what happened to pedroia to short to save the day for the low budget sox ?!?!?
theo clearly has a hard time evaluating short stops - oc was better than anything they have had since nomar was any good.
So much for Jed Lowrie as well, it seems. And IIRC, the Sox lose their own 1st round pick (not the one they get from Atlanta in the Wagner signing) to the Blue Jays. Atlanta's pick is higher, but still . . .
Funny... of the 4 best SSs in a long time, the Sox had 2 of them in Nomar (granted, his wrist injury killed his career) and HanRam. With MS, the Sox are just looking to fill a hole, and one must think the prognosis for Lowrie is pretty bad. If MS came at a decent price (2/$6m or better), then he is a decent get for the Sox.
I guess the WS in 2007 rationalizes about any move, but I can't help but think the Sox were ultimately hurt by trading Hanley. The guy is 25 and already has a career line of .316 .386 .531 .917. Aside from ARod, has any SS been better? And I can imagine how his RH bat might play in 81 games at Fenway.
Lowell was originally a throw in/salary dump, that happened to become an important player for the Sox. Had he been 'done' like many suggested, I would think people would not think so much of Theo.
Since Lowell and Beckett make $22m/yr, I wonder if they might have had Hanley and Santana instead. They may not have won in 2007 but would be a much better team now.
[5] The curse of Arod? I like it...especially when it doesn't apply to the Yankees.
Scutaro is better than what the Red Sox had been getting, but I still his realistic level of performance in 2010 is beneath what the Red Sox could have achieved without giving up a first round draft pick. The devil maybe in the details of the deal, but as a Yankee fan, I like the idea of Marco Scutaro manning SS in Boston for the next two years.
The reason they weren't happy with Lowry was mainly that they're worried about his health.
Bay: I hear the Mariners are making a big push for him.
I also understand that Mauer and the Twins seem to be very serious about working out an extension. That might make the Red Sox more willing to spend money now.
I agree with William that there's a very good chance the Scutaro signing will not look very good when they look back on it. Marco will be playing SS for them at age 35, and, well, he's not Jeter. (I'm working on my powers of understatement.)
Cabrera was replaced with Renteria, I guess the Sox thought that he was the better shortstop? Maybe they were trying to collect Colombian shortstops? :)
[11] Supposedly its because they need offense. Which is true - they are a horrible offensive club. But unless he's going to DH most of the time, you're right.
[9] The only reason I think the Sox will be disinclined to spend any more money for free agents is because the free agent class is so bad. After Holliday, and Bay, and perhaps Lackey, you have no real long-term game changers. So the odds of a crappy guy getting a big contract for many years just because he's, say, the second-best free agent starting pitcher (hello Mr. Wolf or Mr. Marquis), are high.
That's why I think that, apart from re-signing Pettitte and (hopefully) Matsui, the Yanks really won't spend any money either, unless Holliday can be had for a reasonable price (but of course he can't).
According to Olney, the deal is 2 years/$10mn PLUS a $6mn club option/$3mn player option/$1.5mn buyout.
So, the deal basically guarantees $11.5mn over two years. That's not cheap by any means. Why not just return Alex Gonzalez? Boston is not only paying $9mn for an extra year, but giving a draft pick for that honor.
Alex Gonzalez + 1 year/$2.5mn + 1st round draft pick >> Marco Scutaro + 2 year/$11.5mn.
I have to believe that Marco Scutaro is the extremely mediocre hitter he was for the first seven years of his career and not the quality player he was last year. This is going to blow up in the Red Sox face.
A-Gon is a really bad hitter.
It's possible that he and Scutaro will hit equally well over the next two years, but it's more likely that Scutaro will be better.
On the other hand, I bet Gonzales will be a noticeably better shortstop. Because Scutaro's age is in the danger zone for shortstops.
[16] He might be a really bad hitter, but he isn't that much worse than Scutaro. As you mentioned, Gonzalez is a much better defensive SS with a lot more experience playing the position. Most importantly, however, he is $10mn cheaper and wouldn't have cost a draft pick.
[18] Yeah, I think the draft pick is key. I bet if A-Gon had still been available, the Sox would have signed him back up. Anyway I bet Theo is having some regrets about that.
what happened to pedroia to short to save the day for the low budget sox ?!?!?
theo clearly has a hard time evaluating short stops - oc was better than anything they have had since nomar was any good.
So much for Jed Lowrie as well, it seems. And IIRC, the Sox lose their own 1st round pick (not the one they get from Atlanta in the Wagner signing) to the Blue Jays. Atlanta's pick is higher, but still . . .
