Here's a look at the latest out of Fenway as the Red Sox get set to take on the Twins this afternoon..
- The Dodgers inquired on first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and offered players that could help the Red Sox build for the future, but were ultimately rebuffed, according to Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe. Shaughnessy believes that the Red Sox should have been more open to the idea of moving Gonzalez, who is hitting .301/.345/.443 with ten homers on the year.
- Rather than focus on major offseason additions, John Tomase of the Boston Herald would like to see the Red Sox make wholesale changes to their roster. Tomase points to the talks of a deal involving Jacoby Ellsbury and Josh Beckett with the Rangers as the type of trade that would make a dent.
- David Ortiz is working to come back from a strained right Achilles injury but the slugger says that he won't rush back and put his career in jeopardy, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Ortiz will be eligible for free agency at the end of the year.
- The Red Sox are in need of a serious turnaround but both Kelly Shoppach and Nick Punto saw their respective clubs pull it off in 2011, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. Shoppach was a member of the Rays while Punto was with the Cardinals last season.
“(I once tried to get Earl Weaver to say something nice about his best
pinch hitter, Terry Crowley, and Earl said, “Crowley? He’s lucky he’s in
the big leagues. If it wasn’t for me, he’d be working in a brewery.’’
That is so Earl Weaver like and thought Boston would get that type of manager in Valentine, but he is not playing that part any longer, 2nd guessing himself and acting more and more like francona.
To quote Churchill when Mark Clark and UK General Lucas blundered the initial surprise at Anzio and sat on the beach head without attacking? he made one of his most famous quotes ever and it relates to what Valentine has not achieved here as well:
“I thought we had flung a wildcat into their midst, but instead we have landed a beached whale”
Edit:
No offense Zach? Appreciate it if the great site wouldn’t link anything to Shaugnessy. he has no clue as to what the difference is between truth and fantasy at the Boston Globe.
Shaugnnessy is such a joke. I’m sure that Ben at least listened or gave it a thought (the idea of trading AGonz) but decided to look long term. THIS is a player that the organization has coveted for years and now that they have him they are not looking to trade him based solely off of his 2012 season. At the end of the day, the Sox are not allowed, and really don’t need to, do a complete rebuild which would be EXACTLY what trading Agonz for prospects would have been the beginning of. Agonz is only 30 and should be productive for the next 4 years. Productive enough so that his performance justifies his salary. He is CLEARLY the best position player they have when you factor in his durability and performance. Pedroia is a close second. I would move Beckett, Ortiz, Crawford and maybe Ellsbury before trying to move Agonz.
As for Ellsbury….stay healthy and maybe teams won’t look to trade you. I absolutely understand that he doesn’t TRY to get injured but he has to see it from the front office standpoint. Is he the kind of player you want to commit to for the next 5 or 6 years at market value (or above which usually ends up being the case at some point)? A total of 46 games played in all of 2010 and 2012 thus far. It didn’t appear as if they were aggressively trying to move him vs just listening or dangling him to teams. Relax dude.
Thank you, well said. Shaughnessy is the perfect example of Boston sports media: He knows fantasy baseball better than real baseball, he tries to whip up a frenzy when things are going badly, seems to think rebuilding is the answer to everything, and ultimately only really has something to say when something is wrong.
The truth is the team doesn’t need an overhaul. Especially not one that requires trading Gonzalez. The plan needs to be this: Ride the season out. Playoffs are probably out of the picture, but stop panicking. In the offseason figure out what went wrong with pitching and fix it. Then listen on Ells but only pull the trigger in return for a major league ready starter. Beyond that, stick to minor moves.
It’s crazy though. The Sox organization just seems so out of touch right now. I read the Globe from time to time and saw this below (also check out picture):
“[Middlebrooks] came into the dugout, he made a couple of errors, and I said, ‘Nice inning, kid.’ I had thought I had established a relationship with him where I could say something like that and he would try to smile or relax a little. Maybe he grimaced, I don’t know, but somebody overheard it and decided that it was a very dreadful thing for a manager to say to a young player, and decided to repeat it a few times, this dreadful thing.” — Bobby V poking at the rat in the clubhouse last night
Not to over exagerate and blur the line between entertainment (sports) and reality but there’s a real and dangerous “Stop Snitching” sentiment in the urban communities where people are being told NOT to report crimes or cooperate with police. It’s spurred a anti-“Stop Snitching” campaign where cops and community leaders are trying to motivate citizens to help solve violent crimes and telling them that if you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem.
