Red Sox Acquire Littleton

Yet another arm to compete for a spot with Aardsma/et al. at the back end of the 'pen. Another indicator that Masterson will get a shot at the rotation, I think.

the Red Sox wouldnt trade a decent setup man because he's from Boston? You would trade Beckett,Ortiz and DiceK before Delacrmen? If you think Theo is thinking that way, then you are WAY off base!

no the reason delcarmen wont be traded is not because he's from boston, but because hes well beyond a "decent" setup man as you call him. This guys gonna be a gem arm in pen. He's already hitting 95-96 on the gun and hes got good movement. He just needs to work on:
1. keeping the ball down
2. setting up his fastball better
3. pounding the strike zone early

If he can do those 3 things he's in the top 10 relievers in baseball. Hands down.

And yes ortiz and dice-k both are "technically" on the market and the untouchables at this point in boston are Youk/pedroia/lester/bucholz/anderson.

thats it.

and i dont know soxfan93 where u heard that they are "quietly shopping" ortiz. I have heard quite the opposite. They are looking to add Teixiera to Ortiz and that MIGHT make lars anderson a trade candidate. but i hardly think they are lookin to acquire mark teixiera without keeping papi as the bat behind him and youk/pedroia as the bat in front of him.

both of those determine who they sign for other spots in the line-up.

http://www.boston.com/sports/ot/2008/11/the_truth_hurts.html

That was posted on here last week.

i can promise you number 34 will be in a red sox uniform with the name ortiz above it in 2009. i can promise you that. dont get yankees fans too excited hehe.

1) lowrie is an EASY call.. the job is his to lose... i recall everyone wanting to sign a second basemen three years ago when loretta left, but we let some young kid prove his stuff 1st..you might of heard of him he won the al MVP this year...
2) Ellsbury is also a pretty easy call, you let him bat 9th until he gains the confidence he needs to lead off... pedy stole 20 bases and pitchers would much rather see ellsbury 1st then him...

i agree with you upstate. however we are a rare breed apparantly. I ALWAYS reference pedroia's .167 batting avg his first month in '07 when talking about this.

I think ellsbury will work out the bat with time as well, and the 9 hole is a good idea.

ideal lineup for 09? (with my hopeful signings)
1. Pedroia 2b
2. Youk 3b
3. Teixiera 1b
4. Ortiz DH
5. Bay LF
6. Drew RF
7. Catcher (I really hope tek)
8. Lowrie SS
9. Ellsbury CF

ortiz has lost alot of value.... hes not nearly worth what he was before and do not forget he is capable of aging people..if i was theo id maybe go through this year with ortiz and then trade him for a team desperate for a bat who can afford it with an open DH slot (ie angels) and get a boatload of great prospects in return

txrangers22...
point well made.. i follow alot of minor league ball and i loved gabbard and murphy, hate when they trade the young kids with potential, that said i dont think "cash" or the proverbial player to be named will sting as much..
and i am pretty optimistic this kid isnt going to fall apart cuz he cant get his juice...
read the comments from fans at dallas morn news... they seem to think this kid has potential and middle relief is such a crapshoot why would you let him go for nothing???

In my opinion, yes, I do think Theo would trade Beckett or Daisuke before Delcarmen. Manny is younger and cheaper than both. Plus, there is already speculation floating around Boston that Theo is "quietly shopping" David Ortiz.

Posted by: soxfan93 | November 28, 2008 at 06:12 PM

SO you are saying you would trade away one of the best arms in baseball, and a great big gamne pitcher before you trade Delacarmen??

Wow, and I thought I was just another idiot...

I'm still trying to figure out which Ranger fans are ticked? Seems like there is only one and he was fine with it.

HEY SOX FANS STOP FIGHTING AMONGST OURSELVES LOL THATS NOT WHAT HE SAID! What he said ORIGINALLY is that delcarmen is on the untouchables list. Are ortiz, beckett, dice-k ect? no technically... but if the right offer came around maybe.

