Yard Sale at FenwayNo, I am not
even talking about the Mike Lowell deal (which is
not official, yet).
Yesterday, when I got home from work around 3pm, this email was sitting in my inbox:
Everyone,
I know this is extremely late notice but the Red Sox have just invited all ARAMARK employees to come on down to the yard sale today. You can enter through Gate E. They are selling a number of different things ranging from $10-$700+. Please forward this along to your distribution lists if possible.
Thanks,
This, of course, was the first I ever heard of it. What notice! This would have been awesome to go to. However, apparently, the Red Sox weren’t too keen on promoting this event. I did a google search for “Yard Sale at Fenway Park” and didn’t really see much pertaining to 2009 except for this, a post Fenway neighborhood blog:
1:22 PMPosted byStephen BrophyDear Fenway Neighbors,
Please join us for agreat opportunity to finish up (or begin!) your holiday shopping at theGreat Fenway Park Yard Sale today at Fenway Park until 5pm!
Items for sale include unique Red Sox memorabilia and one-of-a-kind items from Fenway Park.
Please enter through Gate E and let them know you’re a Fenway neighbor.
Hope to see you there!!!
Happy shopping!!
Beth Krudys
Interesting to find out how many people knew
about this and how many people were there.
However, apparently it was quite successful
because today the Red Sox have agreed to a 5 year
contract with form Los Angeles of Anaheim Angel
John Lackey and have made an offer
of $15.5 million to Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman
and are close to a deal with
perennial Gold Glove outfielder Mike Cameron.
While Lackey is a quality starting
pitcher who has won quite a few big games in his
career, I cannot say that I am truly enamored with
this signing. This does make a strong
rotation for 2010 with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester,
Clay Buccholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield,
and now Lackey. However, with this contract
being reported as a 5 yr / $85 million contract,
you have to wonder how this signing is going to
affect the Josh Beckett negotiations.
Beckett will become a free agent at the end of
2010. Beckett will command a contract AT
LEAST the length and size of Lackey’s
deal. With the Red Sox’ history of
re-signing their own free agents (case in point
Jason Bay right now; hence the news of an
impending deal with Cameron), this has got to put
up some red flags that this is Beckett’s
last season in Fenway. Besides Varitek a few
years ago, I can’t really remember a premier
player that the Red Sox re-signed once the player
filed for free agency. I hope this will not
be the case, as Beckett still has quite a few
years of top of the rotation pitching left in his
career. Time will tell.
This has not only been a busy Monday for the Red Sox, but a busy Monday baseball wide. The big news of the day is the big Roy Halladay / Cliff Lee trade that is on the verge of being finalized. This is a 3 team trade in which Halladay goes to Philadelphia (pending a contract extension being signed), Cliff Lee heads off to Seattle, and a bunch of prospects will go to Toronto. This will be exciting to hear about the finalized deal.
A lot of times, the MLB “Hot Stove” season is a bit over-hyped and over-rated, but today has been an exciting day. It has made me tune back into the MLB Network today after their rude programming where they replayed the Bucky “Bleeping” Dent game. Gahhhhhhhh!
Go Sox!!!!
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New gifts under the tree for red sox
New Gifts Under Tree for Red Sox
Just when we all thought the worst was only starting - Epstein supposedly rebuilding … Jason Bay apparently willing to go somewhere else … Listening to more Yank-fan gibberish - Christmas came early for the Red Sox.
First, reports of John Lackey agreeing on 5 years @ $85 Million, pending a physical and some paperwork (it’s about time, too! I was starting to get sick of seeing him shut us out seemingly every time we played LA over the last couple years!).
Follow that up with the news that the not only are the Yankees not getting Roy Halladay, but that we’re only going to have to face Roy in Inter-league play and/or the World Series. After not landing Halladay ourselves, that’s a fantastic door prize.
The Yankees lost out again short after, with
the news that Hideki Matsui is to sign with
the Angels. Bye Bye, Godzilla.
But wait, there’s more! That’s right - for two affordable installments of $7.75 Million, we’ll give you not just a perennial 20+HR hitter, not just arguably the best defensive CF in the game, not just a great clubhouse personality, but all three of these in one! Mike Cameron, welcome to Beantown! It’s yet to be mentioned if he’s Bay’s replacement, or if he’s going to play a platoon with Hermida in left. Maybe he’ll move to CF, moving Ellsbury to Left. Maybe move Ellsbury to RF, and Drew to LF where he might be better suited? Regardless, we now have options.
