more streaky than Ellsbury?) and is a better fielder. Six of one half dozen of the other. And Ellsbury's not THAT much younger. He's an older rookie (I believe will be 26 next year), which is another reason why he probably won't get much better than he is. Ellsbury's still got the glamour, though, and is admittedly worth a teeny bit more because of his stolen bases. Trade him. The Padres would LOVE to have him in a package for Peavy. Or the Rangers for one of their catchers.

JB-The insinuation is that Youk could provide some relief to Texiera to give him an occasional day off by sliding over from third, not as a back-up. This assumes that Mike Lowell would be dealt.

One rule before suggesting trades...Think first! Seriously, some of you sound like Mets fans on WFAN. Crisp and Wakefield for Matt Holliday?! Dude.

Anyway, assuming Veritek wants to get paid like someone who can actually hit and goes elsewhere, here's my 2009 lineup...

CF Ellsbury
2b Pedroia
IB Youkalis
DH Ortiz
LF Bay
RF Drew
3B Lowell
SS Lugo (or Lowrie)
C Ramon Hernandez/Greg Laird/Kenji Johima

And the rotation...

Beckett
Dice-K
Lester
D. Lowe
Bucholtz, Masterson, or Wakefield

Yes, that's Derek Lowe, who is rumored to have said he wants no part of the Mets or Yanks because he...(drumroll)...wants to come back to Boston. And why not? He's matured, improved his work ethic, etc. He'd have an excellent infield behind him (key for a sinkerball pitcher). And he can pitch in pressure situations.

As for the bullpen...Masterson (if he doesn't start), Delcarmen, Okajima, a free agent lefty (Downs, Brocail), a setup man possibly acquired in a trade (Grabow, Meredith, Morrow, Justin Miller), and Papelbon.

Bench? How about lefty 3B/1B Chad Tracey and/or 1B/OF Darin Erstad (better hitter than Kotsay), to go with Lowrie, Crisp (if he isn't traded), a backup catcher, etc.

The Sox got one game from the WS with no Manny, no Lowell, half a Beckett, and a batting order that included Kotsay, Veritek, and Cora. They could go with the lineup they already have and keep their eye on a possible Holliday trade. (No, not every Rockies player is a product of their ballpark.)

It's time to sign Vtek, and use him to mentor our future catcher to be. We should send Lowell for rookie SF Giant Pablo Sandoval, or strike a deal with one of Texas's young catchers like Taylor Teagarden. Seattle is in a flux, maybe we can strike a deal in relief pitching or again, a catcher. Oakland has alot of good relief pitchers, hmm, even Kansas might be a destination. Hey JJ Hardy, think about it! Or outcast Nick Swisher! Hmm, know what Let's just get rid of Drew Lowell Lugo and replace them with farm system players.

I'm surprised I've never heard any talk about Varitek hitting only right-handed. It seems that he still is decent right-handed (I tried to find the breakdown but didn't find anything). Also, Bay is a 30 HR, 100 RBI guy who is flawless in the field, apparently a great guy in the clubhouse and is signed for a reasonable amount of money (in baseball terms). He should stay. As far as Wakefield, I've never been a fan as a walk is basically an automatic double. However, he had a long stretch this year where he had the most quality starts of anyone on the staff. The fact that he didn’t win most of those games was out of his control. He should stay.

double.

Hasn't anyone noticed how slim Ortiz has become? Are we all dancing around it ? Do you think maybe, just maybe, he might have been on the juice? I think he's done. We need pitching and we need to resign Tek - screw this teaching/mentor crap - if the right moves are made, I don't care if the guy hits.200. Texceira (sp.) is going to the Yankees. Anyone who thinks otherwise is out of touch. 2004 proves - pitching & defense are the tickets. With cozy Fenway, the hits will take care of themselves.

Lowell is gone. Welcome to Boston Mark Teixeira. Two gold-glove caliber .300-30-100 guys on the corners? You can bet Theo is chomping at the bit with idea of signing Mark Teixeira. It's been a good ride for Mikey Lowell in Boston, but it's clear he's not the same player he once was and we are going need to beef up to compete with the Rays.

hey rays ticket holder. who are you trying to fool here? tampa has certainly done it the honest hard working way and built their farm system by being the perennial doormats and bottom feeders of the al east, and then being handed a truckload of top draft picks as a result. yeah, do it like your RAYS , field a high school team for years and then come here to pontificate after they struggle mightily to advance past a red sox team that has seen better days.

this would be a lot more helpful if you listed the players' ages.

I think that Lowrie's impact has been way underated. First season, and a longer season at that. The guy didn't have an error at short during the reg. season for goodness sakes. How many did lugo have?

How about we take Coco and some of our excellent pitching prospects and talk to the rangers about Josh Hamilton? Plenty of power no pitching in Texas.

I don't like the idea of trading Bucholtz just yet. If you remember last season's hot stove the kid was untouchable for Santana! Buch just needs some more conditioning at the major league level. Rember the scouting (plus plus) The kid's stock just has'nt peaked.

No way the Twinkies will trade Mauer but what if.................

Trade for Young and Saltalamchia from Texas. They have a price but you will solidify at SS and get a Catcher of the future. The rest is there, just get one solid reliever to replace Timlin.

I would dump Wakefield, Timlin, Veritek, Byrd, Casey. Lopez, and even Delcarmen.

I'm sick of Wakefield's inconsistancies and having to have a special catcher. He and Byrd can make a good batting practice pitchers. Timlin will retire...thank God. Veritek is old, tired, and worn out. It's time to move on. Casey is a goofball. Lopez is useless. Delcarmen doesn't know how to get hitters out and not a smart pitcher. He cannot pitch in pressure situations. He throws hard and can be good trade bait. He was hardly used in the playoffs because he could not be trusted.

Ellsbury was a big disappointment but only because he was over hyped by the media and fans. He is far from a 5 tool player. He has no power, no arm, and does not play walls very well. He needs to gain some size in the off season. Ortiz needs to get in shape next year and drop the deva attitude.

Lastly, I hope Francona has been chewing sugarless gum otherwise he needs to see a good dentist before his teeth fall out.

Wow, so many possibilities. My feelings
Should retire: Varitek(maybe), Wakefield, and Timlin, probably Schilling
Should trade: Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp,
Free Agents: Should go: Byrd, Casey, Kotsay(?),
Pitching: Keep Dice K, Beckett, Lester, bring up farm help or trade for no. 4
Catching: Varitek if no retire, gets one year contract, try to bring up farm help or trade
DH: Long talk-one year incentive with David Ortiz. Get him hitting help in much the same way Manny did.
Infield-Third-Youkilis, Short-Lugo/Lowrie Second-Pedroia First-Free Agent Acquisition. Pitching ok, Catching, short, first , pitching no4, hitter behind Ortiz

Outfield: Left-Bay Center-Ellsbury Right-JD Drew.
Bench-Mark Kotsay, et al.

