2009 Red Sox DiamondView

Back when the DiamondView was created over at Beyond the Boxscore, I was intrigued by the visual application of statistics. The Hardball Times is doing something similar in attempting to bring visuals to statistics. Essentially, DiamondView uses a ballpark to visually show people just how good (or bad) a player was at the four major aspects of the game: hitting, power, defense and baserunning. It can be a great point of comparison method for sabermetricians and a great way for non-sabermetricians to glean value from advanced statistics. Today, the Red Sox's DiamondView was released. I'm not putting any pictures in here, so you'll have to click to see them. But a couple thoughts:

• Wow, I didn't realize how amazing Kevin Youkilis was.
• Poor Mike Lowell really is a liability at this point, eh?
• And the cult bandwagon of actually appreciating J.D. Drew gets fuller.

Mike Lowell fails physical in Texas

According to Peter Abraham at Boston.com a major league source has said that Mike Lowell has failed his physical to finalize the trade to the Texas Rangers.

According to a major league source, the third baseman needs surgery on the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb and the trade to Texas that was agreed upon 11 days ago is off.

Pressing reasons to improve the infield defense

There has been a lot of stress placed on the defense this offseason and that looks to continue with the interest in Adrian Beltre to replace Mike Lowell at third base. Other than the obvious value gained from a solid defense is there another reason to make sure you obtain positive gains this year in defense? I think I found it and it starts with Clay Buchholz. With Buchholz taking on the number three spot in the rotation there was an interesting number that seemed in common for our top three. That number is groundball percentage, which Buchholz led the team in during his limited appearances at 53.8%. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have established new career levels above 47% meaning 3 out of 5 starts by the team should have a large amount of work for the infield.

Admiring Bridges

When Theo Epstein made allusions to (strike that) outright stated that 2010 would be a bridge season for his Boston Red Sox from the the championship team of 2007, through two successive playoff contenders, to a batch of young talent in A and AA ball, you could see the ugly start to come out of Red Sox fans across the Nation. Comments sections across the major news outlets in Boston were strung with statements that would have you believe that the mediocrity of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots has poisoned the well in Boston. If we can't trust in Bill, then how can we trust in anyone, including Theo?

Lowell to Texas, Beltre to Boston… And a Cherry Named Maximiliano

Lowell to Texas, Beltre to Boston? This rumor has been cooking for a long time, and it may finally be ready for consumption. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Red Sox and Rangers have a deal in place that would send Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers, with the Sox receiving top catching prospect Max Ramirez. Many expect the trade to be a precursor to the signing of Adrian Beltre. As per Rosenthal, the Sox would contribute a substantial portion of Lowell’s contract - in his words, with the Sox “eating nearly all of [Lowell’s] 12 [million dollar] salary.” Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal, on the other hand, has the Sox providing “at least half” of the deal. We likely won’t know for some time which of the two price tags will win out, but be certain that it will significantly affect the team’s outlook for the remainder of the winter. Is this the Sox answer to the Granderson deal in New York? Probably not. This isn’t the kind of blockbuster trade that substantially alters the team for 2010. In fact, the trade is curious in the sense that it would significantly hinder the team’s ability to maneuver for free agents for the rest of the off-season – and could put them out of the running for either Jason Bay or Matt Holliday...

Report: Red Sox acquire Max Ramirez for Mike Lowell

Ken Rosenthal on Twitter reports that the Red Sox are trading Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers. In exchange for eating most of Lowell's $12 million salary, the Red Sox are receiving catcher Max Ramirez. Read on to hear about the potential fallout of the trade.

Nightengale: Beltre to Sox a Possibility

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, a Sox acquisition of Adrian Beltre is becoming a real possibility. As per Nightengale's Twitter account,

"It wouldn't be surprising if Beltre falls into the Red Sox lap if he doesn't accept arbitration from the Mariners."

The move would be predicated by Beltre declining arbitration, which SI's Jon Heyman reports as a growing likelihood. Beltre, 30, qualified as a Type B free agent this offseason, so he would not cost the Sox a draft pick. Beltre battled injuries this past season, batting .265/.304/.379 with only 8 home runs in 449 at-bats. Beltre remains an elite fielding third baseman, however, as he posted a 14.3 UZR at the hot corner in 2009. Should Beltre regain his hitting prowess from previous seasons, he could present a nice upgrade over a declining Mike Lowell...

All-Aughts Team of the Decade 3B: Bill Mueller

The hot corner was the the only significant debate I had at naming the All-Aughts Team of the Decade. Was it Bill Mueller or Mike Lowell? On the face of it, how can you not have the 2007 World Series MVP on the Team of the Decade? But I've made my choice in Mueller. If you want Lowell on the team, check back after everyone is named and we do a Fire Brand vote on an honorable and dishonorable mention. Mueller joined the Red Sox in 2003 as a free agent. You may recall how Mueller had to fight for playing time alongside Shea Hillenbrand, Jeremy Giambi and David Ortiz. Clearly, we know which two names won the battle. When Hillenbrand was dealt in May for Byung-Hyun Kim to come in as closer, Mueller was installed as the full-time third-baseman.

Will the Sox Acquire Adrian Beltre to Replace Lowell?

As the hot stove whisperings grow louder, the eyes of the Boston powers have shifted to Mike Lowell. Rumors have been building in strength over the last few weeks surrounding the future of the third baseman within the Sox' organization. Growing in popularity among the potential scenarios involving Lowell is the signing free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, which would inevitably precede a trade of Lowell. According to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, the Red Sox have been looking to trade Lowell with the condition of paying for $6 million of his $12 million salary in 2010. Replacing Mike Lowell with Adrian Beltre is certainly an interesting avenue for the home town team. However, such a move itself has a number of roadblocks that could preclude, including teams picking up Lowell’s $6 million and the likelihood of aggressive suitors for Beltre’s services. In addition, such a move would prevent the team from acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, who is coveted by the current front office.

The Science of Selling Felix, A-Gon Short

In our versions of an offseason blueprint the Red Sox could follow (1, 2, 3) one topic that came up fairly often was how realistic or unrealistic our proposed trade packages were for certain players. Let's recap: Mike Lowell, Casey Kotchman, Clay Buchholz and key minor league pieces (defined as anyone sans Kelly, numbering two) for Felix Hernandez. Money comment: Getting King Felix would be nice, but you are crazy thinking Seattle would have any interest in picking up Lowell or Kotchman. Why would they pick up $16+ in salaries? Lowell is going nowhere unless we pay his salary, which is crazy. - MEe Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Manny Delcarmen, Michael Bowden, two "second-tier" prospects to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez. Money comment: Delcarmen is a stiff. Bowden is a stiff. Anderson has done NOTHING in the minor leagues. Clay Buccholz has major league stuff but has yet to prove himself for an entire season. For this you'll get one of the best young power hitters in the game? I think not!! - Nick If our proposed deals are not up to snuff, that's not good. Let's try to figure out what a proposed deal could, should be.