What with the disaster of the grand US trip, and a slump like none seen before, it’s been a good long while since I made any mention of the dear old Red Sox, but with winter well underway it wont be so long before the new season starts and Boston has been a hive of rumour and activity.
As ever, the off-season has been filled with trade rumours surrounding Manny Ramirez, but as of right now the smart money is on him staying for another season. Of course, after the Damon horror of last off-season one really shouldn’t take anything for granted but no-one managed to make a suitably impressive offer for Manny before Theo’s self imposed deadline for trying to do a deal for him. Naturally they are still open to offers (so you never know) but the FO will be taking a passive approach to the issue from here on in.

While Manny may be staying, a couple of defensive stars from last season wont be. Gonzo has gone to the Reds from short and Loretta wont be returning at second (to be replaced by Pedroia, who didn’t look too shabby during the playing time he got last year). It also looks more than likely than Nixon will be leaving right field and that Mirabelli is off again. A shame to lose both of them but it seems to be for offensive purposes. Then again, if no-one else manages to handle Wake then Mirabelli may be back after all.
Coming in through the ‘in’ door, we have JD Drew and Julio Lugo at right and short respectively. Again, offensive replacements really. Of much more excitement is the possible signing of Japanese phenom Matsusaka. The Sox outbid everyone to earn the exclusive rights to negotiate with him (some argued this was primarily to stop the Yanks from getting him) but have been courting him since so look serious in wanting to add him to the rotation. With Schilling in his swan song season, Beckett looking for a hyper season after the disappointments of last year, Matsusaka looking to make an immediate impression in the US, Wake being Wake and Papelbon moving out of the closer role where he dominated last year I think (touch wood) that we might actually have the best rotation in baseball and the pitching quality that we were promised last year. Admittedly the bullpen is still weak and we have no recognised closer (as Foulke looks likely to go) but with a little added punch in the line up and hot starters, we might not need to worry.

Spring Training round the corner… let’s go Red Sox!!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 7th, 2006 at 4:28 pm While Dave was in Red Sox Exiles. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.