Merry Christmas, BoSox!
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I was suprised to see Mike end up in Boston. Whether or not he is Bays replacement will be seen, but he is a solid outfielder. welcome to the blogs! enjoy it here!
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Attention, Attention!!
It’s mayhem in Red Sox Nation. The Red Sox have reportedly signed John Lackey and Mike Cameron. Lackey and the Sox agreed on a 5 year, 82.5 million dollar deal. Cameron and the Sox agreed on a 2 year, 15.5 million dollar deal.
Also, it looks as though 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and Lackey’s former team, the Los Angeles Angels have agreed on a 1 year, 6.5 million dollar deal.
The trade that will send Cliff Lee to the Mariners, and Roy Halladay to the Phillies looks as though it will go through. This 3 tam block buster will allow the Mariners to send prospects to the Blue Jays, the Blue Jays to send Roy Halladay to the Phillies, and the Phillies to send Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
The Red Sox have reportedly offered 15.5 million dollars to the Cuban pitching sensation, Aroldis Chapman. That’s what ESPN.com said.
As for the 2010 pitching rotation for the Boston Red Sox, it looks to go something like this, according to the Hartford Courant:
Jon Lester
Josh Beckett
John Lackey
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Clay Buchholz
Tim Wakefield
Yeah, that’s 6 starters. Another rumor going around is that the Sox are looking to trade Buchholz for fielding depth. Speaking of that, the Mike Lowell to Texas deal has frozen for a bit. Another thing is, what about Adrian Beltre? Come on Theo, you’re driving us all nuts now.
In other news, Julia, from Julia’s Rants, is celebrating her 500th blog entry!! Congratulations, Julia!! Hope Theo’s newest signings made your day!!
Have a great day everyone!! Enjoy the mayhem, both with the Hot Stove and with the last second Holiday shopping.
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Well, I can’t speak for Julia, Holly, but
as I see it, the Lackey signing is a good
one–for now. I hope 5 years does not turn
out to be too long, but I think he’ll be
solid for at least 2-3 years. Now, if that Lowell
deal falls completely off the table, I will REALLY
be happy! I don’t see Lowell playing every
day for us (as he wants), so I think he will be
happier elsewhere, but the Rangers deal is the
WRONG DEAL! I don’t want that much mayhem!
And it looks like with Cameron and Hermida,
we’ll end up with a LF platoon (unless
another trade happens!)…
GO SOX!
Uh, can you say “SCARY”… as in the Red Sox starting pitching staff? We said it last year too, but this year it’ll be REALLY scary. Glad my team is safe in the NL Central. Whew.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
http://mtrredstatebluestate.com
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Best Rotations in Baseballhttp://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/article/20 09-12-19/top-5-rotations-majors According to Chris Bahr, the best rotations are as follows:
And honorable mentions: Phils, Rocks, Mariners,
Giants, Angels
At the top of the list
is the Red Sox–I must say for the most part
that I agree with that selection. With Lackey,
Beckett, Matsuzaka, and Lester, they have 4 aces.
They also have room for a decision for the 5th
guy, with Buchholz and Wakefield. There is no
better staff than this one. The one question as
Bahr said, remains to be the performance of
Daisuke.
The Braves (although when he put
this list up they had Vazquez) are nowhere near
the 2nd best rotation in baseball. Tommy Hanson
and Jair Jurrjens are two talented young pitchers,
but beyond that, they don’t have ANYTHING.
Tim Hudson is WAY past his prime, and Derek Lowe
was TERRIBLE in 09, with an ERA of 4.67 and an
opp. avg. of over .300 <—- That is just
horrible!
The White Sox have a good
rotation by the numbers. Buehrle, Danks, and Floyd
all had ERAs south of or equal to 4 flat, and
Peavy put up (in his 3 starts) fantastic numbers
(3-0, 1.35 ERA). Freddy Garcia also wasn’t
too bad, putting up a 4.32 ERA. I do however
believe that Buehrle will not be putting up
09-like numbers. After his perfect game, he was
winless for SIX weeks, going 0-4 with a 5.44 ERA.
I predict that will see a Buehrle of this
quality.
Next on this list comes the
Yankees, and yes, they are also deserving of a Top
5 spot. With aces AJ Burnett, CC Sabathia, and
Andy Pettitte and Javier Vazquez behind them they
are a high quality rotation. The only problems
are: Pettitte is getting old, Vazquez is
inconsistent, and they’re number 5 starter
is going to SUCK. Other than that, the rotation is
pretty solid, especially when backed by an offense
with Mark Teixiera, A-rod, Nick Johnson, Curtis
Granderson, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Jorge
Posada, etc….
