Pretty Cool

The Sox officially announced today that Bartolo Colon (who was saddled with shoulder woes in 2005 and elbow problems last year) has signed a Minor League contract and will report to camp on Tuesday. I think this is a good deal.

Why?

Because I have heard of him! So he must be good!

Then again, I had heard of Eric Gagne before he signed with us, so....maybe not such a good sign after all.

I Miss Good News!

There really needs to be some interesting news soon, because I miss posting!

Let's see what I have here that is somewhat interesting...well, here's one that's bad: Manny switched his agent to the devil, Scott Boras. Why? I don't know...contract's almost up?

Too bad for the Sox....they're going to the White House on Wednesday.

What else? The Red Sox held their first official full-squad workout of the spring Friday. A spring-high of 1,906 fans attended. "Real" play starts soon, as they will open exhibition play Thursday at City of Palms Park with a day-night doubleheader against Boston College and Northeastern.

The battle between Coco and Jacoby for starting center fielder continues...with quotes from Ellsbury: "I'm just looking to get better as a player in spring training, and the competition is going to make us both better. Competition doesn't bother me at all." But....."I prepared the whole off-season to be a starter," he said yesterday. We'll see.

I miss baseball.

Johan

Looks like Ellsbury and Pedroia are safe--Johan Santana is going to the Mets. Which is cool. I like the Mets. I'm just glad D.P. and Jacoby still have homes in Boston.

Get Out!

NO WAY it has been 11 days since I updated. NO WAY! I am stunned. I need some good news!

Realistically though, I probably wouldn't have updated anyway--I have been super busy and out of town and all that stuff. I see Kyle Snyder will be back, which is good, I like him.

If you look at the Red Sox website, they are so desperate to report something, they have an article about hoping to repeat as WS champs. Not interesting! And an ad on the logos! Not interesting!

Here's something interesting: my man Novak Djokovic took out Roger Federer in straight sets at the Australian Open! Holy mofo! That's freaking awesome. 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). Yes, they were close scores, but HEY! He won!!

Fed, who hasn't in the past had the nicest things to say about Joky, said this:

"There's no doubt I've played better in my life. I've not been really serving like the way I wanted to, maybe the last few matches. Look, it happens. But he covered the court well. He didn't give me much. So that obviously played a role in the way I played tonight. But … I wasn't completely satisfied. He's come through the draw convincingly. He's been playing very solid. He had a tough draw, you know, if I compare it to maybe Rafa's (Rafael Nadal's). So he absolutely deserves to be in the final."

Truer words never spoken. GO NOVAK!!

P.S. He is playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final. This kid beat Nadal so he is pretty good....but no match for Djokovic, I say.

Also, the women's final is in 3 minutes. I like Sharapova and Ivanovic, so whoever wins will be cool with me. I am just hoping for a good match.

Final note: the look of a champion (or serial killer, I'm going with champion):

Look at those Patriots

Did you all see that Patriots game last night?

Because I didn't. I freaking fell asleep again! With like 5 minutes to go!

And they won in the last 44 seconds.

Now, I may not be too fond of Tom Brady since he wore that Yankee hat, but I love New England and have a million family members up there, so forever a NE fan I will be. So that game, in which they were mostly losing to the Ravens, was scary to watch. Thankfully, I woke up in the middle of the night and found out they won in the coolest way. Gotta love that last-second excitement!

-----------------------------

The Red Sox also met with the Twins in the late night and early morning hours, and one sign of potential progress -- according to multiple media reports -- is that Boston forwarded the medical records of left-handed starter Jon Lester to the Twins.

Boston has been saying all along it's either Ellsbury or Lester, but not both. I love Lester and think he's a fantastic kid, and I would hate for him to have to go to Minne-freaking-sota, but....it means Jacoby is staying!

Don't get too excited, Laura....but Ellsbury staying through the offseason would make a really awesome few months for me!

The title of this article says it all. Oh, and the results of the vote!

