Kuzul

It appears that the Red Sox are not finished capping off one of their most notable winter meeting sessions to date. Evidently Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford were not enough. Now the Boston faithful are learning that Theo Epstein has his sights set on two-time all-star catcher Russell Martin.

Martin was non-tendered last week by the Los Angeles Dodgers. It seems that LA didn’t want to pay Martin a guaranteed sum of $5 million, what with the torn labrum in his hip and the messy ownership divorce and all.

So that opens the door for John Henry and the boys to further solidify the Fenway squad with an all-star catcher who has had a couple of rough seasons and therefore might be gotten on the cheap.

I say might because much like every other acquisition in the game of baseball there are always more sharks than bait fish, and it seems that a few great whites are circling Mr. Martin. It appears that they are all AL East sharks at that.

Seems that the Yankees and Blue Jays are making a run at Martin as well. But who would want to go to Toronto? Let’s examine where Russell would fit best.

In looking at the Yankees they already have two solid catchers. Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli. Cervelli, born in 1986, has a lot of good years left in him, and he seems to be playing rather well when spelling Jorge who is pushing 40.

I can’t believe that Russell Martin would be brought in to replace Posada, but nor can I see Martin being brought in as a back-up when they already have a more than capable answer who already knows the rotation in Cervelli. Could it be to DH? I am stumped.

As for the Red Sox, I thought that Theo Epstein was very happy with starter Jarrod Saltalamacchia and back-up Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek. Could it be that Salty is not quite what they were looking for? or is this their way of telling Tek that he has just this next year as a player with the Sox organization because after that it will be Salty and Martin behind the dish?

The Blue Jays have a great up-and-coming catcher in J.P. Arencibia who with Triple-A Las Vegas hit .301 had 33 home runs and 85 RBI, winning the Pacific Coast League MVP.

Jose Molina is their veteran catcher and current starter. Martin is still young and has proved himself to be a great player at a tough position, so maybe the Jays are signaling to Jose that his time is fast approaching.

I have no idea folks. I am baffled here as well. In either organization I cannot see Martin solidifying himself as a starter over the current catchers, with the possible exception of the Blue Jays. Maybe Toronto wouldn’t be such a bad fit; after all, he is Canadian.

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What a time for the Internet connection to go on the fritz. Really, unnamed Internet service provider, in the middle of the winter meetings? During the offseason, from Thanksgiving to Christmas is the equivalent of October in-season.

But in thinking about it, I am glad that I couldn’t log on for the last 24 hours. I needed that time to sit back and take it all in. Let it marinate, so to speak, and reflect upon what this means for the Monopoly money world that is Major League Baseball.

Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez both headed to the Fens to showcase their talents in Boston Red Sox uniforms. Just take a second here. It has been almost a full day and yet I still find myself not quite grasping the magnitude of what has transpired. My friend Murph, a die-hard Sox fan, immediately threw up a Facebook posting saying, “I give you the new, Evil Empire.”

When taking into account the shear magnitude of the cash involved in both of these deals, he may very well have a point. For the Red Sox this is like when C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira all signed with the Bronx Bombers. The end result was a championship ring tough, so can you blame any team for trying to better their club. As long as no salary cap exists then as an organization you’ve got to keep up with the Joneses.

So let’s assume that we do now have two “Evil Empires”. We will call one the “Original Evil Empire” and we will call the other the “New Kids on the Block” (only seems appropriate considering Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Donny and Danny were assembled in Beantown).

Let us now talk a bit about these two superpowers. Is there any possible way that the Yankees can crawl out from under the surprising and indescribably large offseason shadow that the Red Sox have created? The Sox are like the Visitors from V. They are the mother ship that is just sitting over top of the Bronx right now blocking out the sun.

The Yankees are hoping that Cliff Lee can be the Marc Singer of their resistance (Yep, I took it all the way back to 1984. The original V the Final Battle television miniseries.) The problem for New York however is two-fold.

Number one is the fact that Mr. Lee has suitors from around the league. Texas, the Nationals and the Yankees are all gunning for the hurler, and with the Angels losing out on Carl Crawford they are throwing their halo into the mix as well.

