Friday night I'm going nowhere . . .

Anyone who thinks the Yanks won't be in for Tex hasn't been paying attention to what? The fact that Damon, Matsui, Posada, Swisher and (eventually) Jeter are all first basemen in the wings? Where would Texeira play? Maybe you should spell out what everyone should've been paying attention to.

On number 4, I don't think the Sox are driving up the price, but the years guarenteed. Burnett wants 5 years, and if the Yanks are suckers enough to do that, they may have a replacement for Pavano on their DL every year.

Got another talented minor league team -- the 1978 Albuquerque Dukes had Rick Sutcliffe and Bob Welch, with broadcaster Joe Simpson rounding out the rotation -- Dave Stewart came along the next year. In the lineup were Pedro Guerrero and Jeffrey Leonard, along with Mickey Hatcher, Terry Collins, and current big-league manager Ron Washington

aww, Matt Young, how time flies...

Went to one of those typical "Matt Young" games and of course by the 3rd inning I had those typical "Matt Young" games reaction, but suddenly I felt sorry for the guy. Hey, it was LouLouLou who threw that kind of money to him and we can't blamed Matt not to refuse that, right ?

I never boo anybody since then.

The problem with the Hall of Fame voting is that the bar gets lower ever year because the borderline players are compared with the lowest performing players in the Hall.
Cy Young, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Gibson, Palmer....Mussina? I don't know. Baseball-Reference has him most like Schilling, Hubbell, Glavine, Jack Morris and Kevin Brown. Borderline, if you ask me.
Have you ever felt that Mussina was one of the top 3 dominant pitchers in any given year? A HOF should at least have a few of those years under their belt. This all feels so very Bruce Sutter-ish which was an abomination.

Oh please baseball gods... bring me Teixiera, Dontrelle 4 Lugo, and AJ Burnett for Christmas!!! That would be blissful.

The only other pitchers to ever retire immediately after a 20 win season are Koufax in 1966; Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams who were "retired" for life from the Black Sox in 1919; and a fellow named Henry Schmidt, who retired in 1903 after his only year in the majors, going 22-13 for the Brooklyns. Supposedly, he didn't care for life in the East and went back to Texas, never to play again.

i think lugo for willis is a brilliant idea under only one scenario, that dontrelle agrees to pitch out of the pen. he could actually turn out to be one of the most elite left-handed relief specialists in the game. just look at his stats in '07. that season was a trainwreck for willis. opposing hitters batted .294 against him and he walked about 4 hitters per 9 innings, giving him a pathetic 1.60 whip. HOWEVER, if you look at his splits, he was absolutely dominant against left-handed batters. sporting a strikeout per inning, a .123 opposing batting average, and a lights out 0.72 whip. he would have the flexibility to give the sox a spot start when need as well. this trade is a slam dunk for just an extra $4M!

I agree on Tex--he is a must sign. I think the next best challenge for Pedey--let him play his old position--short. Why else has the brass not really been heard mumbling about a new shortstop?? And as much as I love Jed Lowrie--he is a much better utility guy than an everyday player--he wears out too quickly. And it would be cool for Youk to move to second and win another gold glove there and his own MVP. Burnett--wayyy too risky--a guy w/only 80 something wins and we are going to give him 14-16 Mil?? yikes. Another guy I love--D-Lowe, but get real. How can we justify paying him more than Beckett?? Seriously. In the long run that will kill us--2009 Beckett comes up for free agency--he will get $20 mil. And if he comes back w/a monster year this year--I say give it to him rather than two guys who are in their 30's and wanting longer contracts then we give pitchers. Lugo gone is a welcome site. Tek--dude--gotta get real. Sox nation loves you--but you have got to be kidding. Your agent is asking for BMW 750i money for a decent-used Volvo that still runs in the New England weather. The one thing I disagree with is Baldelli. Let him be the fourth outfielder--his main deal is getting rest. He would be a great fill in guy that the crowds would love--and he can play. His last contract was $3 mil/yr--he should be affordable--and frankly a better option than Kotsay/Casey (again both great guys). If the Sox go for any pitcher--they should still make a pitch for Peavy--27--hard thrower--a perfect guy inbetween Beckett/Lester/Dice-K. Keep Masterson in the bullpen--let him build up his arm throwing in the pen. Justin/Okie/Ramirez/Paps--that's nice. Trade Delcarmen/Bucholz and some young position player for Peavy

bring back nixon for 4th outfielder

Awesome. My spreadsheet agrees on all points.

