Damon's departure really screws the Red Sox, especially over what seems like an easily surmountable dollar gap... the difference was $13 over 4 years, which I think could've been split down the middle. I don't think it would've been a smart signing for Boston, but it would've kept him away from the Yankees and it would've kept a local hero in town. So this wasn't played particularly well by the Sox, though it isn't nearly the disaster that Manny's departure would be. It's like Pedro's departure, where he left for ridiculous money and the Sox said "nice knowing you," realizing that they'd gotten the guy's best years. It's like that, but with less money involved.
Anyway, I prefer to look towards the future... frankly, things got way more interesting now that Damon's gone. Now the nightmare scenario comes up... we need to acquire Julio Lugo. Barf. But he can lead off and steal bases. And if they do that, they can pull the trigger on that David Wells/Dave Roberts deal. Or maybe this Bronson Arroyo/Jeremy Reed deal that's starting to simmer... though if I were Seattle, I'd hold onto Reed. I like the idea of picking up Lugo, trading for Reed or Roberts, and batting Reed/Roberts 9th as the alternate leadoff guy. But if we don't get Lugo, I think I'd prefer Reed to Roberts, since Reed seems like a more traditional leadoff bat.
There's also been talk, now dead, of picking up Coco Crisp to play center, in exchange for uberprospect Andy Marte and uberheadcase Guillermo Mota. That seems pricey to me, but the lineup would be pretty ridiculous if we went with him over Reed and Roberts. Consider the following lineup presumptions:
Look at that last lineup for a minute. Holy mother of pearl! Mike Lowell's the worst bat on the list!
Considering that the team is flying apart, I like all the wheeling and dealing I see. They've got commodities with weaknesses, and they're offering them up for talented players. Edgar Renteria was their least movable commodity, and they moved him for a #1 corner infield prospect (albeit an injured one). Fatty Wells... Saturn Balls... Trot Nixon... they're all on the block. I'm even liking the Graffanino signing, unbelievably... I like him a lot more as the utility guy than as the starting second baseman.
And on top of all that, they've loaded their bullpen to the gills with talent. They have Foulke, Timlin, Hansen, Delcarmen, Mota, Seanez, and Bradford... pretty cool that Bradford goes from a trusted setup arm to the bottom of the depth chart. They haven't got an official long man/spot starter, but Lenny DiNardo seemed awfully well-suited to that role last season. Worst-case scenario (Foulke sucks, Timlin's cooked, Mota chokes, Delcarmen and Hansen struggle) is still grim, but geez that's a lot of simultaneous suckage. It won't all happen, and as long as it doesn't, I like how they look on paper.
Then there's the rotation. The rotation is going to F people's S up.
As long as they don't trade Manny, this has been a good offseason. I'm still penciling them in for first place, but I'll wait to see what happens with the CF/SS situations before I put a number on how many GBs the Yankees will amass with their mass of ass.
Anyway, I prefer to look towards the future... frankly, things got way more interesting now that Damon's gone. Now the nightmare scenario comes up... we need to acquire Julio Lugo. Barf. But he can lead off and steal bases. And if they do that, they can pull the trigger on that David Wells/Dave Roberts deal. Or maybe this Bronson Arroyo/Jeremy Reed deal that's starting to simmer... though if I were Seattle, I'd hold onto Reed. I like the idea of picking up Lugo, trading for Reed or Roberts, and batting Reed/Roberts 9th as the alternate leadoff guy. But if we don't get Lugo, I think I'd prefer Reed to Roberts, since Reed seems like a more traditional leadoff bat.
