More Details of the Wes Littleton Trade
Wes Littleton has no more options so if he makes the opening day roster for the Red Sox the Rangers will get two players but if he fails to make the team the Red Sox will only be on the hook for some cash.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Junichi Tazawa Will Make it Official on Monday
Junichi Tazawa has contacted other teams interested in him to let them know he is rejecting their offers and going to the Red Sox. He will be holding a press conference on Monday to annouce his deal with Boston. He will most likely start the season in Portland and could take a few years to make it to the bigs. He did take a smaller financial deal to play with the Red Sox because Dice-K is on the team.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Red Sox Trade For Relief Pitcher
The Red Sox have traded two players to be named later or cash to the Texas Rangers for right hand relief pitcher Wes Littleton.
Tim Bogar To Coach First
The Red Sox have hired Tim Bogar to replace Luis Alicea as the first base coach. Bogar was a coach for the Rays last season, he played with the Mets, Astros, and Dodgers as a utility infielder. Baseball America named him "Best Manager Prospect" for 2007.
Roger* Booted From Charity Golf Tournament
Roger Clemens* has fallen so far that he is not even wanted for a charity golf tournament in his hometown of Houston.
"Roger Clemens is no longer affiliated with the tournament," said Nielsen, a Houston broadcaster. "We decided we would go our separate ways until his off-field stuff is settled...He is dealing with some tough issues," Nielsen said. "He is dealing with something that is very challenging. The accusations against him are serious. It just made sense to say, `Go take care of these issues and we will revisit the relationship later, when it makes sense.' He was very receptive. He was very understanding."
I wonder if Roger* is going to sue the charity now.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Schilling Is Now Blogging For WEEI.com
Yesterday I had a post on how important Thanksgiving 2003 was to the Red Sox, today Curt Schilling writes his version of what happened on that day. Another note on Schilling is that he is writing for WEEI.com full time foregoing his own blog 38pitches.com.
Could Lugo Be the 4th Outfielder?
Since the Detroit trade deal is pretty much dead, the Red Sox must decide what to do with Julio Lugo. Last season Lugo was a disaster at the plate and in the field, the calls for his benching grew louder until an injury ended his season. With Jed Lowrie emerging as the every day shortstop Lugo is out of a job. If the Red Sox do keep him he will have some value as a backup infielder and outfielder. With Coco gone the Red Sox do not have a 4th outfielder and Coco could be that guy. While he was with the Dodgers he did play some games in the outfield and the Red Sox were prepared to use him in the outfield when Moss had emergency surgery last season. He would be a very expensive backup but not a bad guy to have on the bench who could fill in for for injuries and allow the Red Sox to carry another pitcher.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tigers May Bypass Lugo and Sign Cora
The Detroit Tigers had shown some interest in trading for Julio Lugo but may now settle on signing Alex Cora as their full time shortstop. I guess they had some Red Sox fans giving some inside information on the better choice. It would be nice to see Cora get a full time spot a short but not if it takes away one of Boston's potential trade partners for Lugo.
Getaway Day
A pretty slow news day on the baseball front as everyone hits the road or airport to get to their Thanksgiving destination. If you really need something to read you can look at Ken Rosenthal's newest post where he writes over 800 words just to tell us that Scott Boras represents some of the biggest free agents; another great scoop from Fox's baseball insider.
Have a safe trip to your destination and enjoy the time off with your friends and family.
Rangers Want Buchholz, Sox Don't Want to Deal Him
If the Red Sox want to get a good catcher from Texas they are going to have to give up a good player but apparently Clay Buchholz is off limits. From MLB Rangers.com:
The Red Sox have made it clear that they aren't interested in trading Clay Buchholz under any circumstances. The Rangers still have interest in other Red Sox pitching -- including Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden -- but the two sides haven't been able to match up on a deal that would send either Taylor Teagarden or Jarrod Saltalamacchia to Boston.
I for one would rather keep Masterson over Buchholz but Red Sox officials still believe that Buchholz has more upside.
Flashback: Thanksgiving 2003
Thanksgiving 5 years ago marked one of the most important events in Red Sox history. Theo went to Arizona that November day in 2003, he gave up time with his family to eat with the Schillings and convince Curt that he could be part of something special.
