George Kottaras released

With Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek set at the major league level and Dusty Brown along with Mark Wagner in reserve, the Red Sox cleared a 40-man spot by releasing catcher George Kottaras. Kottaras was out of options, so he would have had to pass through waivers, which may have been possible. If so, he'd have required playing time in Triple-A that should go to Wagner/Brown. In addition, if he was claimed, the team would be in the same situation right now, so why not get the additional 40-man spot to protect an additional Rule 5 eligible player? For more of a breakdown on who is eligible and who could be protected, check out the SoxProspects blog.

What John Henry Can Learn From Belichick’s 4th and 2

Sure, this is a Red Sox site, not a Patriots one. But, we would be remiss if we ignored the lessons of the greater Boston sports community for lack of a baseball diamond. Whether or not you agree with Belichick’s 4^th and 2 call is irrelevant. The interesting part of the move is that Belichick actually did it. While the credit goes to Belichick for making a gutsy call – whatever credit is left to go around after the loss – should go to Robert Kraft. There are very few organizations in any walk of life, let alone sports, that foster a culture where a coach can take a risk like Belichick did – and not worry about job termination in the event of failure.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade LF: Manny Ramirez

When Boston fans look back on the 2000s years from now, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez will only have grown in stature. For the rest of all our natural lives, any dominating three-four duo in the lineup will be compared to Papi/ManRam to determine 'the best ever.' (Fire Brand archives: Breaking down the Manny and Papi duo, 2/9/07; 3-4, 8/5/06.) Today, we recognize Manny Ramirez (and all his faults) as the All-Aughts left-fielder of the decade. All told, Manny hit for an obscene .312/.411/.588 line, cranking 274 home runs and 868 RBI for the Sawx.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade C: Jason Varitek

He's the only position player to have bookended the Red Sox's history-altering decade. He was anointed team captain, an occurrence that does not happen often. He's Jason Varitek, the All-Aughts catcher of the decade for Boston. When Varitek retires, he's going to be known for two things: what he meant to Boston as a leader out of the catcher's position, and how he got to Boston in the first place. You all remember the trade back in 1997. Red Sox closer Heathcliff Slocumb was shipped to Seattle for a couple of minor league prospects named Varitek and Derek Lowe.

Do we want John Lackey?

Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald:

A major-league source said that the Red Sox met with free agent starter John Lackey’s agent at the GM meetings this week in Chicago. The Red Sox expressed preliminary interest in the right-handed starter, who is arguably the top free agent starter available this coming season. The Red Sox are still in the fact-gathering stage in their quest to beef up their starting rotation and are expected to stay in contact about Lackey in the coming weeks.

I'm actually pretty interested in Lackey. Assuming he settles for a four-year deal, he would provide great depth. I do have some concerns about this:

• Can Lackey hold up? He's been beset by injuries recently.
• Will he be in a reasonable price range? If not, what's the appeal to Boston to sign him to a bigger deal?
• What ramifications down the road of signing Lackey is there? Letting Beckett walk?

New Poll Question: Most coveted star

Considering that it's highly unlikely that the Red Sox could acquire both in a trade, who would you prefer to see don a Sox uniform come April? * Adrian Gonzalez * Felix Hernandez

Matsui in Red, Varitek’s ‘C’

Hideki Matsui as a Red Sock? (Left: While not the best "action shot" out there on Matsui, it would offend our sense of decency to have pictures of Yankees high-fiving or trotting around the bases on our site. Therefore, we felt a picture of Matsui being brushed back by a fastball was much more appropriate.) Yesterday, the Red Sox official website announced a rumor linking the team to Hideki Matsui. According to sources at nikkansports.com (don’t even bother with the link, unless you can read Japanese), the Japanese website expects the Red Sox to tender Matsui a contract at some point this offseason. Though Matsui proved this season that he is still a force at the plate, the real question is whether or not he can effectively man left field.

