Spring Training beings in less then one month and certain players haven’t been signed yet with the Red Sox.  That’s one thing I believe should be solved in the off season – contract issues.  If the season began this morning, then players such as Pena and Donnelly would still be planning their future with Boston.  The media however, loves this when players aren’t sign yet because it gives them something to write about.  Below is link about Pena and Donnelly.

Link: Boston Red Sox | projo.com | The Providence Journal.

Merry Christmas to all.  Hope all enjoyed their holiday season in someway.  Before you are aware, the 07 season will be upon us.  Don’t forget in February, the Caribbean World Series gets underway and you can watch it I believe on MLB.com!  For me, this is the start of the new baseball season as I will be posting scorecards from some of the games so be sure to check them out!

Are most baseball players loyal to their teams that they have been with for more then two years?  Some will say yes while others say no. 

I can’t stand hypocrites!  I think it is wrong for someone to be a hypocrite because it people will look at your in a completely different way.  Well, Johnny Demon is a HYPOCRITE!  He is also not loyal to the Red Sox has most fans thought.  If you remember towards the end of the season, in a interview, Johnny Damon made comments referring to him playing and living in Boston; how much he loves the fans and the ballpark…etc.  Well, apparently he may not have meant it because if he did, I wouldn’t be writing this blog! 

What the **** are the Red Sox doing?  I haven’t a clue!  We all know that Boston has one of the highest payrolls in the game and yet they didn’t do much pitching for Johnny to stay with Boston.  Why?  Please someone tell me and logical answer!  Instead the Yankees come out with this deal that is 12Million dollars more and he likes it and now for him shaving his face is ok.  Come on!

Personally, the Red Sox are losing out this off season because now they are in a deeper hole with no center fielder and no lead-off hitter! Um…that’s a problem and they GM(s) must do something fast or a lot of fans and some players may get upset like they aren’t upset all ready.  Remember, you have the left fielder wanting to leave the city!  Problems…Problems….

Johnny is not more in Boston and can’t wait until the Yankees come into town.  A lot of throwing of bricks at Johnny for sure!

Over the last four days, MLB Winter Meetings has been going on with trade rumors flying all over the place.  Some rumors were true while others were to get the papers to print them.  Several meetings were held as well including a job fair which I wanted to attended back in the summer time however, with my education and work schedule, I was unable to attend which was disappointing because this might have given me a chance to get my resume/cover letter out into the baseball world and possibly land me a career in a sport that I have a passion for.   

At any rate, I followed the winter meetings at work listening to MLB Home Plate; XM 175.  Numerous trades took place that is worth noting.  I believe that the

Toronto

Blue Jays made the biggest impact in the meetings with the

New York

Mets running behind in second.  I’m not sure what the Blue Jays are thinking about signing B.J. Ryan and A.J. Barnett to five year contracts respectively earning 50-55 million dollars.  The main issue with this signing is the money in relation with pitchers.  Both pitchers have mediocre records of .500.  Questions have all ready rose about these two ballplayers.  Will these pitchers produce the numbers that is all most required given their paychecks?  For me, I’m not convinced they will.  If you can compare A.J. Barnett to Carl Pavano from last year when Carl was signed by the Yankees to produced good, solid numbers however, he didn’t produced the numbers that were expected of him.  Did the money go to waste?  Some say yes while others say no because of his injuries.  A.J. Barnett is young and needs is developing.  

Same thing goes for B. J. Ryan.  He was a closer for one year and did produced numbers that would make him a good closer.  Can he do it again for the next five years?  I’m not sure because I don’t follow him on a daily basis.  From what I’ve heard on MLB Home Plate, the Toronto is taking a gamble that both pitchers will live up to their contracts.  There is no question from the Blue Jays; they want to be heard in the AL East along with the

New York

Yankees and

Boston

Red Sox.  It will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays will fair when the new season begins in March.  For both players, I think the contract is too high based on their records that based on the numbers.  The Blue Jays were looking at the age.

Another team that made interesting trades that happened this morning was the

Boston

Red Sox dealing Edgar Renteria to the

Atlanta

Braves.  It was a good idea that Edgar leaves

Boston

because to be blunt, he is a national league player with his style of baseball.  The American League is mostly a money ball, hitting homeruns and scoring big while the National League is small ball, stealing bases, bunting the runners along in key plays.  Also, Renteria couldn’t handle the pressure of the

Boston

media and the fans.  You have to be a special player I think to play at

Fenway

Park

to handle the fans and the media when things go wrong.  Back in February, when Edgar Reteria was signed, they assumed he was going to have the same mental state he had when playing for

St. Louis

.  Clearly, the mental state was not there and struggled all season.  He is a grounded shortstop however, there was too much pressure from the

Boston

media and the high expectations he had.