No way is Mussina a HOF'er - 3.68 ERA? His win total is boosted by great lineup - he had a 4.00 ERA over last 7 years. He is VERY good, but not great. No HOF for you Moose!

The Sox need Texeira more than Texeira needs the Sox. They should pay whatever he wants. A switch-hitting, Gold Glove, power-hitter in his prime is a much better buy than any pitcher. Especially an injury-prone A.J. Burnett.

Good job on the David Gray lyric

Random response. I remember Ken.

I think the Sox are the perfect fit for Baldelli, if the Rays don't re-sign him. More than sentiment, when healthy Rocco is a huge talent who can contribute. The Red Sox, uniquely, have the depth to keep him healthy. With 1b/OF Jeff Bailey probably on the bench, normal rotations are covered with good bat (.967OPS) and glove. If an outfielder goes on the DL, the Sox can tap Pawtucket, which is full of MLB-ready bench players like OF Jon VanEvery (26HR, .884OPS, speed, good glove, and who may have the bench role anyway if they don't sign Rocco), IF/OF Joe Thurston (.316,11HR, .823OPS, great speed, good glove), and the big bat of Chris Carter. Not to worry about Rocco. He will shine in Boston.

Any of the FA pitchers would help the Sox, and they will all cost too much and break down before the end of their contract; and it's a worry that one of them could block Buchholz or Bowden. I also like starting Masterson in the rotation into May-June, whose W-L won't be much worse for a month or two than AJ, Derek or BP, and could be better . . . until Buchholz or Bowden are ready to come up. IMO, we would be foolish to trade any of these three, as they are the depth and the immediate future of this home grown rotation. You might discuss Kawakami as a less expensive alternative, or bringing back Pedro or Schill for limited work.

Teix would be great. There would be no urgency to move Mike, but he could be part of a perfect trade for Tek's protege, and Theo is the master of this.
Happy Friday

I think Lugo can still be an asset as a utility infielder. He has played ss, 2b and 3b. As much as you dislike him, he still has much more value than A. Cora. The Sox don't need an overpaid, under performing arm like Willis blocking Buchholz, Masterson or Bowden from getting time in the bigs. Besides if Lowrie has any form of sophomore slump(like Ellsbury), Lugo could enhance his trade value next year much like Coco did this past season.

% retired after winning 20
Mussina plus

Sandy Koufax 1966 27-6 Retired, arm trouble
Lefty Williams 1920 22-14 Forced out of MLB, Black Sox
Eddie Cicotte 1920 21-10 Forced out of MLB, Black Sox
Henry Schmidt 1903 22-13 Only played one yr. hated the North retired after one season with Brooklyn.

Re; Moose... I hear a lot of blithe comments about how he's not a Hall of Famer because he doesn't have 300 wins. Which completely ignores the fact that it's f'in HARD to win 300 games, a lot harder than it is to get 3000 hits.

The 300-win club is dominated by Dead Ball era pitchers. There are, by my count, 11 pitchers in the club from the post-WW2 era. The 3000-hit club is, chronologically speaking, the complete opposite: 21 post-WW2 players, most of them of recent vintage, and almost nobody from the Good Ole Days.

Re: free agents, expensive variety... I may be alone in this regard, but I'd be okay if the Sox stayed out of the deep end of the free-agent pool. When you pay a player $100 million-plus, you're making a huge commitment. Sometimes (Manny) it works out. Often, it doesn't. And even if the signing is a "success," it prevents an organization from spending money to fill other holes.

I really would not mind if the Sox went into 2009 with only minor tweaks to the roster -- with the sole exception of catcher, if Varitek doesn't come back. The Sox are a damn good team as they are presently constituted, and if a couple more young pitchers develop, they will certainly be a contender next year -- whether or not they land a big free agent.

You know, who cares what Hank has to say, Hal is the owner! Hell ya, im really happy! I'd like to see Baldelli as a fourth outfielder, sign Teixiera, trade lugo for d-train, and not waste our time on Burnett, Lowe, and Sabathia. The thing with Baldelli is that he has a mitochondria problem, and that he can't play every day anyway.
Lineup 2009
1. Ellsbury CF
2. Pedroia 2B
3. Ortiz DH
4. Teixiara 1B
5. Youkilis 3B
6. Bay LF
7. Drew RF
8. Varitek C
9. Lowrie SS

Bench
Cash, Cora, and Baldelli

I think Ken Henderson changed the oil in my car this week.

