New Poll Question: Left Field Left-overs

If Boston waves Bay good-bye and Matt Holliday is out of reach, which of these established left-fielders would you like to see play the line at Fenway in 2010? * Garret Anderson * Marlon Byrd * Fernando Tatis * Randy Winn

All-Aughts Team of the Decade SP2: Curt Schilling

Thanksgiving six years ago saw Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and a cadre of Red Sox officials fly out to Arizona and be guests of Curt and Shonda Schilling for Thanksgiving dinner. The crew was there in the hopes of convincing Schilling that he should waive his no-trade clause and head to Boston to try to win a World Series ring. Well, with the 2004 ring backed by Schilling on the mound as well as an important contribution in 2007, one can say the Red Sox certainly spoke the truth at that dinner. What Schilling accomplished in his short time makes him extremely deserving of being named the No. 2 starter on the Team of the Decade. The Bloody Sock will define Red Sox legacy for years to come.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade bench IF: Alex Cora

Can't have a team of the decade without a bench, right? Ever since Nomar left midway through 2004, the shortstop position has been a revolving door. Second base was inconsistent between Marty Barrett and Dustin Pedroia. And last year, even the backup infield position was in flux, something that continues to this day. It seems rather strange, then, to know that for four years we knew who our backup middle infielder was, and we liked him. He was good. He was Alex Cora.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade RP5: Rich Garces

A bullpen tends to have a lot of turnover given the volatility of the position. The truly excellent relievers tend to graduate to being a closer, while major leaguers with an average baseline of talent can find themselves out of baseball after a season or two of terrible luck. The fact that Rich Garces spent seven years with Boston is a testament, then, to his durability. The only sad thing is: his major league career ended in 2002 at just age 31. The pictures don't do quite the job of capturing how large Guapo is. At times, he seemed larger than life with his positive attitude and brimming smile. For the first couple years of Guapo's tenure, he shuttled between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket. Beginning in 1998, flashes started showing that Garces could be an impact reliever. Then 1999 arrived.

Red Sox claim RP Manuel from Mariners

26-year old Robert Manuel was claimed by Boston off waivers today. Manuel tossed 65.2 innings for Seattle's Triple-A club this past season, amassing a 2.88 ERA with a 49/16 K/BB ratio. He doesn't possess great stuff, but is good depth for Triple-A. Boston has to restock Pawtucket given the departures of Fernando Cabrera, Marcus McBeth and other flotsam. The 40-man roster is now at 32, so the team had puh-lenty of space to bring him aboard. You could see Manuel tossing some junk innings in a Red Sox uniform at some point this coming season.

The Current State of Baseball Economics

Yesterday, ESPN's Rob Neyer published an article quoting Commisioner Bud Selig's thoughts concerning the current state of baseball economics. Says Selig,

Some teams lost money in 2009, baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday after the final owners meeting of the year. "There was no question about that," Selig said. "I don't think the concerns have been ameliorated at all. I think the concerns are still there because all these people have their own economists." Selig said final figures for this year are still being calculated and everyone is living in the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression. He declined to identify the teams. "I think of all the heartache that's in the world," Selig said. "We live in this environment. We don't live in a bubble. And so, I think the clubs in some areas have been hit a lot harder than others."

This seems to happen every year, where multiple MLB owners allege that their team has “lost money” and therefore needs any number of amenities, including, but not limited to: extra money towards the building of a new stadium, special tax relief, more money from the state, etc, etc, etc.

Bay Declines Sox’ Offer

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jason Bay has rejected the Red Sox offer of $60 million over four years. He will now be able to sign a contract with any major league team when the Red Sox exclusive negotiation window ends at midnight tonight. Considered by many to be the number two free agent this winter behind fellow left fielder Matt Holliday, there are signs that Bay's stock is dropping among potential suitors. For one, the Cardinals don't consider Bay a priority due to his poor defense. Thanks to Sean O. for helping to break the story in the Soriano/Gonzalez comment section.

Sox Interested in Braves’ Gonzalez, Soriano? Reviving the Halladay Trade

Sox Interested in Braves’ Gonzalez, Soriano? According to George King of the New York Post, the Red Sox have expressed preliminary interest in free agent relievers Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano. The team requested medical records for the two, both of whom have had arm injuries in recent seasons... Reviving the Roy Halladay Trade According to Jon Heyman of SportsIllsutrated.com, the Blue Jays’ new general manager, Alex Anthopoulos is "serious" about trading his ace, Roy Halladay...

All-Aughts Team of the Decade RP3: Alan Embree

This morning, we learned that Mike Timlin won a spot on the All-Aughts team as the #1 reliever. This afternoon, we honor the #3 reliever and Timlin's longtime lefty cohort, Alan Embree. Embree may have only been around for two full seasons and parts of two others, but he made an impact. Embree was acquired from the San Diego Padres on June 26, 2002 at age 32 because of one very specific game. That game came on June 22, the last time he pitched in a Padres uniform. It was an interleague game at home against the Yankees, when he pitched three innings and struck out seven Yankees. (The picture is from this game.) Embree wasn't truly legendary during his time with Boston. Did he have to be, though? He was good enough to stick, good enough to rank third on the relief depth chart, and good enough to trust in close and late situations. We can't have every relief pitcher throw up sub-2 ERAs. Embree may not have been lights-out, but obviously he was good enough to be an important relief pitcher on two straight excellent teams.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade RP1: Mike Timlin

Today's All-Aughts Team of the Decade entrants will number two. This morning you're getting the best reliever of the decade as well as one-half of the best relief pitching tandem the Sox have witnessed in a long time. This afternoon, you get the other half. Let's kick things off this morning with the pitcher that appeared in the most games for the BoSox this decade despite only six years of service. That's Mike Timlin, with 394 games appeared in as one of the better setup men the team has ever seen. Also, perhaps one of the best persons the team has witnessed. My favorite quote of Timlin's time in Boston's career came by an anonymous scout that I remember to this day, and it sums Timlin up in a nutshell: “They said he had no guts in Baltimore. Nobody in Boston says that, do they?”