Re: Free agents

On Oct 11, 2:31 pm, "Dano" <janeandd...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
For those of us that are caught up in believing the Sox are nuts to not
simply open their checkbook without question for Beltre...Victor M...Papi....

There ARE other good alternatives out there.  Guys that would be better
suited for the Sox than going after another outfielder, when they managed to
fill those needs even while enduring tough injury situations this past
season, and while still having those fellows under contract and hopefully
healthy next season.  Boston.com had several interesting candidates.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/gallery/2010/2010freeage...

My personal favorites were Downs, lefty set-up ace...Konerko at first...and
Buck the catcher.  Now.  I have no idea what their respective salaries will
end up being, but I could certainly live with choosing to pay Buck instead
of Victor if Victor's price is too high, and/or Konerko for a shorter term
for example, rather than breaking the bank for five years of Beltre.  There
are several first base choices in this group.  Having said that...if Beltre
and Victor were to be reasonable, I'd welcome both back happily.  But I can
sure see why Theo and his boys would exercise all due diligence.  Papi
should also watch with great interest and take a more realistic view of his
own future job options and how much he can expect to earn as well.  How long
before they have to decide on that option?  Of course they could pick it up
and still negotiate with him for a longer deal and tear it up later.

I'm particularly interested in Downs myself.  I wonder how much more the
market will bear for a set-up guy.  He made $4M last year.  I hope Theo
changes his overall philosophy on paying bullpen guys.  How much better
would this team have been with one more solid guy like this to go with Pap
and Bard?  A lefty no less.  I know how big a factor Wagner was in his brief
time here.

something to consider is that downs is a type 'a' free agent, as is
konerko. buck is a bargain as a type 'b', but is a long way from
replacing vmart. otoh, vmart and beltre are both type 'a', so if
reasonable replacements are found, the sox could end up with better
and more pics.
.

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