And B) I don’t think Cliff Lee is big enough all by himself to counter the duo of Gonzalez and Crawford. If we are using the amount of money one garners as a judge to who is the best in their respective position, Crawford just received an obscene amount of money that would make him the highest paid outfielder in the league, while the Yankees latest offer to Lee wouldn’t even make him the highest paid pitcher on their team. Lee or no Lee, it seems to me that the Red Sox shadow remains.

So baseball fans get ready for the inevitable barrage of predictions sure to circulate for the next several months about how the Red Sox are now the favorites to win not only the AL East but also the World Series.

To that end, I suggest we not forget about a few other teams that might have something to say about such a prediction. Only one thing is for sure, Tampa Bay is not one of them. Poor Evan Longoria.

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It looks as though I might have finally found my favorite National League team. As a huge Boston Red Sox fan I find it difficult to root for another team, especially one in the American League, but as a baseball fan the more knowledge I have of the sport the more I respect other teams.

For instance, one cannot over look the Minnesota Twins. Unless you are a Chicago White Sox fan, a Detroit Tigers fan or just plain hate the Twin cities it is hard not to appreciate, like and respect that organization.

Having had an opportunity to speak with Ron Gardenhire and Justin Morneau as well as current Twins commentator Bert Blyleven, I have come to garner such respect for these guys that I now have a second favorite American League team.

But what about the National League, don’t they deserve some love?

I would like to have a team for which to pull on the other side so that I can have a stake in the NL playoff race as well. It would be ideal to hope that the Red Sox would meet my NL team in the World Series and then thoroughly embarrass them.

I tried the Colorado Rockies on for size after the 2007 World Series. I am a huge fan of Todd Helton. He is the consummate athlete and some would argue the face of the Rockies. But then I visited my best friend Bog in Denver and went to a game at Coors Field.

I realize that I may have been asking for some snide remarks by wearing my Red Sox hat to the game but in fairness it was the only baseball cap I brought on my trip and I was rooting loudly for Colorado. None of that seemed to matter however to the 80-year old usher standing at the top of the staircase between me, my friend and our seats behind the dugout.

First off, he would not let us walk down the stairs to our seats because the first inning had just begun and we were told that we would have to wait until the middle of the inning. I looked to my left and my right to see no other usher enforcing this same very strange rule. Baseball is not like an NHL game where there is a whistle every 30 seconds. This guy expected us to wait an entire half inning.

I pointed out that none of his other usher friends were making people wait to get to the seats that they paid $100 for, and his reply was something along the lines of—well you aren’t sitting in their section now are you? You’re lucky I even let you go to your seat at all with that hat on.

Now if he were joking or ribbing me in a good-natured kind of way then I would have laughed and thought it was pretty funny. But this guy was serious. He literally made us wait about 10 minutes for the middle of the first inning before we were allowed to walk down to the seats we paid for, the seats that we owned for that first half inning. But what can you do in a situation like this? He was 80 years old?

The usher was angry with me for wearing a Red Sox hat as if it were my fault that his team lost in ’07 and was swept by Boston who won the Championship on the Rockies home turf. Color me ridiculous, but that encounter knocked the Rockies out of the running for my favorite NL team.

I grew up in Northern Virginia and the closest MLB team to me at the time was the Baltimore Orioles. I was never a huge fan of them, however, I had tremendous respect for Cal Ripken Jr. and loved what he did for the game. Hell, I even went to a game with my Pops when I was a child, signed a piece of paper, took it home to my step-mom and tried to pawn it off as the Orioles manager, Earl Weaver’s, autograph. Still, the birds from Baltimore could not capture my heart.

A few years back when the Washington Nationals became a franchise based in the District of Columbia I toyed with the idea of rooting for them. They were, in fact, based 20 minutes from where I grew up.

So I decided that I was going to follow them for a little while and see if I liked and agreed with their management style and philosophy. You see there is nothing worse then pledging your allegiance and giving your heart to a team whose owner and management squander your hopes and dreams for years on end.

Yes, I am talking about you Dan Snyder. The Redskins had me at hello and you have stomped on my heart every year since you bought the team. But I am too invested, in too deep, I am the idiot who keeps coming back for more. Thank you sir may I have another.

