Kemp was pretty bad last year. I just think its because he can be pretty lazy at times though and not that he's bad.

If Jeter isn't worth $20 million a year, he's most certainly not either (and thats what he'll be making in 5 years..)

I really thought I'd be the only one. I love Matt Kemp the guy is a great player. And I would seriously give up a lot to get him. Probably just not as much as the Dodgers want. At this point I probably wouldn't trade Montero or Nunez(The Yankees think highly of him. They think he could be the next shortstop for the Yankees after a little more teaching)

I heard something about the Dodgers trading Kemp to us for a Cano package a few years ago. As much as I like Kemp he is not worth a Cano package IMHO.

If it came down to Montero/Nunez etc.etc. I might have to think it over but if they are not budging from their Cano package I would be so fucking pissed if the Yankees went for that.

That Cano-Kemp rumor was at least a year or two ago.

I know. Sorry I had to meant to write "A few years ago" in there and thought I did.

Tulo is way better than Jeter at this point in their careers

You're talking about players with a decade+ difference in age. Jeter is in the latter part of his career and is fighting age right now.

Tulowitzki is a much better bet at being a better player over the next however many years. He's not even in his prime yet and Jeter is obviously nearing the final stages of his.

I don't know if he'll be worth 20M a year in the future and the contract didn't seem necessary yet when the Rockies had him signed for another 3-4 years already but if he keeps putting up seasons like his last two then he'll be just as productive if not more than Jeter was in his prime.

That Tulo deal is definitely a reaction to not keeping Holliday.

Colorado really seems to love having that face of the franchise too. Larry Walker, Todd Helton, and now Tulo.

Must be why they did this so soon. They had him for the next 4 years already for cheap. Seems unnecessary to give him an extra 6 years on top of that so soon when they really didn't have to.

I guess it gives them their franchise player but still would have been smarter to wait a couple years before extending on top of his current deal.

<font color=goldenrod>Rangers are about to offer a 5-year deal to Lee. One of their main selling points is the fact that Texas has no state tax. They are also trying to sell him that it's closer to his home in Arkansas.

As if that matters one bit. Sure you have to pay taxes in New York, but besides the millions the Yankees will give you you also have money pouring in from endorsements and the like.

This is Sabathia all over again, people are making any excuse possible as to why he won't move. He will be a Yankee.</font>

Lots of negative vibes around the Yankee organization right now. I would not be surprised if that factors in Lee signing with Texas

There are even rumors of Andy Pettitte leaving. True or not, who cares? The thing is, that like Hero said, a lot of negative vibe around the Yankees...you'd think the team crash and burned last year, lost 100 games and missed the playoffs, the way this offseason is going.

And Troy will be the same age as Jeter is now at the end of the contract getting $20 million in 2019 and 2020. I know you have to factor for inflation so $20 million now wont be $20 million in 10 years but still.

His final year under contract will be his age 35 season. Next year Jeter is gonna be 37.

I'm guessing once Tulowitzki's big contract is up he won't be getting another 20M per year deal until his 40s.

OKay let's say Hypothetically the Yankees don't get Lee. Do you think they are gonna throw a package at someone for a good to great pitcher in the NL? The way I see it the Yankees don't really have a choice. The Yankees need someone and if they don't get Cliff. I see them throwing together some good package for some good pitcher in the NL. I shudder to think what the Yankees would give away if that was the case.

Is there anybody out there worth getting? It seems the Yankees think Grienke does not want to/has the heart to pitch in New York. I can't think of anyone in the NL available.

I believe Grienke has some depression disorder or some deep stress issue and the Yankees nor Greinke don't think he can handle New York . I'm kinda worried in dealing with someone with a medical problem on a big market team like the Yankees .We need someone though.

Grienke has like crippling anxiety issues or something

Adam Dunn signs a 4 year $56 million deal with the White Sox.

The White Sox have a DH and US Cellular is the most homer friendly park in the majors. This is going to work.

I wonder where Manny Ramirez will go. Do you think he might sign with the Rangers? I hear Texas is looking for another hitter. Thought they would get Texas Native Adam Dunn.

He was my top wish for the Red Sox to grab, and his name wasn't even brought up.

