Bay Set To Sign With Mets

Jon Heyman confirms WFAN's Mike Franseca's report that Jason Bay will (pending a physical) sign a contract with the Mets. An offer of around 4/65 had been mentioned previously.

peace

And all the best for 2010!

Lester Rodney: 1911 -2009

American journalist Lester Rodney passed away last Sunday at the age of 98.

Dave Zirin, Edge of Sports:

He crusaded against baseball's color line when almost every other journalist pretended it didn't exist. He edited a political sports page that engaged his audience in how to fight for a more just sports world. His writing, which could describe the beauty of a well-turned double play in one sentence and blast injustice in the next, is still bracing and ahead of its time. He should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Instead he was largely erased from the books.

If you have never heard of Lester Rodney, there is a very simple reason why: the newspaper he worked at from 1936-1958 was the Daily Worker, the party press of the U.S. Communist Party. Lester used his paper to launch the first campaign to end the color line in Major League Baseball. ...

[Lester recalled Jackie Robinson as] "a continuing militant, and that's why the Dodgers never considered this brilliant baseball man as a manager or coach. It's because he was outspoken and unafraid. That's the kind of person he was. In fact, the first time he was asked to play at an old-timers' game at Yankee Stadium, he said 'I must sorrowfully refuse until I see more progress being made off the playing field on the coaching lines and in the managerial departments.' He made people uncomfortable. ...

Sadly, but not surprisingly, that crucial aspect of Robinson's character has been erased from all modern mainstream recollections.

You can read the forward and some of the first chapter of Irwin Silber's book about Rodney -- Press Box Red -- here.

Also: a 2003 Village Voice interview and his New York Times obit.

Gammons: Sox Made Offer To Holliday

Odd to bury it in a tweet, though:

Boston ecstatic with Lackey. Before he stepped foward, Sox offered 4x$15M to Bay and 5x$16.5 to Holliday.
December 18, 10:16 AM

The Curious Case of Jacoby Ellsbury

According to various fielding metrics, Jacoby Ellsbury was the worst center fielder in all of baseball last year.

And, last week, almost on cue, fans at mlb.com chose Ellsbury as the Defensive Player of the Year. However, LBJ had a very solid season in the field in 2008. So what gives? SoSH discusses the matter.

Jason Varitek talks about his role on the 2010 Red Sox.

I don't know exactly how that's all going to play out. Knowing going into it, [Victor Martinez] is going to play the majority of time. For me, I kind of got in that role last year, so I had two months to get used to it.

A scout says the Red Sox offered Manny Delcarmen to Texas for rookie reliever Guillermo Moscoso. If true, I guess Texas said no.

Two posts from SoSH:

bombdiggz:

Assuming that every Red Sox lineup holdover — Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew — performs at his 2009 level next year, and that Cameron, Kotchman and Scutaro performed at their career averages, the Red Sox starting nine would project (according to the amazing baseballmusings.com Lineup Analysis tool) to score 5.646 runs per game. Over a full year, that would project to a whopping 915 runs.

phragle:

[Buchholz] throws five plus pitches (fastball, sinker, change, slider, curve) any of which can be un-hittable on a given night. What other young studs throw five plus pitches in the AL? Greinke, Verlander and Hernandez, they all throw fastball, sinker, slider, curve, change. [What] if I told you Buch's stuff is as dangerous as theirs, would you believe me? I hope so, because it is. Out of all the qualified AL starters, Jon Lester (2010 CYA winner, callin' it right now) generates less contact than any one, followed by Verlander, Sabathia, Hernandez and Greinke. Point? Clay's contact percentage is in between Hernandez and Greinke. Thats filthy, filthy stuff. Add that to his ground ball percentage and you have bona fide stud on your hands.

Lowell Trade Called Off

ESPN:

The proposed trade between the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox involving Mike Lowell is off, according to a source.

The reason: Lowell has a torn radial collateral ligament in his right thumb and will have surgery after Christmas.