I apologize for the above tangent, as I am a page and a half into this column and have still not yet reached the point of the piece. This offseason, this week in particular, I had seen enough. The culmination of the decisions made by the Washington Nationals staff over the past few years finally hit a boiling point with me.

The Nats acquired Jayson Werth with a seven-year deal. Washington inked Werth to the 13th largest contract in MLB history totalling $126 million ($66 million more than what the Phillies thought Werth was worth). I now have a favorite National League team that I would very much like to see lose to my Red Sox in the World Series.

The Nats have done quite a bit lately. Yes, they have been given the gift of being absolutely horrible and thus getting the first pick in the draft for a few years but what they did with those picks is what has gotten my attention.

Stephen James Strasburg could be the most phenomenal pitcher in the league. Give him a full season of throwing without injury (once he returns successfully from Tommy John surgery) and I believe you are looking at the next Tim Lincecum, except better, with shorter hair and no vested interest in voting yes on prop 19.

Couple that with the other first round pick Bryce Harper and you have had two great years of drafting. Arguably the best arm in the league in Strasburg and one of the best bats in college baseball in Harper.

Add in the Nationals current players Nyjer Morgan, Ivan Rodriguez, Josh Willingham, Ryan Zimmerman and another solid young arm coming off surgery in Jordan Zimmerman and the Nats have an amazingly solid base from which to build a playoff caliber team.

All of these draft decisions, trades and young players with potential have proven to me that Washington’s management and ownership are committed to taking this NL basement dweller to a playoff contender. But what sealed the deal, what put the cherry on top, what brought me to the precipice and pushed me over the edge was when the Nats brass snaked Jayson Werth from signing with the Boston Red Sox and locked him into a seven-year deal.

This guy has been an outfielder on my fantasy radar for the past several years. I have been trying every which way possible to acquire his bat for at least one of my fantasy teams but I’ve failed miserably every single time.

What I have yet to be able to do for the past several years, the Washington Nationals were able to do this offseason. Plus they were able to do it when going up against Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox, no less.

My hat is off to you Washington and now I must go buy a Nats cap to tip in your direction this upcoming season. I have found my National League team and I hope that someday soon they too will have the opportunity to be swept by the Red Sox in the World Series. 

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Could I be more excited? Doubtful. Seriously, I could try, but I don’t see it happening. It’s so far, as of the writing of this column, unconfirmed, but when Buster Olney says that it’s a done deal we can pretty much assume that it is. Adrian Gonzalez will be manning the corner in the new, revamped Boston Red Sox infield, moving All-Star Kevin Youkilis to 3^rd and allowing Boston to set Adrian Beltre free.

Gonzalez’s bat is huge for an offense that has had a drop-off since the departure of Jason Bay. This is a move that had to be made, especially after Theo Epstein let Victor Martinez go without a fight. He basically held the door open for him and walked him to his car. As I stated in an earlier column, we all had to know that Adrian Gonzalez was a good as wearing the two sox patch when we saw how easily Martinez waltzed out of the Fens.

So am I excited? You bet I am. But, in my extreme excitement I neglected to realize that in order for the Red Sox to bolster their offense with such a powerful bat, we would have to give up something equally as valuable. This is when I began going over the prospects that I would want in exchange if I were San Diego. And alas, the trade began to take a bittersweet turn for me.

Star prospect pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and outfielder Reymond Fuentes are all headed to the Padres. Plus, rumor has it, a player to be named later as well. This is a lot to give up for sure, so Gonzalez better do for us what Mark Teixeira has done for the Yankees after he left the Red Sox flailing in the wind by turning his back on the Nation and signing with the Empire.

I am extremely happy to get Gonzalez so please do not get me wrong, but Casey Kelly? Did we have to include him in the deal? I have been watching this guy for the past several years. He is going to be the next Jon Lester. He’s got the stuff.

This deal is bringing me, kicking and screaming, back to the Hanley Ramirez deal. Hanley Ramirez folks, you may also know him as the best short stop in all of Major League Baseball. He was in the Red Sox farm system until we traded him away. And what position has been giving Boston a headache ever since that trade? Yep, you guessed it, SS.

The only positive I can take away from that trade is that when we moved Hanley we received Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell and a World Series Championship. As long as Adrian Gonzalez brings us a pennant and a ring then I will never again second-guess Theo and will wish Casey Kelly a great career.

