MLB Trading Deadline
It approaches once more, and yet again I am glued to my computer screen and AM sports radio. Being an armchair GM is one of my most hidden guilty pleasures (along with watching anime and listening to Rammstein... don't go spreading that around :cry: ).

Anyway, whether any of you particularly care to read this or not, and I hope for your own sakes that you don't, I am going to post some rants and rumors here tonight, particularly those pertaining to my Red Sox.

ready?

The Red Sox started making roster moves today by trading minor league reliever Scott Cassidy to San Dieago for minor league outfielder, and former Red Sox, Adam Hyzdu. Hyzdu is expected to fill in as the Red Sox fourth outfielder untill Gabe Kapler, recently brought back from Japan, is finished rehabbing. The Club also traded their AAA CF, Chip Ambres, along with low minor league pitcher, to Kansas City for 2B/1B Tony Graffanino. Graffanino will split time with the recently acquired Alex Cora at 2B for atleast the next 2-3 weeks as Bellhorn recovers from a wrist injury.

The Red Sox have been playing top prospect Hanley Ramirez at 2B at AA Portland for the past 4 games and GM Theo Epstein has stated that he will stay there for the immediate future. This is a significant move because the red Sox already have a highly rated 2B prospect in Dustin Pedroia who is currently playing at AAA Pawtucket and is (was?) the favorite to take over as the starting 2B for Boston next year.

Okay, those are the facts. Now, on to the rumors.

A.J. Burnett of the Florida Marlins is, almost certainly, going to be traded in the next two weeks. Right now, the three teams with the best chance at him are the Red Sox, the White Sox, and the Orioles. The Marlins have turned down offers from all three teams in the last few days, as they are trying to dump off the high priced and slumping Mike Lowell on any team trying to get Burnett. Here is why I think this could work for my Red Sox (of course 8) ). They have what it takes and, it would appear, they are already setting the groundwork. The Marlins want a young starting pitcher ( we have Arroyo, who would be sent to the pen when Schilling is ready, anyway), they also want a top level corner outfield prospect (the Sox have Brandon Moss, who is envied by many) OR, preferably, an elite SS prospect. Now, there's where it gets interesting, the Red Sox are loathe to part with Hanley Ramirez (as they should be), but Dustin Pedroia was a SS untill this year and could be shifted back, making him a fantastic SS prospect, and the potential trade bait.

So, here is what I am hoping will happen within the next week or so. The Red Sox trade Arroyo, Pedroia, and (?) for Burnett and Lowell, followed by Bill Mueller being traded to the Twins for set-up man J.C. Romero.


Now, do I expect any of that to happen? Not particularly, but a man can hope. :oops:

I'll be talking to the proverbial eWall here, as soon as anything happens.

I'm hoping that Billy Wagner is traded. He won't be back here next year, and he has no loyalty to any team, he just does his time (and sucks at it).

Wow.

Nothing.

I'm shocked as well.

Okay. I'm going to make some predictions for the division and wildcard winners and the awards.

AL East: Boston Red Sox.
Hardly a question anymore.
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
Too far ahead.
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of The U.S.A. of Earth...
They're good. They'll be the wild card team it they lose out to the...
AL Wild Card: Oakland Atheletics
They have this all but locked. Trust me.

NL East: Atlanta Braves
This just isn't the year for them to get knocked off.
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinalds
They'll win the NL.
NL West: San Diego Padres
Pathetic division.
NL Wild Card: Flordia Marlins
They're good enough. They're the only team I've picked that is'nt already in position, but I have faith in 'em.






AL MVP: Vlad Guerrero
He'll win because the White Sox, Twins, and A's have noone worthy and the Red Sox have David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon, and Jason Varitek all in contention.
AL CY Young: Roy Halladay
Santana isn't godly enough this year and The White Sox have too many guys in contention.
AL Rookie of the Year: Robinson Cano
I'd love to pick Nick Swisher just to avoid voting a Yankee. Cano is a pro, though. I don't know if he's a future superstar, but he's going to be a good pro.


NL MVP: Albert Pujols
Here's to the first of many.
NL Cy Young: Roger Clemens
Here's to the last of many.
NL Rookie of the Year: ???
I could check it out, but I don't know.

