Yanks Come Out Of Nowhere and Sign Teixeira

The original rumors didn't surprise me because the yanks are rumored to be after anyone and everyone. This signing is good for the yankees as it puts a new, young, slugger in his prime in the heart of an ever aging yankees lineup. Who do the yanks bat third, Teixeira or Rodriguez? Who knows? They both have that unclutch reputation.

Now on to the part my audience of one wants to read This signing to me was more of just a snaking a player from the Red Sox to keep them down than an effort to make their team better. They had plenty of players that can hit to DH or play first. In fact, with all the old players they have it would make sense to keep first base open. This does however help the team New York ends up dumping Melky, Nady (if they think his '08 was a fluke and sell high, but they won't be able to trade him once they agree on a contract for months) or Damon on, as they have no leverage. Maybe the yanks are going to give a long look to that prospect Brett Gardner. The team needs a real center fielder because Swisher is a corner, and kind of mediocre at that (for the yankees). I wouldn't be surprsed if he's dealt and they go after Baldelli so that they have a guy they won't take up a huge amount of at-bats to keep all the outfielders happy. I wonder what happens to Wilson Betemit because of this. He stands to lose playing time as well.

This hurts the sox. The sox had the opportunity to sign a star first baseman in his prime which would have moved Youkilis to third baseman so the team wouldn't be totally reliant upon the aging Mike Lowell who's production faltered in '08. The missed opportunity of trading Lowell while he still has value is what hurts the most. They could have gotten a lot for him. So this offseason ends up looking like the last few years in that the sox need a shortstop (if they don't believe in Lowrie) and a center fielder (if they don't believe in Ellsbury, which I'm sure they still do) so all they really need is pitching, and the best pitcher is gone. Right now they've got:

Beckett
Dice-K
Lester
Wakefield--If no starter is signed, he's going to see his innings increase and I don't think that's a good thing.
Buccholz--As a non-sox fan I'm not sold on Buccholz and I don't think the sox give him much of a leash.
Masterson-I'm not sure how the sox feel about him as a starter. They can't load 200 innings on him after he pitched about 150 between the minors and the big club. So he might be the ideal 5'th starter candidate.
Here's what's left:

Derek Lowe-----Probably the best pitcher left. Has been a great pitcher since the sox let him go.Will be worth the 14-16mil.
Paul Byrd-------Average, durable pitcher. Great 5'th starter for a good team like the sox.
Bartolo Colon----Don't think the sox want to tempt fate by adding him as a 5'th starter/swingman
Elmer Dessens---Capable swingman/long reliever in small doses
Jon Garland-----He's just like Paul Byrd, an average to slightly above average pitcher that is durable. Decent 5'th starter type
Randy Johnson---He wouldn't want to play for the sox. He likes the west coast too much. He's pulling a David Wells.
Braden Looper---Not sold on him as a starter, might as well sign Byrd or Garland
Pedro---------That would be sweet, but he's too brittle and might not bounce back. He can't do over 150 innings.
Brad Penny------If he got pissed off enough to lose weight & work on his back he could be the best value signing.
Oliver Perez-----Too inconsistent for losing a draft pick over.
Andy Pettitte----He'd be ok as a 5'th starter, but his ego demands 15 million dollars, and he's a yankee. He's not an option.
Curt Schilling----Screw him. Too old, too big a mouth, and too much of an injury. Let him play his video games.
Ben Sheets------Great pitcher with an even greater injury risk.
Randy Wolf-----Might be a nice idea but probably gets hammered in that park and division--plus he gets hurt.

If I were the sox my strategy would be to sign someone that can keep Wakefield a 5'th starter or maybe even a spot starter until Masterson is ready to go full time. Also have to prepare for the certainty of injury to at least Beckett, the Diceman, and possibly Lester. That alone would be enough work for Masterson while still adding a new starter. There really isn't anyone out there that pitches markedly above average consistently and doesn't have any question marks except Lowe. If they want to replace the injury innings then they should just re-sign Byrd or sign Garland and push Wakefield back down to 5'th starter. Hopefully Buccholz remembers how to pitch sometime in '09 so he can get another look down the stretch.

All this said, the red sox staff without any additions is ready for prime time. When all you're trying to do is keep Wakefield a 5'th starter or spot starter you know you have a strong pitching staff. Adding someone is just either icing on the cake for a Lowe signing or the equivalent of adding another layer of frosting depth if a different starter is added. Not much to do with the pen either, but please leave Mike Timlin's arm out of it.