The article states that Lowell injured the thumb taking batting practice during the final weekend of the 2009 season.

Recovery time from the surgery is 6-8 weeks, which might make him a bit late for spring training.

Dirty Deeds Done With Sheep

Lowell Trade May Be Resolved Soon

News of a possible trade of Mike Lowell to the Rangers for Max Ramirez broke nine long days ago -- yet Dr. Doubles has still not had a physical with the Rangers.

An examination of Lowell's right hip and right thumb may finally occur this weekend. The ProJo's Joe McDonald reports the chances of the deal going through have dropped from 80% to 50%. In any event, it would be nice to hear something on Monday.

Lackey, Cameron Deals Announced

The Red Sox held separate press conferences yesterday to announce the signings of right-hander John Lackey (#40) to a 5/82.5 contract and outfielder Mike Cameron (#23) to a 2/15.5 deal.

Theo Epstein:

I think if you look on paper, we'll put our starting five right up there with anybody's. I think our run prevention overall is going to be really solid. We like our lineup. This puts us in a position to have some flexibility if we need to make a move down the road to add some offense.

Lackey:

I'm here to win. That's the bottom line. ... I was always interested in coming here. Winning was definitely my first priority of a team to go to. With this franchise and their history and the way I've seen from the other side of the field -- I've been knocked out of the playoffs a few times by them -- I know I'm going to have a chance to win here, and that means a lot.

When the off-season began, Epstein did not think Lackey had any interest in coming to Boston. Steve Hilliard, Lackey's agent:

When I talked to Theo at the GM Meetings in Chicago and told him John had interest in coming to Boston, he really didn't believe me. ... Not after some of the things over the years, the rivalry and maybe some of the comments that had been made along the way. It took some convincing. At the beginning, Theo was kind of skeptical.

Lackey's contract is the largest given to any free agent during Epstein's seven years as GM. Theo:

A lot of discussion went into it. When you draw up clubs in theory, if you look to build the 2010 Red Sox in a vacuum or design your five-year plan, you can do it a certain way. You can adhere to every element of your personal philosophy. When you've made the playoffs six out of seven years, you're looking a couple of years ahead as what you see as a really good young team, you can find a way to make it work in the meantime.

When you operate in the real world, with imperfections, you have to make choices. The more you looked at it, the more we talked to different agents, and the more we assessed what both the best fit was for now and for the future, which is all I've ever talked about since I've been here, no matter what words I've used, I've talked about being competitive now and in the future, this was clearly the best way for us to go.

Cameron:

I haven't really been this excited about coming somewhere since I first came to the big leagues.

Epstein, on whether the addition of Lackey might mean that Josh Beckett leaves as a free agent after this season:

I sent Josh a text message as we were finalizing John Lackey's deal, and I just told him, "Some might speculate that this means the end for you in Boston." I said, "Don't listen to them. You're a huge part of what we've had going on here, and we'd love it if it worked out that you were a huge part of our future as well. The most important thing is we've got one heck of a pitching staff right now." ... I don't think it impacts Josh nearly to the degree that people are speculating.

SoSH: Top 100 Red Sox Of All-Time

Last June, SoSH began voting on the top 100 players in Red Sox history.

The process went something like this: Members and lurkers nominated players for spots 1-10; the 20 players with the most nominations were put in a poll to determine the 1-10 spots. Anyone that did not make the cut for either the 20 nominations or the 10 voting spots was available to be nominated in the next round. Repeat for 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, etc.