They let Victor Martinez go. An awful move. He was more than affordable for an offensive catcher. One of the hardest finds in baseball. They could easily have afforded him and still done whatever else they may (and probably don't) have plans for.
And unless they go and pull an Adrian Gonzalez deal (unlikely) then the off-season is pretty underwhelming.

I'm not too keen on Carl Crawford. He's a great player, but he's going to be overrated in a relatively weak crop of free agents, and he's far from the answer for the Red Sox. They need a powerhouse in the middle of the lineup. It hasn't been right since Manny left.
They have speed and great all-around players. Crawford is an asset to any team, no doubt, but I don't think he's right for the tag here.
And Werth isn't worth it. No pun intended.

They won't sign Beltre, but I'm more than okay with that.

It's almost like they should wait, but they haven't done shit in a while. They basically treated last season as a bridge year too.

Rumors are they are trying to really keep costs low to stay flexible for a sale, or just to scale back spending since they basically assume the fans will still come and they now have other ventures.

Jeritron out.

Do you think they will keep Konerko as well? He's still on the market, I believe.
I would be sort of suprised if they didn't, since he is a cornerstone there.
But with Dunn, they could potentially let him go.

I met Paul Konerko this summer and he's the greatest guy ever. He's also a manbeast. I'd hate to see the White Sox disown him, but I'd also love to see him on the Red Sox.
I still doubt they'd invest in him at this juncture. Especially with Gonzalez and Fielder as possibilities in the future.

Couldn't see Dunn playing for Boston. He plays horrible defense wherever you put him. I want them to get Crawford. I don't know why, but I really want him.

David Ortiz is not going to play forever. Adam Dunn is born for that DH spot, and they could potentially be looking at Gonzalez or Fielder next season, or sooner if a trade happens.
Youkilis slides to third.

Suck on that lineup. What's funny is it's possible too. Dunn has a smaller pricetag than what they're probably going to squander away elsewhere.

Just not feeling Crawford as an elite signing for them as a team. At all.

I could see Konerko getting real excited about having Dunn hitting behind him in the order. Not like Dunn's any threat to steal his time in the field.

I heard the White Sox say they can't afford Dunn, Konerko, and Buerhle but are getting close to re-signing Konerko.

I wonder what the status is on those Hanley trade rumors. I doubt it, but it's certainly an interesting rumor.
The only problem with half of these potential trades is everyone wants Bucholz. They can suck my peepee.

Oh no, I didn't mean they can't exist on the same team. I just wondered if the White Sox would shell out for both in the same offseason.

I mean, look at the Lackey deal compared to others. I never understood that either, because he was a second starter on the Angels. And his numbers against good teams (especially the Yankees and Rays) were piss poor.

Hate to be that guy who bitches about money, but that deal is a fucking joke and it was before he ever threw a pitch here.
His wife would catch it though. Maybe she can play catcher now that they didn't sign V-Mart. I could get into that.

This kid I know who is a drunk piece of shit was at an Angels/Red Sox playoff game and was being an asshole to some chicks rooting for the Angels, and one of them ended up being John Lackey's wife apparently.
She was absolutely disgusted and said something like "Ugh, who is this pig?"

What a piece of shit

Her husband is making far too much money that should have gone to a juicy free agent though

Kenny Williams said that getting Konerko back is his top priority now.

Always seems like the White Sox can find money when they want to.

Paul Konerko spoke with the Red Sox yesterday. But that doesn't really mean anything.

He also turned down arbitration from the White Sox, which means he wants money. And it means they'd have to give up their top draft pick.
So it's very doubtful. Especially since the Red Sox are probably looking to field other options at that position in the near future.
And we know the Yankees aren't looking for a first baseman.

So unless some random team makes an irrefusable offer towards him, he'll be on the White Sox I guess. But a lot of people seem to be saying the opposite.

And Jayson Werth isn't nearly as valuable as Adam Dunn, especially longterm, no matter where he plays.

* Orioles are apparently interested in him. They have money, and a need for him.

Douchebag NESN blogger ragging on Konerko's defense

Well Konerko did have the worst fielder rating of any 1B in the majors last year. And it wasn't even close.