THEY WOULDN'T

With the Minnesota Twins insisting on center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in any trade for pitcher Johan Santana, the Red Sox have altered their offer and have told the Twins they are willing to include the outfielder.

Kill me now!

Executives involved in the trade talks fully expect that the Twins will trade Santana, and that they will make a decision within the next 72 hours on what offer they prefer.

Or kill me in 72 hours!


The Red Sox included Ellsbury in one of their proposals a week ago, but the Twins asked the Red Sox for two players among the group of three prospects -- Ellsbury, Lester and pitcher Clay Buchholz. Boston then offered Lester, center fielder Coco Crisp, minor league shortstop Jed Lowrie and a minor league pitcher.

The Twins have continued to ask for Ellsbury, so the Red Sox have flipped Ellsbury back into their offer, sources say, while removing Lester, and upgraded slightly the rest of their proposed package slightly -- perhaps to include right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson. Presumably, any offer with Ellsbury would not include Crisp.

Or just kill whatever idiot decided to okay this deal.

Potentially Huge

ESPN.com reported on Thursday that the Red Sox and Twins have discussed a potential deal in which center fielder Coco Crisp, left-hander Jon Lester and promising Minor League shortstop Jed Lowrie would head to Minnesota along with one other prospect in exchange for Santana.

Can you imagine the Beckett-Santana KO? I am all for this man coming to Boston, as long as Pedroia and Ellsbury don't leave because of it. Coco, man, I love him and I think he is underrated (well, defensively anyway!) but Santana would be a really huge get.

Adding more intrigue to the story is the fact that the Yankees -- the Red Sox's chief rivals -- are also in hot pursuit of Santana. The Angels are another team to have expressed interest.

Another plus to getting him--our rivals won't.

Also in the news: There are some procedural matters to take care of, such as deciding whether to offer salary arbitration to six free agents from the 2007 team.
The Red Sox have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday to make that decision on Mike Timlin, Eric Gagne, Matt Clement, Bobby Kielty, Eric Hinske and Doug Mirabelli.

Surely we will be hearing about that soon enough. What to do about Gagne? Hope this season was a fluke, I guess?!

More Awards for Boston Players

A good thing happened to a good kid yesterday:

Jon Lester received the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given annually to a Major League player who has "overcome adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and courage."

Now, there is the story of Lester, whose rookie season of 2006 was cut short after he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Lester received six chemotherapy treatments before beating the cancer. And the end of his 2007 season was nothing short of storybook.

"It was great," said Lester. "Just with the struggles that I went through this year, just to regain confidence in my stuff and my command and mechanics and where I was at physically, it was great. You couldn't have asked for a better ending. It's always good to go out on top."

That's the only newsworthy item I have. :( I do not like the offseason very much.

This is Fear

Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury could wind up being sent to the Minnesota Twins in a deal for vaunted lefty Johan Santana.

This is the kind of craziness I wake up to. I check my email first thing, of course, and I get Remy's Today in Sports email. Usually I skip right over it (hey it's the offseason) but I saw Pedroia and Ellsbury in the title and had to read it. So this is what I get?!?

They wouldn't trade my two favorite players...right? Because I'll be honest with you, I might be tempted to walk out on them if they did that. Every year that I announce my favorite, he goes. I thought I was safe with DP, and if they let him go...watch out!