Ben Natiion: they dont need to trade for Texeira, he's a free agent

and for the Holliday lovers out there, Bay is better overall, plus you take Coors out of him and is just an average 6th hitter in an AL club

I dont believe Russell Martin is available, if he is, it's a no brainer, they should get him, and make all efforts to get Peavy

Lugo has to go, send him to SD even if Boston pays 100% of his salary

Great angle about the Sox not taking care of their "own", in comparison to some of the awful free-agent signings like Renteria, Drew etc: It hasn't been all roses for Theo.

Trying to anticipate the moves the team will make for 2009, without figuring Theo's ego into the equation is whizzing into the wind.

The idea that Youk will get a deal that reflects his worth, or that Theo will make any serious move to bring in a big bat free agent - is naive. How would such moves make him appear to be the "genius" he's been told (over and over again by the Boston sports media) that he is. The answer is, they wouldn't - so it’s safe to say that Youk’s days are numbered, and no new big bat is going to come to town.

Theo will never make the obvious move, even when it’s a no-brainer - because that’s not what a “genius” does; and make no mistake about it, as long as he fields a contending team - one that puts fannies in the seats - we’ll not see moves designed to do anything more.

And that probably means more seasons ending like this because the kind of talent that prevails in post-season is expensive and, usually, obvious; and, whether it’s a question of retention, or free agent bidding, Theo will always come up short - because fielding a cheap, mediocre team that at least for a time contends, makes him look like a “genius”, which though it’s not what the fans want, is good enough for him.

For all the losers who think Francona is such a god and is the greatest manager to ever manage in the game because he won 2 World Series in 4 years… did Francona win those World Series, or did the players? Francona is a terrible manager. Yes, he did happen to be on the team when we won 2 World Series, but that's like saying we won them because we had Alex Cora on the team. C'mon people. Regardless of the final outcome and whether you win a World Series or not, a great (or even good) manager does not constantly put his team 1 loss from elimination in EVERY SINGLE POSTSEASON!!! If everyone wants to credit him for winning the championships, why isn't anyone blaming him for always putting us with our backs to the wall? EVERY postseason he has managed us, we’ve lost 3 straight games in a SINGLE postseason series. 2004 to the Yanks, 05 to the Chi Sox, 07 to the Indians and 08 to Tampa. If you think that is the mark of great managing then there is something wrong with you.

2 words: Pudge Rodriguez. If we can’t get a young, decent catcher, than sign Pudge to a 1 or 2 year contract. You’ll be paying him roughly the same as Tek’s been making ($10 mil) and you get a solid hitter (lifetime .300 avg) and a strong arm and defensive skills, all of which Tek has been regressing in every year. Sign Pudge and wait until you can develop a young guy in the minors or wait until the market looks better in a year or so. Other than that, I don’t think our lineup needs to change. Other than keeping Lowrie the everyday SS. I would like to see Lowell go and have Texiera signed, but it’s doubtful. I’d also love to see Drew gone and have Holiday there instead, but again doubtful. Sign Pudge and you help the lineup tremendously. What we need is a quality starting pitcher. With the $25 million we’d be saving from not having Manny, Timlin, and Schil, you can spend that on a quality guy (b/c you have guys like Pedroia, Youk, Ellsbury, Lowrie, Lester, Masterson, etc not making a lot of money for a few years) so you can well afford to get a Sabathia, Peavy, Sheets, Burnett, etc. With one of those guys plus Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, and Buccholz in the rotation…easily the best in the majors. Still need a little bullpen help but with those starters I think it’ll save the pen a lot of innings, and the lineup will still be one of the best.

Hats off to the Rays, but I'd don't agree that we would have won with Manny.

Let's face facts:
Game 1, we caught the Rays in the headlights. They weren't ready for the big stage.
Game 2, we had more than ample opportunity to win...but couldn't get outs when we needed them nor could we manufacture a run.
Game 3, the extra-innings adrenaline boost win in Game 2 carried the Rays thru Game 3 and 4. They pitched well. But our "hitters" made their pitching staff look like the Braves rotation of the mid '90s. (I use the term "hitters" here loosely.)
Game 5, First 6 innings was more of the same, and Tito’s Army got so embarrassed that they woke up. I don’t agree with the criticism against Maddon. The game was all but over and teams – no matter how good they are – almost NEVER come back from being down 7-0 in the last 3 innings of a game. I would LOVE to see the Elias Sports Bureau report on that.
Game 6, gut-check time for Beckett. His performance should go down for the ages, ala Schilling in Game 6 in ’04. He should have spread some ketchup on this oblique. [Note to Beckett, didn’t you read Curt Schilling’s “How to shamelessly market yourself to get over the Hall of Fame career borderline”?]
Game 7, Lester was masterful. Probably should have come out after 6 innings, but we would have still lost 2-1 because Garza was pitching lights out and J.D. Drew morphed into his ’07 regular season self – let me just take a little wave at this pitch from the A-ball rookie coming at me at 95 mph. There was no aggressiveness on his part. Jed Lowrie is your best pinch hitter? Well, he couldn’t do worse than Casey’s pinch “hitter” appearance earlier in the series. Kotsay was in the game due to Lowell’s injury. That left who? I would have sent Ellsbury up there, as much as he struggled early in the series. At least he has been in a huge game before. What about Cash?

Offseason moves:
• Thank Jason Varitek for his 10+ years of service, 2 World Series Championships, and many, many memorable moments (his assault on A-Rod in 2004!), and sign him to become a minor league roving instructor.
• Ditto on the first part for Wakefield. Maybe he can tutor the knuckleballer playing for the PawSox.
• Thank you Mike Timlin. Here is your Official Red Sox Camouflage Rocking Chair in recognition of your service.
• Let Sean Casey go. Sean, we would have loved to see you swing the bat like you once did. That’s why we brought you here. [Note to Tito: Use your friggin’ bench during the season, so that it is there for you in the postseason]
• Trade or buy out the contract of Lugo.
• Trade Coco Crisp. Yes, he had a nice run in the postseason (his at bat in the 8th inning of Game 5 should top off the 2008 Red Sox highlight reel), but we all know the real Coco. His stock hasn’t been this high since he came to Boston.
• Do not sign Kotsay. He deserves playing time and we can’t give it to him.
• Pick up a dependable backup outfielder if we can’t trade Coco.
• Get Papi healthy. Even if it means surgery and we miss him the first 1/3 of the season. He should lose weight in rehab. Make him hit 4th.
• Do not even think about bringing back Manny. Or making a deal for A-Hole.
• Try to sign Hanley Ramirez, if indeed he is a free-agent.
• Trade Lowrie if we get Ramirez and are able to keep Cora around.
• Keep Cora around. He can back up Dustin and whoever is playing SS.
• Keep Lowell. He is a stud.
• Go after C.C. Sabathia.
• Go after Jake Peavy if you can’t land Sabathia.
• Give Schilling a VERY incentive-laden contract for half the season and let him tutor Bucholz.