But he was Top 5 the year before that, and usually pretty good. Especially as far as % goes. I don't think he's nearly as bad at first as that guy makes it seem

Well no matter who they sign, they're not gonna get a better defensive 1B than Youkilis. So if he's on 3rd that's just something they'll have to deal with.

That's what snobs in Boston like to do. Dwell on the defensive shortcomings of a guy who hits 40/100. That's what blogs are for.
I hope they get their Crawford and wonder why the lineup still isn't getting it done for a remarkable pitching staff.

I think it's well worth it. Youkilis is a huge asset, and luckily he's flexible so they can pave way for a huge bat.

From what is being reported, Victor looked like he wanted to be out of Boston regardless of the money or deal Red Sox offered almost similar to Jayson Bay leaving even though he was happy at Fenway.

Varitek signing the 1 year at $2 million means the team knows it needs to speed up developing its future catcher or buy one after next season.

The rumor of them thinking about selling the team doesn't make sense when in 2 years, they can apply for the government to designate Fenway as a landmark and save millions they spend each year renovating the place. The government would give them the money needed to fix the stadium like they do with every official landmark.

Red Sox still need to fix the bullpen since it was a disaster last year with all the blown saves and costly mistakes it did.

Bullpens are built at the very end of the offseason though. That's just how it's done. Tbh, it's kind of a crapshoot a lot of the time.

No way the government approve Fenway as a landmark. It is a landmark, but it doesn't need to be approved for government funding since it's making money hand over fucking fist.
I think the powers that be will recognize that.

They just bought a massive soccer team you know (Liverpool.) All ventures in a portfolio have an impact on one another. Even if they say it doesn't, it does. The Red Sox ownership likes money. They put a lot into the team to make it very viable, but now they could be scaling back a bit. These are financial decisions.

The Red Sox of the past 6 or 7 years behave very much like a small market team with their moves. Some who don't follow the team may scoff at that blindly, but it's true. They just make more of them, and have more leeway.
Theo Epstein is closer to Billy Beane than Brian Cashman. Sometimes I wish they'd be a bit more aggressive though, rather than cultivate multiple contracts and eat money.
But in the past couple years they've really changed their approach. It's obvious.

However PR is beginning to change. Fans are starting to bitch, and ownership has actually shown up on TV and radio addressing it specifically this week.
So they might do something.

The Red Sox also have the media bought here in Boston lately. Most of the baseball writers and major outlets eat out of their hands. The reason for this is because the team and ownership have a very upfront relationship with the media.
They give them priveleges. It used to be the exact opposite before them.

The trick, though, is that nobody says anything to shake the tree, because they don't want to lose their priveleges.
Baseball writing in Boston is pretty awful lately, and they let a lot of things slide that they never used to. Only a few really state their mind, and they are outsiders anyways.

The major Boston sports radio outlet is owned by the Red Sox, as is the television network.
There is an alternative now though, and they are a bit more honest since they're not on the payroll and being kept in line.

I also think the baseball writers are a bit easy on them because of 04 and 07 too, though. Understandable, but not completely.

They already applied the paperwork, they just need to wait 2 more years for it to become the 1st 100 year old stadium that is still in use for a major sports league (not sure if college has any that are older and still in use). It is also why they pushed very hard to get the 2012 All-Star game as a celebration of the centennial of the stadium.

I agree that the team seems to change how it spends money since they like to go all out one year (ex. 2004, 2007, 2010) and then cut back the next year as a way to restock the cash or see what they need for a long term fix. It helps to explain why their team salary ends up being #2 one year and around #4-#6 a year or two later.

But they didn't get the 2012 AllStar Game. And I doubt they'll get that government funding to make renovations to an already updated venue that sells out every night and makes boatloads of cash. Paperwork completed or not. But we shall see.
I'm not saying it doesn't deserve the title of a landmark, but I don't think it deserves the money. At all.

I also wouldn't call signing John Lackey and Mike Cameron going all out. I'd call it a waste of money, but life goes on.

The Rose Bowl is a landmark and that actually seems to create more problems than anything. Once it's a landmark you can't change anything without approval.

Soldier Field lost its landmark status after they renovated it four years ago.

Fenway Park should be made a landmark once the team stops playing there, so it doesn't get torn down.
The proposed plan for that years ago was to take down the seating structure, but leave the field, wall, and foul poles, and pave the infield with cobblestone.

