GaryMrMets
01-08-2006, 07:32 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/380866p-323416c.html
Man, oh, man!
Ramirez just start of Sox's troubles
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/columnists/madden_b.jpg
As Manny's world turns, so too does Red Sox Nation's stomach.In case you missed it, there was another "trade me, don't bother, well, on second thought do what you can" flip-flop by Manny Ramirez this past week, leaving the multi-headed Red Sox upper management team further perplexed over what to do with their enigmatic slugger.
The Manny dilemma is symptomatic of the entire Red Sox offseason. It is Jan. 8 and the Red Sox still do not have a shortstop to replace the two they traded (Hanley Ramirez and Edgar Renteria), a center fielder to replace Johnny Damon (with whom they allowed themselves to get outmaneuvered by the Yankees) or a suitable closer to allow Mike Timlin to go back to setting up.
Do they have a plan? Surely, they understand that Red Sox Nation is getting nervous, especially since the departure of Theo Epstein has led to the perception of an "over-its-head" front office engulfed in chaos and indecision.
It's hard to believe that owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino could allow the world championship euphoria of 2004 to evaporate so quickly. Knowing Henry and Lucchino, there is a plan, and a somewhat grandiose one at that. The problem is they're hamstrung by Ramirez and frustrated by the intransigent Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Regardless of all the contradictory reports and statements coming out of the Dominican Republic, Ramirez absolutely wants out of Boston. If you must know, it's a Mrs. Manny thing.
The Red Sox want to accommodate - but their options are severely limited, if they are to get back equal value for 145 RBI, especially now that Miguel Tejada has reversed course and told the Orioles he no longer wants to be traded. Before Tejada's conversation with Baltimore GM Jim Duquette yesterday, the basics were there for a Ramirez-for-Tejada deal as the Orioles needed an outfielder after Jeromy Burnitz signed with the Pirates and became the latest free agent to spurn them.
Before Tejada's change of heart, Duquette, understood how much the moral of other players in the clubhouse would be undermined by a disgruntled team leader.
With Tejada no longer an option, the Red Sox are prepared to go with Alex Cora at shortstop, figuring, if nothing else, they'll have solid defense there and a cheaper alternative to signing Alex Gonzalez (and his career .292 on-base pct.). They've pretty much exhausted talks with the Devil Rays about Julio Lugo. Nothing has changed in Tampa Bay in terms of trading with the new regime. They talk about being open to trading Lugo, Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez - all of whom are coming up on free agency and clearly are not part of the Devil Rays' future beyond next season - but their idea of acceptable offers for lame-duck players are top prospects they can control for 4-5 years. As for center field, the Red Sox are holding top third base prospect Andy Marte as a chip to get Coco Crisp from the Indians (who need to first get an outfielder from somewhere else), or they still believe that they can get Jeremy Reed from the pitching-needy Mariners in a deal involving Bronson Arroyo.
All of this, however, remains a wait-and-see proposition for the Red Sox, and they could wind up striking out all over, while having no choice but to keep Ramirez and his miffed missus. If so, then Plan C is apparently to try to hang in there next season with pitching (relying heavily on top prospects Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester and Craig Hansen to fill out the rotation and handle the closer duties should Keith Foulke not make it back) and defense (they're prepared to let newly signed J.T. Snow handle the bulk of the duty at first base).
What were they thinking?
The Red Sox are not the only team to have had a bad winter, just the most prominent in terms of recent past performance and annual great expectations. Start with the three worst signings of the offseason:
•The Cubs' $16 million three-year deal to Jacque Jones, whose on-base pct. the past four seasons has declined steadily from .341 to .319.
•The Phillies' admittedly desperate, three-year, $18 million deal to 38-year-old "closer" Tom Gordon, who barely made it through last season as a setup man for the Yankees.
•And the Mariners' $37.5 million deal over four years to Jarrod Washburn, who was 8-8 last year. We also wish the Mariners good luck with Carl Everett, who, after signing a one-year, $4 million deal immediately proclaimed that Seattle was 3,000 miles from his comfort zone.
