A Shortstop at Last

Big news out of Boston the other day (hey, I'm a little behind, I had a final): Marco Scutaro is the new shortstop for the Sox. In my mind, he has extremely large shoes to fill because I am a little obsessed with the Gonz, but I do think it is a good move. I hope, anyway. He pretty much won me over when he said, "Since Day 1, this was my first choice. I just wanted to come here and just be part of this team." Anyone could say that, of course, but I choose to believe he meant it!

But I'm feeling some Theo hate after reading this little gem: "We were looking to upgrade at shortstop." Whatev, Epstein. Gonzalez ruled. Upgrade. Not nice.

What else? Wagner's gone (yay?), Saito's gone, both in Atlanta now. So Boston gets a 1st round pick next year, which is always good. Don't really know how that works, but that's ok. I think because of the offered arbitration?

Jason Bay was also offered arbitration, which he will decline, but I think I read somewhere that he wants to stay in Boston. We'll see how that plays out. Soon, I hope. I need more news because school is driving me nuts!

So Many Things to Touch On

I have a list in my head of so many things I want to say! Let's see if I remember them all (disclaimer: it's the 8th inning now and I clearly do not know the outcome of the game):

1) Dustin Pedroia, my love for this man knows no limits. Two home runs in a row, a walk, a single, and that is through the 8th. MVP, come on!!!

2) Jason Bay, how awesome are you? REALLY awesome. He's got 4 RBIs in this game alone, has hit a HR, and just generally seems to come through in the big moments. I cannot express how much I thank whoever got us this man (okay Theo).

3) My mind is filled with cell biology so I may be incorrect here, but remember back in the '04 ALCS when Johnny Damon could not get a hit, and then he hit the grand slam in Game 7? I feel like that is Jacoby Ellsbury right now. The poor kid is like 0-for-8 or some awful number, he is also the leadoff hitter, and he kind of looks like Damon (a very little, okay). I am waiting for him to do something huge like Damon of the Good Ol' Days. Waiting. Patiently. Unlike some people I know!

4) That's all for now. Except I hate the Rays. And where was 2003 Beckett tonight?!?? Yuck.

5) Oh, wait, one more thing. Can we NOT play Javier Lopez anymore?! PRETTY PLEASE. He threw one pitch, gave up a run, and was promptly taken out. Smart. But why was he in in the first place? Remember the Angels game??

Theo's Got a Kid

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is officially a father. His wife Marie Whitney gave birth to the couple's first child -- a boy named Jack -- on Wednesday at 10:35 a.m. ET.

Who knew his wife was pregnant? Anyone? Congratulations go out to Theo/family though!

A-Rod's deal was finalized today. A seriously overpaid man. What a waste of money. He, even with the wife, will NEVER be able to spend all of it. Consider the poverty in the world, and then consider an overrated baseball player's salary.

Sad.

Didn't Miss Much

Monday-Wednesday are the days I have to stay late at work, so I'm a bit behind here on all the news. But all I needed to read was this, from yesterday:

Potential Red Sox closer candidate Julian Tavarez didn't boost anyone's confidence that he can handle that role after his performance today against the Pirates in Fort Myers.

Tavarez, in his second inning of relief, had some control problems and gave up two runs in the fifth. After a walk and two singles, Tavarez hit right fielder Luis Matos with a pitch with the bases loaded to force in a run. The Pirates scored another run on a fielder's choice to tie the score at 2-2.

Joel Pineiro, who is also a candidate for the closer position, had a solid outing with two strikeouts in one inning of work in relief of Tavarez.

And yeah, I guess I didn't miss much. Especially since apparently Theo isn't worried at all about finding a closer. Why be worried? We have Tavarez! And Timlin! Ohhh yeah, with guys like that, we so don't need to be looking for a closer.

I need the regular season games to start, I want to be able to actually see the games instead of just read about what went down after. Soon...

Theo!

Mr. Epstein got married to his longtime girlfriend, I have learned.

Theo Epstein had a longtime girlfriend?

Well, congratulations to him and all that. He's not too bad to look at.

In other news, Jon Lester has reported to Fort Myers and worked out with a bunch of Red Sox minor leaguers today. Yay! He looked upbeat and excited, and I'm very happy to see that he is recovering well and out there working out again.

Oh yeah, and the J.D. Drew deal? Not done yet. Shocking!

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!

Who's Jealous?

This is today's cover of Daily Sports News:

You can't tell me they aren't the slightest bit disappointed that the (potentially) best available pitcher can now sign with the Sox. Nice try, though!

The NY Post is slightly better:

Theo Epstein is working on getting some bullpen help. He has been talking to Houston about Brad Lidge, Brad Qualls and Dan Wheeler. Apparently, he is considering trading Wily Mo, which is bad news for us (because he has MAJOR potential with David Ortiz as his mentor) but good news for Trot Nixon! Epstein is also talking to the Padres about acquiring some pitchers.

Trading Manny Ramirez may be difficult due to his own actions. Phillies GM Pat Gillick said this yesterday, "I don't know if he's a headache we want to deal with." Ouch.

And by the way, D-Mats as a nickname for Matsuzaka is not okay. Someone think of something better!

News

1. Theo Epstein revealed yesterday that he has made formal offers to two free-agent pitchers, and he wants to make more offers before Thursday. Nick Cafardo's guesses: Gil Meche, Miguel Batista, Mark Mulder, Justin Speier, Eric Gagne, Scott Schoeneweis. So much speculation, so little information.

2. 8 pm tonight = we find out about Matsuzaka. We pretty much "know" the Sox have made the high bid, all we need is confirmation that Boras plans on negotiating over the next 30 days.

3. Dave Wallace is now with the Houston Astros.

4. Apparently, Matsuzaka going to Boston is big news in Japan, since Hideki Matsui is in NY. "The Red Sox-Yankees series will have new meaning to people in Japan because you have one of the best hitters against one of the best pitchers," said Yasuko Yanagita of the Hochi Shimbun sports newspaper. "Boston is a popular team because they won the World Series not so long ago, and if Matsuzaka plays for them and Matsui plays for the Yankees, it will create excitement." And you know what all this means: money.

5. Theo said he has not made any offer to J.D. Drew.