And The Hits Just Keep on Comin’

So, was it just me or did Clayton Kershaw realize that he was pitching in the NLCS in the 5^th inning. Maybe it was a case of the adrenaline was gone and he lost his stuff but once he let that first run in he was so demoralized and it was pretty obvious that he wasn't going to get out of that inning. As advertised, I got more questions/concerns and I plan on answering them again. And away we go…

Kerri wrote: We need to keep Pap, Bard, and Buch. Leave the pitching alone! We need some Joe Mauer, and what about Carl Crawford if they don't sign Jason Bay. I wouldn't mind having Marco Scutaro as well.

Alright everyone I get it. You guys clearly have hard-on's for Papelbon, Bard, and Buchholz. Rightfully so I may add. But when you can get an impact player such as Adrian Gonzalez or Felix Hernandez who has not yet hit their prime, You do it! It would be irresponsible of Theo NOT to trade Buchholz and specific prospects for these players. Unlike all of you guys I think that Bard IS ready to take over the closer role, and that's based on the fact(s) that: 1) His stuff is lights out and isn't afraid to throw secondary pitches. 2) This is the EXACT situation that happened when Papelbon came in the league behind Foulke, and at the same time I wanted Papelbon over Foulke. Wouldn't it make sense for me to make the same decision? It has obviously worked out the first time I made that decision, and I'm of the persuasion that I will be right again. We can't entirely leave the pitching alone; we will need to grab at least one guy off the bargain rack at Costco (Harden, Webb, Sheets). Although, I've never seen anything for a minimum of 4 million at Costco. I don't think Crawford is the Answer. He is a Terrific talent, and phenomenal base stealer but we are already in need of offense and without 36 HRs from Jason Bay we're replacing them with 60 steals? This may lead to runs, but not a foregone conclusion. We need a power bat at a corner. Scutaro is another player who had a good year, but this is the first year since '04 that he has hit over .270 and I feel as if Gonzalez's glove would be better so it seems to me a push. ENOUGH WITH THE JOE MAUER STUFF. He is a lifer in Minnesota, and if he isn't you can envision an 8 year 350 million dollar contract from the Yankees. What too low? Probably.

Bradrowe29 wrote: Little have I heard on here about a pitcher from the North by the name of Roy, since the trade deadline. What do you think the chances of them making a run at him being that his value has dropped since they will only have him under their control for the 2010 season? If they could who would they deal? Bowden, Buchholz, Westmoreland PTBNL? Think of a rotation including Roy, Lester, Beckett. Wow that would get me excited. Your thoughts?

Bradley, this is the first question yet that I have been forced to ponder for more than about 2 minutes. Historically, Theo hasn't given anything to players of Roy Halladay's age, but this is an exception because Roy Halladay is, well, Roy Halladay. You are 100% correct in that his value has dropped; because instead of having him for the remainder of the 2009 season and then another season you only have one season to determine whether he's due for another big Pay Day. Ultimately I think he is due for a big pay day. The package that you mentioned would be a decent start but if the Sox made Westmoreland off limits to Seattle for Hernandez who is arguably the best pitcher in baseball not named Tim Lincecum or Zack Greinke, I have a hard time believe they would throw him in a deal unless it was only Buchholz and Westmoreland, with no one else involved. If I were to put together a trade it would probably be Buch, Bowden, and 2 B level prospects. Also another thing to consider is the change in GM's North of the Border. He could want the extra cash/players to rebuild everything, but they freed up a LOT of cap space this year getting rid of Rios and Rolen among others, so they could actually make a splash in the Free Agent Market. (If you want to call it that.)

Michael wrote: Lefty Yusei Kikuchi, an 18-year-old from Japan. WTF. Why do we keep wanting to sign these guys?

First off I laughed out loud because I have a tendency to make very un-politically correct jokes and really wanted to say one, but I digress. But this is best answered with another question. All Ethnicities aside. If you are a scout, and you see a lefty throwing 94+ with a ridiculous Bugs Bunny Curve, would you be interested? That's what I thought. He's young and still impressionable. And by this I mean, once Japanese players are integrated into the Nippon League they have their regiments and daily routines that they MUST keep up with once they are in the states (i.e. Daisuke Matsuzaka). The reason why I am so "up" on Junichi Tazawa is because he too didn't play in the Nippon League and wasn't yet stuck in their ways. This is not to say that they aren't affective because they have some very competitive baseball over there. That being said, this is the Major leagues were talking 'bout here, ya know where baseball is for the most part played outside, and you can take a guy out at second without being hated by an entire country. If I'm the Red Sox I want this kid in my farm system, he could be the next closest thing to Nick Hagadone (2^nd pitcher in the V-Mart deal) in our farm system. And its always good to have a flame throwing lefty. (Oh, how I love you Jon Lester.)

Michael again wrote: Hey bud, I know you're going to call me crazy, and any other things you can think of, but, What do you think of Pap, Buch, and Youk for Pujols and cash, who is leaning towards not signing an extension with the Cardinals. Bard can replace Pap, and Buch you can replace with Harden, Sheets, or Webb. With Pujols you could sign someone like Joe Crede to give Lowell a blow, what do you think?

Michael you are absolutely right about one thing, "bud". You're bonkers, nope you're worse than bonkers, you're Skip Bayless. This trade for a bat doesn't benefit us that much if we give up one of our more consistent productive hitters. Joe Crede, this year played 90 and hit .225 and had an OBP under .300, to me he doesn't fit the scheme of the Red Sox, of course either does someone that hits .209 and throws out the least amount of runners since Jaws was in the Cinemaplex. Pujols is a once in a generation talent, but he, like Mauer, SHOULD play for one team for the duration of his career. He went to High School in Missouri and if you think back to how popular you're binky Nomar was here, multiply that times JD Drew's paycheck. With the signing of Mark Teixeira, the Yankees have all but eliminated that unless they move Jeter to Left, shift A-rod back to short, and put Pujols at 3B, which hey it could work on MLB the Show why not on Girardi's Playhouse? It is absolutely not going to happen, and Theo wouldn't even want to do that deal, it leaves too many ifs because Webb/Sheets/Harden are reclamation projects. If one of them gets hurt even though they are going to re-up Tim Wakefield again next year, it still depletes your depth without Buchholz.

Wow guys I have to say I'm impressed today more than I have been with the quality of questions and the variety of topics. Keep 'em Coming, and feel free to load 'em up over the weekend and I'll have you're next post on Monday! Well played everyone *nods approvingly*.

Stay Tuned

Ryan