It seems to me that for better or worse the Sox are going all in on the young pitching they have (Barnes, Webster, De La Rosa) to augment the guys they already have (Doubront, Lester, Buchholz). I'd prefer to see them snag a Jackson or a Sanchez to join that group but unless the Sox are heavily under the radar the complete lack of noise on those guys suggests to me that the club is going to rely on the in house options for pitching for the next couple of years. If that works that's going to be a great plan (the Giants are the example to aspire to).

I'd prefer to see them snag a Jackson or a Sanchez to join that group but unless the Sox are heavily under the radar the complete lack of noise on those guys suggests to me that the club is going to rely on the in house options for pitching for the next couple of years.

Hasn't there been a lack of noise with Jackson and Sanchez connected to any team?

I haven't read a lot about other teams. What strikes me is not just the lack of rumors but the lack of anything. It seems that every story about the Sox is focused on the hitters; Napoli, Ross, Hamilton, Mauer (saw that one today at ESPN), etc...It just seems that the people who should be "in the know" are not paying much attention to the pitchers.

The flaw in that is the assumption that the beat guys know what they are doing and have good information. They may not but it just seems that the lack of stories regarding the pitchers is a sign of a lack of interest by the Sox.

On the other hand, it may just be November 28th and I'm Jonesing for something to talk about.

Hasn't there been a lack of noise with Jackson and Sanchez connected to any team?

It's a brave new world. Hardly any free agents will cost teams draft picks now and there's that new TV money floating around. My guess is no one wants to show their hand yet. The rumor I've seen is that Greinke will end up signing the biggest contract ever signed by a pitcher, probably with the Dodgers. That seems crazy to me.

I don't see how Ross is a fit with Gomes already in the fold.

It doesn't seem too strange for the second-level FA starters to wait until Greinke sets the market and opens up other suitors.

I'd love to see the Sox acquire Mauer. And I'd also like a pony. Ponys are cool.

It's a brave new world. Hardly any free agents will cost teams draft picks now and there's that new TV money floating around. My guess is no one wants to show their hand yet. The rumor I've seen is that Greinke will end up signing the biggest contract ever signed by a pitcher, probably with the Dodgers. That seems crazy to me.

Maybe, but would that mean that several teams mis-read the economic landscape by not extending qualifying offers (E Jackson, Napoli etc)?

I'd love to see the Sox acquire Mauer. And I'd also like a pony. Ponys are cool.

Eh, all the same, it's nice to see the front office at least inquiring about ponies, rather than just stockpiling donkeys.

Even with these players the team wouldn’t have a great offense, but it wouldn’t be too bad either.

Unfortunately when your SP are carrying a 5.00 ERA then it isn't going to matter.

Jackson and Sanchez, c'mon down!

I don't see how Ross is a fit with Gomes already in the fold.

Couldn't agree more. Money saved on Ross is money that needs to spent on SP.

BJ Upton seems to be out of play, he has a deal with the Braves, pending medical.

For the record, the Braves just landed BJ Upton, and Nick Swisher was their second target once they closed the CF gap. Cody Ross is their backup plan there, too. Swisher would start in LF every day. Ross would start vs LHP with Prado moving to LF and Juan Francisco playing 3B against RHP.

Upton never really seemed like he was on the radar for the Sox anyway.

I think Dan's right but I really wanted Upton. I think that contract is going to be a steal.

I mentioned Upton mostly because in the Braves' "best case scenario" he's the first domino to fall before they sign Swisher, who is being discussed here.

I mentioned Upton because there was no thread and this seemed the most topical. Also, Upton was on many Sox fans wish list even if the team was cool.

MLB twitter says 5/75 for Upton. Quite reasonable.

If teams are going to be throwing all this new TV money at free agents, Upton didn't seem to get much of it.

it's nice to see the front office at least inquiring about ponies, rather than just stockpiling donkeys.
Good line. And too true.

Landing Swisher would allow the Sox the flexibility to land either Hamilton or Napoli, depending on who's the better deal.

It seems to me that for better or worse the Sox are going all in on the young pitching they have (Barnes, Webster, De La Rosa) to augment the guys they already have (Doubront, Lester, Buchholz). I'd prefer to see them snag a Jackson or a Sanchez to join that group but unless the Sox are heavily under the radar the complete lack of noise on those guys suggests to me that the club is going to rely on the in house options for pitching for the next couple of years. If that works that's going to be a great plan (the Giants are the example to aspire to).

I think it's more likely that they will try to arrange a trade for pitching, but that they need more clarity on positional solutions first so they know who's being traded and whether they need to try to get more than just a pitcher.

Why can't they buy hitting AND pitching? They have plenty left to get Swisher, Hamilton, and two starting pitchers if they want to.

They definitely can do both, I use find the lack of chatter on the subject interesting.

The rumor I've seen is that Greinke will end up signing the biggest contract ever signed by a pitcher, probably with the Dodgers. That seems crazy to me.

I like Greinke, and would like to see him on the Dodgers, but if he signs the biggest contract ever I am dreading the amount of #### my dad is going to give me about how he's a repeat of Kevin Brown.

I also hope the ignominies of LA traffic don't drive his fragile brain insane.

Why can't hitting hitting and pitching? Name the last free agent pitcher the Red Sox have bought

EDIT: I mean free agent starter.

Umm...Lackey?

The Sox haven't signed a free agent starter in a little while, but I don't think we should necessarily see the 2009-2011 offseasons as highly predictive of their 2012 decisions. Everyone involved with the Red Sox has been clear that those offseasons were failures.

I guess I shouldn't post through smartphone voice recognition while stopped at traffic lights. It produces choppy results while forcing me to be more succinct than required for the point I'm trying to make.

What I was getting at in #25 is that, even dating back to the start of the Epstein era, this team has generally avoided free agent starters; and when they do decide to seek out a free agent starter it usually involves significant injury eating up much of the contract value.

Matt Clement
David Wells
Brad Penny
Daisuke Matsuzaka
John Lackey

I don't care to argue whether, absent injury, these players would have been worth their contracts. That is a worthwhile thing to consider if we're evaluating FO decision-making. I mean, if they're identifying the wrong talent, that's one thing, while failing to identify nor prevent injuries is another. But that's not the point here.

The point is that this team has, under 10 years of ownership, never had a good track record of identifying free agent starters worth signing AND actually signing them AND having the deal work out well. They've done a much better job in trades, but that is to say they have some success stories there. They have not acquired starters through free agency with any real success that would suggest they can solve their starter problems through the FA market. This isn't projection of 2009-11; this is projection of 2002-11.

I don't see how Ross is a fit with Gomes already in the fold.


I heard this morning that Gross only hit .209 against righties last year, and only 7HRS.

Sign Ross, platoon Gross and Sweeney ( if sweeney still is around )

any comments ??

Sign Ross, platoon Gross and Sweeney ( if sweeney still is around )

Ahem, I got this one guys.

SWEENEY IS TERRIBLE.

Sorry, that's the role I fill on Sox Therapy/other Red Sox threads. Sweeney should not get at-bats for teams that are serious about winning. He's awful.