2009 Lineup and Batting order:
CF Ellsbury
2B Dustin
RF Drew
DH Papi
1B Youk
LF Bay
SS Ramirez
3B Lowell
C Anyone not named Varitek

Starting pitching:
Beckett, Lester, Sabathia or Peavy, Dice-K, Bucholz/Schilling

I am losing sleep over this Jake Peavy rumour. Can we or should we get him for Masterson, Bowden and Anderson??? Or Masterson, Bowden and Coco Crisp?
Should we?

I wonder if Big Pappy (as one of the TBS announcers called him) is going the Mo Vaughn route. Injuries leading to reduction in productivity along with weight gain. It's very possible Ortiz's great years are behind him. If so, getting a Texiera through free agency might be a good idea. I also like Matt Holliday. If that crumb Boras tries to get too much for Varitek, it'll be a problem, since there's no great catcher out there to be had. The #1 priority has to be a power hitter though.

Jerry Remy must go. Enough fleecing of our Nation. Put Framingham's own Lou Merloni in the booth and watch the professionals work. Remy can fall back on personal appearances at birthday parties and bar mitzvahs.
He makes me yearn for Mel Parnell.
Oh, yeh, Tek has got to go, too.

Kotsay was awful offensively. He left so many men on base. Please just leave. Lowrie deserves the shortstop job. Keep Lowell he will be fine. Sign Lowe he wants to be here and is a playoff pitcher. Keep Bay. Varitek is pitiful but not many options at catcher. Watney to MSG. Wakefield it's time. Timlin can take his lame excuses for piching like .... to another team. Need a huge bat behind Big Pop up. Keep Crisp. Ellsbury is trade bait.

Ortiz isn't going anywhere. He is only 32 and coming off of a wrist injury. With rest & rehab, he should be at full strength when spring training starts.

Quit bashing Lopez & Delcarmen. They are as good as the #4 & #5 guys in any other bullpen out there.

Nobody is going to take Drew with that salary and if Theo was willing to give him 5 years at $14M a year two years ago, what would make him change his mind over the last two years? Drew was productive this year until getting hurt and didn't everyone know that he gets hurt? He isn't going anywhere.

The statement that Youk would back up Tex was with the assumption that Youk would be the starter at 3B but could fill in at 1B if needed. Kind of the opposite of this year. Either way, I don't see Tex coming here.

I read the Sox will have interest in AJ Burnett. Bring him in and bring Wake back. That gives us a rotation of Beckett, Lester, DiceK, Burnett & Buccholz/Wakefield. That is pretty solid with a little depth.

The ideal situation would be to bring Varitek back for one year and trade a minor league arm or two for someone like Saltamaccia. Salty can learn under Varitek for a year and get two starts a week, then take over in 2010. The problem is Tek probably won't take a one year deal.

Some great and some wild comments here. I am also on the dislike Tito bandwagon, but the guy is a winner. But like all managers he does blow a few games (IE Game 2 ALCS).
Im also surprised that (some) people making comments don't know who are free agents and who are not!
I am also very amazed that no one has talked (in depth) about players in the minors. There is young catcher on the way(Exposito) great defensive tools and a developing big bat, plenty of good young pitchers (this list is too long for this post)and a big bat in Lars Anderson (expected to arrive mid-season next year).
I think Theo nows what he is doing, I expect to see him stick with his plan of developing young players and i expect to see them coming up next year.
Time to pay the kids from your own system and enjoy the homegrown fruit.

Masterson is a horse who should be in the rotation (unless they make him the closer and turn Papelbon into a starter). Buchholz or Bowden should be #5. Wakefield has had a good run in Boston, but he is basically useless in the playoffs. Time to let him go with thanks. Is David Ortiz a latter day Mo Vaughan? His body is not the stuff of longevity. The Sox need a big bat. There is a real likelihood that Youkilis will not duplicate 2008. I Like Texieria at first and Youkilis at third. I love Mike Lowell, but it's a business.

Drew is fundamentally sound? I guess fundamentals no longer include throwing a baseball. He made two absolutely pathetic throws in the ALCS, in key situations. The throw at the end of Game 2, from short/medium right, barely cleared the first baseman on the fly. His throw to cutoff man Pedroia in Game 7, on Longoria's double, bounced. Had it not bounced, Pedroia wound have had a good chance to get the man at the plate, who barely scored as it is. Drew is a bat. Period. When he's in the lineup, that is.

Hello everybody,The ideal situation is to sign Tex, move Youk to third, and keep Lowell as backup to both 1st and third, and as the right handed D.H. with Papi. Lowell won't be thrilled, but he can best help the team this way.Drop Tek and sign Benjie Molina who is the best hitting F.A. cather out there. A 280 ave with 18 hr's and 80 something R.B.I.Sign D.Lowe. Dangle Bay and Elsbury to S.D. for Peavey.
If Pads bite, sign Adam Dunn with his 111 walks and 30 plus hr's for LF. Keep Crisp and Drew but add a righthanded platoon bat for J.D. .A lot of this may be pie in the sky, but hey, the season's over.

Back up the truck for Hanley Ramirez!!! The best player at the position the Sox need the most help.

Seriously, whatever the Marlins would want, except Pedroia and Youkilis.

How about Ellsbury, Bucholz, Lowrie, Anderson and Bard for Hanley?

The biggest impact player in the game at the most critical position. I would even consider offering Youk as it would allow the Sox to sign Teixeira for Thunder in the middle.

Hanley
Pedroia
Papi
Teixera
Bay
Drew
Lowell
Crisp
Varitek/Cash

I don't understand this fascination with Matt Holliday. Look at his stats. Less HRs. less RBIs, Less runs scored than Bay. Sign Bay. We don't need a new left fielder. The outfield was fine this year, once we got rid of Manny. Keep Bay, Ellsbury, Coco and Drew. That is a great foursome of outfielders. I like the Texeira idea. Papi is a big concern. Tek is also a big concern. Do we take a chance on him being THE catcher for another 2-3 years. We need an heir apparent now, if not sooner. But who? Haven't seen any Japanese catchers come to the US. Are there any?

Trade Buchholz for Teagarden or Salty.

Offer Youkilis, Crisp and Bowden for Peavy. Hopefully the Pads bite. Sell high on Youkilis.

Sign Teixeira and D-Lowe, and extend Bay.

Rotation:
Beckett, Peavy, Lester, Matsuzaka, Lowe.

Lineup:
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Lowell
Teixeira
Bay
Drew
Lowrie/Lugo
Teagarden/Salty

Call it an offseason, then win the World Series in 2009.

Why in the world would any Sox fan care what it cost to sign Texeira. Believe me money is not a problem. You have a chance to tie up one of baseballs best all around players for the next 6 years or so. Such an opportunity doesnt come around very often. Get it done and then worry about moving around the blocks. Nice problem to have.

