What’s more, getting Ross and Victorino allows them to trade Saltalamacchia and/or Ellsbury, so we’ll have to wait and see if they can fill any SP/SS holes through trades before we judge these moves in a vacuum.

Napoli, on the other hand, is a RHH. Maybe it’ll make no difference after all, or merely offset a decline, but it’s far more likely to help him hit homers than it ever helped Adrian.

Ah, I gotcha now.

Well, all we can do is hope for the best.

I have a feeling there are a couple of big moves that have yet to be made. Could be Ellsbury, could be one of the starters, could be a combination of a catcher and some prospects, but I just think something is brewing. The Red Sox have not forgotten that they’re in the entertainment business. The get out of jail free the Dodgers provided was a miracle and unlike that nut in Miami, the Red Sox will actually spend the money they saved.

And hey, Valentine is gone so they’re already better……

No mean feat, as chopping off one of the media hydra’s heads just results in more sprouting.

However, if you ask me would I trade Carl Crawford (based on what we saw of him for two years in Boston in terms of tangibles and intangibles) for Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, David Ross and Jonny Gomes, I would say yes.”

Really good point. And as much as I hate to admit it, I think Napoli is going to clobber a bunch of home runs this year over the monster. Probably 40, IMO. He’ll hit enough that he’ll find himself taking over full time catching duties in no time. But in the end, it won’t matter that they score 8 runs per game if they’re giving up 10.

I also think that perhaps the Sox can get their hands on a 5th starter without trading Saltalamacchia, as long as we can stomach the likes of a Kyle Lohse or a Franklin Morales in the rotation.

Still, at least these guys are only locked in for two or three years — gives time for the farm to develop. I anticipate that guys like Bradley, Bogaerts, and Cecchini will be ready to fill in the lineup holes within the next two or three seasons, and there are some very live arms like Barnes, Ranaudo, and Owens right behind them.

This will be Theo’s “Bridge Year”. Probably be more exciting to catch games at Portland and Pawtucket than Fenway, but I’ll still go to take in some pre-game brews at the Beer Works.

Still not the worst lineup, we may finish 3rd or 4th.

1. Ellsbury, CF
2. Victorino, RF
3. Pedroia, 2B
4. Ortiz, DH
5. Napoli, 1B
6. Middlebrooks, 3B
7. Gomes/Nava/Kalish, LF
8. Lavaranway/Ross, C
9. Iglesias/ Ciriaco, SS

Trade Salty for pitching, we need a 5th starter.

I think we somehow need to separate “the best way to spend the money” from how the pieces help the team overall. All of the money is crazy, so rationalizing relative insanity is going to get us no place. And, the Red Sox have a printing press for money so it’s sort of like monopoly money in the grand scheme of things.

However, if you ask me would I trade Carl Crawford (based on what we saw of him for two years in Boston in terms of tangibles and intangibles) for Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, David Ross and Jonny Gomes, I would say yes.

Just my opinion, I could be wrong……..

Cheringtin isn’t exactly making the most inspired of moves, but at least he is filling all the needs in a productive manner given the paucity of the market this off-season. And I’m glad that this will probably put the Hamilton rumors to bed once and for all.

Now, to fill in the back end of the rotation and re-sign Atchison and Hill to fill the bullpen…

Oh, it was Scott Hatteberg that made the A’s a perennial contender, not Hudson, Mulder, Zito, Giambi, Tejada, Chavez, and Dye.

My bad.

I don’t mind the Victorino signing………especially if they plan on trading Ellsbury (who they would be foolish to sign to the zillions Boras will be asking). He hits from both sides of the plate, plays solid defense, can steal a base and he always plays hard. Victorino and Pedroia give them two grinders at the top of the lineup who can help generate runs.

Time well tell what happens at short, with the rotation and what shakes out behind the plate, but i think it’s coming together.

And thats before we get to the fact that the 2004 Red Sox had quite possibly one of the top one-two punches ever in a rotation together in Schilling and Pedro. Who in the 2013 rotation remotely resembles those two in 2004?

On the whole, adding Napoli + Victorino to the lineup makes then an average offensive team, one also that isn’t very young….the bigger issue is that their pitching is wretched…even signing someone AND trading Salty for a pitcher just makes them an average staff….85 wins indeed….

You will be lucky if his line is .280/.330/.400. And that’s in year number 1 of his 3 year deal. It will most likely get worse from there.