In the number 5 spot is
the Cardinals. With two of the top starters in the
game (Wainwright and Carpenter), they are
deserving. Their third starter ain’t too bad
either…Penny, who did quite a fantastic job
with the Giants in the second-half of 09. They
need to add pitching, but still a solid
rotation.
The Mariners have quite a
staff too, headlined by King Felix, and Cliff Lee.
Similar to the Cardinals rotation, their rotation
is not solid all the way throughout, but has two
absolute aces at the top. With a decent #3 guy,
this rotation could be top-notch. Rowland-Smith
whose ERA was well below 4, could fill that spot.
And with Ian Snell behind him, this
rotation’s depth is underrated. I would say
their rotation is better than the White Sox,
Braves, and even the Cardinals. Felix and CLee are
as great as Johnson and Schilling, and let’s
remember–that rotation of 2 good pitchers
got the Dbacks a ring in 01.
The
Phillies are overrated…as seen in the
playoffs their only good pitcher was Cliff Lee,
and now he’s gone. Halladay is great, but
Hamels is shaky as is Blanton and Happ. Happ was
great in the 09 regular season, but failed to
perform well in the playoffs. I would say this
staff is good, but nothing fantastic. It’s
definitely got potential though…
The
Giants, as I’ve mentioned are a great staff,
and I feel that they are the best rotation in
baseball…Read previous post.
The Rockies have potential and they’re a
good staff. They’re nothing great though,
and they don’t have any overpowering ace,
like Cliff Lee, or Roy Halladay. Francis, Cook,
DeLaRosa, are all good, and Ubaldo Jimenez is
great, but he’s not unstoppable. His ERA is
3.80, which is nothing fantastic in an ace.
And remember his playoff performance…opp.
avg. above .300 and ERA above 5. Last comes
Hammel, who is like any other average #5
starter.
The Angels have an underrated
staff. They have rising stars in Jered Weaver,
Scott Kazmir, Joe Saunders, and Ervin Santana.
This staff could be like the 03 Marlins (Beckett,
Burnett, Willis, Pavano, Penny) if they all pitch
to their potential.
My rankings are as
follows:
1. Giants2. Red Sox3. Yankees4.
Mariners5. Angels6. Cardinals7. Phillies8. White
Sox9. Braves 10. Rockies
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Florida Marlins
I have a question that I hope someone can answer for me, why are the Florida Marlins in Miami and/or Florida? Attendance is always low, revenues and salary caps are extraremly low and for some odd reason, they decided to build a brand spankin new ballpark. They produce great players through their farm system but then, due to lack of cash, are forced to go on fire sales and send everyone away. They have only been around for 20 years and have already had two and a half. (’97 offseason and ‘06) I say half because of the Cabrera/Willis deal in ‘07.
The Marlins could and would do so much better if they could move to Charollete NC. I would say San Antonio, but I don’t think Texas needs three teams. Charollete is the fastest growing city in the US and would be a good baseball town. Now I already know that they won’t leave because of the stadium, but I’m just dreaming.
The ‘09 Marlins gave the wild card a run for its money but fell short coming in third in the NL East. Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla, who are argueably the best double play duo in the league, had great offensive years. Uggla hit 31 homeruns with 90 RBI’s and Ramirez won the NL batting title after making a great transition when Freddy Gonzalez moved him from 1st to 3rd in the batting order. Pitcher Josh Johnson had a break out year and perhaps is the Marlins ace for 2010. With that said, it’s funny that all three players are in trade rumors. Johnson and Ramirez are not likely to go right now but I would be very surprised if Uggla is with Florida next year.
The Giants have showed interest in him but I don’t think they will get him. This is at least until they figure out their positions now that they’ve signed Derosa. Uggla would probably play better in left for them since he sucks at fielding at second. But I’m getting off topic and will talk about the Giants more at a later date.
The Marlins have made an offer to Aroldis Chapman. I don’t think he’ll sign with them though. If he does though, he won’t be a factor until mid ‘10 to early ‘11. He is likely to start in AA and move from there but he will break a record for highest paid minor leaguer.
2010 Florida Marlins Prediction 80-82 4th in National League East
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Statesville Stadium
Regular readers of this blog known I’ve written several articles about the Statesville Owls, one of two Angels minor league teams in their inaugural 1961 season.