Good analysis Mazz. Always a crap shoot as to what will happen, because only Theo really knows Theo's plans, and because Theo's plans will butt up against every other GMs plans.
But a few of the comments here are half thought out. No move is made without consequence, even a free agent signing. First, you cannot just sign Tex, Peavy and Holliday. Peavy and Holliday have to be traded for, and will require some major league talent be traded in return, so the lineup and rotation you end with can not be this year's plus the new additions. Second, signing Tex means losing a few of your youngsters, if not in 2009, then in 2010 or 2011. So signing Tex will mean not offering long-term deals this winter to lock up your youngsters (a la the Rays). That is the question a GM has to ask himself...do you lock up th eyoung guys or go out and get the one bat you think you need. I would rather use the Manny/Schilling savings to lock up Lester, Pedrois, Youkilis, and Bay, than to spend it all on Texiera and Burnett.
I think two other things need to be put into the equation. If the Sox do get one big bat for the middle of the lienup, at whatever cost, it means carrying Tek's bat in the lineup is less of a burden. But Tek will unlitmately decide if we are looking for another catcher, even in that scenario. If we are looking for a catcher, then a lot of our reserve talent that would be used to get the catcher, thus making a Peavy or Holliday acquisition that much harder (if not impossible).
Lastly, those who want to trade Lowell because Youk is cheaper and younger. Yes, he is younger. After arbitration, he may not be cheaper. And, if he is locked up long-term, it will likely be for at least as much as Lowell. Considering that Lowell will be harder to trade (the reasons you want to trade him are the same ones other GMs will be wary of trading for him), then adding Tex might mean that Youkilis has to go. Another reason to let TEx go elsewhere.

I'll add my 2 cents to the Francona must go flap: WHAT??????? Yeh I know ,he did not win 5 straight WS,did he? So let's send him packing. Nonsense. Now to the line--up : Sox get to within 1 big hit of another WS with "salami bats" (thanks Globe writer,whichever one you are) in spots 7-8-9,cleanup hitter w/o cleanup power,leadoff hitter w/o leadoff skills (bunting,walking) . Epstein has to do some real assessments on Ortiz (capable of being healthy?) ,Ellsbury ( perhaps just a defensive gem and late inning replacement), Lowell (at the age where he will often be hurt??) ,lawrie (which hitter is the real Lawrie - playoffs or season?).

Pitching, pitching, pitching. Did I mention pitching? It seems every year we talk about the glut of pitching in the spring....then they end up short by the all-star break because of injuries. Wake is a bargain yes, but you can't expect him to make every scheduled start. Buchholz is a head case. Beckett didn't have a blister this year, but had other issues. You can never have too much pitching.
I'd like to see Burnett opt out from the jays and end up in Boston. Wake can do a shared spot with Buchholz. If you can replace that combo with a top tier starter with a reliable history, then do it.
Defensively, I think they were snake bit by injury. A healthy team could have taken first in the AL, and could have defeated the Rays. People make a big deal about protecting Papi....but there was nothing to protect this year. Youk protects him.
I'd like to see a healthy Lowell. Youk is a better at 1st than at 3rd.(though anyone would be happy to have him at third). I like the idea of Texeiras bat, but I don't think he fits the puzzle. The two places to improve are catcher and short stop. As the the bats are weak in those spots, and the defense is average. I'm not really sure what is available out there for replacements.

Sign Tek for one year and get a .270 catcher to start, say sayonara to Timlin,Wakefield,Casey (big disappointment). Put Bay in LF and keep him there. Let Crisp and JE duke it out over spring training for CF. Sign Youks to a long-term contract (great combo of hitter and fielder). Clone Pedroia! Deepen the bench so that the manager has some options late in the game. Someone like Peavey would look good in Boston. That's why you build up depth in the farm system. Win another WS in '09!!

speaking as an observer og baseball (from massachusetts) with no allegience to any team (but the red sox games are available to me regularly), i have to say, in comparison with other teams, the red sox look set for the next couple of years, at least. epstein has done a great job building pitching depth. the sox, for all their financial glory, have a solid team that is young and dynamic and should allow for epstein to use his considerable financial assets to put together another championship caliber team. red sox fans should enjoy these times, even if they don't win 3 rings in 5 yrs. the above article is intelligently assessed. (although trot nixon returning is a bad joke). good moves by management, but lower tix!

Sign Tek for one year and get a .270 catcher to start, say sayonara to Timlin,Wakefield,Casey (big disappointment). Put Bay in LF and keep him there. Let Crisp and JE duke it out over spring training for CF. Sign Youks to a long-term contract (great combo of hitter and fielder). Clone Pedroia! Deepen the bench so that the manager has some options late in the game. Someone like Peavey would look good in Boston. That's why you build up depth in the farm system. Win another WS in '09!!

I keep opening up Boston.com and hoping that something will have changed and find that the Sox are in the Series. Even with all of the amazing success in recent years, I still become brokenhearted when they lose, but am very proud of what they accomplished.

I am already for next season and will count the days until the equipment truck leaves Fenway for Florida.

The Sox are very well positioned going forward. A great core group, terrific management and a well rounded coaching staff. We are truly very fortunate.

We need to find a young catcher that Tek can mentor for two years, a solid fourth starter and a good switch hitting pinch hitter, someone like Marlon Anderson. I am somewhat neutral about going after a big free agent like Teixeira.

Keep the four current outfielders and rotate them similar to this year.

Continue to let Lowrie develop as he could follow in the footsteps of Youk and Pedroia.

Tek lovers wake up>

The guy has has had "off years' for the last 3 years. Look it up. This is his new set pont: he aint going to recover miraculously next year. However the difference between a .270 hitter and a .220 hitter over 400 at bats is only 20 hits. Maybe that's a reasonable price to pay for loyalty and leadership.

Let Cotsay go? A superior outfielder who also plays Golden Glove first base, Kotsay hit in bad luck for us but would do fine over the long term as fourth outfielder and second first baseman. Can he catch?

Patrick the Rays fan!.... You dumb ass.... Home grown talent? Hinske, Navarro, Iwamura, Bartlett, Aybar, Pena, Wheeler, Kazmir, Garza, Edwin Jackson, Cliff Floyd, and many more.... NONE WHERE HOMEGROWN YOU MORON!!!! More like dumb decisions by other GM's (Garza) (Kazmir) and carreer years (Hinske). Yes you have some very good homegrown but let me throw a few names at you...

Lester, Paplebon, Youkilis, Lowerie, Ellsbury, Bucholz, Bowden, Delcarmen, Masterson! Our farm system is just fine thanks as we have Anderson, Bard and many others coming up!
Obviously you were another Rays Bandwagon jumper at the end of the season. Your team would actually have a payroll to spend if more people went to the games all year not just when it was fashionable to call yourself a fan. Don't diminish what was a great season by the Rays by making stupid idiotic comments like that again! Quite being a dumb homer and be a real fan!

