While we wait for the Brad Penny and Josh Bard signings to become official, let’s take a look at what it means for the Boston Red Sox and then look at some other news and happenings.
Personally I like the signing of Penny. If he stays healthy, hopefully he can put up something close to the numbers to he had in 2007 when he went 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA. If he could 10-12 wins and have around a 3.50 ERA I think anyone would take that from. The key in all this is that he needs to stay healthy. He had some shoulder issues last year but hopefully with the program the Red Sox have for shoulders, he’s able to get past all of that.
What I like about the signing of Penny as well is the fact that it makes the Red Sox bullpen stronger as now there will be no talk of Justin Masterson going to the rotation. The back end of the rotation will more than likely be Jonathan Papelbon, Masterson, Ramon Ramirez, Hideki Okajima and Manny Delcarmen. I’ll take that any day of the week.
The Bard signing is making sure they have at least one catcher with some MLB experience. Do I see him as the everyday starter. No, I don’t. I think the Red Sox will either trade for or sign a catcher that can handle the every day duties. More than likely Bard will get another chance to catch Tim Wakefield this season. Let’s just hope he does better than he did in 2006.
When the new Red Sox spring training site is built in Lee County, it won’t be the first mini-Fenway.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald has a look back at the great 8 of 2008 and a look ahead to 2009 for the Red Sox.
While the Yankees have spent a ton of money this offseason, Theo Epstein has stuck to his game plan.
Jack Connors, who was thought to have interest in buying the New York Times interest in the Red Sox, is not interested in buying the NYT’s share of the Red Sox or the Boston Globe for that matter.
And if you hadn’t heard this already, Mark Teixeira never really wanted to play in Boston.