The Top 100

  1. Ted Williams
  2. Pedro Martinez
  3. Carl Yastrzemski
  4. Cy Young
  5. Roger Clemens
  6. Manny Ramirez
  7. Tris Speaker
  8. Wade Boggs
  9. Jimmie Foxx
 10. Babe Ruth
 11. Jim Rice
 12. Carlton Fisk
 13. Dwight Evans
 14. Bobby Doerr
 15. David Ortiz
 16. Lefty Grove
 17. Smokey Joe Wood
 18. Nomar Garciaparra
 19. Joe Cronin
 20. Dom DiMaggio
 21. Luis Tiant
 22. Mo Vaughn
 23. Tim Wakefield
 24. Fred Lynn
 25. Tony Conigliaro
 26. Johnny Pesky
 27. Jason Varitek
 28. Harry Hooper
 29. Curt Schilling
 30. Mel Parnell
 31. Jimmy Collins
 32. Dick Radatz
 33. Rico Petrocelli
 34. Jonathan Papelbon
 35. Mike Greenwell
 36. Bob Stanley
 37. Bill Lee
 38. Vern Stephens
 39. Jackie Jensen
 40. Dennis Eckersley
 41. Derek Lowe
 42. Dutch Leonard
 43. Reggie Smith
 44. Bruce Hurst
 45. Pete Runnels
 46. Kevin Youkilis
 47. Buck Freeman
 48. Dustin Pedroia
 49. Larry Gardner
 50. Ellis Burks
 51. Josh Beckett
 52. Frank Malzone
 53. John Valentin
 54. Tex Hughson
 55. George Scott
 56. Ellis Kinder
 57. Duffy Lewis
 58. Johnny Damon
 59. Billy Goodman
 60. Rick Burleson
 61. Trot Nixon
 62. Jim Lonborg
 63. Bill Monbouquette
 64. Marty Barrett
 65. Jimmy Piersall
 66. Mike Timlin
 67. Rick Ferrell
 68. Carl Mays
 69. Joe Dobson
 70. Rich Gedman
 71. Mike Lowell
 72. Bill Mueller
 73. Frank Sullivan
 74. Troy O'Leary
 75. Wes Ferrell
 76. Bill Dinneen
 77. Chick Stahl
 78. Jody Reed
 79. Brian Daubach
 80. Tom Burgmeier
 81. Jon Lester
 82. Sparky Lyle
 83. J.D. Drew
 84. Bernie Carbo
 85. Bill Carrigan
 86. Boo Ferriss
 87. Mike Andrews
 88. Dave Henderson
 89. Ernie Shore
 90. Everett Scott
 91. Keith Foulke
 92. Tom Gordon
 93. Tommy Harper
 94. Lee Smith
 95. Butch Hobson
 96. Jacoby Ellsbury
 97. Bill Campbell
 98. Ray Culp
 99. Jake Stahl
100. Rich Garces

Red Sox Close To Signing Mike Cameron

UPDATE: Done! 2/approx. 15.5.

The Red Sox are making "significant progress" in signing outfielder Mike Cameron to a two-year deal.

One source says Cameron would be a full-time player in either left or center field, as opposed to being used in a platoon with Jeremy Hermida.

The Red Sox could play Cameron in left or use him in center, with Jacoby Ellsbury moving over to left. ... And the pieces are quickly falling into place. Theo passes on Bay and Holliday and gives the big bucks to Lackey, inks Cameron, and still has his eye on Beltre.

SoSHer Savin Hillbilly:

This is what I've been thinking would work. Call the default starting outfield Ellsbury-Cameron-Drew from left to right. That unit starts about 80 games. Against the toughest RHPs, make it Hermida-Ellsbury-Drew, about 40 games. Then Hermida will also get some starts spelling Drew (with Cameron moving to RF), maybe 25 games, and also spelling Ellsbury, 15 games.

This translates to starts as follows: Ellsbury 145 (80 LF, 65 CF), Drew 135 (all RF), Cameron 120 (95 CF, 25 RF), Hermida 80 (all LF). That could work. Cameron might not be thrilled with that little playing time, but given that he'll be 37, that much rest might help him finish strong (he's had pretty severe September fades the last couple of years).

Lackey Takes Physical For Sox

First reported by Ed Price and expanded by Ken Rosenthal:

Free-agent right-hander John Lackey underwent a physical Monday with the Red Sox, an indication that he is close to an agreement with the team, according to a major-league source.

