The Wait Is Over…Adrian Gonzalez to be a Red Sox Player.

The Adrian Gonzalez trade to the Red Sox and contract extension has not been finalized at the time of this…

The Red Sox Should Not Trade For Adrian Gonzalez

Adrian Gonzalez is a very good player. On most teams, he would a plus on the field. But when you…

The offense impresses even with fill ins

I still have trouble listening when people talk about how adding a bat would make a huge difference on this team. Perhaps they are referring to the failed attempt to keep Jason Bay or perhaps they would like a trade for an all star hitter like Adrian Gonzalez. Well besides all the troubles in dealing with a team leading the NL West right now. Beyond all that you have to ask how much difference would any of these players have made so far?

So far the offense has scored 178 runs before Wednesday's game. That total puts them in fourth only four runs behind the Yankees and seven behind the leading Rays. For a team apparently struggling to put up runs they sure have totaled an impressive amount missing quite a few games from their lead off hitter and center fielder.

Adrian Gonzalez takes another step away from the Sox

I've never thought the Red Sox had much shot of adding Adrian Gonzalez this past offseason or any year before his free agency year. So far this season though Gonzalez and the Padres have made a deal even harder as he is off to a huge start and the Padres are winning. They are currently 4 games above .500 in this young season with Gonzalez producing very well. That is not the newest reason for a diminished chance to add Gonzalez. I think the awful signing of Ryan Howard might hinder the future prospects of signing the slugging first baseman. Howard agreed to a five year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for a total of $125 million. That at first seems like a bit of an overpay, but when you add on a $23 million option with a $10 million buy out and his two years left on his current deal it is a train wreck. This has to change the market when looking at all the big name power hitting sluggers coming up in the next few years. That list includes Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Plus they're all better and younger than Howard. These guys will all be signing deals that start in there pre 30's except the best of the bunch, Pujols.

The AL East SlugFest, More on Gonzalez

Haymakers and The Vazquez Deal Punch. Then counter punch. The Sox signed John Lackey. Then the Yankees added Javier Vazquez. While not a knockout punch by any means, the move is a big blow by any measure - maybe a rib-buster or a deep cut above the left eye. Still, the move looks like another excellent trade by Yankees’ GM Brian Cashman, who always seems to acquire stud players at excellent prices. Vazquez looks to be no different, as the team ceded expendable pieces in Melky Cabrera, and minor leaguers Arodys Vizcaino and Mike Dunn. Marc Hulet made a great breakdown of the prospects in his profile of the Yanks’ top 10 prospects, with Vizcaino 4^th and Dunn 6^th. Vizcaino, 19, has quite the ceiling, as evidenced by his 11.06 K/9 in 2009 at low-A. His fastball ranges from the high 80s to mid 90s...

Evaluating the 2010 team so far

After adding John Lackey and Mike Cameron the team is starting to take shape. Although most think we need to make another move it's possible we enter 2010 as we stand now. That isn't very likely if the Mike Lowell trade is completed, but to start I'm going to look at the roster without any third baseman. *Here is the explanation of how I calculated the WAR values I will be using. If you want to skip this just know it's an average of several projections. For those that are interested I used Bill James projection, Fangraphs new Fans Projection (where available) and CHONE projections. To calculate WAR for Bill James I used his batting runs above average and the CHONE defensive projection since Bill does not project defense. Fan projections already account for WAR and needed no calculation. CHONE is batting and defense above league average. To complete the calculation to WAR for Bill James and CHONE I used CHONE PA to calculate replacement level runs and positional adjustment. Unfortunately this double weights CHONE on PA and defense projections. Once I have calculated the three WAR values I sum the team totals and average them. Better than 2009 Now that that is out of the way we should get an idea of what are good values. In 2009 the Red Sox had the third most runs scored and their batting runs above average totaled 98.8 which ranked second in the league. This includes the whole team and all season. The good news is that the projections so far are much better than that for our group of 8 (Remember no third basemen). Bill James projects a 133.8 runs above average and CHONE calls for 106.

John Lackey joins Boston in curious move

By all indications, the Red Sox will have John Lackey serving as their No. 3 starter this upcoming season. The right-hander inked a five-year, $85 million deal which is exactly market value for his services. Lackey is a solid signing for the Red Sox, as long as they don't attempt to stretch him into an ace. The 31-year old is in the mold of Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis: hard-nosed, fiery people who want to be out there every day kicking butt and taking names. The five years is a point of contention. Boston has always been steadfast in its refusal to commit extended years to a pitcher. This is Theo Epstein's first five-year commitment to a free agent pitcher. Jon Lester was his first five-year pitcher, but of course, Lester is six years younger with three arbitration years factored into the contract -- so really, only two free agent years were bought out. That five-year commitment to Lackey scares me, especially when the final year will be when Lackey is 35 years old. Coupled with his injury red flags and contact numbers, and I can't really figure out what Boston saw in Lackey. Does he have a good chance of repeating his 2009 numbers over the next five years? Yes. But there is an equal chance of something going horribly awry. It doesn't seem characteristic of Theo to commit this risk to a pitcher. To a position player, sure. But he's been very good on the pitching ledger, so he's stuck his neck out a bit with this pact.

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

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

Does Hoyer hiring help or hurt Adrian Gonzalez trade?

With now former assistant GM Jed Hoyer departing to become the head honcho in San Diego, how does this affect a potential acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez back in Boston? I've heard more people than not say that it will only become easier. I'm here to burst your bubble and say it will be harder. Whatever is gained from a working relationship between Hoyer and Epstein is lost in three major factors, which we'll cover today.