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In a move I never would have predicted, the Red Sox have apparently agreed to a minor league deal with Bartolo Colon.  ESPN is reporting that should Colon make the opening day roster, it would be for a low base salary and incentives.

The good news is that the Red Sox just signed an 146 game winner to a low risk deal.  The bad news?  Well, it's a long list.  Colon has always been too short for his weight.  He has had numorous arm issues and he has won only 7 games in the past 2 years.

So what do we have here?  Well, Colon did win 21 games in 2005.  Last season, in September, he pitched an 8 inning, 8 hit, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K game.  Not a gem, but solid enough.  But despite all that, he is a question mark.  Basically, if he is healthy, great move.  If he isn't healthy, well, they'll learn that early and little risk taken.

This is a great signing.  It might not yield amazing results, but for the cost, bring it on.

If indeed Schilling is out for the year as he thinks (without surgery), this could go a long way to helping.  The key of course is getting some innings out of a player, Colon, who is definitely an injury waiting to happen.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:41 PM | Permalink

The Red Sox and Terry Francona agreed on a 3 year contract extension.  Word is that it will pay him roughly $10mm over the 3 seasons.  Not bad.

I'm glad this issue is resolved.  Francona has won 2 Championships in 4 seasons for a team well, you know the history.

With Spring Training just under way, there are really no major issues.  Coco Crisp said he'd prefer to be traded if he isn't the starter.  No surprise and you certainly can't blame him.  The question becomes, will the Red Sox move him now or when they know more about the holes on the team later in the season?  I can't see Crisp being a distraction as long as he is told he will be moved eventually.

There are the usual stories about this minor leaguer or that journeyman player working really hard to prove his place on the major league roster.  I doubt we'll see any surpsise roster decisions this year though.

Hammerin' Hank Steinbrenner continues his quest to get sued by offering this one.  When asked about how Boston fans might treat Andy Pettitte at Fenway he said, "I don't think they would want to be hollering too loud at Andy up in Fenway. They had plenty of players doing this stuff, too. It's just that those players weren't mentioned in the Mitchell Report."

So what exactly are his sources?  First off, there were plenty of Red Sox players on the list.  If you recall, I wrote that there were 15 players with Red Sox ties on the Mitchell report.  So it wasn't that there were no Red Sox players in the report.  Secondly, to suggest there were a boat load of others without offering proof, is opening oneself up to litigation.  Granted he didn't name specific names, but as a Red Sox player, you have to be a bit annoyed.  I'm not trying to say there aren't current or former Red Sox that used HGH or steroids, but I don't have proof aside from what I've seen on the field.  If Hank has something more, he has an interesting way of demonstrating it.

Anyway, I will say that Hank has shown some amazingly poor public relations decisions in his brief tenure, but he is interesting.  As a Red Sox fan, I am kind of happy about it.  As for Yankee fans, I'm not sure what they feel.  There must be some feeling that finally, we've got a leader (since George has withdrawn) that will do/say anything to win, but at the same time, there were many that grew tire of George's act.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 03:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Alright, fine.  Time for a new season.  I guess me relishing in the glow of the Red Sox crapulence has to come to an end.  The Red Sox won the 2007 World Series, not the 2008 World Series.  At least not yet anyway.

Major issue abound, do they not?

Curt Schilling heads this list.  He turned in a solid 2007 season and signed what I considered a decent contract for 2008.  But suddenly his shoulder looks like chop suey.  As I said last week, that's either the Red Sox fault for lack of due dilegence or maybe Schilling really did get hurt in the past few weeks.  It really isn't fair for me to point fingers in this case as I just don't have the intelligence information to render an opinion, do you?

With Schilling down, the Red Sox rotation now includes:  Beckett, Matsuzaka, Wakefield and Lester.  The 5th spot belongs to one of the following:  Julian Tavarez, Clay Buchholz, Kyle Snyder, Davern Hansack or David Aardsma.

Buchholz is the front-runner, but the Red Sox are smart enough not to give him the nod this soon.  In fact, if he opened the season in AAA, I would not be surprised.  We are talking about the 5th spot and, especially early in the season, that role isn't vital.  Buchholz is young and has a ton of promise, why rush to give him 180+ innings.

Japan.  It sounds great and all, but I do worry about what toll it will take on the players.  Why?  I have no idea other than it is something decidely out of the norm.  In life, most prefer the norm.  Routine is king, so this trip could present a few problems.  The best thing to compare it to might be the World Baseball Classic.  Many of the MLB players that were involved struggled early on (Mike Timlin).  Then again, Daisuke Matsuzaka was showcased and, well, you know how that worked out.

Coco Crisp is still on the squad.  With Bobby Kielty signed to a non-guaranteed deal, the Red Sox get to figure this one out slowly, or at least in the next 30 days or so.  Either they get a taker for Crisp, or they keep him.  Crisp is a very good defensive outfielder, but his bat has been a bit of a letdown.  He'd make an excellent 4th OF.  Jacoby has this job locked down as far as I'm concerned.  But if a deal makes sense, I suspect they'll move him immediately as they don't want any issues made of the Ellsbury/Crisp issue.  Crisp was a great soldier in the playoffs, but he is likely to want to play everyday in 2008.  I thought Crisp would've been gone by now, but I was wrong.

Terry Francona.  He has won 2 World Series Championships with the Red Sox but is not signed beyond this year.  I'm not sure what the hold-up is here, but for the love of crud, what gives?  Francona will always get second-guessed.  This Boston/New England, but he is a very good manager that take endless punches for his players and coaches.  While I don't want to see a Joe Torre, when he was with the Yankees, type deal for Francona, he is deserving of a 3 year deal soon.

