Hank Defends His Steroid Using Players

Hank Steinbrenner said the following in an interview with the Sporting News about why he was angry with the Mitchell Report:

"Don't make any mistake about it: Our team in the late 90s beat everybody, and we beat everybody because we were that much better than everybody," he said. "And they had just as many players doing stuff -- all the teams. I guarantee you go through every team in baseball, and they all have the same basic percentage of players doing stuff. They just weren't as good as us. You think the Red Sox didn't have players doing stuff back then? Give me a ... break. They just weren't as good as us, and neither was anybody else."

The more Hank opens his mouth the more reason people have to hate the Yankees, the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Read more...

Tickets

Just got my seats for the U.S. opening day for the Red Sox in Oakland on April 1st!!!! I have been trying to get some Fenway tickets for 2 hours with no luck but I got the A's tickets in about 1 minute. Let me know how the ticket sales worked for you. However, my wife is due with our second child on April 5th so I may not be able to go. I was also able to get 4 field level seats for the Saturday game in May vs. Oakland.

Read more...

Snyder Deal Done

The Red Sox continued their efforts to avoid arbitration with players by signing Kyle Snyder to a one year deal worth $835,000. I posted an outlook on the '08 season for Snyder earlier. Kevin Youkilis has filed for arbitration and is the only player that Boston has not come to an agreement with. Youkilis made about $425,000 last season and is now looking to make $3.7 million. The Sox have offered $2.5 million. The Sox have until next month to come to an agreement and avoid arbitration.

Don't forget that tickets go on sale today for all Red Sox games.

Read more...

'08 Outlook for Coco Crisp

Since he is still on the team with spring training a month away, we might as well look at him.

'07 Season: Coco came into the season with big expectations; the low average of '06 was blamed on the finger injury so the new season was supposed to be much better. His start of the season did not go that way and he ended up hitting below .230 for April and May with only 1 home run. Fans and the media got on him and he stopped talking to the press. In the mid season he heated up hitting .330 in June and .323 in July. It looked like he was the player the Sox had trade for but his hitting retreated again at the end of the season. Coco made some amazing plays in center field and saved several runs with his defense. His speed helped at times and he stole 28 bases.

'08 Outlook: If Coco starts out slow like he did last season he will find himself as the late inning defensive substitution in the outfield and will get the occasional start when players need a rest. In his two years with the Red Sox Coco is hitting below his career average. He may be a better hitter than he has been for Boston but he is going to have to prove it quickly in '08. Coco will go into spring training competing with fan favorite Jacoby Ellsbury for the center field job. He may not be able to handle this situation and might alienate fans even more. There is still a good chance that Coco will be traded before the season begins but if he is not his trade value could drop if he is not an every day player. If he can adjust to being the fourth outfielder the Sox will have a great backup when injuries happen or they could run the risk of having a clubhouse cancer if he can not adjust. The Coco situation will become more and more interesting the closer we get to opening day.

Read more...

Sox Offer Wilkerson 1 Year Deal

According to mlbtraderumors.com the Red Sox have offered Brad Wilkerson a one year deal worth $2 million plus incentives to be a backup infielder/outfielder. Boston is said to have given Wilkerson until the end of the day to accept the offer.

Read more...

Ads On the Uniforms or No More Fenway Park...Which Do You Prefer?

Yesterday the Red Sox ownership announced they would put an advertisement for EMC Corp on the uniform during their trip to Japan. The Dirt Dogs site ran the headline "Nothing Is Sacred." I am not that concerned about putting the ads on as long as it is only for the Japan trip and it does not lead to a permanent thing. John Henry talked about the difficulty for the Red Sox to keep up financially with the Yankees and Mets, both of whom will have new ballparks soon, and the need to find new revenue sources. I can tolerate an ad as long as the current ownership group continues to support and renovate Fenway Park. If the trade off for ad free uniforms is the destruction of "America's Most Beloved Ballpark" then I choose ads. Ads are as much a part of baseball as hot dogs. The first professional teams were playing for businesses, the Green Monster used to be covered with advertisements, and ballparks are now named after companies. It is not a perfect scenario but it beats raising ticket prices.

Read more...

