As it stands, we have only 3 outfielders, and only 5 infielders (plus some minor leaguers like Roberto Petagine and Alejandro Machado) plus a boatload of pitchers. With Johnny Damon gone we actually have a lot of flexibility. We now have an incomplete roster but here we go as best as I can make it out to be:

1st Base: Kevin Youkilis
2nd Base: Mark Loretta (Possibly platoon with Tony Graffinino)
3rd Base: Mike Lowell
Short Stop: ?? (Perhaps Andy Marte right now... or Alex Cora)

Left Field: Manny Ramirez
Center Field: Adam Stern
Right Field: Trot Nixon

Catcher: Jason Varitek - Backup is Kelly Shoppach

We have some pitching here too:

Rotation:

#1: Curt Schilling
#2: Josh Beckett
#3: David Wells
#4: Tim Wakefield
#5: Matt Clement

Bullpen:

Bronson Arroyo
Jonathan Papelbon
Keith Foulke
Guillermo Mota
Mike Timlin
Craig Hansen
Chad Bradford

... plus more minor leaguers.

Both Jon Papelbon and Bronson Arroyo have not done anything wrong to deserve to be out of the rotation, but they simply are better in the bullpen than any other likely option. Curt Schilling didn't pan out as a closer and Josh Beckett is too good to be in the pen, David Wells is too old, Tim Wakefield should do whatever he wants because he is good at everything, and Clement gets a pass because not just anybody gets drilled in the head with a baseball and misses only a start or two. Other than that we have a true Major League bullpen.

As far as moves we should make, I am not convinced Jeremy Reed is a fit for us. He is certainly raw as he was a prospect sent to Seattle when they traded Freddy Garcia to the White Sox. If we do get him, however, Arroyo should be the guy to go due to his inconsistency.

For starting pitching, the number one free agent to get is obviously Roger Clemens, but if we don't sure up our position players he does not have any reason to join the Red Sox, and Kevin Millwood is someone we should pursue but his asking price is probably a bit too high.

As for relievers, I liked Alan Embree but that bridge I bet is a bit too burned. I have a feeling Paul Quantrill could be up for a low-paying contract. I would sign him up to a one year incentive-laden contract with an option or two. Other than that there really isn't a whole lot of good pitchers out there. So this shall lead me to the good part...

Position players! First off, I want to suggest something I don't think anyone else has thought of. Tim Wakefield is going to have his own designated catcher and his name is not Jason Varitek. My idea is to kill two birds with one stone. The answer: Mike Piazza. He should be Tim Wakefield's catcher. He wants to catch still, and from what I gather not many other people want him to. My proposal is to sign him up as our backup catcher and have the majority of his time be spent on first base. Everyone knows he has some pop in his bat and this can get the productiity out of that position everyone wants. Plus he will be happy because he will have the opportunity to play every day and still catch. It is win-win.

Shortstop is another matter. Pokey Reese and Alex Gonzalez are both free agents and probably you will see Gonzalez playing short next year. This should not be a long-term plan. Third base and second base are both two deep so we should be ok here, especially depth-wise because we know not everyone will be healthy! As far as the outfield goes, no one is worth going after. Right now we need to worry about trades.

Now I am not a beat writer (but my father's cousin is Jeff Horrigan, beat writer of the Red Sox for the Boston Herald - way cool) and I am not a GM nor have I ever been one so any trades that could happen I shall just not know about. I will leave speculation to be where it belongs - in the mainstream media - not in my blog.

With all these moves here is what the lineup should look like:

    SS - Alex Gonzalez
    2B - Mark Loretta
    DH - David Ortiz
    LF - Manny Ramirez
    C - Jason Varitek
    1B - Mike Piazza
    RF - Trot Nixon
    3B - Mike Lowell
    CF - Jeremy Reed

With all these things I've covered I hope I've underlined some of the ways we can recover (if that's possible) from losing Johnny Damon. Perhaps we will be better off than the Yankees down the road but for the time being... we sit and wait.

First off I want to say that I think this whole idea is a great one. For a long time I wished I could have worked around sports (I am only 19 so hey, it could happen still!) and for all the other people out there who have the same dream as me this is such a great place to go. I am not going to be blogging as to get the popularity and seriousness of trying to 'win' the 'competition.' I am just going to give my honest opinions on what decisions have been made, should be made and anything else I see fit to post about my beloved Red Sox, and perhaps Patriots and Bruins too. I am not much of a basketball fan but the other three are my favorites. Whoever may end up reading my blog I hope realizes that this is not a "report the facts that can be found anywhere else" type blog. This is a "I hope the Red Sox bring in Mike Piazza as a first baseman / Tim Wakefield's specialty catcher" type blog (which is something I actually feel by the way). I don't have the time or energy to find a spot or place where WEEI gets reception and they are in the middle of the show for me to call into to give my little blurbs of info.

I have my own blog on my website dedicated to the Red Sox. It is on my own website (yes, I designed it, made it and payed for it and everything all by myself), and can be found at www.jimmays.net/redsox.php. I will try to keep all my thoughts and comments to this blog but I fear due to lack of movement transactions-wise I will have to be creative as to how I will update my blog. The underlying theme of my whole mission statement is that I DO NOT WANT TO BE A POSER. I am NOT here to scrounge around for information and then basically repost it. I will leave all that stuff for ESPN.com (or FoxSports.com). In the end this will be all my own. If this were to mirror anything, I would suggest it resembles Steven King's book about the Red Sox during the '04 world series year. Just a day-by-day account of New England Sports through my mind. On that note - happy blogging!