Windy City Wishes

With the GM Meetings in Chicago starting this morning, you would be best suited to believe that Theo Epstein is playing a gargantuan game of grab-ass with newly appointed Padres GM Jed Hoyer. I have decided to make the proclamation that Adrian Gonzalez is NO LONGER a potential player but rather a necessity that we obtain him. It's going to take an ass load of players to get him but so be it. And for all of the people saying, "You're an idiot, hold onto prospects." I ask you, For what? What could we POSSIBLY be holding onto potential big leaguers for when we have the ability to snag an impact player just before he goes into his prime? He is an offensive equal to Mark Teixeira in EVERY sense of the word. Maybe even a SLIGHT advantage on offense with no one protecting him or getting on base in front of him, in that anemic San Diego Lineup. However, Mrs. Teixeira is a defensive guru and although Gonzalez is above average Tex is far and away the best first baseman in baseball. Adrian, I want you, I need you, oh baby, oh baby. (ala Julia Stiles)

I have been thinking a lot lately (If you smell the burning from your house, I'm sorry) and back in "And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'" I broached one of my devoted readers' topic of Roy Halladay. I didn't necessarily dismiss the idea but I was quite indifferent about it. Obviously, anyone would love a Roy Halladay on their team but it comes down to; what do they have left for prospects after Gonzo is signed here. I honestly don't know where the Gonzalez trade talks start. But, I don't know that ANYONE except Daniel Bard is off limits as far as prospects go. So Adrian would probably command 2-3 "A-List" prospects and 2 "B-List" prospects. Then what does that leave you? I'm assuming that you start with Clay Buchholz, and throw one "A-B" prospect and a "B-C" prospect. Halladay is great but JP Ricciardi did a very large disservice to Toronto by not trading him at the previous deadline. The acquiring team would only get him for a year now instead of the stretch run last year and then another year. Not to mention he is getting paid 15.7 mil this year. That is a MASSIVE contract and for a team that is trying to rebuild not a contract you want on the books.

You may think that this is "gutting" the Farm, but in reality it's not. We may not be suited to make a blockbuster in-season trade next year, but the real question is would we need to if we get both Halladay AND Gonzalez? We just won 95 games with players that are getting old and in some instances a shell of their former selves. Adding a perennial Cy Young Candidate and a legitimate power threat in the middle of your lineup you have BASICALLY done exactly what the Yankees did the year before. Gonzalez vs. Teixeira is a push, all things consider. What Rotation would you take if the Red Sox went something like Halladay, Lester, Beckett and the Yankees went something like Sabathia, Burnett, (Chamberlain, Harden?, Lackey?) sounds to me like 2 players could make our team just as unbeatable as the vaunted New York Yankees.

There is something that has been puzzling me and it's the negotiations with Jason Bay. Theo Epstein has even gone as far as calling them, "weird". I wouldn't mind if Jason Bay came back, I realize that I have said that I'd rather have Holliday (that still remains true), but I don't see the Red Sox need to go more than 4 years at 60 million. More than 4 years would take him a full year out of his prime, and with a player whom is already below average in left field, do you really want to see Mike Lowell out in left? It won't be as much of a factor at home, but when you go to Oakland or some of the National League parks, you're going to be in for one shitshow after another. This is another reason why I LOVE the Jeremy Hermida signing. If Bay doesn't like 4 years, at 16 mil per year, why not give Jeremy Hermida a shot? Especially if you can obtain Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Fathers. What's the worst thing he could do? Jason Varitek? I don't know that even he could hit that poorly, and his double play rate (only 6 in 2009) is one of the lowest in baseball.

Now onto something far, FAR more serious. What in the beard of Zeus did Sammy Sosa do to his face? I realize that pantomiming is popular on TV (ie Nip/Tuck), and that Michael Jackson was a cultural icon. But what you did looks like Shadow's face from Homeward Bound. (See I wasn't lying.) A piece of advice: Washing your face is best achieved without using Clorox.

Stay Tuned

Ryan