The deal is expected to be similar to the five-year, $82.5 million contract that the Yankees awarded free-agent right-hander A.J. Burnett last winter.

Lackey's personality annoys me quite a bit, but the man can pitch -- over the last five seasons, his ERA+ of 128 tops Beckett's 116. Indeed, Beckett is his top comp at B-Ref. A threesome of Beckett, Lackey (who turned 31 this past October) and Jon Lester would be pretty nice.

We'll see if adding him means Clay Buchholz is traded or that the team is focusing on run prevention rather than offense and will go cheap in left field or if Theo expects Josh Beckett to walk after this year (or the Sox will let him walk). However, Rosenthal also states that the Red Sox are trying to sign a contract extension with Beckett.

Plus they have reportedly made an offer worth approximately $15.5 million to former Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

Bay to Boston: I'm Oot!

[Title stolen from SoSH]

Joe Urbon, Jason Bay's agent:

We don't agree with their evaluation of the player. Frankly, we have other offers on the table that are of greater interest to Jason.

Rob Bradford says a team has offered Bay more than four years.

The Red Sox offered 4/60 -- and were turned down -- and they seem to not be willing to outbid the Mets' 4/65. Good. I'd rather Boston not go higher than 15 per or more than four years. Honestly, three years would be my limit, but there is no chance on Earth of Bay accepting that.

Mets Make Offer to Bay

Daily News:

Bay is believed to have received a four-year, $65 million offer from the Mets. That exceeds by only $5 million the amount Boston offered to retain Bay during the season.

I'm highly skeptical that the Red Sox's interest in Matt Holliday is overstated, as Gordon Edes says he's hearing. Just hotel lobby chatter. I'm confident the team would rather have Holliday than Bay.

Lowell Traded To Texas For Max Ramirez

Friday AM Update: Not a done deal yet. Could be another 2-3 days as Texas wants more info on the Dr.'s reconstructed hip and the Sox want the same re Max-Ram*'s wrists. So maybe 75% done. Also because of the cash involved, Selig has to sign off on the deal and his office had not been asked as of last night.

[*: We will not be calling him that.]

Amalie Benjamin:

Ramirez, 25, is not regarded as an particularly skilled defensive catcher, though he is prized for his bat. He could evolve into more of a designated hitter/first baseman than a catcher.

SoSH TaLK and Maximiliano Ramirez at B-Ref.

A scout on Ramirez, July 2007:

You have to love the bat, but you somewhat question his overall tools defensively. Still, if he can catch a little bit I don't think you can ignore the offensive potential. This is definitely a guy who will hit for high average and I think he'll be a guy who has the ceiling to hit 20 homers a year in the big leagues.

He smokes balls to right-center (as a righthanded hitter). I mean, he just wears out that gap. But there's also big power to that side of the field, which is impressive. He hits to all fields, he's not afraid to shorten up his stroke when he has to ... he's just the complete package as a hitter. He turns on inside fastballs like nobody's business and handles offspeed pitches well. Great pitch recognition.

WEEI reports that Ramirez

currently is in the Venezuelan Winter League to get some playing time after missing a hearty chunk of the year with wrist injuries. He is hitting .236/.355/.461/.815 in Venezuela and is tied for the league lead in homers with 11.

Boston also picked up Boof Bonser and a another Ramon Ramirez!

E-Cafardo (5)

Nick Cafardo, Globe, December 9, 2009:

So Granderson is on the verge (pending a physical) of going to the Yankees, who will give up prized center field prospect Austin Jackson, righthanded starter Ian Kennedy, and lefty reliever Phil Coke in a three-way deal that includes the Diamondbacks. Arizona gets righthander Edwin Jackson from Detroit and Kennedy, while the Tigers get Austin Jackson and Coke from New York, plus Arizona righty Max Scherzer and lefty Daniel Schlereth.