[1] I never understood why they didn't keep OC. He's an excellent defender and all-around player. Plus, he's a Yankee killer to boot.
AB-love the "Polo!" How long were you waiting for that moment to arrive?
Funny... of the 4 best SSs in a long time, the Sox had 2 of them in Nomar (granted, his wrist injury killed his career) and HanRam. With MS, the Sox are just looking to fill a hole, and one must think the prognosis for Lowrie is pretty bad. If MS came at a decent price (2/$6m or better), then he is a decent get for the Sox.
I guess the WS in 2007 rationalizes about any move, but I can't help but think the Sox were ultimately hurt by trading Hanley. The guy is 25 and already has a career line of .316 .386 .531 .917. Aside from ARod, has any SS been better? And I can imagine how his RH bat might play in 81 games at Fenway.
Lowell was originally a throw in/salary dump, that happened to become an important player for the Sox. Had he been 'done' like many suggested, I would think people would not think so much of Theo.
Since Lowell and Beckett make $22m/yr, I wonder if they might have had Hanley and Santana instead. They may not have won in 2007 but would be a much better team now.
And yes, I can't figure out why them let OCab go.
[4]
don't forget that A-Rod was supposed to be a Red Sock before going to the Yanks ....
[5] The curse of Arod? I like it...especially when it doesn't apply to the Yankees.
Scutaro is better than what the Red Sox had been getting, but I still his realistic level of performance in 2010 is beneath what the Red Sox could have achieved without giving up a first round draft pick. The devil maybe in the details of the deal, but as a Yankee fan, I like the idea of Marco Scutaro manning SS in Boston for the next two years.
[6] I agree, but my guess is they were just looking to plug the SS hole cheaply, and that money spent/trades made will be for other positions.
[7] I think the Sox might be done with free agent signings for the year, unless they get Bay back. Trades may be another matter.
The reason they weren't happy with Lowry was mainly that they're worried about his health.
Bay: I hear the Mariners are making a big push for him.
I also understand that Mauer and the Twins seem to be very serious about working out an extension. That might make the Red Sox more willing to spend money now.
I agree with William that there's a very good chance the Scutaro signing will not look very good when they look back on it. Marco will be playing SS for them at age 35, and, well, he's not Jeter. (I'm working on my powers of understatement.)
Cabrera was replaced with Renteria, I guess the Sox thought that he was the better shortstop? Maybe they were trying to collect Colombian shortstops? :)
The M's are interested in Jason Bay? That doesn't make any sense at all from the M's perspective, and goes against what they have been doing.
[11] Supposedly its because they need offense. Which is true - they are a horrible offensive club. But unless he's going to DH most of the time, you're right.
[9] The only reason I think the Sox will be disinclined to spend any more money for free agents is because the free agent class is so bad. After Holliday, and Bay, and perhaps Lackey, you have no real long-term game changers. So the odds of a crappy guy getting a big contract for many years just because he's, say, the second-best free agent starting pitcher (hello Mr. Wolf or Mr. Marquis), are high.
That's why I think that, apart from re-signing Pettitte and (hopefully) Matsui, the Yanks really won't spend any money either, unless Holliday can be had for a reasonable price (but of course he can't).
According to Olney, the deal is 2 years/$10mn PLUS a $6mn club option/$3mn player option/$1.5mn buyout.
So, the deal basically guarantees $11.5mn over two years. That's not cheap by any means. Why not just return Alex Gonzalez? Boston is not only paying $9mn for an extra year, but giving a draft pick for that honor.
Alex Gonzalez + 1 year/$2.5mn + 1st round draft pick >> Marco Scutaro + 2 year/$11.5mn.
[13] Check that...a $1mn signing bonus is included, so the deal guarantees $12.5mn over two years.
I have to believe that Marco Scutaro is the extremely mediocre hitter he was for the first seven years of his career and not the quality player he was last year. This is going to blow up in the Red Sox face.
A-Gon is a really bad hitter.
It's possible that he and Scutaro will hit equally well over the next two years, but it's more likely that Scutaro will be better.
On the other hand, I bet Gonzales will be a noticeably better shortstop. Because Scutaro's age is in the danger zone for shortstops.
From River Avenue Blues:
Since trading Nomar in mid-2004, 12 Red Sox have played at least 5 games at SS.
[16] He might be a really bad hitter, but he isn't that much worse than Scutaro. As you mentioned, Gonzalez is a much better defensive SS with a lot more experience playing the position. Most importantly, however, he is $10mn cheaper and wouldn't have cost a draft pick.
[18] Yeah, I think the draft pick is key. I bet if A-Gon had still been available, the Sox would have signed him back up. Anyway I bet Theo is having some regrets about that.