poppysox

With competent right fielder and DH this lineup better be 90+ or Ricky is history.

Yeah...I would say that lineup is "very promising." Looks like murderers row.?

Very encouraging!

David Ross rumored to have the Cubs job if he wants it. Wonder what happened to the Joe Girardi is a sure thing?

Egotistical managers like Maddon are not on my wish list. FO should tell Ricky the parameters for situational bunting and have the computer spit out a lineup for the day. The FO doesn't trust Ricky to pick his own coaches but allow him full control of what will be 125 million payroll. Seems odd.

Cole and Strasburg coupled with Grandal and a competent RF + two good relievers and we are good to go. The fun thing to think about is...we could actually afford it. Not many teams can say that.

I'm starting to like the idea of Gardner but if taking Avi gets me Cole and/or Strasburg I'm with you Greg.

You know that's not true. Greg will notice.?

Does he have a brother-in-law?

"It's about to get exciting."

I would rather have a do over on Michael Brantley.

Need to find a swap partner for Fulmer along the line of Thornton for Joe Borchard. Find some other failed first rounder and swap projects.

Stop with the trying to improve one position by weakening another one.

Catcher is a physically brutal position and just beats the crap out of an everyday catcher. Rotating between catcher/DH/1st. base/backup catcher day of rest seems the best way to get that new DH along with improve the overall daily catching. Two top quality mentors for Collins is a nice bonus.

Yes...I believe that is correct. The upside is there will be less competition for his services do to that compensation.

If Boston is willing to give up Betts for salary relief...sure....lets get him. Giving up a significant player like Cease is just nuts for a 1 year rental. If Hahn did this the lynch party would start forming.

Bmags...I know that you know the 20 game improvement is not coming just from the right fielder we eventually get. It depends on who we get elsewhere on the roster. For example...If we sign Cole, Strasburg and Grandal...we can play Engel and improve 20 games.

Right field can be adequately filled without giving up on Cease.

Grandal should be one of our primary targets.

We have obvious holes to plug at DH, RF and Starters. Don't waste time and money where we have exceptional talent already.

Hello yourself. You are coming on board at a good time. The next 3 or 4 months are going to be fun. Lots of euphoria and gnashing of teeth as Rick elates us or disappoints us with maybe 6 or 7 player moves.

Whenever fans talk about acquiring an elite type player...some fans offer the thought that they can always be flipped down the road. What we are currently discussing is that Betts is elite but none of us want to give up anything of substance to acquire him with only one year of control. If we can't extend our future stars...we better be prepared to trade them with a couple years of control left.

The Sox have as much or more free agent AMMO as any team. The big money teams have luxury tax issues and expensive players they are already paying. We can get Cole or any free agent we desire. There is no excuse not to have a great team next year. Jerry...Spend the money!

I would prefer Grandal over JD...but in general I like your thoughts.

I would like to see Omar and his influence on Timmy.