Manager of the Year. Bobby Cox
The best manager in baseball will not be denied the honor this year.

yea, the NL west, home of my beloved giants, is weak as hell this year.. the giants are a miserable 14 games below .500, but are less than six games back. amazing that with a mild spurt, we could make the playoffs.

That bored?

Hells, yes! :shock:

Okay... so... I'm going to continue using this as my own personal baseball blog, if you don't mind Matt. :lol:

Once again, I hope noone else is going read this.



Where to start...

Theo quit a while back... The Club still doesn't have a GM, but they're using assistants in his place. One of them could end up being Our Epstiens's replacement.


Jed Hoyer (one of those assistant/replacements) is said to be the man who orchestrated the Big Trade yesterday. We nabbed Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell from the Marlins in exchange for toolsy SS Hanley Ramirez and the fireballing venezuelen Anibal Sanchez, along with a pretty decent looking A ball reliever named Jesus Delgado.

Hanley and Anibal are both amongst the top 50 prospects in baseball, but Beckett is only 25 and won't be eligable for free agency untill after 2007. He's never pitched more than 175 innings in a year, but that can be a good thing. Most of his trips to the DL have been related to blister problems. Blister problems actually have a habit of extending careers in pitchers. This kid has some of the best stuff in all baseball. Should be an Ace for the next decade. Ofcourse, we did have to take Lowell's hulking contract, but he could have a big comeback year in Fenway. I see no reason why he can't hit .275/.350/.460... 20 HR, 40 2B... gold glove defense and he mashes lefties.



Onto the requests... Manny and Wells want out, and they want specific locations. Manny has said that he refuses to play for the Red Sox next year, and David Ortiz (one of Manny's best friends) has told reporters that there is no chance Manny will be back next year. Manny's list of teams really leaves... very few options. I don't even want to touch this one... he could go to the Mets, Angels, or Dodgers, or everyone could change their mind and he could be batting cleanup for the Red Sox again next year. Nothing is likely, nothing is unlikely, it's a crapshoot. David Wells wants to go back to the Padres; David Wells will go back to the Padres. The Sox should get some bullpen and bench help back, along with significant salary relief.


Then there's Johnny Caveman. Damon and his agents have asked for obscene wads of cash and a contract that locks him up untill he's 38. Noone's biting at that...



blah, blah, blah, too much else can happen.

the red sox did good with nabbing beckett, I don't know a lot about lowell. . they'll lose manny for sure, but from what I saw in the playoffs and in the season, he under-performed and isn't worth keeping for the price he'll ask anyways. same goes for johnny damon, who'll be gone unless he finds no one willing to take him (unlikely). I dont think losing Wells will be a terrible blow, he pitched well but is not unreplacable. All in all, the sox have a lot of work cut out for them over the next 4 months.

Lots of truth there, my friend. Especially about Wells. Papelbon should do a fine job replacing him.


So... new news new news new news. The Mets are officially out of the running for Manny Ramirez today after stealing Carlos Delgado away from the Marlins. Manny didn't actually want to go to NYC anyway... he's been telling people that he wants to go out west. The order of his list right now seems to be; Angels, Mariners, Dodgers, Diamondbacks... and the Indians... obviously he's not going to the Indians.

The Angels might offer Darin Erstad and prospects... probably not worth it, they'd have to get a thrid team involved or have Brian Giles lined up as a free agent signing.

The Mariners... I don't know what they might offer... not King Felix, obviously... really the fact that Manny might want to be a Mariner is very recent news, so no rumors have built up... I'm assuming them taking on Manny would be contingent on Ichiro being out of town... probably to the Yankees (If I know the Red Sox at all I know they don't want Ichiro)... I'm thinking of something along the lines of Manny and a little cash for Richie Sexson and maybe a minor prospect... I don't know

The Dodgers... if they're interested at all... will probably offer J.D. Drew and a prospect or two... I totally meant for that to rhyme. Anyway, they're loaded with great prospects, so there is a chance for this to be the best deal... maybe...

The Diamondbacks... Troy Glaus and a decent prospect... I'm almost sure this one isn't happening.