On September 25, we reunited many of the surviving Statesville players at the Angels’ minor league complex in Tempe, Arizona. The Statesville Record & Landmark published an article on November 15 about the reunion.
Statesville resident Steve Hill contacted Jerry Fox, an Owls outfielder in 1961, to send some photos from his collection of Statesville Stadium as it looked in that era. Jerry sent the photos to me. Here are two angles of the park:
The stadium structure no longer exists, but the field remains as it’s used by the adjacent Statesville High School baseball team. Here’s a satellite image of how it appears today:
The neighborhood doesn’t appear to have changed that much.
Note in the top photo that the park has an all-dirt infield. I’m told that only four ballparks in the minor leagues still had all-dirt infields in 1961.
Look down near the right field foul pole. You’ll see a standalone bleacher structure. That was where African-Americans had to sit. It was still the era of segregation in the Deep South. I’ve written in past blogs about the indignities suffered by the Black players on the team.
At the reunion, one Black player recalled a contest sponsored by a local clothier. A Statesville player who hit a home run could come in and get a suit. The problem was the Black players weren’t allowed in the store! So the contest meant nothing to them.
Steve also sent along a photo of Owls franchise owner Fleete McCurdy:
Rumor has it McCurdy was very tight with his money, but given the primitive conditions I can’t imagine where he’d find the money to provide the players with a state-of-the-art clubhouse and new uniforms.
Despite it all, the Statesville alumni say they had a ball, and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
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MONDAY MADNESS SWEEPSTAKESA number of clubs participated in aquiring FA’s (pending physical tests) around the hours of 2pm to about 8pm Monday night. Philadelphia Seattle & Toronto were a trio of teams that was included in what was a ‘brushfire’ of numerous team aquisitions. Boston & Anaheim are made a splash.
2003 AL Cy Young Winner Roy ‘Doc’ Halladay checked into a hotel checked into a Philadelphia-area hotel (what was once rumored, is now confirmed by Andy Martino) with his agent to talk with Phillies about a possible trade offer. Philadelphia was rumored to be the leader in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes this winter (rumors undisclosed from the Indianapolis GM winter meetings). Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was aware he would need to deal a number of prospects and Cliff Lee (the 2008 AL Cy Young Winner), in order to aquire Halladay. Cliff Lee reportedly is due to end up in Seattle in the same rotation as Felix Hernandez. Blue Jays acquires four prospects from Philadelphia (OF Dominic Brown and/or OF Michael Taylor, RHP Doug Drabek, and C Travis d’Arnaud, none of which are confirmed choices to be included in the package deal.)
To sum up on the triple-team deal, Roy Halladay expected to earn $15.75M in 2010. Phillies front office repots that n order to attain Halladay, they could not afford the $9M Lee expected to earn next season. Cutting their payroll was the back-breaker for the Phillies. The Jays pick up prospects as they’ve been asking numerous clubs for in terms of a possible trade(s) for a man who won a minimum of 16 games in each of the last four seasons.
John Lackey signed with Boston for $85M over five years. He is projected to be Red Sox’ No.3 starter behind Lester & Beckett. Veteran OF Mike Cameron, is expected to sign with Boston over two years that pays $7M to $8M annually. (both reported by MLB.com)
Angels signed 2009 World Series MVP Hideki
Matsui to a one year deal paying $6.5M. Now
projected to be the DH come Opening Day 2010, some
sources believe this could erase the chance of
resigning free agent Vlad Guerrero.
________________________________________________
_
Once again, these deals are yet to be
finalized, pending physicals.
- Anthony Arroyo http://www.facebook.com/#/profile.php?ref=profile& amp;id=27613852
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Chapman scouted by O’s, host of othersNo
surprise here, but the Orioles were one of about
15 teams scouting Aroldis Chapman during his side
session in Houston on Tuesday, ESPN’s Jorge
Arangure Jr. confirmed. John Stockstill, the
O’s director of international scouting, was
there, and other teams like the Astros, Angels,
Marlins, Pirates, Nationals, Red Sox and Yankees
also had representatives at the Baseball USA
complex.
The workout was closed off to the
media, but MLB.com reported that about 50 Major
League scouts who were there were impressed.
Chapman reportedly threw 92-93 mph and topped out
at 96, but new agent Randy Hendricks stressed he
wasn’t throwing his hardest.
Chapman,
the 21-year-old lefty who defected from Cuba
during the World Port Tournament in July and
sports a triple-digit fastball, met with the
Orioles in New York on Oct. 30, when he was under
the direction of agent Edwin Mejia. Since then,
Chapman has joined the Hendricks brothers.