That is not what Cafardo originally wrote and what the Globe originally posted. As SoSH points out, the original version of that paragraph contained no fewer than five errors:

1. "lefthanded starter Ian Kennedy"
2. "Erwin Jackson"
3. "lefty Matt Scherzer"
4. "lefty Matt Scherzer"
5. "righty Daniel Schlereth"

Dick Pole Upside, the SoSHer who posted about the article: "thank goodness we weren't willing to give up Cliff Buckholtz and Jeremy Ellsbury in that deal".

Remember, kids: Avoid unprofessional, careless bloggers who do not hire fact-checkers; get all your information from the mainstream sports media.

Casey Kelly Will Pitch

Twenty-year-old pitcher-shortstop Casey Kelly, one of the Red Sox's top prospects, has decided to work exclusively on the mound (as the team had hoped). Theo Epstein:

He could, if everything breaks his way, force his way on to the major league radar screen sometime in the next year or two.

Terry Francona met with the media and talked about Jonathan Papelbon, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Marco Scutaro, Manny Delcarmen, and the search for a left fielder:

I'm sure when we head down to Fort Myers we'll have a left fielder. We always do. They're really good about that.

The Red Sox signed RHP Scott Atchison to a one-year deal ($420,000), with club options for 2011 ($440,000) and 2012 ($600,000). Boston also inked LHP Fabio Castro.

Good news for NESN viewers everywhere! Dave Roberts has been hired by the Padres as a special assistant in baseball operations.

Red Sox Playing In Australia?

UPDATE: The team has denied this report, stating "the Boston Red Sox aren't in negotiations to play nor plan to play a game in Australia in the 2010 season".

The Daily Telegraph (my emphasis):

THE Boston Red Sox, one of the world's most famous baseball teams, are coming to Australia for a Major League game at our own field of dreams - the Sydney Cricket Ground - next year.

Red Sox officials watched the Danny Green-Roy Jones Jr fight at Acer Arena on Wednesday night as guest of Events NSW chief executive Geoff Parmenter. We understand negotiations have been taking place with Red Sox management for several months about coming to Sydney to play a yet to be announced Major League rival around late March.

The game would be beamed live back into the US and would be an official Major League game and not a trial. The Red Sox are considered the Manchester United of American baseball and would prove a huge hit Down Under.

Man U? Really? Did this marriage end in divorce?

Sydney is 16 hours ahead of Boston. So, for example, a 7 PM game in Sydney would begin at 3 AM in Boston.

The Red Sox opened the 2008 season in Tokyo, which is 14 hours ahead. The reported date of late March would indicate a similar beginning to the 2010 season.

Yankees Claim "Unfair Competition" From A Blog

We know what Yankees management did in the 2008-09 off-season -- comitted nearly a half-billion dollars to three players while demanding a few more dump trucks of taxpayer money. What are they going to do for kicks in 2009-10?

For starters, they threatened to file suit against five of the team's fans -- hardcore fans who have willingly spent their free time maintaining a blog. The Yankee Universe recently received a cease and desist letter, claiming, among other things, possible confusion (or even deception!) that the Yankees are sponsoring or have approved their blog. And the Yankees actually had the gall to claim these five bloggers might be guilty of "unfair competition" and "dilution" of the Yankees' trademark.

From TYU's reply to its readers:

We started this site a year ago because we love to write and argue about baseball. We've amassed a modest following – roughly 1,500 unique visitors per day – but by no means are we any more than a normal baseball fan blog. MLBAM knows this. There is nothing on our site that even appears to be detrimental to the Yankee brand.

The truth is, we're good for Major League Baseball and the Yankees. Bloggers like us help the league. We create interest, discussion, and new niches for the game. I know that reading blogs has made me a much bigger fan of the game, and I am sure that many of you had the same experience. Baseball has experienced an unprecedented period of growth that has coincided with the new predominance of baseball blogging on the internet.

What would MLBAM be without the hundreds of baseball blogs out there? And how many of those blogs use the names and images of teams? MLBAM is making a serious mistake by alienating its most important followers. ...