Anyone Surprised?/LOWELL

Why?? Player, Club	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Alex Rodriguez, NYY	26	2									328
Magglio Ordonez, DET	2	22	4								258
Vladimir Guerrero, LAA		3	10	9	3	3					203
David Ortiz, BOS		1	11	6	3		3	2	1		177
Mike Lowell, BOS			1	6	2	7	4	3	2		126
Jorge Posada, NYY				3	4	6	6	3	1	2	112
Victor Martinez, CLE				1	7	5	4	2	3	1	103
Ichiro Suzuki, SEA				1	6	2	5	3	3	1	89
Carlos Pena, TB			2			2	2	3	8	5	64
Curtis Granderson, DET				1	2	1		5	1	10	51
Derek Jeter, NYY					1	1	1		1		17
Grady Sizemore, CLE						1		1	3	1	15
J.J. Putz, SEA				1				1	1		12
C.C. Sabathia, CLE							1	1	2		11
Torii Hunter, MIN								1	1		5
Orlando Cabrera, LAA								1		2	5
Bobby Abreu, NYY							1				4
John Lackey, LAA							1				4
Placido Polanco, DET								1		1	4
Justin Morneau, MIN								1			3
Chone Figgins, LAA									1	1	3
Josh Beckett, BOS										2	2
Fausto Carmona, CLE										1	1
Frank Thomas, TOR										1	1

Do you all see where Lowell finished? Behind Ortiz, who I didn't even consider. Vlad? I love ya, but you are not the MVP. Ordonez? Who? A-Rod? But I don't like him!

Why don't they ask me before they make these decisions?

Actually, I'm somewhat happy Lowell finished so high. I didn't think anyone but me (and the fans in the stands during that one postseason game) thought he should be MVP.

------------------------------

More important than that award, Mike Lowell will be back!! For 3 years!! YAY!

Multiple news outlets -- including ESPN.com, the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe -- reported on Monday afternoon that Lowell and the Red Sox have agreed in principle on a three-year deal that is believed to be worth between $36-$38 million.

They won't announce it until tomorrow, but we all know it now--things are right in Boston.

Yay!!!!!

Wily Mo and Keith

It's been a looong day and it's still not over, but while I was crazy busy, Red Sox news went down! A deal was finally reached with Wily Mo Pena: a one-year deal worth $1.875 million. They met in the middle (ish) and now he's here for another year. I would have preferred longer, but hey, at least he's here for now.

And Keith Foulke has decided to retire instead of suffer through a year of not being on the Red Sox roster. "Over the last few weeks, while preparing for the 2007 season, my body has not responded as it has in years past," Foulke said in a statement released today. "I feel strongly I will not be able to perform at the level where I need to be to help the Indians this season. They are a class organization and I wish them the best of luck in 2007." Over in Cleveland, they're all praising his "integrity," but you know they are secretly mad.

Josh Beckett's been talking (but we all know what's more important than talk): About new pitching coach Farrell, he had this to say: "We just sat there and talked," Beckett said. "I like a lot of his ideas, and I think he's going to be a big help." Apparently they chatted for three hours, and hopefully some of those new ideas will help Josh perform better than he did last year.

Baseball is About to Start, Kind Of

At this time tomorrow, Matsuzaka will have had his first spring training workout as a member of the Red Sox. Now, the workouts are closed to the media until Thursday, but I will try to be positive here and say somehow something will leak. Of course, the first day of spring training (and really...all of spring training) really means nothing, but it's SOMETHING! Finally, some baseball!

In Yankee news, Bernie Williams rejected NY's offer of a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. Instead, Williams revealed his preference to stay at home, stay in shape, spend time with his family and wait to see if the Yankees change their minds and offer him a guaranteed roster spot.

Yeah. Bernie should just retire while he's still decent.

The United States won the first round of the Davis Cup! They beat the Czech Republic with Roddick and the Bryan brothers winning, including a singles win for Bob Bryan! His first ever singles win on clay, which is pretty cool. Next up is Spain, with Nadal, Robredo, Verdasco, Ferrer, and Lopez. It'll be tough bu they're playing in the U.S. so that is a huge advantage...no clay! Now we wait until April.

You Knew I Was Going to Say Something About...

