Tuesday, January 24, 2006
FOR THE MOMENT, THE SOX WILL NOT ACQUIRE COCO CRISP
Rob Bradford reported on New England Sports Tonight that Mota failed his physical. The Sox have apparently dodged making one mistake and hopefully, lighting will strike twice.
Alex Gonzalez, as anything more than a defensive replacement, would be a HUGE mistake. His career sub-300 OBP would kill potential big innings night after night. Last season’s offensive game plan and this coming year’s appear to be the same: everyone get on-base (a.k.a. don’t use up one of the 27 outs) to give Manny and Ortiz as many possible appearances with ducks on the pond. Other than the dynamic Dominicans, only Tek is likely to SLG more than 500 and be a significant RBI threat.
All reports have Gonzalez as a good fielder, but other than Clement, the Sox rotation consists of flyball pitchers thereby limiting the number of chances he has to make an impact with the glove. It is unlikely that Gonzalez good glove will make up for his terrible bat. Remember, Derek Lowe pitches in L.A. now.
The Sox also have a number of alternatives in-house (Alex Cora, Tony G., Machado, and Dustin Pedroia) that will cost less and should provide as much production as Gonzalez. If the Red Sox are not optimist on the quartet, then be patient for Julio Lugo. The St. Pete Times reports that…the Rays could intensify negotiations with the Cubs, Mets and Rangers, who are believed interested in Lugo. Chicago could offer pitching prospect Rich Hill; the Mets, pitcher Aaron Heilman. The Cubs are legit suitors, but the Mets are not parting with Heilman after trading Benson and the Rangers are going with Ian Kinsler and Mike Young up the middle. The Sox could be in a position to put together a better package of arms, than the Cubs, after dealing David Wells in the spring. The in-house options and the possibility of attaining Lugo should temper the desire to make a $5+ million mistake.
Rob Bradford reported on New England Sports Tonight that Mota failed his physical. The Sox have apparently dodged making one mistake and hopefully, lighting will strike twice.
Alex Gonzalez, as anything more than a defensive replacement, would be a HUGE mistake. His career sub-300 OBP would kill potential big innings night after night. Last season’s offensive game plan and this coming year’s appear to be the same: everyone get on-base (a.k.a. don’t use up one of the 27 outs) to give Manny and Ortiz as many possible appearances with ducks on the pond. Other than the dynamic Dominicans, only Tek is likely to SLG more than 500 and be a significant RBI threat.
All reports have Gonzalez as a good fielder, but other than Clement, the Sox rotation consists of flyball pitchers thereby limiting the number of chances he has to make an impact with the glove. It is unlikely that Gonzalez good glove will make up for his terrible bat. Remember, Derek Lowe pitches in L.A. now.
The Sox also have a number of alternatives in-house (Alex Cora, Tony G., Machado, and Dustin Pedroia) that will cost less and should provide as much production as Gonzalez. If the Red Sox are not optimist on the quartet, then be patient for Julio Lugo. The St. Pete Times reports that…the Rays could intensify negotiations with the Cubs, Mets and Rangers, who are believed interested in Lugo. Chicago could offer pitching prospect Rich Hill; the Mets, pitcher Aaron Heilman. The Cubs are legit suitors, but the Mets are not parting with Heilman after trading Benson and the Rangers are going with Ian Kinsler and Mike Young up the middle. The Sox could be in a position to put together a better package of arms, than the Cubs, after dealing David Wells in the spring. The in-house options and the possibility of attaining Lugo should temper the desire to make a $5+ million mistake.