Also there are now rumors of the Red Sox trading Bronson Arroyo or two prospects to Texas for major league ready 1B Adrian Gonzalez (I've been saying this since the All-Star brek)... he's suppose to be... like Doug Meintkiewicz with more power... great glove, hits pretty well... definately not a superstar, but could be a great choice if your offense is stacked everywhere else.

i like that arroyo trade you mentioned.. but it seems that if the sox could land ichiro (i.e. if the yanks fuck up and lose him) then he'd be the perfect type of player the sox need- an energy booster, someone always hustling, making thigns happen. so IF the yanks fuck up, and IF ichiro and the sox are willing to have each other, would there even be money enough to pay him what he'll demand? How desperate is Ichiro to go to a playoff-bound team?

I'm not sure how desperate Ichiro is to go anywhere. He just doesn't like his manager. The Mariners could just choose to fire him if it really comes down to it.

Like I said, if I know my Red Sox front office at all... they have very little interest in Ichiro. He's more overpayed than Manny, and his obp relies too heavily on batting average. Besides... my provision for Manny going there was that 2 contracts would be gone (Ichiro and Sexson) and they'd get prospects, too (for Ichiro).

Anyway... the Mariniers say they don't want him...

Really... the options are getting pretty limited for Manny and the Sox. If they really can get the Dodgers interested in Manny and cash (maybe as much as $5 million per year) for Drew and others (or straight for Drew and Odalis Perez if they want another contract off their hands... or Manny and cash for Drew and Milton Bradley if the Dodgers get desperate to dump him) that would be the ideal deal I suppose. Someone even submitted this deal to some big sportswriter yesterday... guy seem to think it could work... who knows.

The good news is, if Manny actually follows through on his threat and doesn't show up the Red Sox don't have to pay him.


Other news:

Rumors floating around include Clement and cash for Lyle Overbay... obviously that would be instead of Arroyo or prospects for Adrian Gonzalez... Overbay is another guy, like Lowell, who has a swing built for Fenway... neither the Arroyo or Clement rumors are what I'd call... substantiated...

Guillermo Mota got added to the Beckett deal for vitrually nothing. If he comes anywhere close to his 2001-2003 numbers it's a hell of a steal.

Okay, I'm going to do some more rumoring here...



Manny and his agent say that Manny is now basically willing to play anywhere that isn't Boston. He also adds that Manny would not mind restructuring his contract. The first part doesn't really change much as only the Mets and Angels seem to have any interest. And, yes, I said the Mets. It appears that their GM is apeshit bananas and has no problem trading for Carlos Delgado and Manny Ramirez in addition to signing Billy Wagner and a quality catcher and 2B. Oh, well... all the power to 'em.


So, the other night I was thinking of some solutions to this Manny problem and I had a terrific idea. The next day I weant online to discover that a few dozen other people spontaniously spouted very similar ideas. It was really kind of creepy. Anyway, here's what I would love to see:



Manny goes to the Mets
Mets send Lasting Milledge and Gaby Hernandez (and maybe a Sox prospect) to the Diamondbacks for Troy Glaus
Troy Glaus goes to the Red Sox
Clif Floyd goes to the Red Sox

Red Sox send Matt Clement and Trot Nixon (and maybe cash and/or a prospect) to the Phillies for Bobby Abreu


So, that's Manny, Clement, Nixon and cash (and maybe a prospect) for Troy Glaus, Bobby Abreu and Clif Floyd.

Johnny Damon
Bobby Abreu
David Ortiz
Troy Glaus
Cliff Floyd
Mike Lowell
Jason Varitek
Edgar Renteria
Cora/Pedroia

Youklis
RH 4th OF
Adam Stern (until Gabe Kapler is ready)


Curt Schilling
Josh Beckett
Tim Wakefield
Bronson Arroyo
Jonathon Papelbon

Keith Foulke
Mike Timlin
Guillermo Mota
Akinori Otsuka (from Padres for Wells)
Craig Hansen
Mike Myers
Lenny DiNardo


Right at the luxury tax threshold.


Now, I know what you must be thinking, and I agree. I am a genius.