And then I'd imagine they'd add new walkways or fences around it, and some statues of Red Sox legends or moments etc.

I don't think any of that will happen anytime soon though. That new field went kaput after the new ownership came in. They've put a bunch of money into it to make it modern. Plus the demand for tickets and nostalgia/preservation has never been higher. I'm sure way less people are in favor of a change now than 10 years ago, and it was always a touchy issue.

The businesses surrounding the ballpark (and there are a lot) would suffer greatly. Plus the zoning for a new park would be really difficult. Fenway is right in the middle of downtown Boston. It's right on top of everything else. It's not on the outskirts of a much larger city like New York or Chicago, and there's really no room for anything else.

There is no way they could build a new park even remotely near the current location unless they bought up boatloads of property, and even still I'm not sure if it could work with the city's layout.

Why shouldn't Fenway have landmark status? Wrigley does. (Or at least the sign, the brick wall behind home, and the ivy does). The Cubs obviously make money hand over fist as well and have for some time, in spite of the fact that they are basically the worst team ever.

Apparently you just skim

Wrigley also has no screen, hardly any digital scoreboards, and their huge Toyota sign isn't allowed to light up at night.
I'm all for tradition, but that's a bit ridiculous.
So it's basically an eyesore after dark. It's a wonder they ever opened up to having floodlights for night games.

And the tradition of playing mostly day games is believed by many in baseball to be a burden for the team.

Yankees close to re-signing Rivera to a 2 year, $30M deal.

Apparently he passed up another teams offer of 17M/year for 3 years. Red Sox and Angels offered him 3 years too.

This makes Jeter look even more ridiculous with his demands.

The fact that they gave it to A-Rod is what makes his demands carry weight.

<font color=goldenrod>Except A-Rod is a far better player than Jeter.</font>

Hank helped with that contract, Hal is more in charge now.

Not according to the people in Yankee land. And even so, when those guys are done, only one of them is getting his jersey retired.

Not when it counts.

<font color=goldenrod>Ron Santo has died.

Oh god...we all need to hug Dave Wadding right now. :(

RIP</font>

I hate to be "that guy" but the Rockies apparently traded Chaz Roe for Jose Lopez yesterday

didn't see it posted so I figured I'd mention it

:'( :'( :'(

It's SO sad Ron Santo died without making the Hall of Fame. Sure, they could vote him in now, but what good does it do, if he couldn't have the experience of standing up at the podium and "living" the experience of being inducted? He went through the heartache of not making it so many times, that it's really sad. If they vote him in now, it means that he's always been worthy, because, he hasn't had more hits or RBI's the last couple decades, so why would he be worthy now, but not before?

Shame on the HOF writers and Veteran's Committee.

Red Sox-Padres A-Gon trade rumors going hard right now.

It's not this simple. And there are other ways to look at it. Either way, ensuring Jeter retires a Yankee is far more important to the Yankees than how he plays over the next 4 years. It's not like he's going to be shit.
And although past accomplishments aren't usually honored in contract years, Jeter is clearly one of the exceptions.

It's really about principle. If the Yankees shell out money to A-Rod, they have to give it to Jeter or there is going to be disgust among fans, both in NY and around the league.
Especially because it's the Yankees. It's not like Jeter is trying to shake down the Royals for money they don't have. It's the Yankees and we all know how they do business.

Jeter has never brought down shame, and he's been more valuable when it counts and over time. A Rod is still a great player, but he's the same age as Jeter. Most of his signing was to ensure he broke the HR record in pin-stripes.
Jeter hanging up his cleats in The Bronx shouldn't be any less important. He's the biggest Yankee legend since Mantle.

The craziest thing is that Oriole Park is the 11th oldest Park and it was only opened in 1992. When the Marlins move out of whatever the hell they call that stadium down there, Oakland moves out of Oakland and the Rays get a new stadium/move, it'll be #8 (Fenway Park/Wrigley Field/Dodger Stadium/Angels Stadium/Kaufman Stadium/Rogers Center/US Cellular Field/OPACY) I dont see any of them being torn down any time soon though.

Why is that crazy? There are 30 teams and Camden was the first of a huge wave of new stadiums. It's in the middle. It's not suprising at all.