Sox Tickets on Sale Saturday

Tickets to all home games will go on sale this Saturday at 10am Eastern (7 Pacific). The tickets are on sale online at redsox.com and by calling (617) 482-4SOX. Max 8 tickets per customer....good luck.

Read more...

Red Sox Sign 2 Former Closers

The Red Sox have signed Dan Miceli and Dan Kolb. Miceli was not in the majors. last year but was a D-Rays closer for a short period of time in '06 before getting injured. He was released after a poor showing in spring training last season. Dan Kolb only pitched in 3 games last season after being called up by Pittsburgh. In those 3 games he had an ERA of 9.00 and opponents batted .462 against him. Kolb was the closer for the Brewers in from '03-'04 where he picked up 60 saves. Both pitchers were signed to minor league deals and both have not pitched well in recent years. The Red Sox are rolling the dice that each pitcher may show some sort of rebound during spring training. Both players are past their prime; Miceli is 37 and Kolb is 32. It would be great if one of them could find their old form and find a spot in the pen but it does not seem too likely.

Read more...

Glenn Geffen Is Out of Red Sox Booth

Glenn Geffner's tenure as Red Sox play by play announcer on WRKO lasted one year. (one year too much in my opinion). He has left the network to become the play by play guy for the Marlins where he will be heard by the 10 fans who listen to their games on the radio. Geffner added nothing to the broadcasts last year and was often painful to listen to. I often heard him described as an announcer who sounds like he his covering a high school JV game. For some good old Geffner bashing take a look at a few of these posts. Dave O'Brien may take over the play by play in '08.

Read more...

Eric Hinske or Tony Clark

The Red Sox have not signed a backup corner infielder yet and there are rumors they may be interested in Tony Clark. The Boston Herald reported that Eric Hinske may sign with the Diamondbacks as early as this week. With the opening for a backup at first Boston may chose to bring back Clark. Tony Clark played in 90 games for the Red Sox in 2002 hitting .202 with 3 HR's. This season he hit .247 with 17 HR's with the Diamondbacks. The Giants are also said to be interested in Clark. The Red Sox have the luxury of signing a first baseman as their backup corner infielder because they can move Youk over to third if Lowell gets hurt.

Read more...

'08 Outlook for Alex Cora

Time to move on to the bench players:

'07 Season: Cora hit .246 in 83 games for the Red Sox filling in for Lugo and Pedroia. He was a fan favorite early in the season when Lugo waas struggling, he hit .278 for the first half. Cora struggled the second half by batting under the Mendoza line and played less and less. He was not on the post-season roster.

'08 Outlook: Cora is a good bench player who fits in well with the Red Sox. He can play either 2nd or short and has good defensive skills. He does not have a lot of power but can heat up quickly when he gets the AB's. Cora will continue to be the choice for Francona when he wants to give Lugo or Pedroia a rest. He should get less playing time this year unless there is a major injury to an infielder, look for him to play around 75 games and hit .250. Overall, Cora is a solid player to turn to when in need.

Read more...

More Evidence Against Roger*

Roger Clemens will have a hard time to continue to deny he used steroids now that new information about McNamee meeting with his agent has come out. According to an article in the Daily News, McNamee wanted to discuss some potential problems Roger would have with the new drug testing policy in MLB. He spoke with Clemens' agent in 2003 and notes of the conversation were kept. I don't think Roger will be able to dig himself out of this hole with his "poor me" denials anymore.

Read more...

'08 Outlook for David Ortiz

'07 Season: Big Papi had a great season batting .332; his highest career average. His power numbers were lower than past seasons but he still hit 35 HR's and drove in 117. He did not have as many of the magical late inning heroics last year so it made it seem as if he was having an off year. Ortiz was playing with pain in his knee most of the season which explains the lower power numbers.

'08 Outlook: David Ortiz is the face of the Red Sox and maybe even all of Major League Baseball. His constant smile and friendliness to teammates, the media, and fans make him a great clubhouse presence. Big Papi's knee was fixed in the off season, he will still have Manny hitting before him and Lowell hitting behind him. Big Papi is due to win the MVP, he is in the prime of his career on an excellent team. His power numbers will be back up so look for 40+ HR's, over .300 average, and 120+ RBI's.

Read more...