Bronson! So this is old news but I have to mention it at least once. Arroyo will be making a lot of money now: a two-year extension will pay him an additional $25 million and keep him under contract through at least 2010, plus an option for the next year. “I honestly didn’t think they were going to even talk to me about a contract this offseason,” said Arroyo, who had two years left on his current deal. “But they were serious.” I like that Cincy is so interested in keeping him, it's good to see a team be committed to him and not jerk him around (...what?). But this is kind of sad: “Last year in the beginning of the season, I was still watching a lot of Sox games and I was kind of still caught up in the middle emotionally about being traded,” Arroyo said. “I’m a Red through and through now.” :( I still want him on the Sox.

Let's see....we also have Don Orsillo news! Don Orsillo agreed to a multi-year contract extension to remain the voice of the Red Sox on NESN, the network announced in a press release. I love RemDawg and Don, they are perfect together. Can you imagine a NESN without them?

And last but not least, it's almost Truck Day! The Sox equipment truck will leave Fenway Monday at approximately 1:00 p.m. to begin the 1,480-mile journey to the team's spring training facility in Fort Myers. And you know who else will be there Monday? Matsuzaka, of course! Can you feel the baseball in the air?

More Time!

I need more time to do stuff! Red Sox news keeps coming and I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything. I mean, I had to go to traffic court today...how dumb is that?

Anyway, these are the non-roster invitees to spring training:

Pitchers
Abe Alvarez
Adam Bernero
Mike Burns
Bryan Corey
Runelvys Hernandez
Travis Hughes

Catchers
Dusty Brown
Kevin Cash
Alberto Castillo

Infielders
Jeff Bailey
Luis Jimenez
Joe McEwing
Ed Rogers
Bobby Scales
Chad Spann

Outfielders
Jacoby Ellsbury
Alex Ochoa
Kerry Robinson

Some familiar names in there, right? On the topic of finding a closer, the Globe reports: Francona made a point that young reliever Craig Hansen hasn't pitched a lot of minor league innings. "This kid needs to pitch a little," Francona said. However, he added, "If we were convinced he could do it [close] -- and I hope we do reach that decision -- that we would have a heck of a decision to make. I hope that happens."

Hansen as a closer...it's getting closer and closer! I've said I would like to see him pitch well and take the job, now he needs to do his part.

In weird news...Francona hasn't spoken with Manny Ramirez since December. That's weird, correct?

Updates on the Kids

I am calling the prospects kids, even though they are all probably about my age or older. It's just better that way. How have they all been doing this winter? RedSox.com has provided a nice, short update on a lot of them, and here are a few choice ones:

Arizona Fall League

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF -- The former first-round pick batted .276 with 18 runs scored, three RBIs and seven stolen bases in 25 games for the Peoria Javelinas.

David Pauley, RHP -- Pauley was 0-3 with a 5.06 ERA in seven starts for the Javelinas. He led the team with 26 2/3 innings pitched, but the righty surrendered 36 hits and six walks while striking out 14.

Kyle Jackson, RHP -- Despite posting a 6.23 ERA in 11 games with the Javelinas, Jackson led the AFL with six wins.

Dominican Winter League

Brandon Moss, OF -- The Double-A Eastern League playoff hero batted .228 with five homers, 16 RBIs and 15 runs scored in 29 games for the Cibaenas. He did not participate in the playoffs.

Wily Mo Pena, OF -- After a subpar semifinal series in which he hit .091 with four RBIs and one run scored in 14 games, Pena bounced back with a solid showing in the Championship Series. He batted .269 with five runs scored and two RBIs in seven games for the Aguilas Cibaenas. The big leaguer was 1-for-8 in two regular-season games.

Some are good, some are not terrific, but nothing really bad. Hopefully we're in for a season of young guys stepping it up.

More Nothing

As expected, the Helton "deal" fell through and no one is even talking about it anymore. Not too concerned about that.

So Curt Schilling will be pitching into the 2008 season, which is either good or bad depending on how this season goes. Hopefully good, and he can stick with the Sox. I may not agree with him on....anything....but I do want to see him pitch for Boston.

Unfortunately, reading yesterday's mailbag upset me when I came across this line: " First of all, Pineiro is merely an option at closer -- perhaps a slight favorite."

