Red Sox Obsessor

ST so Far

2009-03-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-26T04:17:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-18T16:26:00.001-08:00

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....

2008-02-05T19:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-29T13:47:00.002-08:00

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

Aardsma

2008-01-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-01-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

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

I just love this picture.

Tix

2008-01-26T20:21:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm proud to say that after 12 hours of waiting and calling, and about 6 nonstop, I finally got my tickets. 5/17 against Milwaukee Brewers, 3 in standing room, and 3 in Pavilion Box. I don't need the standing room anymore, so I will sell it to you face value, and make ticketing information available if you so desire. Post a comment back if interested.
-Red Sox Obsessor

2008-01-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

2008-01-25T17:01:00.001-08:00

Kyle Snyder and Theo agree to terms b4 arb. hearing. Theo's never gone to a hearing, so he and youk should agree soon too.

2008-01-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Fenway single game tix, monster lottery, emc lottery, dugout lottery starts Saturday, 1/26 at 10:00 AM.

2008-01-10T12:02:00.001-08:00

Doug Mirabelli, welcome back to Boston.

2008-01-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

New Red Sox Obsessor episode up shortly, covers hot stove news (hardly any)....watch on youtube. also, forgot to mention, kapler a brewer, nice job getting there, didn't really want you in boston anyway. also, watch for foulke, maybe get reinstated in a Bosox uniform for setup for Pap. Other than that, rest that's left is another strong reliever, backstop, reserve outfielder, and Johan. Cheers.
-Red Sox Obsessor

2007-12-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

Well, nothing big from the hot stove. A-rod and Mo confirmed, big whoop. Nothing much new on Johan which I WANT VERY SOON!, but it would make the most sense for a deal to be done before the holidays, so expect some kind of information by like Saturday. I saw a really crazy rumor about Orlando Cabrera for Coco and Lugo, but I think that whoever made it up is insane. Uh let's see, OC slept with Keith Foulke's wife, and why would the Chi Sox be crazy enough to leave SS just Uribe and Lugo. my opinion anyways. The Yanks, uh, no progress for Johan (Thank God), maybe trade Hideous Hideki, watched Kris Benson, THEY NEED GOOD STARTERS, though I hope they don't so we win more.....Get your Red Sox Nation 08 memberships NOW, and select april/may/sept tickets on sale now, Sox Pax sold out, rest of Games and Monster seats in January/February.
-Red Sox Obsessor

2007-12-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the Mitchell Report is in. And not bad, no current players....I don't know if that's because Mitchell is a BoSox Director, but somehow I think he'd be pretty honest. The Red Sox he did name were Gagne (did HGH in LA), Clemens (shot in arm starting in Toronto), Donnelly (juice in LAA), and Mo Vaughn (in KC I Think), Jeremy Giambi (Jason's bro). Now, a bunch of Yanks come up including Jason G., Clemens, Pettitte, Damon, Sheffield, and many former players of the steroid era...So for now, we can call them the New York Steroids. On the rumor mill, Vizcaino to the Rox (awww, I was hoping he'd go back to Nyy and help us win), big Danny Haren trade (so it's either Bedard -not happening or Johan) and big Jose Valverde trade, and big Tejada trade,..... So as always, if anything Johan comes up, I'll post it asap. COME ON JOHAN!
-Red Sox Obsessor

2007-12-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well....the GM mtgs are over, with nothing new to boast :(. Only one thing was being really speculated for Theo to engage in and that was to bring Johan to Boston. While it didn't get done, the Sox are by no means out. They are the frontrunner, and Theo will continue to talk to them about the potential deal when he gets back to Beantown. If Santana is landed, a contract extension of 20-25 mil a year for 5-6 years would be asked. But boy, what a 123 that'd be, beck, santana, dice. and the last lefty (besides Lester) we had was Boomer, and that wasn't the best. We need a dominating lefty starter. In other news, two prospects who I've never heard of claimed in Rule 5 draft. W/E. Big deals included the Tigers/Marlins blockbuster sending Dontrelle and Miggy to Detroit for 6 prospects, Andruw's big signing with the Dodgers ( Sounds like JD doesn't it! ), Wily Mo's extension, and the Royals signing Jose Guillen. Some interesting things include a trade rumor that'd send Hideous Hideki to San Fran, Beckett isn't asking for a raise, and the two Hiroki Koruda and Kosuke Fukudome free agents....Boston was rumored to be interested in Kosuke for RF, but that's crazy, Jon Lester and Jacoby's hiring of Scott Boras (uh oh), a potential Tek extension, Tavarez's trade request, Andy Pettitte's return, etc. So basically there's some bench and 'pen fine tuning left to do, along with a potential landing of a certain Cy Young award pitcher before preparing to pack for Ft. Myers.

-Red Sox Obsessor

2007-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

no updates really....GM mtgs. in Nashville right now, and I expect a Johan announcement today. If the Yanks are true to their word (they weren't for Arod), then they withdraw their offer after today. So if that happens, you can assume Boston or nada. But, the Twins want to get valuable prospects for Johan, not just lose him to free agency next year and maybe get some draft picks. So I will keep you posted about the Johan race. Other news....Andy Pettitte resigned with NYY, so same deal with him.

-Red Sox Obsessor

First Post

2007-12-01T19:55:00.001-08:00

So, this is the start of the Red Sox Obsessor Blog! I will use this as an extension to the show, Red Sox Obsessor. You can check out the latest video at www.youtube.com/profile?user=revigik5. So as of tonight the Red Sox have resigned Mike Timlin to a one year 3-mil contract. I'm very happy with this as he was excellent this year, and this is a low-risk contract. However, for Mike it's quite a raise. They've offered arbitration to Eric Gagne, and he has until Fri 12/7 to accept. If he accepts, then he's a sox again. If he declines and signs with a top 15 club, then the Red Sox get an extra draft pick in the draft during the summer. Now this Monday starts Winter meetings (12/3-6). During these 4 days you'll see more player workouts, acquisitions, trades, arbitration signings, tendered contracts, and drama then you'll see all winter. I predict the Johan situation to be settled during this time (COME ON TO BOSTON!). Thursday is the Rule 5 draft, which never really matters for anything. Hopefully one of my favorites Doug Mirabelli signs soon! Theo keeps playing mind games with him, but he's such a low risk player that it's a now brainer to sign Doug.