Tagged: Wakefield

I Think I Need An Intervention

I can’t sleep tonight for some reason (I think it’s because Lowell has to go through
surgery, although minor 😦 I’ll have a shot of whiskey for ya this week, hun), so I
decided it would be an ideal time to maybe wrap some Christmas gifts and/or work on
a paper regarding String Theory.

Needless to say, the confines of the inter-web were more appealing than either of
those options, so here I am!

Anyway, the point of all this. I realized just now that I must be in baseball withdrawal.
How did I realize this, you ask? I was listening to iTunes, skipping over songs I didn’t
feel like listening to, and I eventually realized that I have been subconsciously
selecting only songs that are heard regularly at Fenway,  for weeks! Turns out, my 25 most-played songs are all either walk-up / entrance songs of current or former
players, or songs played in between innings. Is there a rehab center for that?

Here’s the list (in no particular order):

  1. Let it Rock – Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil’ Wayne (Jacoby Ellsbury)
  2. **** With Dre Day – Dr. Dre (Dustin Pedroia)
  3. Somos De Calle – Daddy Yankee (David Ortiz)
  4. Man in the Box – Alice in Chains (Kevin Youkilis)
  5. Alive – Pearl Jam (Jason Bay)
  6. Bombtrack – Rage Against the Machine (Mike Lowell)
  7. Kryptonite – 3 Doors Down (Jason Varitek)
  8. Living Hard – Gary Allan (Josh Beckett)
  9. Wild Thing – The Troggs (Jonathan Papelbon)
  10. Rebirthing – Skillet (Justin Masterson)
  11. Stranglehold – Ted Nugent (Daniel Bard)
  12. Rockstar – Nickelback (Josh Beckett)
  13. Stand Here with Me – Creed (Manny Delcarman)
  14. Stronger – Kanye West (Daisuke Matsuzaka)
  15. This is Why I’m Hot – MIMS (David Ortiz)
  16. Shipping up to Boson – Dropkick Murhpys (Jonathan Papelbon)
  17. How Bad do You Want it? – Tim McGraw (Tim Wakefield)
  18. Push It – Rick Ross (Kevin Youkilis)
  19. Cherub Rock – The Smashing Pumpkins (Jacoby Ellsbury)
  20. The Kids Aren’t Alright – The Offspring (Jed Lowrie)
  21. I Use what I Got – Jason Aldean (Jon Lester)
  22. Black Betty – Ram Jam (Mike Timlin)
  23. Tessie – Dropkick Murphys
  24. Sweet Caroline – Neil Diamond
  25. Dirty Water – The Standells

Personally, I can’t wait to add some new music to my playlist in April! Who has a time
machine?

Looking to 2011

With the signing of John Lackey and (potentially) Mike Cameron, I
can’t help but look to the future. Epstein always said he was building for the future,
and this is what it looks like for 2010:

With Adrian Gonzalez:

  1. CF – Jacoby Ellsbury
  2. 2B – Dustin Pedroia
  3. C – Victor Martinez
  4. 1B – Adrian Gonzalez
  5. 3B – Kevin Youkilis
  6. DH – David Ortiz
  7. RF – J.D. Drew
  8. LF – Mike Cameron/Jeremy Hermida
  9. SS – Marco Scutaro

Without Adrian Gonzalez:

  1. CF – Jacoby Ellsbury
  2. 2B – Dustin Pedroia
  3. C – Victor Martinez
  4. 1/3B – Kevin Youkilis
  5. DH – David Ortiz
  6. RF – J.D. Drew
  7. LF Mike Cameron/Jeremy Hermida
  8. 1/3B – Casey Kotchman (Adrian Beltre)
  9. SS – Marco Scutaro

That lineup looks significantly more powerful with Adrian Gonzalez in there. If
Adrian Beltre signs instead, you’re looking at something slightly different.
Either way, even if you keep it the way it is now, you’re looking at a team that can
support the superior pitching staff. World Series caliber? Maybe not. Our offense
probably can’t beat that of the Phillies or the Yankees, but when all is said and done,
adding Adrian Gonzalez means a Boston team that’s somewhat equal (on paper,
statistically, anyway) to the offensive numbers of the Yankee collective. Even if
Epstein deals Jacoby Ellsbury to San Diego with Clay Buchholz,
you’ve got a decent outfield of Drew/Hermida/Cameron, and if you add someone like
Xavier Nady to that mix, you’re looking at a great team with Adrian Gonzalez
spearheading it. Welcome to the playoffs.