Is Bucholz and Lester available ( he adds delcarmen to this list )? No you got your answer in the trade for johan santana. No they are not available. That was his point

he never said delcarmen is more valuable to the red sox then beckett or ortiz.

think before you speak*

maybe i should do so myself

"1. keeping the ball down
2. setting up his fastball better
3. pounding the strike zone early"

I think you just described what every pitcher needs to do to be successful.

Hey, dont get me wrong, i ilike Delcarmen a lot. He has the potential to be a great set up guy. But right now he is very inconsistent. If Theo sees a deal for a catcher(or any player for that matter) that he thinks will improve the team, he will not let Delcarmen hold up thatr deal up.

sox fan....................beckett is a dominant ace in the postseason...lowell is a veteran 3rd baseman who is getting old and has injuries- big difference..

You'd trade Beckett before Lowell? You're kidding right?

soxfan..we read it..but it doesnt make sense...lowell is only thought of as so good because of his fenway stats..id say hes average or even below average on the road..hes nothing special..beckett however is a postseason almost guarantee...id trade many people on the red sox before beckett including ortiz

Interesting SOXFAN93 how everything you say is quoted verbatim and you say "that's not what I said", or "that's not what I meant".

You have made each of the statements you have been called on...just reply with, "ok, I was wrong, I should not have said that" and move on.

If you were to say, "I would not trade Beckett or Dice-K before Lowell or Delcarmen" I think you would be allowed back into the RedSox nation headquarters.

Wow, Boston Redsox has been really busy signing those "valuable" free agent that improve the team step wisely. I like how smart they are, instead of 100% focus on those big fishes, they make moves on those that improve this already great team. Great move Boston.

To me, I think Jed Lowrie is still a year away before becoming FULLY major league ready. Just a suggestion, will there be any possibility that boston can move Dustin Padroia to SS since he played SS before, and somehow move Lowell to play 2nd, and have Youk play 3rd, and 1B will be open for Teixiera. I'm sure Lowell is a much better hitter than Lowrie at this stage.

Lowrie has nothing to prove in the minors or on the bench, he is better than Lugo, he may take a while to fully contribute with the bat, but will be better than Lugo. Just hope his injury in his wrist? hurt his performance with the bat in the last months.

As much as I would like Teixeira, its hard to justify with Youkilis, Lowell, Papi all good players on contract, all good for Boston, and with guys like Anderson rising through the ranks

You can't move all star mvp caliber players all over the place? Look at Arod, he accepted his role of playing 3rd base along side with Jeter at SS.

i laughed at the proposal of moving lowell to second...he barely has enough range at 3rd, much less 2nd

yes hawkeyes.. it is nice a some baseball people actually comment.. thank you i love lowell but him at second would be like well... a rod at third...not a good idea... and makes no sense

PS lowell made the same amount of errors as arod did this year..................................
and played in 20 less games

and jeter is below ave at ss now
anyone can see that
that doesnt mean i do not have huge respect for what he did and what he means to the game

arod is the best third baseman in baseball hands down so dont even use that logic- and hes def top 3 defensive 3rd baseman

you should look at your own players deficiencies before criticizing another teams

you obviously are watching baseball because i can see how clouded you are hailing your red sox players while trying to discredit jeter- a 3 time gold glove award winner

and if arod was throwing so many balls into the stands then why does he only have 10 errors...what were lowells errors then?

if you can criticize arod and jeter..why not criticize lowrie, lugo and lowell..lowrie didnt make any errors but his range factor was a mess for a ss..lugo..come on he can barely field...and lowell is a slightly above average fielder with fenway park hitting statistics

you say you watch baseball..but i bet you couldnt tell me who right now is the best defensive shortstop in baseball over the past two seasons without looking at your little bill james plus minus system

to show i am fair and open minded i will say this...
dj is the last guy i want to see at bat against my team with the game on the line... the dude always finds a way to will a hit to right field
and i think a rod is a great hitter (not in the clutch) but in general, but i wouldnt want him on my team... thats not a criticism just an opinion

Lowell is done.