1st base Teixeira, 2nd base the MVP pedroia, 3rd base youk, SS lowrie or saltalamacchia, LF Bay or Holliday ,CF Ellsbury or Coco, RF JD DRew,
PItching :
Beckett
Lester
Matsuzaka
Peavy
Burnett

and the catcher i cant decide on this one , i still feel varitek is the one , the sox need to back him up he is the BIG C on this team

Trade everybody not VAritek on that position

The Red Sox are a vastly over-rated team that has survived not on hitting, but pitching--not a bad thing. The holes in this line-up are so great, it makes more sense to attend first to further strengthening pitching and deal with offense in a lower budget way. Potential physical busts are Drew, Lowell, and Ortiz. Add to that the weak sticks of Varitek, Lugo-Lowrey, and Crisp-Ellersby, That is too much potential for trouble to really address adequately. Instead, Epstein can concentrate on improving through one plus starter, one plus reliever, and buy one stick to go with Pedroia, Youkilis, Bay, Ortiz, and committee.

I know it's insane but.... what if we let V-Tek go, put Lowell at 3rd, get Texeira at 1st (using the V-Tek money we saved), and (now the crazy part) convert Youks into a catcher? He's got the toughness and grit to do it.

What are the odds that we will get C.C or Peavy?

Holy crow, if I did not know, I would think the bottom just fell out and the Sox tanked the season. Given the games lost due to injury of the various front line players, who would have expected the accomplishments piior to the start of the season. Ortiz has had a collection of ailments, which though not directlly connected, may well have led to the others, over the last couple of years. To suggest dropping a a .300, 30, 120 plus bat is cray or another bat in the .290, 30, 90 to 100 range bat either--read Youk and Bay. How many people among you have dealt with severe back, leg, or arm/wrist injury?

Overcompensating causes stress somewhere else. No one hs mentioned anything about Tek's health. Has he been right for months? Ortiz, we know, had two different injuries and Drew has the back history. I see durability more an issue with some than out and out health. As such I like the versatility offered by having Kotsay. I can't see how Texiera is a viable piece. He is redundant as we have a DH, a gold glover at third, and another at first. Rather than looking for power (straight up power) rather consitency in average with decent pop throghout the lineup. Look at Youk's numbers in the cleanup slot, Lowe's in the 5 hole, or Drew's when healthy. Bay's numbers with the Sox were pretty impressive in their own right. His body of work since coming into the league and with no one to protect him at Pittsburgh were in the 30, 100 range. Yes, there were holes during the playoffs, but by and large because we were down to number two on the depth chart. Then you are plugging in numbers 3 and 4 at various positions. Ideally aright handed bat is the requirement behind Papi andI think Tex is left handed. Another pitcher or two might be a good idea, but even they are availabe in the farm system. I thought there were a couple young catchers a year or two away, who could benefirt from the experience gained at Tek's elbow. (more in tandem than either being the number 1 dude). That holds the clubhouse together, gives the youngster a tutor/mentor, and gives meaning to Tek's reduced time, and really helps the long range view of the team.

We have all seen how continuity benfits the situation and how not replenishing soon enough can cause problems. I t is a realy thin tight rope. I seem to rember a team (in Green an White) which probably had a corner on the market as far as filling in holes on the fly goes. They won eight championships in a row, but only by being very careful in how they went about replacing people and how the repacements fit into the whole scheme of things. Yes, that makes me older than dirt, but the philosphy has worked well recently too--read present Celts, Patriots, or the San Antonio Spurs. I am transplanted down here in Texas via the USAF, but the roots are still stuck up in Maine and I really have trouble believing some of you and your expectations.or the stuff you let yourself print. Francona may not be colorful, witty, (though he possesses a rather unique dry ily humor), or really firey, but when it comes to MANAGING people, few have done better, especially given what he has done with what was available--say thisyear. Ask the players!

What Rays fans are now gloating about is embarrassing. First of all their 43-million dollar payroll does not include all the signing bonuses given to Price, Longoria, et al. Do it the Rays way? Yeah, be the worst organization in baseball for a dozen years and then have one or two good years? No thanks. Does anyone really believe they will hang on to all these guys long-term? If you do, peak at the Cleveland Indians roster.

As far as 2009, I like Texieira but would not break the bank, Youk's numbers were very similar and we know he can play here. They need to upgrade at either ss or catcher. As Theo himself has said. the team needs to be at least average at every position. The sox are below average offensively at both and for a high payroll team, that is unacceptable. They also could use more depth in their starting rotation and bullpen. I would bring Derek Lowe back, it was a mistake to get rid of him and bring in a couple of accomplished power arms for the pen.

If I'm not mistaken, Texiera was the guy that was supposed to get the Angels over the top. Too much me for the money, stay away. A healthy Lowell, Youk and Bailey make up your corner infield. Tek if you can get him for no more than 2 years while you work on getting the next catcher ready. I know he went in the tank offensively this year, but he makes Farrell not needed when he is on the field. Papi has been great, but even Yaz did not last forever. Cut your losses with Lugo, as much as I was for trading Coco last year, this year proved you need a solid 4 outfield rotation. Sign Lowe, cheaper than Burnett and Sabathia et al, and as a ground ball pitcher good for Fenway. Wy did they let him go the last time?

Simple fix would be pick up Tex, move youkilis to third and have a killer lineup. Time to trade Lowell or keep him as a backup for when Ortiz goes down again.
1.Ellsbury/Crisp
2.Pedroia
3.Ortiz
4. Texeira
5. Youkilis
6. Drew
7. Bay 8. Lowrie 9. Varitek. 2 year 16 million with a third year option for 10 million.

Must go: Lugo, Lowell even though he is a great ballplayer hes getting old, Wakefield, Cash.
Trade for a catcher and tek can back him up
Only trade Coco if we can get starting pitching.
Sign Tex and move Youk to 3rd. Lars Anderson can back up Tex.
A real shortstop might not be bad either Cora and Lowrie aren't everyday players.
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Tex
Youk
Bay( More productive than holliday)
Drew
Catcher
Shortstop( Not Lugo)
Pitchng
Beckett
Lester
Dice-K
Lowe Peavy Sheets
?

I think they should consider converting Delcarmen to a starter. He throws in the mid to upper 90's, has a good change up and a nice curve. Work on developing a 4th pitch-- cut fasball and I think he can be a real decent #4 starter. They need to keep Masterson in the pen. I'm not sold on Bucholtz as a starter, and actually think he has good enough stuff to get through a lineup once, but second time around is a problem which tells me he is best suited as a reliever. I would offer Texas Bucholtz, Lowrie and minor leaguer, for Michael Young and Tyler Teagarden.

If we get Tiexera, only one scenerio makes sense. We trade Bay and move Youk to RF. Nobody wants Lowell (age, $), yet he plays great defense, has pop and is a team leader, worth keeping.

