Wednesday, December 21, 2005

JEREMY REED?

There are rumors flying around that the Red Sox have been and are in discussion with the Seattle Mariners for 24 year-old center fielder Jeremy Reed. Reportedly, the Red Sox have offered Matt Clement. Bronson Arroyo could also be a possibility. I know we've added to our pitching staff and we have Papelbon coming along. However, this Jeremy Reed guy doesn't seem to be that great. I know he's only 24, but he only hit .254 last season in 144 games for the M's. His OBP of .322 isn't very good. He is solid defensively, but so isn't a guy like Gabe Kapler. He also only slugged .352. He stole 12 bases, which isn't a lot for the Mariners. He had a mere 45 RBI and 3 HRs.

There is something rotten in the State of Red Sox Nation. We're starting to suck.

SCREW UPS


Here is a list of free agents that the Red Sox could have signed, but instead signed with other teams. The list will include only players that play position which we need to have filled. The team is the team that signed or re-signed them.

OF Jacques Jones - Cubs
OF Kenny Lofton - Dodgers
1B Heep Sop-Choi - Dodgers
SP Joe Kennedey - Athletics
SP Jarrod Washburn - Mariners
RP Mike Myers - Yankees
OF Johnny Damon - Yankees
RP Braden Looper - Cardinals
RP Ricardo Rincon - Cardinals
SP Kenny Rogers - Tigers
OF Dave Roberts - Padres
SP Matt Morris - Giants
IF Lou Merloni - Indians (just kidding)
CP Jose Mesa - Rockies
RP Todd Jones - Tigers
SS Rafael Furcal - Dodgers
SP A.J. Burnett - Blue Jays
SP Paul Byrd - Indians
RP Tom Gordon - Phillies
RP Kyle Farnsworth - Yankees
1B Paul Konerko - White Sox
RP Bobby Howry - Cubs
CP Billy Wagner - Mets
SP Estaban Loiaza - Athletics
CP B.J. Ryan - Blue Jays

That is quite a bit of talent that the Red Sox simply missed out on. It wasn't for lack of money, either. They haven't spent a whole lot of it. In fact, they've saved quite a bit by trading Renteria, and now losing Damon will save them a few million dollars. But, they have done next to nothing on the free agent market.

Oh, and by the way. Has anyone noticed that the Yankees coaching staff is nearly as ridiculous as their $115 million lineup? They got Tony Pena to coach first base, Larry Bowa to coach third, Lee Mazilli as bench coach, Ron Guidry as pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan as bullpen coach, and Don Mattingly as hitting coach. This all behind Joe Torre. That's simply ludicrous. They've got 5 guys who have managed MLB teams on their staff.

My friend asked me "What are the Red Sox going to do?" My reply: "lose."

JOHNNY DAMON SIGNS WITH SCUM

Another question emerged for the Boston Red Sox as Johnny Damon has reportedly signed a 4 year, $52 million deal with the New York Yankees. This leaves the Red Sox without a center fielder, as well as a leadoff hitter that was a big part of the Red Sox offensive machine.

The fact of the matter is, Damon wanted too much money. By the way, I love the bull that spews out of players and agents. Damon has been whining and moaning like a neglected girlfriend. "The Red Sox didn't want me enough. The Yankees proved they wanted me." Also, like some girlfriends but not all, these are codes for "The Yankees spent more money on me."

So the Yankees will have Jorge Posada, Jason Giambi (probably), Robinson Cano Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Gary Sheffield. We have, for certain, Ortiz, Tek, Mark Loretta, Mike Lowell, and Trot Nixon. Anyone else sensing a bit of disparity?

DODGERS BECOME RED SOX RETIREMENT HOME
The LA Dodgers have signed another former Red Sox player. Nomar Garciaparra signed a 1 year deal with the struggling team. He joins former teammates Bill Mueller, and Derek Lowe as well as former Manager and fellow loser, Grady Little. Nomar will play first-base. The Dodgers also nabbed a possible Red Sox replacement for Johnny Damon. They picked up Lofton in a 1 year deal for $3.85 million. Don't you think the Red Sox could have at the very least matched that? I know he's old, but he is still productive.

RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!
The Red Sox picked up Rudy Seanez for 1 year with a contract reportedly worth $2.1 million. You may remember this guy. He pitched for us in 2003. He went 8.2 innings and allowed 6 earned runs. He wasn't very good for us. However, he's been solid over the past 2 seasons. He made 39 outings in 2004 with both the Royals and Marlins. His ERA for 2004 was a combined 3.33. In 2005, he made 57 appearances and had an ERA of 2.69. He could fit in nicely as a set-up man.

FOULKE AS CLOSER IN 2006
It appears that Keith Foulke will once again be in the closer's role with the Red Sox. This is despite his poor 2005 season which was probably due mostly to injury. The Red Sox really don't have much of an option in this department. At least, they don't now. They did at the outset of the offseason when more talent was available on the free agent market.

RED SOX TENDER THREE PITCHERS
Sounds kind of gross, doesn't it? The Red Sox tendered contracts to three arbitration eligible pitchers. Bronson Arroyo, Josh Beckett, and Guillermo Mota. They did not tender contracts to Wade Miller, understandably, and Chad Bradford, not so understandably. Bradford was actually one of our ebst releivers last season with an ERA of 3.86. If the

WHAT'S IN A NAME?
With the inevitable loss of Wade Miller and Kevin Millar, as well as the loss of Bill Mueller, the Red Sox will go from three Millers (close enough to Millers) to none in one offseason. With the acquisition of Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett, the Red Sox now have 4 players with last names that are also towns in Massachusetts. Lowell, and (Tim) Wakefield are up in the northeast, Becket is a town in western Mass. Jon Lester's last name is close enough to Leicester's pronunciation so it counts. Leicester, by the way, is out near Worcester.

GRAFFANINO TO STAY WITH SOX
Tony Graffanino accepted salary arbitration and will be back with the Red Sox in 2006. So we have two second basemen, no first baseman, no short-stop, and no centerfielder. But hey, if arbitration works out we just might have the World Series Baseball. And in the end, isn't that all that matters?

MISSION POSSIBLE
All last week, every one of the morons on ESPN, Fox Sports, et cetera, were claiming that there was no way the Colts would lose a game. Lo and behold, the San Diego Chargers accomplished it. Now, it seems as though the Colts are not as pristine as once beleived. Manning looked as shaken as he looks after throwing his 3rd pick against the Pats in his annual playoff collapse. If the Patriots win their first round playoff game, they will go to Indianapolis and play the Colts. They can win. But there is much more football to play between then and now.