you have a video clip of errors made by arod at 3rd base...................no errors are pretty so i dont know what that proves

and i get defensive because of the huge anti-yankee bias that goes on in the forum when a yankee or red sox post goes up- but sorry if i got of hand

i think alot of teams would take jeter right now if they could....including the red sox..hes an upgrade over whatever they have right now..you forget other stats such as hitting with RISP and "clutch"- something that made david ortiz famous

ill even make u a nice list- blue jays, red sox, orioles, cubs, cardinals, astros, dodgers, tigers, a's, twins, pirates, padres, mariners,white sox, nationals, angels..and there are a few others teams that would prob take jeter as well- maybe not at his current salary but they would def take him if they could

so youd take a dead pull fenway park hitter whos "good" defensively over a 3 time MVP whos the youngest person to hit 500 homeruns and whos "down" years are great years for lowell?

and i didnt say any other SS who would take..i said defensively whos the best..but i do agree on hanley being the best SS right now HOWEVER...the best defensive SS in my opinion is troy tulowitzki..and if injuries hadnt crushed him this year then i might even take him over hanley ramirez

i did say jeter was clutch... from a sox fans point of view i would even say scary at times..
i agree alot of teams would take him for a lot of reasons and he is an upgrade over our revolving door of mistakes..
but since we are throwing intanigbles (sic) into the mix i have to stay with lowell over arod... its my opinion...the guys has two things arod doesnt (rings) and a world series mvp...
maybe he is a pull hitter and only good at fenway.. but the colorado rockies would disagree..
one last thought... when arod opted out last year he had no takers... and the yanks really looked in lowell... why.. some pretty top yanks officials would have made the same choice i would..
...nedcoletticlueless.. lowell is far from done... he played well this year, not up to his standards BUT with a bone spur in his hip.. the dude is a rock and if he were healthy and available next year teams would be lining up for him...
i am not a yankees hater.. if thats how something came across my apologies.. just had a few hours to burn and wanted to chat mlb...
have a good night all... see ya next time we have more exciting news than a cash for middle reliever news flash...
ps... i like the way tulowitki plays... good choice...

I think with Ellsbury you have to at least give him shot to start the season at leadoff. His potential says he would be the perfect leadoff man if he can reach the potential. The kid is lightning quick and is more of an average hitter than leadoff. Worst case scenario they could move Pedroia over later if Ellsbury comes up short. And as far as Lowrie I say give him a shot too. I really don't like him but he does have potential and he can't be worse then Lugo. Try to trade Lugo definetly but Lowrie should only be considered at this point if other teams are looking for him specifically. And don't forget if Lowrie leaves you would have to get another SS to fill the hole. So you would have to trade him for another SS, who is going to trade a better SS for one with potential. I think he stays for now but I don't see him as the future SS.

good move, can never have too much pitching.

delcarmen isnt going to net a catcher but then again i dont think they will trade him.

for the simple fact all these redsox moves are for depth, not replacing bullpen pieces.

"Lowell is done."

That is a good one nedcolleticlueless, especially with some teams that made the playoffs so badly neading a erfd baseman (like the dodgers) whom could use a hard nosed, GG and clutch hitting 3rd baseman like Lowell.

Lowell will have a better season next year than Casey Blake, overcoming his surgery and all. He plays the game as hard (or harder) than anyone in the game.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the comments section of the DMN. Those guys are a little punchy after some bad trades by JD and they're looking for a reason to hate every move he makes. As a Ranger fan, I like Littleton but I don't see him as a big loss. The Rangers needed space on the 40 man roster and Littleton was out of options. He'll be replaced by guys like Madrigal and Nippert.

littleton isnt decent...hes a below average reliever..his last (and only) good year was in 2006

this year in 18 innings he had a 6.00 era while giving up 18 hits and 6 walks- unimpressive- this is insurance at the most..littleton is not going to make any sortof impact on the red sox

I like that the Sox are making all these small moves. Some of them may not even be high impact, but it certainly brings some competition to Spring Training, which is only going to make the team better.