Checked in this morning with the Benjie Molina idea.Why is no one interested in this guy? He can stroke.Put up great numbers in that big S.F park, surrounded by a louzy team.Not the greatest defensively,but we can't afford an automatic out behind the plate. But with the way Theo's is talking, it sounds like he is quite content with the way things are.He' confident about Lowell, but he may not be productive anymore, even if healthy.And Wakefield back???? Why must we be tormented for 14 years by this mediocre pitcher.And of course,Ortiz will come back slimmed down, and healthy. wink wink. No problem there. And why must they pay other teams to take their players. Why not keep them on the bench?This means that Coco will be given away, Tek will be resigned because of his leadership. They will pay someone to take Lugo, who is a decent major league SS. Just like they did with Renteria, who should have been held on to. No, Cabrera should have dbeen resigned the day after the 04 W.S. along with Damon and Lowe. You know, the more I think about it, Theo is highly overated. .And how do you justify not only giving away Manny, but eating his salary, too?Ridiculous!!.I'm getting madder by the moment.

Wakefield:
I can only assume that those that have written that Wake should go have not read the comments of the past 24 hours. Several of us have pointed out that Wake is a keeper and that this is indisputable. Consider that:

he pitched 22 games this season where he gave up 3 or fewer runs. Jake Peavey pitched only one more of these (23) games IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE with no DH. Supposedly we are considering getting Peavey, a pitcher who will cost us a heck of a lot more than Wake and someone that has yet to prove himself in the AL and more specifically at Fenway.

Wake is paid only $4 million. This is a great deal for the Sox no matter how you look at it.

He can help save the bullpen by eating innings.

His cost per inning pitched is still low in spite of his injuries.

He went 10 and 11 with an ERA of 4.13 this year while Becket was 12 and 10 with an ERA of 4.03. He even pitched more innings than Beckett.

Not signing him gives us nothing - at least if you were thinking of a trade it would make more sense than tossing him away for bupkus.

He had five 1 run outings.

He had five games in which he gave up NO RUNS!

5 of his 11 losses were in games where he gave up 3 or fewer runs.

Is this really someone that you want to get rid of?

And on the subject of Teixeira:

He isn't a power hitter like Ortiz or that other guy. He will be very expensive. There is no way that getting him should cause us to lose Youk. Youk is worth at least 10 million and getting paid nothing. He is a Gold Glove caliber fielder and a near MVP level ballplayer. If Lowell can't return and play at the level that we hope, which is very possible, then we would be kicking ourselves if we got rid of Youk. And keep in mind that Teixeira has to prove himself at Fenway. We're all aware of how big a question mark this is, and if he gets his no trade clause, we'd be stuck. I'm all for adding a strong bat, but not if it reduces the strength of the team.

It was entertaining reading many of the posts. For fun I'd like to summarize the ideas floating around concerning where Youkilis should play next year:

1b - The status quo
2b - Tex at 1b and Pedroia at SS
ss - Someone's gotta plug the leak, right?
3b - Tex at 1b and Lowell traded
LF - Tex at 1b, Lowell at 3rd, Bay ???
C - He just LOOKS like he'd be a great catcher doesn't he?

The funny thing is, I bet if you gave Youk a Winter and a Spring Training to work on it, he could play any of these positions. Hmmm, I wonder what kind of pitching arm he has? Middle reliever?

So what should this tell Theo, if Theo were reading these posts? Sign Youk to a long term deal. Not tomorrow, not next year, not when he comes up for unrestricted free agency. But as soon as humanly possible, like how about RIGHT NOW! How much more can you ask from one player?

The money has been freed up. Forget making free agents rich and lock up the young core of this team for the future (Youk, Pedroia, Bay & Paps).

Google Mike Lowell's stats and compare them to Brooks Robinson and Mike Schmidt, two hall of famers. he actually has a better fielding percentage than both, World Series MVP and two rings. he is good for hustle, few errors & 20 homers. Keep him & put Youk in left. Trade Bay, Lugo & Bucholdz for Peavy. Sign Lowe & Texeira. Back in World Series easy.

To that idiot loser TopSox who thinks Wakefield is the greatest thing since sliced bread…You throw the stats out there that Wakefield has pitched 22 games where he gave up 3 or fewer runs, blah blah blah and Peavy pitched 23 games of that nature. Well Wakefield pitched 7 games where he gave up 5 or more earned runs while Peavy only pitched 2 games like that. Who cares? Wakefield’s ERA for the season was 4.13 while Peavy’s was 2.85. Um…DUH! Who was the better pitcher there. I don’t see how spending $4 million on a guy with a CAREER ERA of 4.32 and a CAREER postseason ERA of 6.81 is considered a “bargain.” Buchholz is getting the minimum and why not bring up Michael Bowden (who would also get the minimum). THAT’S a bargain. Yeah Beckett stunk this year too but at least he has proven himself in the past. Wakefield has never come up big for us and his career stats prove it, especially in the postseason. He stinks, Cash stinks, get rid of them both and you’re a better ballclub. Enough said.

veritek must go he can't hit he can't throw and looks in to the dugout for pitch calling a great deal. batting right handed below average batting left handed he is lucky to hit a foul ball . has anyone else noticed his ego. he takes his helmet off trotting to the dugout after the once a week he does something good at bat. look at me aren't i great. i am still waiting for him to throw out a base stealer. make him a minor league catching coach to develope young talent.
wakefield i am sick about him eating up innings he is lucky to go past 6 innings and is at best a 500 pitcher and don't forget he is pitching against the other teams 5th starter . imagine what his record would be if he didn;t have the red sox lineup behind him

Jim C....AMEN AMEN AMEN.

There is no more singularly over rated player in all of baseball than Jason Varitek. The ONLY thing he does well is handle pitchers....which sounds exactly like a pitching coach. Not someone who gets upset if there is 2 outs because he won't be able to hit into the double play. What is his hit to K ratio?? 93hits vs 122K's...come on now. How many did he throw out stealing? HINT: he throws like Johnny Damon (God Bless his heart).

Ditch Varitek and laugh straight into Boras' face.

I have watched almost every game that David Ortiz has played in since he joined the Sox in 03 and I've noticed a steady decline in bat speed and balance at the plate since mid 2007. I honestly believe he is the weakest link on that team right now and should be replaced in some way, shape or form. He contributes nothing on the field and is slow with the bat and hits the ball merely to the right side. He is slowly declining while the opposition is neutralizing his effectiveness. He's had great years with the SOX, but no thanks to 2 more years of mediocre hitting and no defensive help.