The Red Sox are believed to have made the only
offer to Chapman, as ESPN.com reported recently
that it was worth $15.5 million. Many have said it
will, as usual, come down to the Red Sox and
Yankees. The O’s, however, will likely have
a shot, especially since Chapman’s market
has dropped from the $60 million over six years
that was floated around recently to something
resembling the offer Boston made.
–
Alden Gonzalez
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Yankees not in on BayThe Yankees have no interest in signing Jason Bay to a long-term contract, the New York Daily News reported on Tuesday, not wanting to commit more than $60 million to another outfielder.
A report published on Tuesday in the Boston Herald noted that the Yankees made contact with Bay’s representative, Joe Urbon, but that should not be considered surprising in itself. General manager Brian Cashman has stayed busy with numerous agents this winter.
The Mets, Mariners and Angels are said to be the front-runners in the chase for Bay, with the Mets reportedly offering Bay a deal in the range of four years and $65 million. The Daily News reports that the Yankees suspect Bay will become a designated hitter within that four-year period.
The Yankees have been seeking an outfielder who is capable of spending some of his time as a designated hitter, and their first choice remains bringing back Johnny Damon - a strategy that cost them Hideki Matsui, as the World Series MVP decided not to wait and is close to inking a deal with the Angels.
New York has also shown some interest in free agent Mark DeRosa, though he runs a distant second to Damon, whom the Yankees would like back on a two-year contract worth approximately $18 to $19 million.
– Bryan Hoch
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The yankees dont need Jason bay they need one more above average starting pitcher, a utility infielder like Jaun Uribe and a power bat like Jonny Gomes and for the money they would use on Bay they could get all that and go on to win another world series. What would you do?
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How do we move forward?
Today was a
very disappointing day as a fan and for the Angels
organization. Today Chone Figgins (aka Figgy) a
great 3rd baseman for the Angels, was introduced
as a Seattle Mariner. It was painful to see him go
and I think many fans would agree. Also, John
Lackey our best pitcher our bulldog from the 2002
world series has shockingly gone to the Boston Red
Sox yesterday. He helped us beat Boston just a few
months ago and helped propel us to the ALCS. How
can this happen??
Going into the
offseason our top two priorities were Chone
Figgins and John Lackey. People were debating who
would come back as an Angel assuming we would
bring back at least one. People were also debating
about who was more important to bring back. As of
12-14-09 the Angels brought back none of them. How
do you lose both of your priority free agents? I
have no idea.
I have no
idea what “direction” the Angels are
going. It seems to me the Angels are working
towards a few years from now which is very
disappointing. To make a run at the postseason
again the Angels would need to sign John Lackey
and/or Chone Figgins. We had $113 million dollars
to spend on free agents and we have spent about
$24.5 million. Where did the $300+ million dollars
from the Tex offer go? $300 million dollars would
be plenty to sign both Figgy and Lackey and more.
I dont know what goes on in the front office but
this has been very disappointing.
With the signing of Hideki Matsui, it is
good to see the Angels finding a good bat. I think
that Vlady would be still good to sign looking at
how well he did in the postseason, and seeing how
if injury free, he can hit baseballs that no one
else can. He can cover the plate better than most
can. I think Matsui is a good addition but I think
signing Vlady also would not hurt. Also, signing
Vlad would give some depth in the DH spot is
Matsui doesn’t do as well as hoped or gets
hurt. Same thing if Vlad got hurt Matsui would be
there to pick up the slack. I see it as a win win
situation with the DH spot if vlad was signed.
How do we move forward? I think first off
we need to sign Darren Oliver because without him
our bullpen suffers. His performance in the
postseason was unbelievable and we need him back.
I personally believe vlad should be signed with
the Angels again. I think signing Kelvim Escobar
would be very risky but since we lost Lackey may
or may not be a good risk to take. To fill the
third base role, I think Brandon Wood will play
third and finally get his chance. The Angels have
some holes to fill, and Seattle looks like a very
strong team next year, but I hope the Angels fill
those holes and have a great season.
I would like to conclude by saying thank
you to Chone Figgins and John Lackey for their
years with the Angels. There were great memories
and it is very painful seeing them go, and very
disappointing as a fan. Figgy you were my favorite
players all these years im saddened, like other
fans, about your departure. Maybe some day they
will both be back but it is very unlikely. Seeing
the both of them in a uniform that is not the
Angels is very disappointing. I wish the two of
them the best of luck.
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