ST so Far

Well, we're in the midst of a never ending spring training it seems. Most of the Sox players have left for the WBC, so camp is a lot quieter I hear. Though some big news is that Jon Lester is on the brink of singing a 5 year expansion with a 2014 option. While this buys out 2-3 free agent years, paying Jon more than he would probably get during the arb. years is a very nice gesture from Theo and the Brass. When the Red Sox find a player they love, they make every effort to keep him it seems. In the WBC, Papi is off to a slow start with the Dominican. Pedroia is being very MVP, Bay is having a nice start with Team Canada. Youkilis is extremely impressive. I foresee him hitting 40-50 home runs and overall being a better player than Manny Ramirez. Also, in ST, some players trying to make a name are Nick Green and Brad Wilkerson. Green's hitting is amazing! with homers and avg. Wilkerson is displaying some of his power with 3 homers. We'll see how Wilkerson turns out. JD is also hitting well, and Lugo is trying to keep his job. Lowell returns to the lineup tomorrow as the Designated Hitter, and on Friday as the 3B.
27 DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY!

First Day of ST

Well, baseball is back! Yesterday was a split squad game at the Fort, game 1 Josh Beckett pitched at home against Boston College. Successful 7-1 win, with Beckett going a scoreless 2 innings, Buchholz going a scoreless 1 inning, and Tazawa making a nice debut. Kudos to SS Navarro for the HR. At the other side of town, Tim Wakefield took on the Minnesota Twins for the first game of the Mayor's Cup in Fort Myers. Wakefield had a bit of a shaky start, though not bad overall. Bard was relatively decent in his first attempt at catching the knuckleball. The MVP had some nice hits, and Jed-I had a RBI Triple. Though MIN eventually got the better of Boston and Billy Traber, Ramon Ramirez looked lights out in his first start with the club and Justin Masterson proved once again effective out of the bullpen. Other news....Manny Ramirez may sign today *gasp* with the Dodgers. Theo is still hopefully pursuing the catcher of the future from Texas...we'll see. Monster Tickets went on sale last Saturday and I bought some GM SRO Tickets for a TB Rays Game when I finally got through on the phone. RF Roof Lottery ends this weekend, so enter to try and get some nice tables on the Bud Roof Deck this season. 38 Days until Home Opener!!!!!

Recap, going forward

Well, it's been a while, but per Dave's request here goes:
Offseason

-you may remember Junichi Tazawa; in Portland probably, may have an interesting turnout
-sent Coco to KC for a nice righty reliever, Ramirez; Ellsbury's the CF, at least Coco got us something good in return
-some Julio Lugo rumors that didn't go anywhere; if he has a good ST, he may be used as trade bait, with Jed-I taking the reins
-MARK Friggin Teixeira! Nuff said
-Kevin Cash to the MFY
-Youkilis Extension
-Pedroia Extension
-Resign Kotsay
-John Smoltz
-Brad Penny
-Rocco Baldelli
-Takashi Saito
-Josh Bard
-Resigned Jason Varitek
-Brad Wilkerson
-start of ST


Looking forward:
It seemed the overall plan was to sign Mark Teixeira and go from there. Obviously this failed, so the plan switched to signing low risk, high reward players. This may be more successful in the long term in actuality. The Yankees have made a habit of signing superstars who have little to prove and this ends up biting them in the ass. Also, the egos cause a lot of problems. All of the players the Sox signed this year, and some of the injured players (Lowell, Ortiz) all have to prove their worth. This can be one of the greatest motivators in any profession, and allow the Sox to field an epic team. Also, they are a well-knit team with little Clubhouse problems, which helps them focus on what's most important, BASEBALL! Looking at ST, Beckett's ripped, Ortiz is in better shape and ready to crush some bombs, and other players feel a good charisma. Of course JD gave us his usual back scare, but it seems like he is OK. Overall, I'm very optimistic for the Red Sox 2009, and much more so than at this same time last year. My point is, get your tickets while they're still available! More to come as camp unfolds with commentary on the World Baseball Classic....

new episode soon to reflect upon off season. pitchers and catchers report in 8 days. Red Sox acquire Sean Casey. Brilliant, he's an excellent slugger, many seasons above 300, only $800000. Great move by Theo, however he managed it. Santana gets his extension so he's second highest paid player behind A-Rod. Bedard trade imminent. Red Sox acquire Bobby Kielty. This goes to show that Crisp should be traded very soon, any day now. Expect a strong righty reliever in return or a very solid catching prospect (such as Jarrod Saltalamacchia) to succeed Tek in the coming years.
-Red Sox Obsessor

Santana traded to the Mets pending an extension agreement. Arggg...

Aardsma

Well, finally a transaction. The Sox trade two mediocre prospects (Mota and Socolovich) for David Aardsma. The way I figure it, this guy is like another Pineiro of JC Romero. If he succeeds like Snyder did, then give him a spot, if he doesn't, then figure he'll be released mid May. I must say I'm a little disappointed if this is our strong righty setup to compliment Okajima. But there's still some time to go, which could bring pitchers like Foulke to Boston. Also look out for Trot Nixon's name, as he's learning first base. Return as a reserve?

JD Drew Grand Slam. [Online image] Available http://overthemonster.com, 1/27/2008.

I just love this picture.