I just finished reading all these comments and the one that showed the most sense was by parhunter1 (#165). First off, there are many writers panting for the Sox to give up the farm system for Jake Peavy. There is a reason why a team would look to trade a young, Cy Young winning, signed for the next three years at reasonable money, top of the rotation starter. Peavy lost several miles per hour off his fastball this year and gave up an alarming number of homers, especially on the road where he did not have the advantage of pitching in the best pitcher's park in baseball. He is a fly ball pitcher and is in the worst division in baseball. He also gets to pitch frequently in Dodger Stadium and in SF, two other great pitchers parks and there are no DH's in the NL. He has had issues with his elbow over the years and the Padres are clearly concerned about his long term health. There is also the issue of NL pitchers coming to the AL and their inability to duplicate their performance against superior lineups. If Peavy were a free agent and money was the only risk he would be worth talking to. But to trade a collection of top prospects for him could be disastrous. I would also question his mental makeup. To succed in a pressure cooker like Fenway and the AL East, a player must really crave the big stage. Peavy has a no trade clause and all the teams he has ok'd so far are in the NL and mostly in warm cities. He okayed Houston apparently because Roy Oswalt is a hunting buddy. Winning and competing against the best are not his highest priority. I am not knocking him for this, simply pointing out that he probably would not fit on a team like the Sox. The same kind of case can be made against Texeira. He has developed a reputation as purely money oriented and this undoubtedly is why he keeps getting traded despite superior talent. No team wants to risk much to have him when they know he is always going to the highest bidder. I would rather keep Lars Anderson on track to take over 1B in 2010 and risk going with Lowell next year. If the Sox improve the pitching staff, they can win even if Lowell is a problem next year again. Jeff Bailey could play first if Lowell can't go and he proved this year that he is a productive bat. As for Matt Holiday, a nice player, but not a significant upgrade over Bay. Plus Bay has already proven he can handle the Fenway pressure and clearly enjoys it. With Holiday we would have to keep our fingers crossed to find out. Plus, since he is a free agent after next year the only way to go would be to do a trade and an immediate contract extension at huge dollars. Good prospects would have to go and big payroll tied up on a NL player who has never played under the harsh spotlights. To me it seems the best scenario would be for A.J. Burnett to opt out of his contract and sign with the Sox. He is a proven AL East power arm in his prime and would make by far the greatest impact of any of the players being discussed. He would cost only money and the Sox have a great deal of cash to spend. The other crucial position is catcher. Saltimacchia is mentioned a lot here, but he is below average defensively, which is why Gerald Laird caught most of the time for Texas last year. The Sox tried to get Taylor Teagarten at the trade deadline this year but were turned down. I don't know who was offered but the team should go back to the Rangers and try hard to get a deal done. He is an above average catcher and hit six homers in September when they brought him up and stuck him in the lineup. It will take a good package to get the deal done, but he could be the next Varitek, and if we are going to give up a top pitching prospect I would much rather get a potential franchise catcher in return than an expensive, possibly damaged starting pitcher. One last comment. Regarding Tim Wakefield, at $4 million a year I would challenge anyone to find a better starting pitcher value in the majors. These days high payroll teams are paying around $1 million per win for starters. Wakefield costs about 25-35% of that while eating innings. Yes, he is a liability in the post season, but his work in the regular season is a major plus and keeps other pitchers fresh. I would gladly bring him back and use him as a regular season only stater unless and until one of the young guys grabs hold of a rotation spot. If that happens, great. All we have at stake is a relatively small amount of money that he earns just by winning 5 games. The many mean spirited comments posted about Wakefield are low class. Tom Chalmers

Read first before reacting:

1. let Tek go
2. Trade Ellsbury, Buchholz, Lowell, Anderson, Crisp for:
Joe Mauer, Minn. Catcher
3. Sign Texiera, move Yuk to third
4. Sign Abreu for one yr.--- Kalish and Riddick coming up in a few yrs.
5. Starting pitching:
Beckett
Dice K
Lester
Wakefield
Bowden
6. Bullpen
Pap
Oki
Bard
Masterson
Delcarmen
a lefty--Lopez, someone
starting lineup

Pedroia 2b
Youklis 3b
Mauer c
Teriexa 1b
Ortiz dh
Bay lf
Abreu rf
Drew cf
Lowrie ss

Read first before reacting:

1. let Tek go
2. Trade Ellsbury, Buchholz, Lowell, Anderson, Crisp for:
Joe Mauer, Minn. Catcher
3. Sign Texiera, move Yuk to third
4. Sign Abreu for one yr.--- Kalish and Riddick coming up in a few yrs.
5. Starting pitching:
Beckett
Dice K
Lester
Wakefield
Bowden
6. Bullpen
Pap
Oki
Bard
Masterson
Delcarmen
a lefty--Lopez, someone
starting lineup

Pedroia 2b
Youklis 3b
Mauer c
Teriexa 1b
Ortiz dh
Bay lf
Abreu rf
Drew cf
Lowrie ss

YOU GUYS ARE ALL DUMB AS HELL. TAMPA DID NOT BEAT US WE BEAT OURSELVES DUE TO US LEAVING THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF MASSACHUSETTS STRANDED ON BASE. WE WILL WIN IT ALL NEXT YEAR BASED ON THE MOTIVATION WE HAVE OVER THE WINTER.

I think Cora's been a great utility player for Boston, but he should probably rethink his playing status. The players and coaches respect his great baseball mind. Maybe it's time to start coaching. He would serve Francona well as a 1st base coach.

Wakefield is a keeper. He gives the Red Sox the option of being a Starter or a very reliable long relief pitcher out of the bullpen as well as other situations, as he has proven in previous seasons. Unless Theo can land Shoppach in a trade, I don't see any worthwhile options available for a full time catcher other than retaining Tek. Not worth what Boras apparently thinks he is though, so Theo may have to let him go. I could see him being a very good fit in Detroit, & it would be worth it for them to overpay in order to have his game acumen behind the plate with that pitching staff, which seriously underperformed last season. Get Texiera at any cost. Clearly a better all-around player than Manny, without the Drama.

No clue why people want to get rid of Tito. And to the guy who asked if jim leyland is available, surprisingly not even though he managed the high payroll Tigers to a 74-88 record and 5th place in the AL Central. Oh yeah, that would be an upgrade over 4 playoff appearances and 2 World Series.

I agree if Buchholz or Bowden isn't ready we need another starter. I'd rather flip Buchholz and Crisp + prospects for Peavy then sign a big money question mark like Burnett.

Would you pay Kevin Youkilis $20 mil / year? Because Tex's stats are comparable and thats at least whats its going to cost to get him. For the Holliday lovers, check the home / road splits. Unless the Sox are planning on playing 82 games at Coors field I'd rather have Bay. Hopefully Lowell and Papi get healthy, and the offensive should fix itself. But get rid of Tek. I think his wife took his bat speed when she left and his defense has been questionable at best.

Lopez and Delcarmen are fin, as long as they don't have to be set up guys. Leave Masterson alone and let him have the 8th. .

And why would Minnesota make any deal for Mauer? He's their franchise player and you don't trade a perennial MVP candidate unless you have to. I don't think the Twins have to.