Yeah, that is not entirely true. I will always second-guess every manager because that is just who I am. Be honest with yourselves; it’s who we all are.

So the question that begs to be asked is which is more valuable, a proven bat that will bring 30+ homers and 100+ RBIs a year or an up and coming pitcher that has the potential to win 18+ games a season and shut down opponents?

The answer is an obvious one and Theo made the correct choice. Adrian Gonzalez will thrive in Fenway Park. He will be an immediately invaluable impact player and provide the offense that will bolster our pitching staff (see my previous column to make sense of that comment). Nice work Sox. Spring Training can’t come soon enough.

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First, talk of a possible Jeter offer and now a reported proposal to have the Sandman enter Fenway. Say it ain’t so Mo, say it ain’t so. Apparently it is so but it is not coming to fruition.

It is being reported that the Red Sox have tendered an offer to closer Jonathon Papelbon as of late Thursday night. It looks like the right-handed fireballer will be Shipping Up to Boston for yet another season of America’s pasttime.

The question is: which Papelbon will take the mound? The J-Pap that was so lights out in 2007 that he was deemed untouchable, or the guy that was called from the pen last season to blow a career-high eight saves and post a 3.90 ERA?

Not sure what the answer to this conundrum might be? Neither are the Red Sox. That’s why they reportedly offered Yankee closer Mariano Rivera a two-year, $30 million contract.

The Yankees matched that offer, and Rivera chose to stay in the House That George Built. Left out in the cold with no Rivera, the Sox had little choice but to tender Papelbon, who is up for arbitration, a contract. But did they, in fact, actually have a choice?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I present to you Daniel Bard, the “closer in waiting.” He has an arm as strong as Paps, and an ability that is on the upswing rather than the decline. So why do the Sox feel that they have to bring back Jonathan?

The answer may not have to do with how good Bard is or how bad a season Papelbon had. It may have more to do with the rest of the Red Sox bullpen.

It is the notion of all clubs to reach the World Series every year (if this is not the goal than you don’t belong in your job). And because playing late into October is the driving force behind all decisions made in the off-season, for purposes of this column let us take a look at the 2007 World Champion Red Sox team and compare them to last year’s team to see why or why not Papelbon is needed in 2011.

In 2007, Jonathan Papelbon was arguably the best closer in the league. He was lights out. He was that guy, you know the one. The guy that when Tito (Terry Francona) called him to the mound in the 9^th you could easily turn the TV off knowing with absolute certainty that the Sox just put another W in the win column. But in looking a little deeper, we see what contributed to Papelbon’s ’07 success.

Hideki Okajima was Papelbon’s 8^th inning set-up man. A rookie from Japan, he was for all intents and purposes, a secondary thought to the $100 million man, Daisuke Matsuzaka. Though Dice-K was to anchor a stellar starting rotation followed by Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and the ageless Tim Wakefield, it was Oki that dropped the collective jaw of Red Sox Nation that season.

He became an All-Star in his rookie year. He has a crazy, unorthodox wind-up and delivery that disguises his pitches well, and leaves him staring at third base upon release of the ball.

Who knows how this kid could pick his spots so accurately by staring at Mike Lowell instead of Varitek’s catching mitt? Bottom line, though, is that he could, did and thus he was lights out in the eighth inning, allowing everyone in Red Sox Nation to turn the TV off when Tito made the move to bring in Hideki.

In 2007, we only had to watch seven and sometimes six innings of baseball in order to see a Red Sox win. We, as fans, were given the gift of time. Two whole innings of time to do with what we pleased, knowing that Oki and Pap had the game wrapped up.

Add Josh Beckett’s year (20-7 with 194 Ks) with veteran Mike Timlin at the ready whenever the starters couldn’t go deep, and that equaled a pitching staff that put the Red Sox bats in a position to always win a game.

So, while baseball is a team sport filled with individual statistics, plays and accolades, I submit that the Sox starting pitching always kept them in every game, allowing their bats to start working. This, in turn, caused Terry Francona to go to his pen and retrieve Hideki Okajima in the 8^th.

