BuehrleTheAce

Current Stats (from Yahoo! with season-to-date player rank): Dan Wilson - Rank: 619, .269 avg, 2 HR, 24 RBI, 11 runs, .666 OPS, .998 F%, 0 SB Jason Varitek - Rank: 312, .272 avg, 9 HR, 31 RBI, 34 runs, .806 OPS, .996 F%, 5 SB Einar Diaz - Rank: 860, .194 avg, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4 runs, .519 OPS, .992 F%, 0 SB Henry Blanco - Rank: 682, .191 avg, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 17 runs, .588 OPS, .994 F%, 0 SB Kelly Stinnett - Rank: 1051, .305 avg, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 10 runs, .837 OPS, .971 F%, 0 SB Damian Miller - Rank: 399, .302 avg, 7 HR, 37 RBI, 21 runs, .828 OPS, 1.000 F%, 0 SB Mike Matheny - Rank: 635, .253 avg, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 13 runs, .652 OPS, 1.000 F%, 0 SB Jason Kendall - Rank: 272, .308 avg, 2 HR, 30 RBI, 46 runs, .758 OPS, .991 F%, 7 SB Obviously, Kendall overall looks the best. He's got speed and a good arm behind the plate. Outside of Kendall, who I think might be too expensive for us, Jason Varitek looks great. He's got power, some speed, gets on base, and is good behind the plate. Matheny might be ok or Stinnett. Miller looks good too.

Just wanted to thank you for pointing this board out to me. I saw your post on ESPN's old message board (you know, the one that doesn't suck) about SoxTalk. I never knew this place existed.

*ahem*Bartolo Colon*ahem* Not that I'm sad to see him go. He's sucking wind even worse in Anaheim this year than he did last year in Chicago. At least he was dominant occasionally last year. This year he just plain stinks.

Our lineup is pretty solid even with Frank out. With Maggs back it's even better. My one concern area is catcher. Sandy is old, Burke is back in his career-minor league form, and Ben Davis is a bust. Are there any catchers out there that we can realistically pick up and fit into our budget for this year and the next few? I'd give up Davis and Burke and keep Alomar.

I prefer to build a core team through the draft and farm systems and then add supporting players through free agency. Let's face it, building a team strictly through your own system is a thing of the past in all sports. I don't like rentals and I don't like 1 year signings. If a team is going to pick up a star or roleplayer through free agency I prefer them being with the team for more than one season (unless they really suck).