"If we didn't sign Curt, it probably would have been the worst Thanksgiving of my life," Epstein said. "We tried to refuse, and Curt said it was a deal-breaker, they would be insulted if we didn't go."
The deal helped the Red Sox win 2 World Series Championships. What is Theo up to this holiday season? The winter meetings start Dec. 5 so get ready for some moves.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Family Feud Youk Style
Kevin Youkilis's family is playing family feud against other Red Sox player's families as part of a charity event at Mohegan Sun this Saturday. The event is called "Crackin' it Up" and is part of Youkilis' Hits for Kids charity:
Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids is a charitable organization focused on raising support and awareness for the health, advocacy, safety, and well-being of children. Rallying the support of individuals and businesses Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids teams up with existing community-based children’s charities and medical research efforts, which currently lack sufficient funding.
You can buy tickets to the event here.
Red Sox Spring Training Schedule Released
The Boston Red Sox have announced the 2009 Spring Training schedule. Tickets for all Red Sox spring training games go on sale Dec. 6. They will face the Yankees at home on March 13 and in Tampa on March 24. You can see the entire schedule and ticket prices here.
Roger* In Trouble With the Man
The Feds are upping their efforts to find evidence that Roger Clemens* committed perjury. Roger* better get a letter to President Bush requesting a pardon done before its too late.
Tuesday's Rumor Mill
The rumor of the Sox looking to sign Mark Teixeira continues and may have heated up since the Angels may be dropping out of the race. The ripple effect of this means LAA may go after C.C. which could take him away from Hank.
If the Red Sox do sign Teixeira they may then ship Lowell and a pitcher (Buchholz, Masterson or a prospect) to the Rangers for a catcher; most likely Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Youk would then move back to third.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Ken Rosenthal's Latest: More Crap
Fox Sports baseball "insider"Ken Rosenthal has a new post up filled with his typical b.s. How's this for a great scoop:
"As for trading designated hitter David Ortiz, good luck. Ortiz, as a player with 10 years of major-league service, five with the same team, has the right to veto any deal. Plus, as a designated hitter, his market would consist only of American League teams."
The Red Sox are not going to trade Ortiz this off-season and I am sure the idea has not even crossed Theo's mind. Rosenthal has nothing of value to write about so he grasps at straws with this wild speculation that the Sox want to trade Ortiz.
Scott Boras Says Tek Report is Untrue
Jason Varitek's agent Scott Boras say the Red Sox have not begun negotiating with his client and he knows nothing about a one year offer that was reported earlier.
Junichi Tazawa Chooses Red Sox
Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa has reportedly chosen to play for the Boston Red Sox. The details of the contract have not been announced although it is believed to be between $3-6 million.
Red Sox Make 1 Year Offer To Tek
Rob Bradford of WEEI.com is reporting that the initial Red Sox offer to Jason Varitek was for 1 year and less than Posada's yearly salary of $13 million. It is very unlikely that Tek will accept this offer but shows that the Red Sox are not willing to go with a long term deal. Based on the initial offer I would speculate that Theo's final offer will be for 2 years and he is willing to move on without Varitek.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Red Sox Make a $6 Million Offer for Tazawa
The Red Sox have offered Japanese amateur free agent pitcher Junichi Tazawa a $6 million contract. From NPB Tracker:
Sanspo is reporting that Red Sox VP for international scouting Craig Shipley spent 1 hour 50 minutes negotiating with Junichi Tawaza, resulting in a $6M contract offer. No word on whether it’s a major league deal or not.The deal could end up being a great bargain for the Red Sox if Tawaza is half the player he is hyped up to be.
Hat tip to MLB Trade Rumors.
Hot Stove Update
Here's the latest on a few free agents the Red Sox are looking at.
A.J. Burnett: He wants a 5 year deal, Boston is interested in signing him but only if they can't get Lowe.
Mark Teixeria: Several sources have the Red Sox seriously interested in Teixeria, their main competition will be the Angels but Teixeria wants to play on the East Coast and will decide where he is going by Christmas.
Derek Lowe: Another Boras client who wants crazy money. Barry Zito's contract numbers were thrown out there. Seeing how well Zito has done in SF, it may not be the best bargaining position to go with. The Red Sox are showing the most interest in bringing him back.
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