Back in February of last year, when rumors were going around about Edgar coming to

Boston

, what would happen to Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox top prospect?  Local talk radio mentioned numerous times that Hanley would be the next Red Sox shortstop within the next two years.  However, this rumor stops when Renteria was signed for the next three years.  Now, that Edgar has departed, this would have been a good position for Hanley to develop and play shortstop for the Red Sox.  However, that is not going to happen because he is no longer a Red Sox but a Marlin who will see plenty of playing time since

Florida

has a new roster with young talent.

Another small note that is huge on one level is Doug Marebelli was also traded to Sand Diego.  Why the Red Sox did this, I have no idea.  History tells Red Sox nation that Jason Varitek hasn’t caught well when Tim Wakefield is pitching.  However, I do see the trade being valid because in a trade if you can get a good hitter who can hit for power when you need them versus a catcher who is really employed for the Red Sox mostly for Tim Wakefield.  What the Red Sox did make since after some thought.

For some teams, this years Winter Meetings were a success buy building up their teams with strong pitching and solid hitters.  Others struggled in dealing or trading players because of money issues and management issues.  The Washington Nationals struggled because they don’t have an ownership while the Kansas City Royals also didn’t fair well by getting any top prospects all though, they did acquire Mark Redman from the Pittsburgh Pirates so in this regards, they did all right but when your payroll is low, your going to struggle with acquiring top baseball players.

Link: Major League Baseball : News : Major League Baseball News.

This trade that was made between the Marlins and Red Sox was a huge surprise for me.  All though the season, Theo Esptien kept mentioning to the Red Sox media that the Red Sox wanted to developed their minor league prospect, to "mold them and develop them" into Red Sox players.  Now, since Theo’s departure, the Red Sox have dealt away their number one prospect and another pitching prospect.  If this is true and the deal does in fact go though, my thoughts in political answers would be negative.

When Theo had his press conference for his departure from the club, he left many questions unanswered.  The media didn’t have the answers Red Sox fans wanted to know.  Patients is a virtue and soon enough those question would be answered.  I believe this is a portion of some questions as to why Theo left — Difference in philosophies.  Theo probably wanted to build his prospects while Larry and company had other ideas such as deal the prospects if a deal should warrant it.

Personally, right now I’m not enjoying the trade because I wanted to travel to Portland next season to watch some of these prospects and now that is not going to happen.

In the Boston media, Manny Ramirez is making headlines by his comments about getting traded again.  This, for Red Sox Nation is a ongoing thing.  Since his debut with the Red Sox in 2001, through his agent has been making reference to his unhappiness in Boston and wants to be traded however, when the trading deadline approaches in July nothing happens you still see Manny wearing no.24 and playing left field. 

Things might change during this off season because several reports have mentioned that through his agent he can see himself wearing a Angel or Mets uniform.  Now, I’m not sure how much this is true.  Manny is still under contract for the next three years.  During this past season, Manny made several comment through his agent about not being happy in Boston with no privacy and he had the thought of playing for a baseball team with a low payroll and not much media surrounding the ball club.  Again, personally if Manny wants to play for a market with a low payroll and no media he should book a plane for Colorado and play for the Rockies!

The issue I have with this comment about privacy is that, no matter what team he plays for be it the Red Sox or Rockies, the media will all ways be around him because of his talent for the game.  Manny is a great hitter with hall of fame numbers.  This year alone he played in 152 games and batted in 144 RBI’s which is the third highest RBI’s of his career.  In 1999, he had 165 RBI’s which is the highest of his career.  He can hit the baseball like any big star did.  When you put numbers up like Manny, the media will follow him. So, he should just throw that theory into the trash about not having privacy because he won’t get any in this business.

Yesterday, I was listening to MLB Home Plate 175 on XM Radio.  During the broadcast, the focus was on possibly trades that could occur and Manny Ramirez came up.  One journalists made the comment that if Manny Ramirez would be traded to the New York Mets, Pedro Martinez would have a lot of influence on the decision.  The reason is Pedro is a native of the Dominican Republic. Manny was born in New York with Dominican Republic decent.  The problem I have with his equation is fellow current teammate David Ortiz is from  Santo Domingo, Dominican just like Manny Ramirez.  If the journalist theory is correct then could there be something behind the clubhouse doors between Manny and David?  One can’t rule the theory out but I also won’t hold my breath on it.  The question is why would the theory even surface?  I don’t have the answer.