Sox sign Teixeira and Lowe or AJ and things will be fantastic in 08. Teix could be one of the biggest Sox signings in the modern era. Tek may or may not be part of that glory. I hope he is...worthless bat or not.

Chad, Sorry,but in NO way is Mike Mussina a Hall of Famer...he was NEVER a team Ace/Stopper, he has little to NO Cy Young Support vote-wise throughout his career, and if he EVER pitched a big game against Jack Morris, he would lose. All the seamheads LOVE to use Jack Morris' ERA as the reason as to why he doesn't belong in the Hall, but that's a joke, his ERA is what it is because he always pitched to win---if the other guy/guys gave up 4--he gives up 3 or less. Mussina had 2003 game 7 as his resume, only Bill Maz had a skinnier resume when it came to one game, bu at least Maz was a World Class gold glover

Has anyone put any thought into bringing in rick ankiel from st louis? seems he would be easier to get than ludwick and he can play all OF positions. i guess the beef is theo wants a righthanded bat for the 4th OF but i think rick would fit in perfect with the sox and could possibly be insurance for drew or ellsbury in case someone gets bit by the injury bug. could even become long term if he has an injury free season. have you seen the arm on this guy??

I agree with your Lugo - Willis comments. Lugo has to go.

way to state the obvious...again...and again...and again...

Always enjoy your columns Chad. A few thoughts:
1. I'm not quite as high on Mussina as you are. He'll get into the HOF, but he's never been a great pitcher. You can make a case for consistently very good, but I don't think great. And in that regard how is Mussina in and not Blyleven? Check the numbers.
2. Teixeira goes to the Angels or the Red Sox. He won't win a championship in Balt. and he knows it. And the Yankees are always involved.
3. Hopefully CC stays on the west coast and no one in the Yankee organization even bothers talking Hank in off the ledge. It won't be Cashman who must cringe every time Hank opens his mouth. The Union (Don't you love using the term union to describe a group of multimillionaires who have banded together?) will put pressure on CC to take the highest (Yankees) offer even if he prefers the west coast or NL. Hopefully he realizes that the Union couldn't care less about either him or the game itself. Maximizing salaries is always their one and only goal. We'll see how much backbone he has.
4. Here's hoping the Yankees throw $70-80 million at Burnett and get him. And here's hoping the Red Sox throw 3/$40-45 at Lowe with a 4th year team option. Problem is if Burnett signs first it will drive up the price for Lowe.
5. One year $8 million with a 2nd and 3rd team option for Penney would be worth the gamble.
6. Yeah, I'd take Willis. Not Robertson. I may try adding a mid-level pitching prospect and try to get Bonderman.
7. If the medical reports were okay, I'd take my chances with Baldelli in a heartbeat.

I respect Mussina for retiring on top. He turned around an awful 2007 season to win 20 in his last season. I also respect him for leaving a big gaping hole in the Yankee pitching rotation. Would he be the type to come out of retirement in July to pitch a short season for the Yankees if the price is right?

I am uncertain about baseball-reference comparing Mussina to Jim Palmer. Palmer won 20+games eight times and his lifetime ERA is 2.86, compared to Mussina's which is 3.68. I remember someone once said about Palmer, that his pitches moved so much, it was like he was throwing wiffle balls. I often wondered if today's pitching coaches, such as the Pitching Genius Joe Kerrigan, were the Orioles pitching coach in the 70's would he have tried to change Palmer's crazy pitching motion and high leg kick?

When he's on, A.J. Burnett is as nasty as anyone. However, all it takes is an error or a ball four call on a close pitch, and he falls apart. He's an all star from the neck down.

Great article, thanks. Sam Horn one-dimensional... look at the data; he led the team in stolen base percentage! (One for one; I'd love to see the replay.) A speedster we never knew!

Won 20 Games in Final Season
(Since 1900)

Player Year W-L
Sandy Koufax 1966 27-6
Lefty Williams 1920 22-14
Ed Cicotte 1920 21-10
Henry Schmidt 1903 22-13
Mike Mussina 2008 20-9

I see the Sox offering Teixeira 6 years @ 175 mil. He would be the ideal fit in the Sox line up. Then sign Lowe, and trade Buckholz, Delcarmen and a minor leaguer to Texas for Saltalamarcchia.................any comments?