I'd like to think that Theo's making all these small moves to get them out of the way, so he can concentrate on bigger fish (that catching situation, going after Teixeira, trading Lowell if Teixeira signs, etc.), but I'm sure there's a lot more going on behind the scenes, and he's probably tackling all of the issues at once.

kangarooboxer- that made 0 sense

he gets hit even harder when there are runners on- hitters hit .324 for a homerun and 17 rbis this year

he has an high WHIP for a reliever 1.44

yeah he gets groundballs..but how many guys can get groundballs

i dont get your reasoning here...you mightas well have said the red sox shouldve signed sidney ponson because he gets ground balls too

actually i take that back because ponson pitches better than littleton with runners on..albiet with a higher whip

cost effective- so two minor league players or cash...not necessarily true

and once again that shows how u dont look up stats and come out with astronomical statements like saying hes "extremely effective" at getting groundball outs to get a pitcher out of a jam...thats why the bullpen starved rangers sent him back down to triple a and designated him for assignment

from redsox.com is bias, its the same as yankees.com hailing melky cabrera as an allstar caliber center fielder

didnt say it was a bad move, but saying littleton is a good player is a mistake

infield defense for a reliever isnt a reliable source as it is for a starter, the rangers defense mightve been great for the 18 innings that he pitched

and i agree on the stats situation but the mere fact that the rangers of all teams designated him for assignment tells a story of its own- the rangers have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and if they thought littleton wouldnt improve it so much that they sent him down to the minors and designated him, he cant be worth much

as for ponson,

a) hes 32
b) last game of the season he pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball against the red sox, maybe not their full lineup but still
c) ponson pitched with the rangers this year, made 9 starts, was 4-1 with a 3.88 era in one of the best hitters parks in baseball

that sounds like upside to me

what does the cardinals scouting have to do with anything?

thats not being closeminded- thats knowing a player and realizing that they are nothing special, and will not all of a sudden be a dominant or as you put it "extremely effective groundball guy to get pitchers out of jams" when he does the exact opposite and allows inherited runners to score on a daily basis...15 inherited runners scored when littleton came into the game

ive seen the guy pitch- hes a sidearming right hander who can barely get righthanders out, but he gets groundballs

your closeminded to say that hes so great, and yeah im sure the red sox scouted him so much and said hey hes the best guy for the job of being designated for assignment after spring training because we dont have a spot for him on the team and he has no options

thanks for proving nothing

and....sorry the quote was from mlb.com, but also appears on redsox.com - check out the whole article...it also says

"the Northern California native ranks 14th in ground-ball inducement among all active pitchers with a body of work of 100-plus innings"

little bear do you not comprehend english

arod: 130 games 10 errors

lowell: 110 games 10 errors

arod played better defense this year

and arod also had an injury this year..so dont use that as an excuse

the end.

i generally know nothing of baseball? youve got to be joking child

and i said none, NONE of what you just wrote, so what point are you trying to prove

i actually helped your point that you made, and you proved mine, and ill disregard the fact that you brought up a conversation that ENDED fine way up in the comments

where is there bias here? i defended a player who played gold-glove calibar defense at 3rd base while people said he was terrible defensively..and notice i never said lowell was a bad player, i just said he is nowhere near on the level of arod or beckett

and i said that littleton is nothing to wet your pants over, and is not going to do anything for the sox pen

wheres the bias? if no red sox fan can admit arod>lowell then there is a serious problem...i give respect to players when it is do and lowell is a world series MVP and has 2 rings- thats all fine and dandy- but both times in my opinion beckett was 10x better

lowell is a nice player but not the cornerstone of a franchise

oh and by the way wins does not = greatness
there are plenty of pitchers who pitch like crap and get wins IE: randy johnson 17 wins with a 5 era, andy pettitte 14 wins with a 4.47 era...matsuzaka was an average pitcher his rookie year

colin why do you come on here insulting me while bringing up an ended conversation? you should leave instead of coming on here bringing up old conversations

i didnt deny matsuzaka was a good if not great pitcher this year .. i was just furthering your point that someone else said matsuzaka was mediocre his rookie season and saying that he was average...i honestly think the days of rest got to him last year but this year he managed to have some extra gas and go the full season without breaking down

and i just use stats to further my points...i have watched matsuzaka pitch since before he even came to the MLB...his capabilities are great the only thing that could (Notice i said could not will) be his downfall will be his command..which im sure he'll develop better as time goes on