TRADE RUMORS, MILLAR SPOUTS OFF

According to the Seattle Times, the Mariners have offered pitcher Gil Meche as well as center-fielder Jeremy Reed for either prospect pitcher Jon Lester, or Jonathan Papelbon. If you ask me, this deal would be unwise for the Red Sox. As badly as we need a center-fielder, this deal would hurt us immensely.

The two biggest young assets we have now are Lester and Papelbon. To give them up for a center-fielder that is basically a prospect, and a below average starting pitcher. Yes, Jeremy Reed has potential, but at the moment he isn't that good of a player. Gil Meche is just not that good and wouldn't have a chance to make the rotation. He was 10-8 in 26 starts last season with a 5.09 ERA.

In the same article, a Red Sox trade rumor with Tampa Bay. The Sox are trying to get short-stop Julio Lugo and outfielder Joey Gathright. Lugo has good potential and could be a leadoff hitter. He hit .295 last season with 39 SBs, and an OBP of .362. He doesn't have much power, though. Joey Gathright is a young outfielder that batted .276 in 76 games for Tampa last season. He is a player with a great deal of potential.

The Tejada drama continues. Peter Gammons reported that the Orioles were seriously considering a deal that would send Ramirez and Clement to Baltimore for the MVP short-stop. I would aboslutely love this deal because Clement is somewhat expendable and Tejada would be a much better leader than Ramirez with similar production and could slot into Manny's spot in the lineup.

However, the Orioles have said "There is absolutely no deal we find acceptable to trade this very special player to another team." The O's also signed outfielder Jeromy Burnitz so any need or desire for Manny has probably diminished.

Kevin Millar has publicly blamed WEEI for the moves the Red Sox have made for the past few seasons which includes his non-signing. Here's an article in the Salem News Online about it.

Millar is simply a moron. To think that a corporation as large as the Red Sox would base huge personnel decisions on sports radio is somewhat ridiculous. However, I am sure that they use WEEI as a way to gauge the fans thoughts and opinions because they always seem to pander to callers when it comes to things like cell phone usage behind home plate.

According to Peter Gammons, Sox slugger David Ortiz as well as former Ace Pedro Martinez and potential future players Miguel Tejada and Julio Lugo have been named as co-defendants in a $35 million civil lawsuit against a calling card company. The players, along with Octavio Dotel, endorsed a calling card company that produced devalued cards. They would claim to provide 70 minutes of calling time to the Dominican Republic, but only provide 10 minutes. Here's the ESPN.com report.