Well now that the season is officially over, and before the sox fans get to enjoy their parade, its time to talk about the free agents currently on the market.

Boston : Terry Adams, rhp; Pedro Astacio, rhp; Ellis Burks, dh; Orlando Cabrera, ss; Ricky Gutierrez, 2b; Gabe Kapler, of; x-Curtis Leskanic, rhp; Derek Lowe, rhp; Pedro Martinez, rhp; Dave McCarty, 1b; Ramiro Mendoza, rhp; Doug Mirabelli, c; x-Bill Mueller, 3b; Mike Myers, lhp; Pokey Reese, 2b; Jason Varitek, c; Scott Williamson, rhp.

Thats a TON of talent (17 guys to be exact) its going to be tough to resign alot of those guys, granted most of those guys arent big name players, they are role players for this sox team.

Other teams of note:

NEW YORK (11): Miguel Cairo, 2b; Tony Clark, 1b; John Flaherty, c; Orlando Hernandez, rhp; x-Travis Lee, 1b; x-Jon Lieber, rhp; Esteban Loaiza, rhp; C.J. Nitkowski, lhp; John Olerud, 1b; Ruben Sierra, dh; Enrique Wilson, 2b.

my opinion, let ALL THOSE FUCKIN GUYS GO, i think there was maybe three hits among all the guys who played.


HOUSTON : Carlos Beltran, of; Roger Clemens, rhp; Jeff Kent, 2b; Dan Miceli, rhp; Darren Oliver, lhp; Orlando Palmeiro, of; Russ Springer, rhp; Jose Vizcaino, ss.

Well we all know Beltran will be wearing the Pinstripes next year, do you think Roger will come back to NY? (a man can hope)

ST. LOUIS (10): x-Chris Carpenter, rhp; Cal Eldred, rhp; Steve Kline, lhp; Ray Lankford, of; John Mabry, of; Mike Matheny, c; Matt Morris, rhp; Edgar Renteria, ss; x-Woody Williams, rhp; Tony Womack, 2b.

Looks like the Cards are in pretty good shape for next season, although, after this year's choke, who knows

i wonder who out of thoes the yanks are gonna buy?

I dont know...Cubs are supposedly pushing HARD for Beltran, and are interested in Renteria as well...could be interesting.

I find it hard to believe that Steinbrenner would bump up the payroll AGAIN...I mean, first and foremost, they need pitching; not another bat!

i see them trying to get pedro(maybe if theres not bad blood there) and randy johnson(again)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1911759

No Grudzielanek, no Alou...interesting. Jeff Kent's gone, Biggio stays. Burnitz is gone. Magglio is probably gone - that's a big surprise to me.

I'd keep Cabrera, Kapler, Martinez, Lowe, Mendoza, Mirabelli, Reese, Varitek and Williamson if I was Boston.

If I was Cashman I'd hang on to Cairo, Hernandez, Lieber, and Lee.

i think lowe is definately gone but i think pedro might stay because of the world series win, that's 50-50 though. theo will definately hold on to cabrera, kapler, mirabelli, mueller, myers, reese, veritek and williamson

I'm sorry, but I am not that impressed by Beltran. He's supposedly the hottest free agent on the market. The guy only batted .267 this season, and that's with more than half the season played in freakin' Minute Maid Park. I just heard Jayson Stark on the radio saying that Beltran is looking for $20 million a year for 8 years. They said he'll likely end up with about a 5 year, $14 million deal (give or take). I don't think he's worth even that much.

His .367 OBP is worth a pathetic 48th in MLB. Sure, 104 RBI, 38 HR, and 42 SB is nice, but it's not exactly MVP nice. And his defense gets a big shrug from me. He made 8 erros in the outfield! That's the third most of any outfielder in the majors this season and the most for a centerfielder. His fielding percentage is awful, and his range factor and zone rating are both remarkable average for a player whose defense is so touted.

IMO, Beltre is a much more attractive free agent.

That is a ton of money. And why would you want both Reese and Cabrera anyway?

I kind of agree. He is probably the most overrated player in the game this side of sammy sosa, but Beltre has had one good season. At the leat Beltran is more proven than Beltre in that you pretty much kno what you're getting.

can someone post a list of all the free agents?

And which would you rather have, JD Drew or Mags?