Mussina, not worthy of the Hall of Fame. He was a good pitcher, but he was not one of the best of his generation. Here are some stats:
All Star - 5 out of 17 years; Cy Young Top 3 - 1 / 17 (never won it); ERA Top 3 - 4 / 17; Wins Top 3 - 5 / 17; Win % Top 3 - 2 / 17; WHIP Top 3 - 6 / 17; Hits/9 Top 3 - 1 / 17; BB/9 Top 3 - 6 / 17; K/9 Top 3 - 2; IP Top 3 - 2; Post Season - 7-9, 3.42 era, never won a ring.
Good career, but not Hall material.

Buckholz, Delcarmen, and a minor leaguer for Salta? Why not throw in Youk and Lowell?

"winning at least 11 games in every season of his 17-year career"

So if somebody only won 11 games for 17 years, would they go to the HOF?

4th OF needs speed and defense.

It's gonna take at least an 8 year deal to land Tex. Ya think he's gonna want to go back out on the market 6 years from now as a soon to be 35 year old with possibly declining numbers? Boras will be demanding a deal that Tex can retire on, without a doubt. And if the Sox really want Tex, they better hope the Yankees land C.C., because if they don't, the Yankees will blow any Sox offer for Tex right out of the water, guaranteed.

It's gonna take at least an 8 year deal to land Tex. Ya think he's gonna want to go back out on the market 6 years from now as a soon to be 35 year old with possibly declining numbers? Boras will be demanding a deal that Tex can retire on, without a doubt. And if the Sox really want Tex, they better hope the Yankees land C.C., because if they don't, the Yankees will blow any Sox offer for Tex right out of the water, guaranteed.

If Bert Blyleven isn't in the hall of fame then there's no way that Mussina should be.

Hey RD in Methuen
I don't know where to start. You think they will offer Teixeira nearly $30 million per year? Are you kidding? And trade Buchholz, Delcarmen and another player for Salty? I'm not sure they'd trade Buchholz alone for Salty. Thank God you aren't running this team.

i got an idea for a 4th outfielder. Jr griffey. He is not going to get a starting job anywhere, and would he not want to get his ring

I think most RS fans forget about the Angels concerning Teixeira. I say he stays there because they need him more than any other team, and they have the money to pay. Unless they have some studs at AAA or unless they get Manny, they need his bat in that lineup. Probably one reason they let K-Rod walk was to clear the money for Teix.

I want everyone to listen, and listen good...because if I hear another one of these "stupid idiotic comments" I'm going to smash something. Dustin Pedroia is the SECOND BASEMAN on the boston Red Sox. He's won a ROY, Gold Glove, and MVP at that position. More importantly, STOP COMING UP WITH CREATIVE PLACES FOR KEVIN YOUKILIS TO PLAY. He's a corner bleeping infielder, and that's it. He's not an outfielder, even though he has played there sparingly. He is not a SECOND BASEMAN for the love of God...do you watch baseball you morons??? Finally (deep breath) for the handful of you absolute lunatics who have suggested that Youk MOVE TO CATCHER, you officially are not allowed to watch baseball anymore. You are relegated to watching slam ball.

If we are going to bring someone back to be the fourth outfielder, it should be Gabe Kapler. He hit 301 fro the Brewers this year as the fourth outfielder and he can play right and center field.

sign tex. trade lowell to dodgers. dodgers get lowell, texas gets 2 dodger prospects and 1 sox prospect and sox get salty.
then make the lugo- d-train swap, and sign lowe and balldeli

Good column (again). I'm not sure if I agree with you about Moose - but I also remember being _very_ disappointed when the Yanks signed him right out of the gate in free agency.
While I'd love to see Tex in Red Sox, I'm not sold on any of the big free agent pitchers given their likely price tags. Unless of course, CC were to spurn the Big Apple and come to Boston (I know, not going to happen), - now that would bring me true joy.
Isn't having a good farm system great by the way? Even if we get nothing but coal in our stocking on the FA front, I have confidence that Pawtucket plus the FO/trade market will provide - and that's another thing bringing me holiday joy.

Mark
Great post. Beware there are morons among us. I especially love "Sign Teixeira, trade Youk, put Pedroia at SS and Lowell at 2B". Don't let it get to you. These are not baseball people.