We do not think that any reasonable person can mistake our site for an official representation of the New York Yankees or MLBAM ...

We do not mean to pick a fight. We simply want all of our hard work over the past year to remain where it is.

Re TYU's line about "alienating its most important followers": Time and time (and time) again, the Lords of Baseball have, when faced with a decision regarding the future of the game, nearly always picked the option that pisses off the greatest number of fans. This is one more example to that long list. (Also, MLB has gone after bloggers before.)

[I know the Yankees have a charity known as Yankees Universe (with one hell of a homepage!), but they are still needlessly acting like bullies here. No one with an IQ above Jeter's Range Factor would confuse the targeted blog with either the team's official website or the charity. As the disclaimer to RLYW states: "If you think this is the official website of the New York Yankees, you're an idiot. Go away." The Yankees brand has not been, and will not be, tarnished by the existence of TYU. The club's legal department should find better ways to waste its time.]

I'm late to this story, as it looks now like TYU will shortly be abandoning their URL. And with the ominous threat of "dilution" now gone, the Yankees stockholders can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Scutaro Contract

Maybe not quite a "steal", but considering Lugo was getting $9 million, this is a very acceptable contract (it's not my money either way, but I'm liking this deal more and more):

2010 - $5
2011 - $5
2012 - Options: $6 club
                $3 player
                $1.5 club buyout

Gammons:

Baird put Scutaro through a series of hard workouts in Miami and told Epstein that he thought Scutaro is ready to play. In fact, Scutaro thought so as well, and was planning to go play in Venezuela. ...

In mid-July, Scutaro's defensive metrics -- according to three teams' valuations -- were the best in the American League. Then the foot began bothering him ...

"He's one of the best shortstops, period," Ricciardi said. "He's a guy that's going to be able to play at this level until he's 37 or 38. He works at it. Look, this is a great signing. He's a really smart player. He's a great base runner. He keeps improving (his on base percentage has risen from .332 to .341 to .379 the last three seasons). He grinds at-bats (he led all shortstops in pitches per at-bat). He could bat leadoff and they could let Dustin Pedoria bat third. He can do a lot of things." ..

"We still have a lot to do," Epstein said.

Fangraphs on Scutaro

In mid-November, Fangraphs' Dave Allen had an interesting write-up on our new shortstop's tendencies at the plate:

The increase in offensive value [in 2009] came, largely, from an increased walk rate, 13.6%, a career high for him and in the top 25 of all of baseball. He coupled that with a low strikeout rate; he was one of the few players in the game to have more walks than strikeouts. This led to a jump in his OBP, and thus offensive value. ...

Scutaro is due for some serious regression to his offensive level, as is anyone who posts 2400 PAs at wOBA of .311 and then 680 at .354. But I think that, because the change is supported by the per-pitch level data, which is not immune from regression itself, we can temper that regression somewhat.

Scutaro can play average defense at second or slightly below average at short, is 34 coming off far and away a career year at the plate, and is a type A free agent. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal he gets.

SoSHer Worst Trade Evah:

Guys with big walk spikes in their mid 30s are pretty worrying to me. There are lots of examples where that walk spike is a sign the hitter is laying off things he used to be able to hit but can't anymore. Pretty soon the pitchers figure it out and bust after him, and then it's down hill.

Trlicek's Whip:

Scutaro's only really played two full, full-time seasons, and those have just come to pass in 2008 and 2009 - two seasons where skills that he's demonstrated in part-time status have sustained out over a longer stretch. ...

Scutoro's contact rate is consistent, and his walk rate has climbed in a way that suggests he's learned or earned it. Scutaro isn't an aging power hitter masking his decline by swinging away or taking vast doses of walks (Giambi etc). He's also not a speed merchant who's overcompensating for creaking legs with a better eye at the plate. He's not a black hole with the bat, he's got range and skills in the field, his position flexibility is a Lowrie-hedge ... Even if 2010 is a regression across the board, merely returning to replacement level at the SS position would be an improvement ...