I remember going to my first game there in 1992 when I was 10. It doesn't seem like it should be the one of the oldest parks in Baseball. It makes me feel old. Also kind of bad that they're renovating it and knocking out 3,000 seats but most of the time they're empty anyway.

It's just because every few decades, there is a huge trend of new parks. In the 60s it was the toilet bowls, and in the 90s Camden spurred the old-school ballpark craze.
Now just about everyone has a new park, unless it was authentic old school.

It's still one of the prettiest stadiums.

Being the 11th oldest doesn't really make it "one of the oldest" though. Only really consider Fenway and Wrigley as "the oldest" anymore. And then maybe Dodgers/Angels stadium are in the next breath

Sad to hear the news about Santo since the voters will probably end up voting him in the Hall of Fame due to the 2010 ballot not being a mega-name year.

Yankees set to sign Rivera to a 2-year $30 million deal and had to accept a value closer to what Mariano wanted due to the Red Sox matching the offer. Had he signed with the Sox, Papelbon would have been released and Bard given another 2 years to develop more.

<font color=goldenrod>I guess the thing that just irks me about the Jeter drama is the writers trying to make non-stories out of it. Who cares if they are $50 million and three years apart? Jeter is one of the few players in baseball that I doubt would have accepted an offer from any other team. Another team could have offered him an exact duplicate of A-Rod's contract and he would probably still turn it down.

I guess that's the problem with baseball writing in general at this point. So many bullshit stories. It seems like writers just cause blind speculation in hopes that they are right so they can say they were the first to report it. We'll see tons of it in the Winter Meetings.</font>

posted less than a month ago by me. November 11th at 12:38 am

sad, sad, sad day

Wouldn't be right if I didn't post a pic of me and this Cubs legend

What will be even better is all those writers and members of the veterans committee will say "I don't know why he wasn't in before!"

Because of you assholes.

I'd hate to see this happen to Pete Rose too...uknow, die without making the Hall of Fame, but being worthy of making it.

However, I cared more about Ron Santo than Rose, just because he went through so much, was a great person, loyal to his Cubbies, and no one could say a bad thing about him.

My aunt can. Its really, really dumb. She wrote him a letter because my brother has a disease, and she wanted some inspirational words for my brother, and she never got a response. She was a die hard Santo fan until that point.

Whats dumb about it is that every time my brother and I have run into Santo, he was friendly, always said hi. The guy recognized us for a while.

That kindness was so much more important than not getting a letter back.

Anyway, Pete Rose deserves to be in, I'm all for the no ceremony thing, but he deserves the recognition.

In honor of This Old Cub, my favorite Ron Santo related item ever:

<font face="Verdana" size="1" color="#999999"><br/><a href="http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/25387173" style="font: Verdana">whos been at third since santo?</a><br/><object width="425px" height="360px" ><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=25387173,t=1,mt=video"/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=25387173,t=1,mt=video" width="425" height="360" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object><br/><a href="http://www.myspace.com/194371095" style="font: Verdana">skip parker</a> | <a href="http://www.myspace.com/video" style="font: Verdana">Myspace Video</a></font>

He probably never even got the letter.

I can only speak from what I've seen, but I've heard nothing but support for Derek Jeter. Note: I'm from Boston.

OH SHIT

and the talks are that the Sox don't give up any major leaguers in the deal

<font color=goldenrod>Sounds like the Red Sox are giving up Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, and Reymond Fuentes</font>

All about prospects.

Deal is done...

Multiple sources are reporting on Saturday morning that the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox have agreed on a trade that will finally send first baseman Adrian Gonzalez(notes) to Fenway Park for a package of minor leaguers. Dan Hayes of the North County Times reports the crop will include three of Boston's top six prospects — pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and outfielder Reymond Fuentes.

Gonzalez is currently in Boston, where he'll undergo a physical and then attempt to negotiate a contract extension with the Red Sox that would begin in 2012.

The ramifications of this deal are pretty clear. The Red Sox will get the Mark Teixeira(notes)-type MVP contender that they have long coveted for their lineup. They'll sacrifice a few top prospects, but it's a fair price in their eyes (and mine, too) to acquire a franchise cornerstone and play keeping-up-with-the-Joneses against the New York Yankees. It's scary to think how A-Gone will perform now that he'll be playing half of his games with that short right field at Fenway Park instead of in the spacious pastures of Petco Park. (Gonzalez hit 11 home runs in San Diego in 2010, compared to 20 on the road.)