Quick Musings on the Latest Sox Rumors

Billy Wagner According to MLB Trade Rumors, Billy Wagner is considering accepting an arbitration deal from the BoSox because he "loved his experience with the Red Sox enough that's it's now a possibility." That is an MLB Trade Rumors quote, not Wagner directly from Wagner's mouth. However, it's hard not to be skeptical of his sudden change of heart, as no one could love a city enough from four short weeks to make a complete 180 in their opinion of the team and their place within it... Varitek's Player Option Due at Midnight ***UPDATE: Varitek has officially picked up his $3 million player option. As we continue to follow the Jason Varitek story, his contract is undergoing more flip-flopping than a Brett Favre retirement or Florida in the 2000 presidential election. Is he or isn't he? We'll find out before the end of the day, though the verdict is still out as to whether it would be better for him to re-sign... Mauer Extension Talks Begin While all of Boston awaits the man of our dreams... er, catcher of our dreams leaving Minnesota for our nightly NESN living room broadcast, agent Ron Shapiro is beginning to discuss a contract extension for his all-world catcher...

Reaching into the MailBag

This one courtesy of James, aka "jgr jgr". James submitted a few puzzling questions, though this one made me think the most: "Is there some hitter or pitcher out there under the radar that you think will be wearing a new Boston uniform in 2010?" Well, going off this question, we'll avoid talking about the likely suspects, including Bay, Holliday, Harden, or Scutaro who have all received a great deal of coverage not only on this site, but on Sox discussion boards 'Nation' wide (Yes, that was a pun. No, I won't apologize.) As for truly under the radar names, we must look really deep into the free agent roster, probably to the point of back-end bullpen types or bench hitters. While these moves may not be exciting to the average layman, these are the transactions that make championships. Depth and injury/slump insurance is perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of building a championship team. John Henry could grab any fan off the streets to build a team that could win 100 games if everything were guaranteed to go as planned. However, the true talent and meddle of a front office is tested by their contingency planning. When a team has the type of financial resources the Sox have, it's difficult to pick a truly "under the radar" name that will make an impact, as the players the team is likely to sign are usually the top free agents, too big to fly below the hard deck. But there is still value to be that the rest of the baseball world is not discussing. Here's a few that I think the Sox may settle on before the off-season ends: Value at Starting Pitcher Assuming that the Cubs re-sign Rich Harden, while Ben Sheets and Erik Bedard find other suitors, I would love to see the Sox sign Carl Pavano. Though his 5.10 ERA left much to be desired, Pavano actually turned in quite a season in 2009, with a 4.00 FIP ERA to go along with a 3.77 K:BB rate. While his 6.64 K/9 was merely average, a 1.76 BB/9 rate is more than adequate. If you have burning questions about Red Sox Baseball, please submit your questions to Mike_Silver_FireBrandAL@yahoo.com. We'd love to hear what's got you thinking!

Here’s a thought: Votto, Harang to Boston?

MLB Trade Rumors wrote a piece yesterday on the Cincinnati Reds looking to pare payroll. The two logical candidates to be moved given their salary and previous availability in trade are Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang. MLBTR theorizes that first baseman Joey Votto could be packaged in a deal to entice a buyer, because the club has Yonder Alonso in the minor leagues. That got me thinking. Joey Votto, just finishing up his age-25 season, cranked 25 home runs while hitting .322/.414/.567. He's under automatic club control through 2013. He's definitely a great, young intriguing option at first. Perhaps Boston would be willing to take on Aaron Harang and his $12.5 million salary for 2010 in order to get Votto. Harang, 32, is entering his final year of his contract and is coming off a 4.26 ERA in 26 starts. He's been known as a workhorse, but has stumbled the last two seasons after two straight years of 230+ innings pitched. He's rather prone to home runs, although that could be a product of Great American Ball Park. His walk rate is rather steady, but his strikeout rate is declining although his fastball velocity is consistent at 90 mph. I think this is definitely a deal worth exploring. On a one-year deal, is Harang worth it to get Votto? How is he not?