Eric Hinske now a Yankee

The Pittsburgh Pirates seem to be kicking off fire sale season early this year, trading former Red Sox Eric Hinske to the Evil Empire for a pair of minor leaguers. While the Pirates are in last place in their division, they are only 5 games under .500 and 6 games out of first. (Not bad for them at this stage of the season.)

Eric Hinske may now be a Yankee, but at least he didn't pledge his allegiance to RSN and then bolt to the dark side as soon as Steinbrenner unzipped his wallet. I will always remember Eric Hinkse for this body slam of Jorge Posada. Enjoy once again.

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Sox Are Looking To Japan For New Catcher

Jason Varitek is not getting any younger and Doug Mirabelli is in his last season in a Red Sox uniform, so Boston is looking for their catcher of the future. It is believed they are looking at Japanese catcher Hayato Doue. He is 25 years old and was chosen as the league MVP for the second half to 2007, he is also said to be a good defensive catcher with a strong arm. You can find more info on him here.





In other Sox news: Eric Hinske has signed with the Rays and Bendan Donnelly has signed with the Indians.

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Goodbye Hinske, Hello Casey

The Red Sox signed veteran first baseman Sean Casey to a one year $800,000 deal today. Casey is the left handed hitter and bench corner infielder the Sox have been looking for. This means Hinske will not be returning and Trot Nixon will not be coming back. Casey has often been called the nicest player in baseball so he should fit in well in the clubhouse and be well liked by fans. Casey hit .296 with 4 HR's and 54 RBI's in 143 games with Detroit last season.

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Santana Talks Heat Up Again

There is a building sense that Santana will be traded very soon and the two teams that seem most likely to be in the running are the Mets and Red Sox. The New York Post had this to say this morning : "The Red Sox essentially have sat on their offers since the early December winter meetings. There were reports in recent days that they had pulled Jon Lester from an offer, but officials involved in these discussions deny that. Executives surveyed feel an offer of Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson is superior to what the Mets can assemble, especially because even yesterday Met officials were saying they were still refusing to include outfield prospects Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez in the same deal." That would make Boston's offer as the best one on the table. Theo has been playing this very well and has refused to move from his offer knowing the Yankees would have to pay more than they wanted to beat it. If the Mets sell the farm to get Johan that would be fine with Boston; it is still a great situation for the Red Sox to be in.


As for other Sox news, it looks like Wilkerson is going to sign with Seattle so the Sox still need a backup corner infielder if they do not re sign Hinske.

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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.

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Anybody But Klesko

The Providence Journal listed a few players the Red Sox might be interested in to replace backup corner infielder Eric Hinske. One of the player on the list was Ryan Klesko. I lived in Atlanta during Klesko's tenure with the Braves and watched him out here on the Giants last year so I know how bad a player he can be. He strikes out way too often; last season for 21.7% of his at bats. He no longer has any power; 6 HR's in 362 at bats and his defense is not good. He is Jason Giambi Lite and I would not be surprised if his name ended up on the Michell Report. Klesko is 36 years old and will not be getting any better. If Boston wants someone with a solid bat to replace Eric Hinske they are not going to find him in Klesko. They are much better off re-signing Hinske or looking for a young player to fill in where needed.

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