No Lack Of Fire In The Hot Stove

Room for two Texas hurlers? You bet!
(i2.cdn.turner.com)

Just when I thought that this would turn out to be the apocalyptic "rebuilding" year of the Red Sox, they pull off a deal that I thought had no chance of happening. This may be linked to certain left-fielder's agent putting the Sox on the burner for not adding that coveted 5th year. On Monday afternoon, the Sox apparently may have shifted their offseason focus a bit and inked a deal with Angel ace John Lackey to a 5 year deal for just over $82.5 million. Do I think they overpaid a bit? A little. Lackey has only thrown 339 2/3 innings in the last two years due to some tricep and forearm injuries. On top of that, the contract lasts until the end of 2014 when Lackey is a not so robust 36 years of age. However on the same token, this is somewhat of a steal, considering the pitcher who got a virtual carbon copy of this deal last year (A.J. Burnett) was never the ace of his previous teams nor had a championship ring pre-signature, while having a Game 7, World Series win on his resume. The 6'6'' Texan hurler (102-71, 3.81 ERA) has been undeniably consistent with his bulldog mentality and his knack for inducing groundballs, which will mesh well with fellow Texan Josh Beckett as well emerging ace John Lester to make one of the most formidable trios going into the 2010 season (All have won clinching World Series games.). Many complain that he is not that bona fide #1, but in this staff, he doesn't have to be. If he does what he had been doing the past 5 seasons in Anaheim (refuse to consider them an LA team), $82.5 million might become more of a blue light special in the grand scheme of things. Most importantly, the move adds flexibility to the Red Sox's future plans in the starting rotation as it gives them a multitude of options on what to do with Josh Beckett in next year's edition of the Hot Stove. Again, the spotlight of speculation shines on Clay Buchholz, who becomes a little more expendable with the arrival of Lackey, making Adrian Gonzalez nuts like myself more hopeful that something will eventually happen. However, a potential monkey wrench could potentially doom the Red Sox in doing anything else big this offseason.

The Sox could be out by a thumb.
(redsoxgirl46.mlblogs.com)

Aaahhhh, the never-ending trade. On Thursday, the Crimson Hose agreed on principle to send Mike Lowell and $9 million to Texas for young catcher Max Ramirez, a player who has some clout with the bat but info from scouts suggests he may need a taser for self-motivation. However, one digit-sized problem has halted the completion of this deal. Surprisingly, it's the left thumb and not the hip of Lowell that is the site of concern for the Rangers, making this weekend's physical the most important of the offseason in terms of the Red Sox near-future plans. If the tests show that he needs surgery, you can forget about an Adrian Gonzalez blockbuster. In fact, you can forget about Adrian Beltre, whose appeal I still don't get. Granted, he is by all defensive metrics, one of the best third basemen in the game, but we will be sure be paying a pretty penny for that defense/sporadic offense with Boras on the other side of the table. I've been a Mike Lowell fan this whole time and wish that a character guy like him wasn't the chip that was in the way of steering the future of this club. He turned down more money and years just to stick around Fenway and he was nothing short of a productive presence when he has been in the lineup. Unfortunately, we're not sure if he can be in that lineup everyday and there is not too many options for him, considering we technically have three first baseman (V-Mart, Youk, Kotchman) on the squad. So what do we do with Blue Chip Buchholz after all of this? Keeping him actually isn't a bad option, for I believe he will make a solid 5th starter over Wakefield and the uncertainties surrounding has recent injuries and back surgery. However with Wake's tenure on the club combined with the intricacies of the knuckler, I just don't see the Red Sox putting him in the 'pen. Then again, I didn't see the Lackey move,....or this mega-transaction, which makes the AL a bit more interesting.

This Doc's departure is helping me breathe a bit more.

(reclinergm.com)

In a three-way deal that is oh so close to happening, the Doc is heading to Philly while the Mariners will be the recipient of lefty Cliff Lee. This deal makes me focus on the Mariners than it does the Phils. Philadelphia was already by far and away the class of the NL, and if Cole Hamels can return to form, could provide a powerhouse of a 1-2 tandem that will win a 3rd straight pennant. The focus swings towards the capital of grunge music and lattes, where the Mariners have quietly had one of the best offseasons of anyone. A Cliff-Felix duo could propel Seattle in a division that has already lost John Lackey and Kevin Millwood. Just as important was the signing of Chone Figgins, who had matured as a top-tier lead off man for the recently-weakened division rival Angels. Plus, they have been one of the rumored participants in the hectic Bay sweepstakes, which could create a fascinating Canadianese corner outfield situation with Ichiro. Granted, both moves don't exactly make Seattle a World Series team, but that Wild Card spot, which has been dominated by the AL East teams for 6 of the past 7 seasons, becomes less of a fallback plan for the Olde Towne Team. With all this mania on the hottest day of The Stove this year, the most exhilarating thing for me as that none of these big names mentioned in big deals didn't end up with the Yankees as I feared. It's not Adrian, and it's not Miguel, but who can turn down a good Hanukkah gift?