Favorite? Negative. It's too early to have to rely on Pineiro...unless he proves himself in big way.

At least I got a good laugh out of the article:

How come Bernie Williams isn't of any interest to the Red Sox? He has the ability to put up solid numbers as a backup outfielder.
-- Gregory P., Harrington, N.J.

Ha! Haha! Yeah, why wouldn't we be interested in Bernie Williams?

Oh, that was too good.

Hell No

The Sox are reportedly interested in first baseman Todd Helton (forget that we already have a fine one in Youkilis for a minute). Helton comes, plays first, so Youk moves over to third, and...don't worry about Lowell's playing time, he's already been traded to Colorado!

Yeah, I don't like it too much. Other than Lowell, the Rockies are interested in Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, Julian Tavarez, outfield prospect Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Clement. You know they'll want more than Tavarez or Clement, which means a young guy. And that is something I cannot get on board with.

I have faith that Theo won't trade away prospects, we got burned with that already (Cla Meredith and Hanley Ramirez to name a couple, though I too was hoping they'd unload Meredith). So don't make me upset Epstein, especially by trading Hansen or Delcarmen. They may not be that great yet, but they are just starting and have potential. So basically...we don't actually need Helton. Not to mention all the money he's owed ($90.1 million).

I will admit that I don't actually know too much about Helton...and numbers don't tell the whole story. I am just very hesitant about trading away Hansen or Delcarmen (the Rockies' top 2 choices). Maybe Lowell... I don't know. I like Lowell. And Mike's a year younger. His numbers aren't as good, but...

I'm glad I'm not GM!

And Finally

As we all know, the J.D. Drew deal has finally been finalized. They sure took their sweet time getting it done. What does the deal say? He gets at least $42 million over three years, with the possibility of $70 million over five years should his surgically-repaired right shoulder hold up. And that was what took so long. Drew had this to say about his shoulder:

‘‘The thing from my standpoint was that (the Red Sox) realized I had shoulder surgery and wanted to make sure that everything was upheld the way they wanted it to. I don’t think it was anything major. It was just one of those situations when you look at a guy who had shoulder surgery, you want to make sure that things are where they are and he’s going to be healthy. I was very up front and felt that my shoulder’s in great condition and is only getting better ...I know the surgery I had and the type of surgery that I had (holes were drilled in the shoulder blade to promote cartilage growth), they looked into that because ... I don’t know if it’s necessarily a newer surgery, but the kind of surgery it was maybe threw up a red flag.’’

I'm going to be optimistic and say he won't get hurt this season. But if he does, then by law Trot Nixon will have an injury-free season, because that's just how things go in Boston.

Well, at least it's done and we can focus on something else. Like the fact that there are only 66 days until the season begins. And how Fenway Park looks like a mess, but will in fact be ready to go by Opening Day:


And we can continue to wonder who our new closer will be. That, of course, is the number one thing on my mind, and probably all of RSN's. I'm still betting on Craig Hansen, if he can step it up.

Good Luck

I'll start off this evening by wishing all those people who will be trying to buy Sox tickets on Saturday morning good luck. I've tried for hours and hours and ended up with nothing, so I understand how frustrating it can be. So good luck!

I actually got tickets to a Baltimore/Sox game on my birthday :) There's no place I'd rather be on my birthday than at a Red Sox game! I only got tickets to one game this year, since I don't yet know what I'll be doing later this year. I am very tempted to get them anyway, but...

Now that Brendan Donnelly has officially been signed, Wily Mo is the only one left to deal with. "Outfielder Wily Mo Pena is the lone Sox arbitration case left, and that looks like some time will pass before a resolution. Pena has asked for $2.2 million; the Sox countered with $1.725 million." Take it buddy, you probably won't get more until you get better...and I so think you will soon. I know I'm the odd man out, but I really have faith in this guy and hope Ortiz and Manny can teach him a lot. He has potential, I swear.

