Sox Spending little with Penny & Green

So the Yankees sign Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett, and C.C. Sabathia for $423 million. The frugal Tampa Bay Rays spend over $16 million to solidify their potent line-up with Pat Burrell and the Red Sox pick-up an injured Brad Penny and Utility Infielder Nick Green for less than $6 million!

Woohoo! Who's next Theo...Willie Bloomquist ?!?

Manny Gets His Way, Sails Off to LA-LA Land

Hitting savant and malcontent Manny Ramirez was sent out of Boston to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal that included the Pittsburgh Pirates right before the trading deadline.

The Red Sox may have rushed this deal because they gave up a Hall of Fame hitter in Manny, along with a hard-throwing young Reliever in Craig Hansen and solid Outfield prospect Brandon Moss all for Pittsburgh Pirate Outfielder Jason Bay. Plus the Red Sox will be paying $7 million to the Dodgers to cover the remainder of Ramirez' 2008 salary!

Unlike Pittsburgh's deal with the Yankees last week, it appears the Pirates got the best of Sox GM Theo Epstein this week. While Jason Bay is an All-Star Outfielder, he will be 30 soon and as an NL hitter, it remains to be seen if he can protect David Ortiz in the line-up against stronger AL pitching. Also, the Red Sox still never got the bullpen help they so desperately needed. Meanwhile, Yankees GM Brian Cashman only gave up 4 prospects (and not Ian Kennedy) who were a few years away from the Majors to the Pirates for left-handed Relief specialist Damaso Marte and OF Xavier Nady, who has similar stats to Jason Bay.

Sure Jason Bay is a lot cheaper (he only makes $6-8 million) but this is Boston, so it shouldn't be about the money. Besides Bay's agent is Scott Boras, so he'll look to double that money when he is a free agent after next year. Nor is 'addition by subtraction' a good excuse for this deal because we're only talking about putting up with Manny for 2 more months and the Red Sox with their inconsistent pitching and slumping bats were barely on track to make the play-offs with Manny but now their chances are worse without him.

In short, the Pirates gained 2 good players and 2 prospects and the Dodgers gained a happy Hall of Fame hitter for 2 months in a contract year to bolster their play-off chances (plus 2 first round draft choices should Manny not sign in LA). All so the Red Sox could lose their headache and PR nightmare for 2 months. So if the Sox were really willing to give away this much to get rid of Manny, then why the heck couldn't this deal have been made for Mark Teixeira?!?

Red Sox Trade Rumors:

The 2008 MLB Trade deadline is less than a week away and as always, the Red Sox are a big part of the rumor mill. Some rumors are far-fetched while other may provide a little insight into what the team may look like next year.

• One of the pressing needs for the Sox is in the bullpen and more importantly the set-up role and middle relief. Brian Fuentes of the Rockies, Huston Street of the A's, and the Orioles' George Sherrill have all been oferred but the price has been too high.
• After last year's bad trade with Texas for Eric Gagne, Sox GM Theo Epstein has got to be hesitant about trading top young prospects like Jed Lowrie, Michael Bowden, and Clay Buchholz for a relief pitcher who may not be able to handle the heat of a Pennant race again.
• Also, Theo seems determined to convert either Justin Masterson or Michael Bowden into relief help ala Jonathan Papelbon. Masterson did well in Seattle but the true test will be against the Yankees and Tampa.
• After trading 4 prospects to the Pirates for Xavier Nady and top lefthanded reliever Damaso Marte, it appears the Yankees are going for it in their last year in the old stadium. This action could also force Theo and the Sox to make a move before the deadline.
• Should the Sox make a move, look for them to try to package either Coco Crisp or Julio Lugo (and his $9 mill salary) with lesser prospects for Mark Texeria who is the last year of his contract.
• Crisp is batting .252 and seems to be in steady decline, so it may be time to move him while his contract and skills are still coveted. Even though Lugo is only out until mid-Aug, you have to think he is on the way out since the Sox already contemplated Juan Uribe as a short/long term replacement at Shortstop.
• Long term, the Sox may be exploring a Jed Lowrie-Dustin Pedroia middle infield. However, since Pedroia has quick feet and Lowrie does not (Pedroia played SS in college and Lowrie 2B), the Sox could look to flip their positions again for a stronger defensive infield in the future.
• Finally, the Manny Ramirez factor is always in play. With two-1 year $20 million options on Manny's contract, the Sox hold all the cards in Manny's future. If it gets to a point where Manny no longer wants to play for a 1 year deal and his antics continue to distract the team, then the Sox might just exercise his option for next year and then trade him with his permission. Then with 2 months left in this season and another year on Manny's contract, the Sox could get some worthy compensation for him.