Stop what you are doing and take a deep breath.  If there are things around you that are tough right now, take some solice that baseball is back.  If all is right for you, then appreciate this time of year doubly.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

KY and the Red Sox signed today. Youkilis and the Red Sox agreed to a deal that slightly favored the Sox, but at the end of the day, they both win, right?

So another deal taken care of . Just an fyi for what it is worth..

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:28 PM | Permalink

Multiple sources are suggesting Curt Schilling has a major shoulder injury that might require surgery and could spell the end of his career.

The Boston Heralds' Tony Massarotti, baseball writer turned columnist, wrote today that the Red Sox threatened to void his contract (or try to) if Schilling opted for surgery to fix a partially torn rotator cuff rather than a rehab plan. Schilling apparently consulted with Dr. Craig Morgan, the man who performed his surgery in 1995, and was told he should have surgery. The Red Sox on the other hand believe rehab will suffice. Yikes.

Gordon Edes of the Globe offered a bit more detail in that the Red Sox recommended rehab while Morgan recommended surgery. Apparently the CBA has a provision that if a team and player disagree with a medical issue, a 3rd party Dr. is to be consulted, in this case Dr. David Altchek, the Mets medical director. He sided with the Red Sox.

Edes pointed out that the issue has caused tension between the player and the team. Not sure why. Schilling should know that if he opts for surgery, he gets $8mm for doing nothing while the Red Sox want him to at least try to do it without season/career ending surgery seeing as they are on the hook for $8mm. What am I missing here?

The biggest non-baseball question in all of this is what did Schilling know and when did he know it? In other words, did he know of his injury when he signed with the Red Sox. At the same time, did the Red Sox do their due diligence when negotiating with Schilling this past off-season?

As for the baseball part of this issue, Edes is suggesting that Schilling will not pitch until July if he opts for rehab (and would have to retire if he opts for surgery). What does that mean for the Red Sox rotation? This is what is means:

Beckett
Matsuzaka
Wakefield
Lester
Buchholz

Hmmm, not bad, but Schilling in there would have been nicer, no? This forces the Red Sox to either go with Buchholz or sign/trade for a veteran arm.

No matter the solution, this is an unfortunate issue so close to Spring Training. While most of us where worried about bench players, the focus is now on starting pitching. I guess Julian Tavarez is going to be a Red Sox this year after all.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Ok, maybe the Red Sox aren't a wheelin' and a dealin' but they did do a few things in the past 36 hours.

First off they officially signed Sean Casey to a 1 year non-guaranteed deal at $800,000. They also gave Bobby Kielty a similar non-guaranteed 1 year, $800,000 deal with a possible $300,000 in incentives. Both Casey and Kielty have an invitation to spring training, but only get paid of they make the team.

With the Kielty signing, speculation surfaces that Coco Crisp was about to be shipped out of town although no meaty rumors are circulating.

Brendan Donnelly signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians. Donnelly had indicated during the 2007 season that he would like to re-sign with Boston but for whatever reason, perhaps the Mitchell Report, Donnelly elected to sign with Cleveland...and rehab his surgically repaired arm there.

Manny Ramirez has vowed to show up on-time to Spring Training. I guess none of his family members are planning on being sick this year. Additionally, he is working out this off-season with Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Perdoia in Arizona. Interesting.

A few minor league deals have been announced recently as well.

Saturday February 9th is Red Sox truck day when all equipment is loaded and sent via semi to Fort Myers Fla. Spring Training is just around the corner.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:21 PM | Permalink

Well the Red Sox found their lefty bat. Sean Casy and the Red Sox agreed to a non-guaranteed 1 year, $800,000 deal on Friday pending a physical.

Not bad, but he provides limited diversity. He players 1st base and only 1st base. He isn't the player he was prior to 2005. In his prime, he could be counted on for a good average, good obp and 20 HR power. But now he is just a singles and doubles hitter who can't stay healthy (he never could).

I'm lukewarm on this signing. Casey is going to provide good defense at 1st and a decent bat off the bench (career OBP is .366), but he lacks any dynamic skills and, on a personal note, he drives me nuts what with his batting stance, that right leg left prior to the pitch and his post-swing recoil. I can't stand it! There, I feel better.

Casey isn't a lock and this deal means he has to produce in Spring Training or the Red Sox can say "Ciao." If we look at the bench, we have:

Mirabelli
Cora
Crisp
Casey

9 starters + 4 bench = 13. That means we are headed for a 12 man pitching staff. Or, it means the Red Sox have another move to make. I said the other day that Crisp would be traded within days. Well I forgot that the Mets and Johan Santana had to first negotiate a contract (which they did as Peter pointed out moments ago). So now that the deal is official, I now expect Crisp to be a goner.

So another bench player needs to be signed when Crisp is dealt (or will appear in the return package for Crisp). What if they decide they want 5 reserves? But with: Schilling, Matsuzaka, Beckett, Wakefield, Lester, Timlin, Papelbon, Okajima, Delcarmen, Tavarez, Snyder and Lopez (not to mention Buchholz), the Red Sox will need to lose a pitcher or 2 for that to happen. Tavarez, Snyder and Lopez represent the most likely not to be with the Red Sox come opening day, but I just don't know what they are planning. I'm stumped.

As I alluded to last post, for all the drama and talk and rumors, the Red Sox are going to enter the 2008 season largely the same as they were when they won the World Series. I can handle that.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)