It has begun with two trades. New York and Boston were not involved...or were they? Aren't these teams not named the Yanks or Red Sox but proxy states in a cold war far greater than their local interests? So Oakland acquires Holliday, but obviously he will be flipped to the Yanks today. And then Scott Olsen and Todd Willingham are sent to the Nationals only to facilitate the nifty trade of Ryan Zimmerman to the Red Sox. Duh. Obviously. It's so easy to see the domino theory in action.
Or maybe not.
Both WasWatching and NoMaas think the Nationals' trade might be a case where Cashman dropped the ball. The prospect package the Marlins got back was less than stellar, surely the Yanks could have bettered it. And in return the Nats received two players that could be very useful to the Yanks. Myself? I'm not so high on Willingham who is a good bat but who, with his back problems and poor fielding, is a DH-in-Waiting. In other words, he is not what they need. Olsen is an interesting case though. He's shown the ability to log innings and has upside. Oh well.
In any case, today might be action-packed or not. There are rumors that the Sox are so desperate to upgrade their catching position that they are shopping Ellsbury and Buccholz. They are hopeful that they can bring back Rod Barajas in return.
I kid.
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I would stay far away from Olsen and The Hammer. Olsen is very talented but he is a mess as far as character/stability goes. The Hammer is an awful OF'r, we already have plenty of them. I'm not upset in the least about this trade.
Posted by: John - YF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 10:31 AM
I was planning a post on this, but as I can't seem to remember to do it, I'll say this here.
This is what I consider to be the best-case, semi-realistic lineup for the Sox coming out of the offseason:
1. Ellsbury - L
2. Pedroia - R
3. Ortiz - L
4. Teixeira - S
5. Youkilis - R
6. Drew - L
7. Bay - R
8. Saltalamacchia - S
9. Lowrie - S
Posted by: Paul SF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Is Lowell a FA?
Salty is a very mediocre catcher. I would target Teagarden over Salty. The Sox have enough offense.
As for Tex you can have him. I would love an everyday real life 1Bman but not at his price and for the length he wants.
Posted by: John - YF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Lowell would have to be traded under this scenario, and that is probably the most tenuous part.
Salty is very young for a catcher, so I think he can improve, and his makeup appears to be terrific. Was in the Globe Sunday talking about how much he'd love to work with Varitek and learn more from him, etx. All reports say Teagarden is the one catcher the Rangers will not move. The ideal for me is the Sox re-sign Varitek and use him as a pseudo-coach/platoon partner with Saltalamacchia for a year or two before giving Salty the job full-time. The one problem is I wonder if this would commit the Sox to three catchers, what with Cash handling Wakefield; I'm not sure they would want to give up the reliever.
Posted by: Paul SF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:44 AM
So if the Nationals move "The Hammer" to 1B, does this mean Nick Johnson becomes available? I know it's irrational, but I have always like NJ. Sure he's made of glass, but he is a fine defensive 1Bman who hits line drives on a consistent basis. Can't hurt to call Washington Cash!
Posted by: John - YF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 04:34 PM
They could keep Lowell as a backup, and rotate Lowell/Youk/Tex/Ortiz around those 3 positions. I really like that option, actually. Lowell is better than any utility man.
Posted by: Atheose | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 04:43 PM
Yeah sure while we are at it I want A-Rod, Longoria and David Wright to platoon at 3B and DH next season.
Posted by: John - YF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 04:49 PM
Hey, my pipedream is realistic because it only requires the addition of one more player (who is a FA). Yours requires trading for two players that are pretty much untouchable.
But seriously, how unrealistic is Youk/Tex/Lowell/Ortiz for those 4 spots? Every four days could go like this:
Day 1: Tex 1B, Youk 3B, Ortiz DH
Day 2: Tex 1B, Youk 3B, Lowell DH
Day 3: Tex 1B, Lowell 3B, Ortiz DH
Day 4: Youk 1B, Lowell 3B, Ortiz DH
If we trade Lowell we'll have to eat up most of his contract anyways, right? So what's wrong with the above situation? Most likely either Ortiz or Lowell will be injured some, so I think that gives us a lot of flexibility.
Posted by: Atheose | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 04:57 PM
Just giving you a hard time. I don't see the Sox getting Tex, they just don't need him the way the Yankees, Nationals, Orioles, etc... do. They aren't going to pay top dollar because they don't need him top dollars worth. For what it's worth I have changed my tune on him. If we get him, fine. If not no biggie. I don't like the length he wants and I'd rather have CC.
Posted by: John - YF | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 05:02 PM
Yeah, I don't think we'll get him either. But that lineup would be the best possible scenareo come April.
Posted by: Atheose | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 05:16 PM