Even though I know and can understand what the intent was with the jersey and the comments about publicly repeating what should stay in the clubhouse this shows just how out of tune management is and SOMEONE in the front office or the PR department should’ve told them that this was not a good idea. How silly are these people? I mean can you imagine some poor mother of a murdered child who’s killer is out running free or some cop who has to investigate the crime seeing this article and wondering “wDAf”?
“”[Middlebrooks] came into the dugout, he made a couple of errors, and I said, ‘Nice inning, kid”
Valentine is attempting to manage from a different era YFS, that is what he was hired to do and what he attempted at the start of the season.. A guy to go out there, kick butt. Earl Weaver, Ralph Houk, Joe Morgan type who would be gruff, when guys made a mistake? Olt time pick it up, joke the hard way like they used to, the way he learned to play the game.
The NE media just won’t let him get away with it and it seems he might be getting hit in the back? Who knows and if so? Nobody knows who it is.
I just want him to continue the season managing the way he should, making changes, rather than sticking with people, Forget a set job, a closer has nothing? Take em out of the game and forget the ego. Tell em they stink in a joking way and were throwing grapefruits up there on their way to the dugout.
It takes two to snitch…the listener and the talker. If, in fact, there is someone running up the back stairs to the GM’s office, Cherington’s people should be smart enough to maintain the chain of command by telling the snitch to go to the manager with whatever story they have to tell. Apparently they are not?
I feel that posts like this one should be labeled RED SOX WRITERS HAVE OPINIONS! rather than Red Sox rumors. I always click to see what’s in them, but never click any further, closing the window angry.
So glad the Rangers didn’t trade for Beckett and Ellsbury.
I’d like to know what the Dodgers offered before making the claim that “they should have been more open” like Shaughnessy does. Most of the Dodgers’ top prospects are pitchers, which is nice (Boston can use pitching), but who plays first?
Gonzalez has had his struggles this year, and the power hasn’t been there as much for him, but he’s still a great player, and it’s not unreasonable to expect him to be one of the top 1B in the game going forward (there’s a reason the Dodgers wanted him after all), and Boston doesn’t have a clear replacement for him (for either the near or distant future). The only thing close to a 1B prospect they have is Travis Shaw, and he just got promoted to AA this week.
Exactly. Moving Gonzalez made no sense at all. Boston just has retreads in Gomez, ReyRod (maybe) and then way down? Shaw and nobody even knows if he is going to be able to adjust to higher levels of pitching, as he has been a surprise anyway.
I have long wanted Lavarnway to at least put on a glove to play a bit of 1b, though many have said he would be slow and extremely limited range wise. it might work out for him and would have been better than him DHing the last 2 years when he wasn’t catching 50% of the time. Couldn’t have this season of course.
Still.. Gonzalez is the 1 deal have no interest in seeing them move. He is the foundation of the team and after that pedroia. Shaugnessy is not one I put any faith in.
Fans outside of NY and Boston need to understand that those 3 teams are simply NOT allowed to rebuild UNLESS the situation is completely horrific such as the Mets a few years ago, the Yanks in the late 80’s and early 90’s and the Sox of the early 60’s (not that I was around to know those teams). There’s just too much money at risk to trade star players for prospects and endure 60 and 70 win seasons. Not when you have ticket prices such as they are in those markets and TV contracts at stake.
The Sox can turn this team around quickly. They are a .500 team in the toughest division. Crawford might be the toughest obstacle to overcome considering his contract and how much the Sox would have to eat to get someone interested in a trade.
Best thing to do is to shut Craw down if they don’t see a realistic playoff run and let him have the TJ surgery and hope that he comes into 2013 healthy and motivated to turn things around.
I would see what can be had in return for Beckett but ride him out for 2013 if no one is willing to value him above what his current production merits.
