With the servers on the .net down, here is a quick Lackey update.

Lackey is indeed in Boston taking a physical.  Sources say the contract is not finished yet and will "not likely" be done by the end of the day.

Sources are saying the Angels still think they are in the running for Lackey as Lackey has apparently not accepted Boston's offer. 

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The Red Sox are looking to dump Mike Lowell's contract.  Right now Mike Lowell is not an everyday 3B anymore.  Lowell became a pretty poor fielder after his injury.  Last year you could see his range completely disappear after two or three days of consecutive.    His bat still is alright and there are talks of him playing first base.  Lowell would be an interesting option for teams looking for RHH bat to DH who can play the occasional corner infield.  Seattle, Anaheim, Toronto, and the White Sox are all teams that could be interested in a player like that.  Of course, Lowell's contract makes the trade prohibitive hence the Red Sox are offering to eat some of the contract.

Right now , the Cubs are also trying to sell the contract of everyone's favorite malcontent Milton Bradley.  Bradley has basically blown through a quarter of the league already because of his antics.  His 20 million over two years seem a bit prohibitive and he certainly isn't a clubhouse player.  Cubs are desperate to get rid of him.  So much so they would take Lowell's contract despite him not fitting at all on their team (however they could flip him at a cheaper price than what people are asking to get Bradley subsidized).

 Bradley is a huge headache.  Basically he is an oft injured Carl Everett with a temper.  However Bradley would help the Red Sox immensely.  Bradley even with his various injuries is only a slightly below average to average defender in RF and can play CF in a pinch.  Bradley would play an above average to good LF in fenway.  Bradley is a switch hitter you could use to fill in against LHP for Drew and Ellsbury.  Basically you are looking at a guy that could give around 400 PA in the outfield and some DH with a high OBP and some decent slugging.  With that you could move Youkilis to third and go after a 1B either by trade or roll the dice with Delgado. 

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The Boston Red Sox have released George Kottaras, the 26 year old catcher who put up 237/.308/.387 in 103 PAs last season.  Kottaras found himself the odd man out as fifth catcher on on the 40 man roster and third with no options left.  The writing was on the wall for Kottaras when Varitek picked up his option, yet another victim of this cruel happenstance.

The move is not a big shock with Wagner and Brown still in Pawtucket, both catchers being defensively superior to Kottaras.  The move came as the Red Sox prepare to finalize their 40 man roster for Rule V protection on Friday.  There are a couple of notable prospects who are comingup with Rule V elibility as the Red Sox now have eight spots open on their 40 man roster though not every spot will be used to be protect prospects.  The Red Sox will leave a couple of spots opening for free agent.

 My guess for protection: Yamaico Navarro, Jorge Jimenez, and Jason Rice.

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The Red Sox are walking away from 2009 season realizing they are going to need more.  They watched the 2009 Yankees be the first team in the Wild Card Era to use a three pitcher rotation to win a World Series.  Meanwhile the Red Sox lineup completely stalled and as they were swept in the first round by the Angels.  The Yankees used a stellar line up to power their way through the playoffs (as well August and September) with only three major league starters.  Now the Red Sox realize that they have to improve in order to compete. 

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For a second year in a row, the Yankees payroll has topped $200 million.  Right now, the Yankees have about 59 percent chance of making the playoffs according to Baseball Prospectus' Postseason Odds.  That means there is a greater than 40 percent chance that the Yankees will become a $200 million failure two years in a row. 

And we are talking about not even making the playoffs.  Forget the fact that even if the Yankees do make the playoffs, they are likely not going to be favored to get out of the American League Division Series, let alone win a World Series (Yankees can't beat the Angels).

Despite the $60 million a year of new free agents the Yankees brought in, this team's window is rapidly diminishing.  Alex Rodrigiez, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, AJ Burnett, and Mariano Rivera are all on the wrong side of 30.  Four of the nine starters in the Yankees line up are over 35 with Rodriguez at 33 and rocking a surgically repaired hit. 

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 Lugo is Gone! Lugo is Gone!

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Looking at the Yankees at the half way point, I was wondering do the Yankees have enough right now to win World Series?  Their lineup is great and they are in a stadium tailor made for their line up.   Yankee Stadium, the House that Roids Built, is a visiting right handed pitcher's nightmare.  The only two righties you are going to face are Derek Jeter who can easily slap a ball over the right field fence and A-Rod. It doesn't get much better for lefties with three switch hitters in the Yankee lineup.

The Yankees don't really have much of a bench to speak of.  The players cannot really hit very well and outside Molina aren't particularly great fielders, but with the regulars being so good, outside of a huge injury, the bench can get by. Considering four of the starters are 35 and over, this isn't too comforting.

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The Red Sox have one of the best systems in baseball.  This is rare for a team like the Red Sox that has so much success as well as so many players that have been graduated from prospect status over the last couple of years. 

The system's absolute strength is its pitching depth.  There is still a lack of power hitters and shortstops in the system, though there is a lot of raw talent in the lower levels. (Note: The best pitcher in the minors, Clay Buchholz, is not considered a prospect anymore because he lost his rookie status last year.)

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The Red Sox are suppose to have the prototypical leadoff hitter.  Fast with a high OBP in the minors, Ellsbury looked liked he would be manning the one spot in Fenway for years.  However halfway through the season the Red Sox have had absolutely no production from the spot in the order with the most plate appearances.  The .276/.321/.370 line is the worst of all the positions in the order.  The Red Sox are only getting a worst on base percentage out of the nine hole which includes the pitchers hitting during interleague play.

The year started with local dreamboat, Jacoby Ellsbury doing what he seemed destined to do, leadoff.  Ellsbury was hitting .299 but it was an extremely empty average with an OBP of .332 and SLG .370.  Eventually it got so bad Ellsbury was moved down the order.  Since moving out of the leadoff spot Ellsbury has had a line of .313/.383/.495.

What changed?  Well in the leadoff spot despite Ellsbury saying he was approaching the Abs the same, Ellsbury was trying to force the issue.  He was taking some of the worst swings I have ever seen, trying to slap the ball like Ichiro.  It was almost as painful as to watch as Carrottop trying to do impressions.  Ellsbury also was not patient with the pitches he was getting thinking since he was the leadoff hitter he had to make things happen.  He lost all his power and lowered his OBP.  Since moving down his swing has improved greatly and the results have been staggering.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka is injured yet again.  After winning the MVP of the WBC, Daisuke has gone down twice with shoulder fatigue.  He simply continues to lose his control and has moments where his arm looks completely drained. 

Daisuke has looked bad this season.  This has led people to scream crazy things like "trade him" or "option him" which simply would not work with the contract he has.  Even worse some people have said cut him and that he is a completely bust already.  This is a man a season removed 18-3 season with 2.90 ERA getting fourth in the Cy Young voting.  Even with this terrible season Daisuke has a career 114 ERA+ and a record of 34-20 in less than three years in the AL East which is right around what Beckett did in his first two years and third here in Boston.  This is also a guy making 8 million a year (he is not getting paid the posting fee, and it really shouldn't be looked at as a payroll expense, I will get into that later).  The guy is an absolute icon in Japan and his signing has already influenced other signings including 23 year old prospect Junichi Tazawa whose 2.92 ERA leaves him in the top ten of Eastern League starters.

So can a couple of bad starts make someone with those numbers called a bust this early in his career.  Well  Daisuke is a victim of his own hype.

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