Should the Red Sox pursue Alex Rodriguez?

[AutomatedTeller]

Well, hopefully it will come to June and

A) Rasner will be pitching well, so the impact of clemens is lessened
B) Clemens gets lit up in Fenway (and I guarantee you that the fans will be all over him in Fenway. think Daryl Strawberry had a hard time in the '86 WS? Clemens is gonna get it even more)

How about the Sox signing Posada, who I think is a FA after this year? That would be a nice kick in the groin to the Yankees...

[Drury77]

I'd just take us kicking their ass every chance we get, and hoping that Clemens get's lit up more than he has success.

Like ESPN has been saying you have to figure his ERA is going to up do to being back in the AL East, but I still don't want A-Fraud

[Zen653]

How about the Sox signing Posada, who I think is a FA after this year? That would be a nice kick in the groin to the Yankees...

How would that work? Would we let Lowell walk, move Youkilis to third base, and rotate Varitek, Mirabelli and Posada between catcher and first base?

I love that idea! Posada would certainly be cheaper than A-Rod and acquiring him would also provide that kick in the groin that I desperately want to give to the Yankees. Posada could catch one of our five pitchers and play first base on the other four days, Mirabelli could continue catching Wakefield, and Varitek could catch the remaining three starters and come off the bench in the other two games (this would reduce his catching load and also give us an extra catcher which opens up additional pinch-running and pinch-hitting opportunities in the late innings of games.) I'd have Varitek catch Lester, Schilling and Beckett (5, 1 and 2 starters.) I'd have Posada catch Matsuzaka (who doesn't seem to be on the same page as Varitek anyway.) Mirabelli would catch Wakefield. We could re-sign Hinske and let him start at first base on the day Posada catches, which would give him starts in at least 20% of our games. If we offered Posada 4 years/$44 million, I think he'd take it. He's a very underrated player and would be quite a coup. Just once in our existence as a franchise I want to nab a key Yankees player while he's still productive. They've done it to us so many times that I've lost count.

Unfortunately, I think Posada is the least likely of the current Yankees to flee the Bronx this off-season. New York doesn't have any catching in its system and I doubt the Yankees would prefer LoDuca or Kendall to Posada. They might like I-Rod but loyalty would probably have them bring back Posada.

I think it's more likely that A-Rod opts out and signs elsewhere, and that Mariano Rivera finds a team that's willing to guarantee him 3+ years. The Red Sox might even revisit Papelbon as a starter and decide to pursue Rivera themselves, or maybe he would end up with a team like the Cubs who seem willing to spend money and could use an upgrade at closer.

[AutomatedTeller]

oh - I can see Posada maybe leaving the Bronx. I cannot see George letting mariano leaving NY.

[Zen653]

Do you really think the Red Sox would bring in an All-Star catcher when we still have the widely popular team captain at that position?

If Posada comes here, it would have to be as a first baseman/part-time catcher. There's no way Varitek would get displaced with the way our pitchers rave about his preparation and pitch-calling. Varitek would probably see it as a slap in the face and it would create all kinds of team chemistry problems.

Furthermore, if Posada is HOF-minded, I'm not sure he'd be willing to give up on catching full-time when there are probably a lot of teams out there that would sign him as a catcher. I suppose if our bid blows everyone else's out of the water, we could talk him into switching positions as a way to prolong his career. Otherwise he'll look for another catching gig which boosts his HOF chances while simultaneously raising the probability of additional All-Star appearances (he wouldn't make any more All-Star teams as a first baseman.)

That said, I still want to go after him. He's a heck of a player, and if he's willing to play first base, then I certainly won't complain about it. He'd be good for at least a .270 AVG/.370 OBA/20 HR/85 RBI. Hitting at Fenway, without the wear and tear of playing catcher every day, I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit .310/.410/25 HR/100 RBI.

[AutomatedTeller]

Yes, i agree - if Posada leaves NY, it's for a different C position. It won't be here.

But it would be fun

ARod leaving and coming to Boston would probably end up causing Yankee fans to rejoice.