Time To Tweak Sox?

Are the Red Sox suffering the same kind of World Series hangover that plagued them down the stretch of the 2005 season or is this the beginning of the end of a great run with these core players? The Sox have been inconsistent in many areas of the game this year and with 57 games left in the season, it doesn't look good for them to defend their Championship title.

The Sox have one of the worst road records for a contending team in the history of baseball and are 3-5 since the All-Star break. Unlike last season, their set-up and middle relief have been horrendous and both the defense and starting pitching unreliable at times this year. After strong starts, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz seem to be approaching 'Sophomore slumps' and both Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek have been struggling at the plate all year. The bottom of their batting order is one of the worst in the league and even Manny Ramirez is showing his age lately.

In contrast, the Yankees are one of the hottest teams in baseball. Despite injuries to Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui, they are 8-0 since the All-Star break and recently have been bolstered by the additions of top hitting Outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed relief specialist Damaso Marte. The Yankees were 9 games out of first place on July 4th and 6 games behind the Red Sox and now they are tied with the Sox in the loss column. Oh yeah, let's not forget that the Sox still have been chasing the Tampa Bay Rays in the standings for almost 2 months and it's the LA Angels that are the best team in the AL this year. Not only that but they've been swept by both the Rays and the Angels already this season.

With the Yankees moving into a new ballpark next year, there is no way Boston will be able to compete with New York in the future financially, so you can't blame Red Sox Management for wanting to see what the younger players can do. Plus, I'm sure Sox GM Theo Epstein is a bit gun-shy after the Eric Gagne for David Murphy et al trade fiasco last year. However, with a rabid fan base and by far the highest ticket prices in the game, the Red Sox also cannot afford to rebuild and aside from Dustin Pedroia and John Lester, it doesn't look like the kids are stepping up. This means that with aging stars and lackluster production, it could be time to make some big time moves and change the club to keep the momentum going into the future.

Notes from the Coast:

Bartolo Colon strained his back while taking a batting swing in Inter-League play last week, but like Josh Beckett in Spring Training, Colon's back problem probably has a lot to do with his front. Afterall, he is 5'11 and 245 lbs and the Celtics' Big Baby is 6'9 and only 44 lbs heavier than Colon! Now that Curt Schilling is lost for the year, someone may need to show Bartolo how to do a few sit-ups to insure he stays in the rotation.

• Celts GM Danny Ainge won't taking a vacation anytime soon because this Thursday will be the last NBA Draft in which the Celts have a first round pick for awhile and it may be important to get a decent player, not project, who can learn how to win from the 'Big 3' while they're still around.
• The Red Sox nearly lost only their second 3 game series at home in 6 years when the St. Louis Cardinals took 2 out of 3 in Inter-League play over the weekend. As the injuries and losses pile up, this is a good time for GM Theo Epstein to scope out what the team will need down the stretch before the trade deadline.
• The Boston Bruins could be on the rise. With the help of former players like Cam Neely and Don Sweeney, the B's seem to be defining, uncovering, and stock-piling Bruin-like players in the NHL draft and free agency. My prediction is that they will return again to the Stanley Cup Finals in my Grandmother's lifetime...she is still their biggest fan.
• One last note on the NBA Finals. In commercials, radio stations around LA are congratulating the Western Conference Champion Lakers with end-tag "Wait until Byum gets back!". For the record, even though Andrew Bynum did average 13 pts/10 rebs in 35 games last year, in the two regular season games against the Celtics he only had 12 points & 11 rebounds combined.