It's hard to get excited over this signing, but considering (a) what we've recently had at short and (b) what is available this winter, we could have been stuck with far worse. Scutaro can also play second and third and seems more than adequate in the field. And even with a regression from last season, his bat should be a massive improvement; the last regular Sox SS to have an OPS+ even a stone's throw from league-average was Nomar -- in 2003.

Ian Browne has two good articles: a good recap of our shortstop woes (20 (!) different players since 2004 (anyone remember Alejandro Machado?)) and a piece on Cuban defector Jose Iglesias, with tons of encouraging quotes from former shortstop and current Sox minor league infield instructor Gary DiSarcina.

Red Sox Sign Marco Scutaro For Two Years

Gordon Edes, ESPN:

The Red Sox are on the verge of a making a deal for free-agent shortstop Marco Scutaro, who apparently has satisfied Boston's concerns about his health after he worked out for the club Tuesday and the team examined his medical records.

It looks like it's been confirmed as a two-year deal, with maybe an option for a third year.

A 34-year-old guy who just had his career year at a 111 OPS+? I know there's not a lot out there to choose from, but jesus. What the fuck kind of $ did Theo agree to shovel at this guy? Scutaro's next best OPS+ was 96 in 2006 -- and he's never broken 90 in any of his other six seasons. He's a utility infielder; two of his top three B-Ref comps are Tony Graffanino and Pokey Reese.

SoSHer Sprowl:

I watched Scutaro fairly often on the Toronto channels last summer. He has some gap power, really works his at-bats well, and can drive some pitchers to distraction. He fielded very well on the turf, but I still want to see him manage the Fenway grass before I'll feel entirely comfortable with the 2 Year Bridge to Iglesias.

Atlanta Signs Saito, Wagner

CBS Sports reports that Atlanta has signed two members of the Red Sox 2009 bullpen.

Takashi Saito (who turns 40 in February) agreed to a one-year deal for $3.2 million. Billy Wagner signed a one-year contact worth $7 million on Wednesday.

Aw Jeez

So I totally missed the nomination phase for the 2009 Canadian Blog Awards -- plus no one nominated me -- so I am not on the Sports ballot.

It turns out that all the while I was thinking of posting a short note telling people that while the season is over and you will probably not visit the site as often, don't forget to check in for the CBAs, the actual nomination process was slowly ticking away.

L says these awards are nothing to get emotional in any way about and she's right, but still.

Bah.

Bits

It should come as no surprise that the Red Sox are contacting (or will contact) just about every available player out there. And so there will be, at some point before Truck Day, a news bit saying that Boston is "interested" in X, where X = any free agent or any player that another team might possibly trade.

SoSH debates the merits of Adam Everett, Rich Harden and Kelvim Escobar. In the on-going shortstop search, the FO has also kicked the tires on Marco Scutaro, Adam Kennedy and Bobby Crosby. And Mark DeRosa. Plus the Dodgers are not offering Orlando Hudson arbitration.

Red Sox Considering Pedroia At SS

Old Hickory has the poop:

"They've asked me if I think I could play shortstop," Pedroia says. "They've put it out there and I've told them I'm all for it. I can do it. I can't wait for Tito to call me and ask, 'Can you do it?' I can do it. I really want to do it."

Pedroia was an all-American shortstop at Arizona State, and takes ground balls at the position during the season. The staff has thrown it out to him, realizing that it might be easier to sign or acquire an everyday, defensive second baseman ...

FY was signed in 2004 as a shortstop, but was (primarily) moved to second base the following season. Gammons points out that the Red Sox have 19-year-old Jose Iglesias penciled in at shortstop for no later than 2012. If Iglesias could be ready for 2011, it would make the FY/SS idea a one-year experiment.

Pedroia:

Tell Derek to enjoy the gold glove and silver slugger awards while he can.

Whether this is a serious possibility or the front office putting the word out that its shortstop situation might not be quite so dire, it's interesting.