Updates

Good news out of NY: Pedro Martinez' recovering is going even better that expected. He said, "The Mets doctors told me that my shoulder is completely clean and it wouldn't be weird if I throw faster than in the last two or three years, when the pain and tiredness affected my shoulder." Glad to hear it!

Thursday, Mike Lowell received the Jackie Jensen Award for spirit and determination. "I was happy that the Red Sox gave me the opportunity, not only to come over here but to play every day," said Lowell. "I think that was big. I know they had [Kevin] Youkilis as an insurance policy and J.T. Snow -- all that stuff. I'm glad I was able to prove that I could play every day and have a solid year." We're all glad he had a solid year, too, and I have a feeling he will have another good year in 2007.

So this Rookie Development Program - I hope a closer will come out of it. Or at least the beginnings of one. Craig Hansen does have promise, and with guidance and some confidence he would be a possibility. Apparently there will be a mental approach aspect to the program, which young players (especially in Boston) really need. It can be such a high pressure situation - I really think that will be an important and useful tool.

It Keeps Coming

The bad news/bad luck train is cruising this week. Juan Rivera of the Angels broke his leg yesterday, and the Yankees got slammed with a $26 million luxury tax. AND it rained here yesterday, and as I went to brake my tires locked and I rear ended someone. That was fun. But there was no visible damage to either car...a Festivus miracle!!

So the Sox signed pitcher Runelvys Hernandez, whose name I will not even attempt to pronouce. He was 6-10 with a 6.48 ERA in 21 starts with the Royals. Sounds like another Seanez to me, but hopefully he will prove me wrong.

Patriots vs. Jaguars tomorrow at 1 p.m. Be there or be square, we're gonna clinch!

The Latest

The latest speculation has the Yankees interested in Mark Loretta as a first baseman, which is a possibility since the Sox have Dustin Pedroia to fill the spot at second base.

My take? No no no a million times no! No more Red Sox to Yankees moves! I cannot say that enough. I like Loretta a lot, and not just because he looks good (I'm sure Christine has something to say about that!), but because he is good. And because a sign of evilness is going from Boston to NY.

Seibu should be happy - they got the $51.1 million for Matsuzaka. And they shall spend it on...well, who cares? We got Matsuzaka!

An Actual Trade AND THE BEST NEWS EVER

Boston traded Phil Seibel (played with farm clubs) to the Angels for reliever Brendan Donnelly. A pitcher who doesn't suck (I hope)! Donnelly was 6-0 with a 3.94 ERA in 62 games last season. He had a 5-0 record and a 3.52 ERA in 29 games after the All-Star break, and held the opposition scoreless in 19 of his last 21 appearances.

I'm still pretty giddy over the Matsuzaka signing. He's really on our team! He said he really wants to meet Curt Schilling, which is cool because Schill has been learning Japanese to be able to speak with him. Ahh, I love this team.


I do, however, have sad news. Listening to the games on WEEI just won't be the same anymore -- Jerry Trupiano officially retired and is being replaced by Dave O'Brien and Glenn Geffner. Joe Castiglione will stick around, but it just won't be as good.

Quote of the Day:
Matsuzaka - "Right now, I'm just very happy and excited to have become a member of the Red Sox."

EDIT: And the best news ever part? Yeah, Tom Brady is single again. Haha, I know. But I think it's just terrific.

Oh, Evil

Evil Incarnate will be giving a press conference tonight. Maybe it already started, I'm sure Evil doesn't care about time. Matsuzaka may or may not be there with Boras...Evil will probably say something along the lines of not getting the $3982080938902 million dollars he wants, so he won't consider a deal.

We have until Thursday. The clock keeps ticking...

J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo are in Boston today, having their physicals to complete the deals. Official signings will probably come down tomorrow.

And back to Boras...didn't he learn in high school, like everyone else, that playing hard to get is just frustrating and NOT cool? This is ridiculous that they can't come to some sort of agreement.