That's a good point. I dunno. Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like there's any surefire grade A free agents this season, especially whe compared to last year, with Tejada (BTW, this guy had 150 RBI this year... I didn't even realize it), Guerrero, and Sheffield, all bona fide, unquestiobale, MVP-caliber slugging monsters.

Seems like a lot of the big name guys this year are either coming off injuries (Ordonez, Nomar, Glaus) or are still relatively unproven with maybe one good or great season (Beltre, Drew, Cabrera). There are a lot of reliable, experienced players, a lot of great roleplayers, a lot of solid everyday players, and but no real superstars (except for a few pitchers).



http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1911763



I'd go with Magglio, provided his rehab is going okay so far. Like Beltre, this was Drew's first really good season.

thanks. this is what i wanted...

ATLANTA (6): Antonio Alfonseca, rhp; Paul Byrd, rhp; J.D. Drew, of; Julio Franco, 1b; Russ Ortiz, rhp; Jaret Wright, rhp.

get rid of ortiz, re-sign wright on the cheap, re-sign Drew, get rid of Andruw Jones if at all possible and sign a right fielder.

re-sign julio, let Byrd and AA go, sign a mid level pitcher, win another division title. that simple.

No way they keep all those players. Lowe is gone for sure. Reese is unnecessary, like David said. Kapler and Mirabelli... eh. Interchangeable pieces. Mendoza sucks. Cabrera would be a great re-sign, but not if they overpay for him (which they could, because he's gotten a lot of hype this year, although the market is full of quality shortstops, so that might keep his pricetag reaosnable). Martinez is also certainly worth re-signing, but he's going to demand way more than he's worth. Varitek will probably be re-signed and rightfully so. Williamson would probably be another one worth keeping, if they can afford it. Mueller has been solid at third and I see no reason not to make a serious effort to re-sign him. I don't see a ton of viable alternatives at that position.

And then lose in the first round of the playoffs again.

I dunno. I think a lot of the Braves' pitchers overachieved by a lot this season. A real ace would be my priority, along with Drew. Maybe bring back Dye to play the outfield?

Who else is going to be in the starting rotation?

Pedro is going where the $$$$$ is. Yes im sure he has some loyalty to Boston, but if someone comes along and offers him a big money contract, then he would be more than happy to say adios to Boston..and hello to (insert high payroll team here) (who am i kidding, HELLO YANKEES)

Ill be the first to say, i would be more than happy to see pedro in pinstripes next year. Bad blood? All he did was beat up Zimmer, zim isnt even a yank anymore...Bring on Pedro...and his lil friend too

Pfft. They've got $170 million tied up already for next year and they're gonna sign Beltran and Pedro???? I don't know about that.

The Yankees, however, are the only team that would be willing to pay Pedro what he wants and that will mean vastly overpaying him.

Honestly, as a Yankee fan and a baseball fan, do you really see nothing wrong with the payroll discrepancy between the Yankees and the rest of the league? Is it really fair, in your mind, that the yankees can afford to spend $200 million on payroll when the Royals and Twins can barely break $30 million?

Oh, no I totally think that it is completely unfair. But that is the way the bigwigs in MLB want things. Although the big arguement is, the teams with the high payrolls can afford to do so, because they bring in a ton of money through tv deals, and stadium ticket sales. But its a catch 22 because, they get that money, because they are good. yada yada yada

I wouldn't want Pedro, not because of my dislike ofr him over the years just because they will have to overpay for him I don't think he has too many years left. He will be broken down at the end of the next contract he signs. Him and Posada have some serious hatred between them. It would be interesting to see how that worked out being battery mates (Clemens/Piazza)

It is a problem, just as owners that simply put the minimum product on the field and pocket the rest claiming they are losing money. Do you know how much the Yankees contributed to Florida's bottom line in luxury tax last year? How about when the Yankees come to town in visiting ballparks, there were teams that had their highest attendance ever in a game (Dodgers) just because the Yanks were in town. And one more thing, the Yankees can afford to spend more than $200 million if they want to, watch and see.

hopefully john smoltz, but i doubt it. They did overachieve, but they tend to do so with Mazzone. And Ortix underachieved, so...

they'll have hampton, ramirez, who was their best when healthy this year, wright probably, thomson, and one more who i hope to be smoltz. And I wouldn't want Dye. I dunno who I'd rather have, just not him.