But I will solidly argue that it was the play of Okajima and his stellar season, gave birth to Jonathan Papelbon’s 37 saves and 1.85 ERA. When you have a set-up man who leaves nobody on base and gets you to the 9^th quickly and efficiently, as a closer, you have a much easier job.

Now let’s take a look at Papelbon’s previous season. Pap was still one of the game’s best closers. His problem was that he was wildly inconsistent. When he was on, he was on but when he blew a save, man, did he really blow it. It wasn’t even close.

Red Sox fans could no longer automatically turn off the TV when he was called into the game. We had to sit and suffer through humiliating three-run 9^th inning blown saves. And even when he won, we had to endure him giving up a hit or two and/or put a couple guys on base.

It was like the game of baseball was too easy for someone of his skill level and he needed to spice things up a bit in order to present himself with a challenge. Sort of like a “handicap” for closers. So why the downfall?

Did the starting pitching give the bats a chance to get ahead in most games? Beckett was injured for a majority of the year, and when he wasn’t he was not his normal dominant self. Dice-K has proved to be the $100 million bust. Clay Buchholz finally had a solid breakout year, but was also injured for a portion of the season, thus leaving Jon Lester as our only consistent part of the starting rotation.

And what about the bats of the 2010 Red Sox? They lost slugger Jason Bay to the Mets. Mike Lowell was injured for most of the year and replaced at third by Adrian Beltre. Beltre is not a power hitter, but he had an amazing year at the plate nonetheless.

David Ortiz was missing for the first couple months of the year. Dustin Pedroia was out literally forever (again, literally is defined as figuratively unless otherwise stated) as well as leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury.

Mike Cameron was injured for quite a while, and monster bat Kevin Youkilis was injured for a portion of the season as well. Catcher and part-time first baseman Victor Martinez brought his monster swing to Boston, and that kid displayed power from both sides of the plate, right up until he got injured as well.

So Terry Francona was working with a patchwork lineup that couldn’t consistently put runs on the board the way Red Sox teams of old were once able to do.

With this in mind, Tito would have to go to his bullpen early in many games. Plus, by the time the sixth and seventh inning came around and Hideki Okajima was called into the game, he brought with him an ERA around 6.00 and a career-low 33 strikeouts. That’s not going to impress anyone in America or Japan.

There were few times that the Sox were able to take a lead past the seventh, and we were usually only ahead by a slim margin. But it was here, in the 8^th inning, where the Sox pitching staff truly shined. Enter Daniel Bard.

Bard was Papelbon of 2007. He was lights out. He was automatic. He allowed us, as fans, to turn off the TV in the 8^th inning knowing in our heart of hearts that we could turn the TV back on in the 9^th and have the opportunity to watch Papelbon blow the save.

I have no idea what the bottom line is here. I am not sure I even have a point except to say that for a sport that showcases such individualism, baseball, in my humble opinion, needs all of the gears to (follow me here) independently work collectively (let it marinate a moment) in order to turn the wheel.

It is difficult to blame Papelbon alone for his worst statistical year in a Sox uniform. However, in the same breath, with a guy like Daniel Bard waiting in the wings and/or Mariano Rivera available for signing, why would you take another $10 million-plus chance on Jonathan Papelbon?

It seems that the Red Sox did take that chance and hopefully, it will pay off for them. Hopefully, he will not pull a Jay Cutler and be bitter about the courting of Mo. But most importantly, let us hope he will make last year’s performance stick in the record books as his worst season in the majors.

But let’s face it, what in the hell do I know? If I were so smart I would be pulling the strings for Theo Epstein and not writing about the decisions he gets paid the big bucks to actually make. And if you are wondering, yes, it is comfortable in my armchair general manager seat.

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Please do not wake me; it is such a peaceful slumber.

My dream—this dream—would normally be a nightmare.

Please heed to the smile on my face and let my eyes remain closed, allow me to lay in reverie with the soothing, pleasant, unimaginable thought that is Derek Jeter in a Boston Red Sox uniform.

The taboo subject was first broached a few weeks ago on the blogoshpere when it became evident that Jeter was asking much more than his stats say he is worth.

The Yankees were not budging from their original offer which is still more than his numbers last year deemed he be paid but not quite at the astronomical level that Sir Derek believes to be “reasonable.”