Meanwhile, the swap is a loud indication that the Padres won't get nostalgic about their unexpected success in 2010 and will stick to their plan of stockpiling and cultivating young and cheap talent. In addition to this Gonzalez trade, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that the Padres will "absolutely" trade closer Heath Bell(notes) at some point this offseason.

This undoubtedly won't go over well with Padres fans, but you can't blame the team's front office here. San Diego didn't score many runs or attract many fans with the presence of Gonzalez, a friendly hometown guy playing for the team he grew up supporting. Why lock him into a deal expected to approach Teixeira's $180 million that would hamstring the franchise while adding other players for the next eight-nine years?

It's the business of baseball and the Padres are already proving themselves adept at realizing the differences between big and small markets. They didn't get sentimental with Jake Peavy(notes) in 2009 and sent him to the Chicago White Sox for a package of prospects. Just over one year later, Peavy is a gigantic injury question mark that will cost the White Sox $33 million over the next two years while the Padres still have one of the best young pitching rotations in the league. Time will tell if the Padres GM Jed Hoyer picked the right prospects from the Red Sox (the team he used to work for), but he has made the right move in remaining flexible while building his team of the future.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big...urn=mlb-291837

Mets’ K-Rod pleads guilty to attempted assault

NEW YORK (AP)—Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez pleaded guilty Friday to attempted assault to settle charges he attacked his girlfriend’s father at Citi Field last season in a deal that spares him jail time but sends him to additional anger management classes.

The 28-year-old reliever had been charged with assault after he was accused of grabbing Carlos Pena, hauling him into a tunnel near the family lounge beneath the team’s ballpark and punching him in the face after an Aug. 11 game

[...] http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...driguezassault

If the RSox are wanting so badly to move Papelbon out of the closer role, I wonder if they'd also go after Heath Bell of the Padres.

Man I am thrilled the Red Sox landed Gonzalez, and they didn't even have to give up Jose Iglesias. I think the transition to the AL won't be too difficult for him since he's moving from Petco to Fenway and he's been a model of consistency in the past few years.

ANTHONY RIZZO

Used to watch him play Single A for the Salem Red Sox :( :( :( Best hitter on the team

Really? - He batted a combined 260 last year (297 the year before) did hit 25 HRs though... (100 rbi)

He's 20 years old.
Do you think he's ML ready?

Noh probably not. Well I only saw him in like 4 games over the last 2 seasons. Hit in the number 3 spot. I think he plays 2B as well or I could be confusing him with somebody with a similar name on the team. He does have good power though.

He's probably not ML ready, but any 20 year old that hits 25 HR's and drives in 100 in the Minors, has something special. Like most hitters, he needs to pick that Batting Average up, and that'll come as he gets more selective and patient at the plate.

<font color=goldenrod>Shame the guy had to fuck up royally. He actually was pitching extremely well last year. I can live with him closing for one more season, but I hope his 2012 option doesn't vest. Omar inexplicably gave him a <b>$17.5 million</b> option that automatically kicks in if he finishes 55 games next year.

I figure the Mets will be hovering around .500 again next year so that would mean K-Rod finishes off about 2/3rds of wins, including blowouts. Jerry used to pitch K-Rod at least once every few days even if he wasn't really needed because otherwise he'd lose effectiveness. Collins is gonna have some trouble figuring that one out.

If the Mets aren't in contention but K-Rod's doing well I hope they can move him and let another team worry about that option. Let Parnell spend this year in the 8th inning and take over the closing duties for 2012.</font>

Yea but I'm fine with the Red Sox finally dealing some. They've had so many prospects in the past few years.
Not all of them are going to turn into Bucholz, Lester or Pedroia. So I'm glad did this deal. I'm not for emptying the farm, but they got a ton and I think some of a prospect's value is all in potential.

:cool:

NOW I'm in favor of signing Crawford. I just wanted a big bat

If the Red Sox are planning to contend again right away (I think they are) This move makes perfect sense.