I would have an honest conversation with Ortiz and w/ his teammates and if the feeling is that he’s a clubhouse issue then I’d let him walk, regardless of the sentiments.
Keep Ells unless someone throws a meaningful mlb impact pitcher your way. Maybe package him with a prospect and try and acquire a #2 or #3 type pitcher.
Bring back Ross if he’s willing to sign a short term 1 or 2 year deal. I would NOT get all romantic and mushy off of what he’s done this year. He is still Cody Ross, a soon to be 32 year old w/ a sub .800 career OPS who can’t hit righties (career .729 OPS). No need to overpay or commit to anything more than a 2 year deal for him.
Build the team around Lester, Pedroia, Agonz, Middlebrooks, Crawford (no choice), Buchh, the prospects and perhaps guys like Doubront and Morales since they are cheap and can fill out the back of the rotation.
Also, don’t fall in love with guys like Ciriaco. Great on-field personality and a good glove but he’ll just break your heart. Treat like that girl who rocked your world for about a month but wasn’t the one you take home to momma. His .403 BaBIP and 1.3 walk % don’t indicate long-term success. Keep him until he shows you who he really is.
I agree with just about everything u said.. Get CC his surgery as soon as they fall out of it (which will probably be really soon) hang onto the core u listed really weill. Don’t even wait to allow Ross to walk, but try to negotiate a 2 year deal w/3rd year team option now.
I *do* want Salty moved for prospects and also different? i want Ells moved if they can.
Boston has done partial rebuilds in the past. They did it in 79-80 and 83-84. kept a few core and got back some younger people. They got carney lansford, mark clear, for example in 79-80.
Right on about early 60’s. They unloaded everyone at once. Same in ’73. Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda, Bobby Bolin, “Bullet Bob” Veale. were among some of the nearing 40 veterans let go at once.
I’d like for them to do a partial again this season, just a few..
Exactly this.
You make a LOT of very good points, YanksFan, and I won’t bother responding to the ones I agree with. There is one point where I have a point of potential disagreement, and that’s Crawford.
Since his return from the DL, he actually seems to be showing signs of returning to being the player the Sox hoped they were getting when they signed him. I know that it will be worth having him get the TJ surgery soon enough so that he can be ready for spring training. OTOH, if CC’s game is heating up, I’m a bit loathe to interrupting his hot streak, even if the Sox are out of it. It’s not that I want to watch CC getting lots of hits for its own sake. I want to see CC regain his confidence in his game so that he can be the player the Sox hope he’ll be in years to come. And if that means delaying the surgery by a month, it might just be worth the cost.
JS, I agree about Gonzo. He’s the sort of player the Sox should be keeping around. Regarding the lack of power he’s had this season that MaineSox referenced, I’d say that in the last month, Gonzo has really turned it around on all fronts offensively, including power.
Regarding Lavarnway, as I’ve long said, I’ve always thought that minor leaguers should all learn multiple positions, beyond their primary position, based on their physical skills because you never know when your team might need someone in a tight spot. I’m not talking about players trying to be equally proficient at their secondary positions as their primary position. But it does help to try to learn the basics. Anyone wonder why Gonzo played some RF this year rather than, let’s say WMB? Gonzo has experience in RF and WMB’s only knows how to be a 3B-man. And when the Sox needed an emergency RF-er, who did they turn to? The guy with some experience playing the OF, rather than the arguably more athletic and faster guy. So, yes, I think that your point about having Lavarnway gain a little experience at 1B is a point well taken.
If “Punch & Judy” Gonzalez is the foundation of the Red Sox they are in trouble. He was supposed to be a 40-50 dinger guy and hasn’t even come close. Taking into account that he cannot run, what good is he, if he cannot hit for power and drive in runs…. ???
wholesale changes to the boston media roster please
I’ll be in the minority on this, but I wouldn’t have an issue trading Gonzo. I like the guy, but we’ve gotten two years out of him. We can trade him and make a profit from the whole transaction, depending on what we received. He has a .987 over his last 37 games, but it still comes with a 15/6 K/W, and it is the decling K/W that’s an issue. He’s still a plus player for $21M, but we’re on the hook for 6 more years. That $21M is going to start looking kind of heavy in 3 years.