There's also been talk, now dead, of picking up Coco Crisp to play center, in exchange for uberprospect Andy Marte and uberheadcase Guillermo Mota. That seems pricey to me, but the lineup would be pretty ridiculous if we went with him over Reed and Roberts. Consider the following lineup presumptions:
| Reed/Roberts w/o Lugo | Lugo w/o Reed/Roberts | Lugo plus Reed/Roberts | Lugo plus Crisp | |
| 1 | Reed / Roberts | Lugo | Lugo | Lugo |
| 2 | Loretta | Loretta | Loretta | Loretta |
| 3 | Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz | Ortiz |
| 4 | Ramirez | Ramirez | Ramirez | Ramirez |
| 5 | Nixon | Nixon | Nixon | Nixon |
| 6 | Varitek | Varitek | Varitek | Crisp |
| 7 | Lowell | Lowell | Lowell | Varitek |
| 8 | Andy Marte / Kevin Youkilis | Marte / Youk | Marte / Youk | Lowell |
| 9 | Alex Gonzalez | scrap-heap CF | Reed / Roberts | Marte / Youk |
Look at that last lineup for a minute. Holy mother of pearl! Mike Lowell's the worst bat on the list!
Considering that the team is flying apart, I like all the wheeling and dealing I see. They've got commodities with weaknesses, and they're offering them up for talented players. Edgar Renteria was their least movable commodity, and they moved him for a #1 corner infield prospect (albeit an injured one). Fatty Wells... Saturn Balls... Trot Nixon... they're all on the block. I'm even liking the Graffanino signing, unbelievably... I like him a lot more as the utility guy than as the starting second baseman.
And on top of all that, they've loaded their bullpen to the gills with talent. They have Foulke, Timlin, Hansen, Delcarmen, Mota, Seanez, and Bradford... pretty cool that Bradford goes from a trusted setup arm to the bottom of the depth chart. They haven't got an official long man/spot starter, but Lenny DiNardo seemed awfully well-suited to that role last season. Worst-case scenario (Foulke sucks, Timlin's cooked, Mota chokes, Delcarmen and Hansen struggle) is still grim, but geez that's a lot of simultaneous suckage. It won't all happen, and as long as it doesn't, I like how they look on paper.
Then there's the rotation. The rotation is going to F people's S up.
As long as they don't trade Manny, this has been a good offseason. I'm still penciling them in for first place, but I'll wait to see what happens with the CF/SS situations before I put a number on how many GBs the Yankees will amass with their mass of ass.
posted by Jeff at
11:33 AM
6 Comments:
Mike Lowell isn't just the worst bat on that list, he's the worst bat in the game. By the way, check your mail today- your Mike Lowell Sox jersey should be arriving any moment.
By
Alex, at 11:58 AM
Lehr did you have a mocha latte enema today? Venti?
My point is that if Lowell is the only weakness in your lineup... Lowell, whose peak performance far exceeds his recent performance... that's a good situation. Better than, say, platooning Shane Spencer and Ricky Ledee for three years. Besides, weirder (GIAMBI) things have (GIAMBI) happened (GIAMBI) before (GIAMBI) in similar (GIAMBI) situations. So don't you wag that finger at me.
Also, beside the point, I don't remember Giambi playing Gold Glove defense at DH when he was struggling. And yet if you look at last year's Gold Gloves...
By
Jeff, at 12:16 PM
Lehr, I can't say this any better than Jeff did, but he's right. Here's a reasonable take:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/counting-on-comebacks/
Simply put, there's really no good reason to expect that Lowell will be as bad as he was last season any time soon. He may have been overrated at his peak, sure, and it's always possible he's washed up. But lowballing every estimate of player performance past their peak isn't necessarily any more accurate than similar optimism. That was a great deal for the Sox any way you slice it in my opinion, and Lowell will probably been an asset, not a liability.
By
Jesse, at 1:05 PM
Also, Jeff, do you have any idea what it will actually take to get Lugo? Have talks gotten far enough for you guys to have any idea?
By
Jesse, at 3:31 PM
Tampa wants Andy Marte. That was part of the original Renteria trade... Tampa gets Marte, Boston gets Lugo, Atlanta gets E-dgar. For obvious reasons, the Sox think that's a little much for Lugo. I don't know what would be right, but seeing as we have like 8 starters under contract maybe we can give one to Tampa.
I *really* want to keep Marte. I'm really intrigued by the idea of having an actual rookie on the team.
By
Jeff, at 3:38 PM
Yeah, I don't think any hole in your roster is worth giving up Marte for right now. Plug it, suck it up for a year, and figure out what to do later if necessary.
By
Jesse, at 4:18 PM
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