I put that word in quotes because let’s face it—nothing that these guys get paid for swinging a bat is reasonable.

A rift has developed between the iconic short stop, captain, and leader of the Yankees and Brian Cashman, the man who—as his name should suggest—holds the checkbook.

Jeter wants a four to five year deal worth as much as the low $20-million figure per year.

Cashman has responded with a 3-year deal worth $15 million per year.

If taken, Cashman’s deal would make Jeter the highest paid middle infielder in the majors despite coming off the worst statistical year of his career.

Considering his play and his age—he’s 36—the deal is more than fair.

Jeter balked at Cashman’s offer and Cashman has responded by encouraging #2 to go out and play the open market to see if he can land a sweeter deal.

My question is this—I understand that Jeter’s age and his lack of production last year warrant a drop in salary, but what about the intangibles?

How much money is his captaincy worth to the Yankee organization?

Jeter has never embarrassed the team, ala A-Roid.

He has never NOT shown up in the playoffs and cost your team a run at the series, ala A-Roid.

So why is A-Roid getting paid 167 gazillion dollars for the next 43 years (me and numbers are like oil and vinegar)?

Why is he so much more highly paid than the one man, other than Mariano Rivera, who exemplifies exactly what it means to be a Yankee?

The one man that even Red Sox fans have to respect.

How much is all of that worth to the Yankee organization?

Evidently, zilch.

Jeter is the Yankees.

He is the modern day Babe Ruth and the fact that the Yankees are holding him over the coals and treating him like just another player (which he is not) is exactly the reason why if you are not a Yankee fan then you hate the Yankees.

There is no middle ground.

To not re-sign Jeter, some would say to even take the risk they are currently taking, is just a dumb move.

This is where my delightful dream comes into play.

As I stated above, Jeter is the modern day equivalent to Babe Ruth in the Yankees organization. The Yankees shoplifted The Babe from my beloved Boston Red Sox for a play.

That’s right, arguably the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball was handed over from the World Champion Red Sox to the Yankees for the price of a group of actors dressed up in costumes prancing around on a stage.

It wasn’t even a great play, like Phantom, or The Producers, or CATS—Shut-up, you know CATS was awesome.

It would only be appropriate for the Red Sox to take today’s Ruth away from the Evil Empire.

To me and many others in the greater New England area—including certain parts of Connecticut whose inhabitants seem to think that they have the ability to choose between the two—it would be utterly fantastic to take Jeter away from the Bronx.

John Henry, the Sox owner, has the money.

Hell, he just purchased a failing English Football Club for more money than I get paid to write these columns—disclosure—I get paid less than Jeter to write these columns. Full disclosure—I get paid less than zero to write these columns.

The bottom line is that Henry has the money to buy Derek Jeter.

He can offer him more than the Yankees and with an extra year on the contract.

Stick it in their eye.

Call their bluff.

As many sportswriters have already pointed out, the worst that can happen is that it makes the Yankees way overpay to keep their captain in which case Jeter and the Red Sox are happy while Cashman and the Yankees brass are not.

The best case scenario, however, would be if Jeter actually took the Red Sox offer and ceased to be the face of the Yankees organization.

He wouldn’t be a drop off from Scutaro and if we lose Beltre at third than we can move Jeter over to the corner.

Hell, the Sox are rumored to be gunning for Adrian Gonzalez to play first in which case Youk would move to third and Jeter can stay at short leaving Scut as trade bait.

I mean why else would we let Victor Martinez go so easily if we didn’t have a beat on Gonzalez?—We better have a beat on Gonzalez, Mr. Henry.

Signing Jeter doesn’t prohibit us from making the off-season moves that we want to make and it gives us more trade flexibility.

Add an outfielder like Werth or Crawford to the mix and not only are we a formidable playoff contender but we become one while simultaneously kicking the Yankees right in the chiclets.

I dare say folks that in the spirit of the holiday season that is what it’s truly all about.

This is my dream.

Please let me sleep.

Do not wake me until the winter meetings.

It should all be over by then and while my fantasy will most likely never become a reality, it has been awhile since I have had such a pleasant and sound sleep.

FYI: As of Thursday morning, December 2, the Yankees have supposedly sweetened their offer. No response from Jeter’s camp however.

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