The journalist also had conversation with MLB Home Plate about the how would the Angels and the Mets handle Manny’s on the field issues.  Mike Scioscia, the manager of the Angels probably wouldn’t tolerate his attitude on the field has far as what he does such as going into the wall to use the restroom or tell Mike Scioscia that he won’t play on a certain day regardless if the game is important.  The bottom line for Mike Scioscia and the Angels is "Team"  The team comes first before personal success.  If you remember back in September of 2004, Mike Scioscia benched Jose Guillen for his attitude towards the team that he is first before the team.  If Manny were dealt to the Angels, his attitude would change or he wouldn’t be happy.

If Manny Ramirez would be traded to the New York Mets, how will Willie Randolph re-act?  To be honest, I am not sure.  For Manny, he has everything going for him in Boston.  His fan base is huge, the club enjoys his presence in the club house, he enjoys hitting at Fenway and his finances are stable and he wouldn’t have to worry about money.

Over the last several weeks, the Red Sox and Theo Epstein have been in conversation drawing up a contract for him because his current contract is expired.  Theo wants money and will be waiting for the right time to talk with John Henry.  On Monday, Red Sox Nation will know if they will have their GM back for a few more years.  Just down the road in New York, Brian Cashman was going threw the same thing by drawing up a contract for him.  Cashman was able to get one for the next five years.  Below are a few links to newspaper articles that focus on Theo Epstein.

• Epstein talks with Sox entering final innings

• Epstein, Sox reportedly close to deal

• Epstein still on course for an extension

• No decision on Epstein: Schilling lobbies for GM

The World Series is over, the White Sox have won and now it is time for the season that people are not aware of.  This season doesn’t happen on a diamond, no fans will be in the ballpark cheering on the their favorite players.  You won’t see the hot dog guy going up and down the allies asking fans if they want any food or beverage.  No, this season takes place behind close doors behind a desk with lots of coffee and patience.

The Hot Stove league, takes place off the field and the players are the GM’s and Team owners of each team looking to see how they can unproven their ball club with free agent signings, and trades.  GM’s look at their payroll and see how much they want to spend on certain players and how they will match up with other players on the team.  This season is the business side of baseball that most poeple are not aware off because you won’t see it on television and the only time you will see it will be on the news or the Internet.

This is the time where a lot of players will seek the free agent market, look at other teams to play for and/or sign with the same team for certain amount of years. It’s an exciting time of baseball however, it can even be stressful because players want money sometimes more or want to stay with the same team and earn less then what should be expected of them. Hot Stove Free Agents.  For those who wish is see the players eligible to be a Free Agents, click on this link Eli gable Free Agents

Below is a list of Red Six players who have elected to be a free agent and those who most likely will take a chance at the market  For the full list of players currently on the market click on this link

1.	Bottalico, Ricky	RP	BOS	—	—	—
2.	Damon, Johnny	OF	BOS	—	—	—
3.	Graffanino, Tony	2B	BOS	—	—	—
4.	Hyzdu, Adam	OF	BOS	—	—	Released
5.	Mantei, Matt	RP	BOS	—	—	—
6.	Millar, Kevin	1B	BOS	—	—	—
7.	Mueller, Bill	3B	BOS	—	—	—
8.	Myers, Mike	RP	BOS	—	—	—
9.	Olerud, John	1B	BOS	—	—	—
10.	Remlinger, Mike	RP	BOS	—	—	—
11.	Stanton, Mike	RP	BOS	—	—	—
12.	Timlin, Mike	RP	BOS	—	—	—

Courtesy of LB.com

As of today, Mike Timlin has agreed to terms with Boston pending a physical.  If he passes the physical, most likely you will see him in the closer role while Keith Foulke makes a recovery from knee surgery.

Not on the list of Red Sox players to be a free agent, the Red Sox will look closer at Manny Ramirez who wants to be traded according to his agent.  This has been an on going issue for the second part of the year and will continue to be thoughout the off season.  Some people will argue that "Manny is being Manny" 

On the list is Kevin Miller and Bill Mueller, who filed on the first day they could to see the market and talk with other teams.  It didn’t come to my surprise that Kevin Miller wanted to file because all year long he was under the lights in Boston about his performance this year going .272 with 9 HRs and 50 RBIs.  For a power hitter, thats not good and he wasn’t great in the field either.  He wants to see if moving away from Boston will increase his chances on improving his performance.