Then there are the Padres, who seemed to have gone into a "rob Peter to pay Paul" mode after re-signing fan favorites Brian Giles and Trevor Hoffman for a combined $43.5 million. To compensate for payroll considerations, the Padres got rid of two of their most effective set-up men, Rudy Seanez and Akinori Otsuka, and traded their team leader, second baseman Mark Loretta to the Red Sox for backup catcher Doug Mirabelli (huh?). Until further notice, the jury remains divided on their trade of No. 2 starter Adam Eaton, a free agent after next season, to the Rangers for promising 6-10 righty Chris Young, who doesn't have the same upside, but won one more game than Eaton last year with virtually the same ERA (4.26). On the surface, the Padres appear to have severely compromised themselves in retaining Giles and Hoffman, and they're clearly banking on big contributions from their farm system, particularly second baseman Josh Barfield.
It's A Madd, Madd World…
•The votes are all in so this is no attempt at any 11th hour politicking, just one man's Hall of Fame ballot in what is being generally regarded as a lean year: Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter (isn't it time the true workman closers got their due?), Jack Morris (he was the No. 1 starter on every team he pitched for and a big-game postseason pitcher if there ever was one), Bert Blyleven (how can 60 career shutouts continue to be denied, especially in this day and age?). Election results Tuesday.
•To Rafael Palmeiro, who obviously still doesn't get it, there are only two things to say:
1. How many times are you going to throw Miguel Tejada under the bus?
2. Just shut up and go away, and maybe, five years from now, the Hall of Fame voters will forget what a lying cheat you were.
•Can it get any worse for the Orioles, for whom nobody wants to play, starting with their best player, Tejada? Last week, Jeromy Burnitz reneged on a $12 million, two-year verbal deal with the O's to accept a one-year, $6.7 million deal with the Pirates.
Say It Ain't So
"This was truly a team triumph. We didn't have one .300 hitter or a 20-game winner. We had only one guy with 100 RBI and it was just 100. Everybody contributed to it." - White Sox board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on the White Sox being voted the No. 1 sports story of 2005 by the Associated Press.
Originally published on January 8, 2006
Man, oh, man!
Ramirez just start of Sox's troubles
http://www.nydailynews.com/images/columnists/madden_b.jpg
As Manny's world turns, so too does Red Sox Nation's stomach.In case you missed it, there was another "trade me, don't bother, well, on second thought do what you can" flip-flop by Manny Ramirez this past week, leaving the multi-headed Red Sox upper management team further perplexed over what to do with their enigmatic slugger.
The Manny dilemma is symptomatic of the entire Red Sox offseason. It is Jan. 8 and the Red Sox still do not have a shortstop to replace the two they traded (Hanley Ramirez and Edgar Renteria), a center fielder to replace Johnny Damon (with whom they allowed themselves to get outmaneuvered by the Yankees) or a suitable closer to allow Mike Timlin to go back to setting up.
Do they have a plan? Surely, they understand that Red Sox Nation is getting nervous, especially since the departure of Theo Epstein has led to the perception of an "over-its-head" front office engulfed in chaos and indecision.
It's hard to believe that owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino could allow the world championship euphoria of 2004 to evaporate so quickly. Knowing Henry and Lucchino, there is a plan, and a somewhat grandiose one at that. The problem is they're hamstrung by Ramirez and frustrated by the intransigent Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Regardless of all the contradictory reports and statements coming out of the Dominican Republic, Ramirez absolutely wants out of Boston. If you must know, it's a Mrs. Manny thing.
The Red Sox want to accommodate - but their options are severely limited, if they are to get back equal value for 145 RBI, especially now that Miguel Tejada has reversed course and told the Orioles he no longer wants to be traded. Before Tejada's conversation with Baltimore GM Jim Duquette yesterday, the basics were there for a Ramirez-for-Tejada deal as the Orioles needed an outfielder after Jeromy Burnitz signed with the Pirates and became the latest free agent to spurn them.
Before Tejada's change of heart, Duquette, understood how much the moral of other players in the clubhouse would be undermined by a disgruntled team leader.