Now, a look at the pitching staff.

With Adrian Gonzalez:

  1. SP – Josh Beckett
  2. SP – John Lackey
  3. SP – Jon Lester
  4. SP – Daisuke Matsuzaka
  5. SP – Tim Wakefield
  6. RP – Hideki Okajima
  7. RP – Ramon Ramirez
  8. RP – Ramon Ramirez (this is going to be a confusing year … )
  9. RP – Manny Delcarman
  10. RP – Boof Bonser (Or maybe Michael Bowden?)
  11. RP – Daniel Bard
  12. CL – Jonathan Papelbon

Without Adrian around you essentially have the same setup, except you see
Buchholz in the rotation and probably Wakefield in the ‘pen. Either way, arguably the
best staff in baseball. Where the bullpen lacks in depth, the starting rotation makes
up for in pure number of Aces. Three Number 1 guys and 2 interesting additions in
the back of the rotation equals quality starts more often than not, and a solid rotation
to help the relatively lacking offense.

Maybe 2010 is still the bridge year, though. It’s hard to imagine this when you add
over $30 Million in payroll, but hear me out.

Joe Mauer

The 2010 Free Agent market includes the likes of Joe Mauer, Carl
Crawford, Cliff Lee (as he likely won’t sign an extension with Seattle),
and Brandon Webb. Epstein always preferred the 2010 market over the
2009 market, and he always said he was building up for it.

Brandon Webb

With Ortiz’s $13 Million coming off the books along with Victor Martinez’s $7.1 Million,
Beckett’s $12 Million and Varitek’s $3 Million, not to mention $19.5 Million owed to
Alex Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, and Billy Wagner, you’re looking at significant
money coming off the payroll.

In 2010, if you add Adrian Gonzalez, you’re
looking at a team payroll of about $150 Million. Upon the completion
of the season, it will drop to about $83 Million.

So what do you do in the 2010 offseason? You break the bank. You give contract
extensions to Beckett (who’s going to want a Lackey-like deal) and Martinez (who’s
going to want around $10 Million a year). After letting Ortiz and Varitek go, you go
out and sign Mauer (if you can pry him from Minnesota and the Yanks), Crawford (or
you trade for him during the 2010 season and sign him longterm), and either Lee
(who will want a Sabathia-like Contract) or Webb (who will want Lackey-like
terms).

Let’s run the figures again. 2011, pending all those moves, would bring the payroll
back up to between $160-$170 Million. Expensive, but look at that
potential Roster:

  1. SP – Cliff Lee (or Brandon Webb)
  2. SP – Josh Beckett
  3. SP – John Lackey
  4. SP – Jon Lester
  5. SP – Daisuke Matsuzaka
  6. CL – Jonathan Papelbon
  7. C – Joe Mauer
  8. 1B – Adrian Gonzalez
  9. 2B – Dustin Pedroia
  10. SS – Marco Scutaro
  11. 3B – Kevin Youkilis
  12. LF – Carl Crawford
  13. CF – Jacoby Ellsbury
  14. RF – J.D. Drew
  15. DH – Victor Martinez (keeps him fresh, but can give Mauer days off
    behind the plate without the team losing offense)
  16. RP – Daniel Bard
  17. RP – Tim Wakefield
  18. RP – Hideki Okajima
  19. RP – Manny Delcarman
  20. RP – Junichi Tazawa
  21. BC – Mark Wagner (Mostly a security policy in case the in-game
    catcher gets injured, so the DH doesn’t have to go behind the plate, making
    the pitcher have to hit)
  22. IF – Jose Iglesias (or Jed Lowrie if Iglesias isn’t ready for the
    bigs)
  23. IF – (Someone who can back up Youkilis at third)
  24. OF – Mike Cameron
  25. (Utility Fielder)

For $165 Million, if that can’t win a World Series, nothing can.

2007 World Series