What are they saying his role is going to be? If they've convinced him to set-up Foulke, that's pretty huge. He bitched here when he lost the closer job to a rookie though. Hope that arm has healed.
Can't find it on ESPN, but local radio's reporting the Dodgers signed Jeff Kent today. Should stoke the SF/LA rivalry a little more... Also, the D-backs signed former Angels 3B Troy Glaus.
Man, scooped on a Dodger signing. *Ashamed* Link That's a lot of dough to pony up for a 37 year old middle infielder. I'm hoping they move him to first. The thing that really gets me is that LA won the division last year with a less talented team than SF or SD, but they had good chemistry. DePodickhead seems to be obsessed with eliminating it. LoDuca-gone. Finley--gone. Lima--gone. But they can cough up 9M a year for a clubhouse cancer on the wrong side of 30?
His role is up in the air. Remember, the Sox didn't have a cut-and-dry setup guy last year. They generally used Timlin and Embree in that role, depending on lefty/righty matchups, rest, etc. They'll certainly give him a chance to be the setup guy. His health is a big if, of course, but at $750K that's a nice low risk/high reward sort of move.
Gammons latest column Among other things, he's predicting that Finley will be announced to Anaheim today and Russ Ortiz to AZ.
Boston Globe is reporting Sox have signed David Wells to a two-year contract. This likely pulls Boston out of Carlapalooza. Trade talks for Tim Hudson, however, are alive. Rumors of a Youkilis to TB for Lugo trade are floating on rotoworld.
Not exactly. Pavano has shown strong interest in Boston, he is from CT and said he would much rather play for the Sox then the Yankees. His agent said in the Globe that the offers are basically the same from all the teams but "You can sum it up in one word, 'Schilling,' Curt and Carl hit it off spectacularly." Sox can still sign him and go after Royce Clayton or Julio Lugo and would have to take a hit by the salary tax. I think I read that if they had a salary of $140 million that they would be taxed $3.6 million. They would be the second team to get taxed but they are still no where near the Yankees in terms of salary.
Wow. That would suck ass. The local media hasn't mentioned Boston as being interested in Huddy. Have they mentioned who the Sox are considering parting with? (Primarily, the A's need relief pitching and a RF.) Previously, the media has mentioned Atlanta and Baltimore as suitors, but the O's are off the table according to this morning's paper. Apparently, the Cards and Dodgers are both stepping up, with the Dodgers offering top pitching prospect Edwin Jackson (!) and IF Antonio Perez, who had some pretty good pop in the minors. If I'm Billy Beane, I make that trade with LA. Plus, DePodesta's his old lap dog, so I can see them doing business. Best part is that it would get Huddy out of the AL. Beane is quoted in this morning's paper as saying that you can expect a major trade between now and Monday. Trade Zito!
Pedro, Pavano, Wells. Pick two. Won't have all three. Royce Clayton's all but gone. AZ, I believe. BM - rumors have Arroyo, Nixon, Roberts, any one or two of our prospects, whatever. The names change every day. I'll post the latest one with names that I can find.
Now that David Wells is in Boston, what do you think the Padres will do? For some reason I have a feeling Kevin Brown will come back to the Padres. That would be really interesting.
I really admire the proactive approach the Orioles have taken toward improving their position in the AL East. ********ing idiots.
Renteria new Red Sox SS: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseba...to_sign_a_four_year_deal_with_edgar_renteria/ Disappointed to lose out on Pavano, but Renteria is better than Cabrera.
Despite the reports that this was a done deal, it looks like a few other teams stepped up with offers and Dodgers GM DePodumbass has made comments indicating that Jackson may stay in LA after all. The trade sounds good initially for LA but Jackson is their most major league ready pitching prospect and Perez is their most major league ready position prospect. That's a lot to give up for only 1 guaranteed year of Hudson, who could then demand a mega deal at age 30 going into 05.
Has anyone heard of Lowe being linked to anyone? The rumors have been strangely quiet on him. His agent has probably advised him to lay low while the market continues to be driven up by idiots like the Mets and their Benson deal.
No. Remember, he's a Boras client. Supposedly, he's asking for somewhere in the 4/48M range, which is of course, absurd. Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Red Sox and Mets are close to a deal that would send Ramirez to NY for Cliff Floyd. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go cut myself. http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1102921801285940.xml
At least Boras' other guys get talked about. Nothing about Lowe. 12M a year for a head case is ridiculous. That said, the deals for comparable guys are starting to land in that area. The guy's going to get a great deal thanks to pitching 2 good games at the end of the year. Ridiculous. That's gotta be a bunk rumor. How do you go from trading Manny for A-Rod to Cliff Floyd? Unless they're dumping Manny's salary to make a run at someone huge. But who's left out there that can compare statistically with Manny? That's right, nobody. I just can't understand with all the progress Boston's made in their front office why they'd do something that seems so patently absurd.
*cough!* Beltran *cough!* Wouldn't put that past Epstein at all. RE: the A's/Trolleydodgers "trade," two news broadcasts up here reported it as a done deal last night, with i's to be dotted and t's to be crossed. I agree that LA is giving up a lot, but you're getting one of the best pitchers (W-L wise) of all time, and you can afford to re-sign him. Meanwhile, Jackson kinda trailed off last year, so it's not a given that he'll wind up anywhere near as good as Hudson. I also think Beane and his cohorts could be sending the local hacks on a wild goose chase while they work out a deal with someone else; he's done that before.
It's actually not even close. Ramirez is a dominating force. Beltran has the potential to be one. But I don't even think that the very top of his projected upside could be what Manny Ramirez has done and will do. Boston already has an above average CF. If Damon would even consider moving to LF if Beltran was signed, it would be a huge upgrade defensively. If they were to deal Ramirez to bring another guy in, the only FA out there that's left and hasn't been closely linked to another team is Beltre.
Pretty much everyone agrees that last season was a wash for Jackson. He had an awful spring and pitched himself out of the big league rotation, then got hurt and battled a forearm strain the whole season. His velocity was good, but his command and movement suffered. Unless they're talking about an extension now, I don't think it's a good move. Hudson will command absolutely huge $$$ on the market. Pitchers in that situation just usually end up in NY where George will pay more than anyone else for a front of the rotation guy.