I don't think the Sox will trade Lowell and sign Teixeira. I do think they will re-sign Varitek, and sign a big name pitcher. Maybe Derek Lowe. Buchholz will be back, just not yet.

Why all this talk about getting Tex? He will cost at least $115M for 5 years, and has a lower career OBP, and just slightly better OPS+ and RC/G then Dunn, and Dunn (5th highest HR/AB ratio all time) will cost $52M for 3 years. Oh yes, Tex is one of the 2-3 best defensive 1B and Dunn would be the 4th-5th worst, yeah that's worth the price....

That's assuming Lowell can't play or is traded or Ortiz can't play.

Cora's range is a major problem as is pop gun arm - I refer you to the final game against TB when the 2nd run that scored got on base because he ate the ball, a ball our regular SS would have made the play on.

Let"s make this simple. Trade for Rockies Atkins and Torabella both will fill the need and come at an affordalble price. A trade of Ellsbury and two pitching prospects would more than likely get the job done. Torabella wants to play everyday again and has a better batting average than Tec and has some homerun power, you could also give Tec a one year deal before moveing him into a coaching spot. As for Atkins he may not come close to Lowell's defense, but in the
Sox lineup and considering the hip injury and the age difference Atkins would be my choice. Plus would free up money for a top line pitcher.

Most comments erroneously assume that Mike, Papi, JD, Lowrie will be hurt, and that Youk is inferior to Tex, and rookie Ellsbury won't improve. Why?
If they remain reasonably healthy for 2 years, and Lars, Reddick, Brown, Bowden, Bard, Jones come up as planned, and we get a young catcher who hits for average and power, we are contenders every year.

No Holliday. Bay is comparable and probably better at Fenway & a better glove.
No Atkins. Lowell is a superior talent, a team leader, and his hip is repaired. He will come roaring back with his gold glove and silver slugger.
Texeira, CC. Are they really needed?

Last year, injuries took a baker's dozen of our best bats and arms away. The question is how the heck did the Sox even get into the ALCS with all these walking wounded? For 2009, reasonably healthy, this evolving team is unbeatable.

Another question is how much like the $$ Yankees do we want to become when we already have one of the richest farm systems in the Majors? Let's not.

Rotation: Beckett, Daisuke, Lester, Wake, Masterson, Buchholz, Bowden. OK, unless we start Masterson in the rotation, we really DO need a great pitcher here until Buchholz and Bowden are ready. Might as well get a really good one.

Pen: Paps, Masterson, Oki, MDC, Lopez, Aardsma, Hansack, Jones, Bard, Gronk, more to come. This is the Red Sox strongest area in 2009, which is why Masterson could go to the rotation, at least until Buchholz or Bowden come up. But grab Gregg, Street, or Marte if the Yanks don't resign him.

Lineup: Ells, Pedroia, Papi, Youk, JD, Bay, Mike, Shoppach?/Tek, Lowrie.
Bench: Bailey, VanEvery or Coco, Thurston. (combined .290/20/70/880OPS)
Farm: deep.
Age: much younger
Payroll: much lower.
HR: 200
SB: 125
W: 96 - 100

Lineup
1. CF Jacoby Ellsbury (L) (25)
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia (R) (25)
3. 1B Mark Teixeira (S) (28)
4. DH David Ortiz (L) (33)
5. 3B Kevin Youkilis (R) (29)
6. RF J.D. Drew (L) (34)
7. LF Jason Bay (R) (30)
8. SS Jed Lowrie (S) (24)
9. C Jason Varitek (S) (36)

Bench
1. Kevin Cash (C) (30)
2. Coco Crisp (OF) (30)
3. Alex Cora (INF) (33)
4. Lars Anderson (1B) (21)

Rotation
1. Josh Beckett (R) (28)
2. Jon Lester (L) (24)
3. Daisuke Matsuzaka (R) (28)
4. Derek Lowe (R) (35)
5. Tim Wakefield (R) (42)

Bullben
1. Jonathon Papelbon (R) (28)
2. Justin Masterson (R) (23)
3. Hideki Okajima (L) (32)
4. Manny Delcarmen (R) (26)
5. Javier Lopez (L) (31)
6. Clay Buchholz (R) (24)
7. Michael Bowden (R) (21)

Lars is only a year or so away. Theo likes to bring up 1 or 2 young guns a year. This year maybe Bowden in May / June, Anderson possibly August if he can get to The Paw Sox by late June / early July and do well. I don't see Texiera getting all that money and block Lars.
I'd love to get Peavy but it doesn't sound like it's hapening.
Line up In Aug.
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Ortiz
Youk
Lowell
Bay
Anderson
Drew / Coco
Tek (if we can resign at Theo's terms)

Not much change, hopefully health can make a difference, as well as some of the young guys (Jacoby, Justin Maybe Bard) making a step or 2 forward.

The Sox don't need much to once again contend but they do need Teixeira. With Manny missing we lacked punch and I don't think being 100% healthy would have mattered much. We also need a solid fourth starter like Burnett who has pitched his best ball in the AL east. I was a bit disappointed we brought Wake back which includes Cash. I understand having depth in the rotation but we could have done this without the baggage. Where does this once again put us in the hunt for a young catcher if we resign Tek. The bullpen could also use one more lefty, I think Bowden and Masterson could sure things up on the other side.

Tim
I have to disagree with you on your assessment of the relationship between the Red Sox and Boras. Quite frankly I think the whole Manny trade gave Theo Epstein exactly what he has always wanted. Rid of Manny in a way that did not upset and infuriate the fan base. Besides no team can get away without having to deal with Boras at some point in time. He is too important of an agent. The Red Sox have several players that Boras represents and have an interest in several others. No matter what one might think of Boras, there is no getting around him.

Tony, while I do agree that some Sox fans have ovverreacted on Wakefield, I must point out that Theo/Francona need to have a plan in place for playoffs with this guy. Because of his back, some weather issues, being the 4th starter, his work was very inconsistent in September. He needs steady work to be able to contribute to games that mean so much. When you are down, 2 games to 1, it is disheartening to turn to a man who hasn't pitched in 14 days and when he does pitch, has no idea where his pitch will go or how it will break. He has great value during regular season , but the is a liability in the playoffs. And I don't want to hear about loyalty Paueither.

TEX IS VERY GOOD BUT HE ISNOT.A EW THE 2ND COMING OF THE
MESSIIAH. DANGLEVARITEK UNDER BORAS,S GREEDY
NOSE ANDWE,VE SOLVED 2 PROBLEMS WITHOUT
GIVINGAWAY THE STORE. ERECT A STATUE OF WAKE-
AND SAY GOODBYE. HE,S DONE A GREAT JOBFOR THE
SOX BUT HE DOESN,T WARRANT A PRIVATE CATCHER
AFEW TUCK S HERE AND THERE; THEN START TAKING
ORDERS FOR THE NEXT WORLD SERIES