With Tejada no longer an option, the Red Sox are prepared to go with Alex Cora at shortstop, figuring, if nothing else, they'll have solid defense there and a cheaper alternative to signing Alex Gonzalez (and his career .292 on-base pct.). They've pretty much exhausted talks with the Devil Rays about Julio Lugo. Nothing has changed in Tampa Bay in terms of trading with the new regime. They talk about being open to trading Lugo, Aubrey Huff and Danys Baez - all of whom are coming up on free agency and clearly are not part of the Devil Rays' future beyond next season - but their idea of acceptable offers for lame-duck players are top prospects they can control for 4-5 years. As for center field, the Red Sox are holding top third base prospect Andy Marte as a chip to get Coco Crisp from the Indians (who need to first get an outfielder from somewhere else), or they still believe that they can get Jeremy Reed from the pitching-needy Mariners in a deal involving Bronson Arroyo.
All of this, however, remains a wait-and-see proposition for the Red Sox, and they could wind up striking out all over, while having no choice but to keep Ramirez and his miffed missus. If so, then Plan C is apparently to try to hang in there next season with pitching (relying heavily on top prospects Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester and Craig Hansen to fill out the rotation and handle the closer duties should Keith Foulke not make it back) and defense (they're prepared to let newly signed J.T. Snow handle the bulk of the duty at first base).
What were they thinking?
The Red Sox are not the only team to have had a bad winter, just the most prominent in terms of recent past performance and annual great expectations. Start with the three worst signings of the offseason:
•The Cubs' $16 million three-year deal to Jacque Jones, whose on-base pct. the past four seasons has declined steadily from .341 to .319.
•The Phillies' admittedly desperate, three-year, $18 million deal to 38-year-old "closer" Tom Gordon, who barely made it through last season as a setup man for the Yankees.
•And the Mariners' $37.5 million deal over four years to Jarrod Washburn, who was 8-8 last year. We also wish the Mariners good luck with Carl Everett, who, after signing a one-year, $4 million deal immediately proclaimed that Seattle was 3,000 miles from his comfort zone.
Then there are the Padres, who seemed to have gone into a "rob Peter to pay Paul" mode after re-signing fan favorites Brian Giles and Trevor Hoffman for a combined $43.5 million. To compensate for payroll considerations, the Padres got rid of two of their most effective set-up men, Rudy Seanez and Akinori Otsuka, and traded their team leader, second baseman Mark Loretta to the Red Sox for backup catcher Doug Mirabelli (huh?). Until further notice, the jury remains divided on their trade of No. 2 starter Adam Eaton, a free agent after next season, to the Rangers for promising 6-10 righty Chris Young, who doesn't have the same upside, but won one more game than Eaton last year with virtually the same ERA (4.26). On the surface, the Padres appear to have severely compromised themselves in retaining Giles and Hoffman, and they're clearly banking on big contributions from their farm system, particularly second baseman Josh Barfield.
It's A Madd, Madd World…
•The votes are all in so this is no attempt at any 11th hour politicking, just one man's Hall of Fame ballot in what is being generally regarded as a lean year: Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter (isn't it time the true workman closers got their due?), Jack Morris (he was the No. 1 starter on every team he pitched for and a big-game postseason pitcher if there ever was one), Bert Blyleven (how can 60 career shutouts continue to be denied, especially in this day and age?). Election results Tuesday.
•To Rafael Palmeiro, who obviously still doesn't get it, there are only two things to say:
1. How many times are you going to throw Miguel Tejada under the bus?
2. Just shut up and go away, and maybe, five years from now, the Hall of Fame voters will forget what a lying cheat you were.
•Can it get any worse for the Orioles, for whom nobody wants to play, starting with their best player, Tejada? Last week, Jeromy Burnitz reneged on a $12 million, two-year verbal deal with the O's to accept a one-year, $6.7 million deal with the Pirates.
Say It Ain't So
"This was truly a team triumph. We didn't have one .300 hitter or a 20-game winner. We had only one guy with 100 RBI and it was just 100. Everybody contributed to it." - White Sox board chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on the White Sox being voted the No. 1 sports story of 2005 by the Associated Press.
Originally published on January 8, 2006