Type your comment here...Hey Mark and Bob, now what am I going to talk about?
I wanted to tell the nice folks out there to stop switching all the baseball players on the Red Sox positions around.
I guess I will ask ya'll what you think about this?
I believe the Sox only have a 15% chance of signing Texiera but if they do do you think Lowell could stay on and be happy bouncing between 3rd, 1st and DH.
I figure over the course or a season, Youk, Papi, and Tex will need rest or get hurt.
I'm especially concerned about Big (fat) Papi.

Mussina - No Cy Youngs, one 20 win season (on good teams, Baltimore was good when he was there).
Pitchers like Schill, post season performance puts them over the top. When his teams needed him in the playoffs, especially NYY, he didn't get it done.
Close, but the Baseball Hall of Fame isn't the football or basketball halls. Only the best of the best.

With Mussina, shouldn't we consider the fact that he has amassed nearly 300 wins solely in the American League during a hitters era. The fact that he's been able to pick up some extra wins later in his career by playing for the Yankees is offset by the fact that he played more than half of his career with some lousy Baltimore teams. Perhaps the reason that his career has flown under the radar and that he has no CY Young's to his credit is because throughout the first decade of his career, when he was consistently one of the 2 or 3 best pitchers in the A.L., three of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game were in the same league - Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, & Randy Johnson. His average season during the 12-year span of 1992-2003 was 16-9 with a 3.55 ERA and 175 K’s over 215 innings pitched. Not bad for an AL pitcher during the steroid era.

Moose is among the top 8 starting pitchers from the past 20 years. Not including pitchers with less than 10 years.

Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro, Smoltz, Glavine, Schilling, Maddux. He pitched in the American League during the steroid era and he has 9 top 6 Cy Young finishes.

He is borderline at best, but all things considered I think he should get in. And for the record Blyleven should be in. I realize the Baseball HOF is the most exclusive, but I think there should be room for Mike Mussina.

"All the seamheads LOVE to use Jack Morris' ERA as the reason as to why he doesn't belong in the Hall, but that's a joke, his ERA is what it is because he always pitched to win---if the other guy/guys gave up 4--he gives up 3 or less."

Bill James' head just exploded.

"Finally (deep breath) for the handful of you absolute lunatics who have suggested that Youk MOVE TO CATCHER, you officially are not allowed to watch baseball anymore. You are relegated to watching slam ball."

That made my day. Thank you Mark.

And owl99, I was thinking the same thing... expensive contract for a bench guy, but I think Lowell would get plenty of at-bats if he agreed to it, all things considered.

While I don't discount that it has to be taken into consideration and am in no way actively opining that Badelli should be signed under the "ADA" act or anything. But calling him brittle seems to be sort of a low blow given that the guy legitimately sufferes from a rare mitocondrial disease that does not allow him to heal effectively.

Just saying that it might have been a poor choice of words in a column.

That wasn't just a reference to his mitocondrial disease. It was reference to the elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, the torn ACL, and the severe hamstring injury that cost him most of a season. Would you prefer I said extremely injury-prone?

Ooooo Slam Ball. Now thete's a sport. I've that during the off-season to stay in shape they hang out with sports reporters!

Why not try getting K-Rod or another elite closer rather than an exorbitantly high priced starter? Put Papelbon and Masterston in the rotation? JUst look at the rotation. It could go in any sort of order.

Lester
Papelbon
Beckett
Dice K
Buchholz, Bowden, or Wakefield

Think about it. Beckett would be a no 3 and Dice K a no. 4 starter? They would eat up the rest of the league.

Certainly, a top closer is going to cost a lost less than a top starting pitcher. Why not go that way?

If the Sox actually do get Tex, then they will be able to trade Lowell, assuming he's healthy. Anyway, with that kind of a starting pitching staff and lineup with a decent closer, that closer won't be under very much pressure.

Of course, there is still the problem at catcher. But given the depth of their starting 8 lineup, they can afford to have even Cash do the catching. Cash hits better than Tek, throws a lot better than Tek, catchers the ball better than Tek and with those pitchers, how bad of a game can he call?

However, I think, eventually, Texas has to do a trade for one of their catchers and the Sox will be the highest bidder. As for a fourth outfielder, one of their minor leaguers will do quite nicely. Spring training will sort that out without their having to bring in a major leaguer with questions. Ultimately, bringing up minor leaguers with talent every year is a huge motivating factor on the young talent.