Nicely done.

Speaking of trading away underperforming middle infielders, the Red Sox have traded away Renteria for the Braves' #1 prospect, Andy Marte.

Can someone please explain to me what the hell the Red Sox are doing? For a team that went to the playoffs and came one game shy of winning the AL East, they have now turned over their entire infield. Gone are Mueller, renteria, Grafanino and Millar. Instead, they've picked up a 3B (Lowell) that may or may not be on the decline, a good-but-not-great 2B (Loretta), and no legit SS or 1B to speak of. They traded away the personal catcher to arguably their most valuable pitcher (Wakefield). Plus, they gave up their real-deal SS propsect for a pitcher (Beckett) who, if Gammons can be believed, has a shoulder MRI that is downright Fugly.

Is it just me, or is this 26-headed front office of the Red Sox overcompensating for the loss of Epstein. Is each and everyone of those 26 guys trying to prove that they can finalize a trade? If so, then there are about 20 more trades on the horizon for the Sox.

Yankee fans may be a bit nervous about Cashman's non-moves...but I much rather keep my infield and role players in tact than trade away a 95 win team.

I just don't get it.

The Red Sox could cut separate deals with Atlanta and Tampa Bay, sending Edgar Renteria to the Braves for Andy Marte, then using Marte as part of a bigger deal with Tampa Bay in which they would not only acquire the shortstop they have targeted, Julio Lugo, but also first baseman Aubrey Huff and/or closer Danys Baez.
-- Boston Globe

Looks like they might only have 19 more to go!

Further, their legit SS prospect (Dustin Pedroia) is still around. Hanley Ramirez is smoke and mirrors.

I agree however, that the Sox seem a little trade-happy at the moment. I don't know if it's compensation for the loss of Epstein or just a case of inertia, but it's starting to be a little strange, no doubt.

Spin or fact? I can never tell with Gammons, who of course lives in Brookline and is a longstanding Red Sox fan.

This from ESPN.com:

"The move left Boston without a shortstop, but Red Sox senior adviser Bill Lajoie denied a much-rumored deal that would wheel Marte to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for Julio Lugo. Lajoie said he expected to see Marte play for the Red Sox this year, putting him in the outfield or first base if it's necessary to get his bat in the lineup."

As for Mueller and Renteria, I am ecstatic that I will never have to endure another Mueller-Mariano matchup in a tight Sox-Yanks game. And, even with his poor 2005, I can see Renteria bouncing back and having a stellar year in Atlanta and back in the NL.

Nevertheless, while the Yanks keep the Jeter-Arod-Giambi-Matsui-Shef-Posada-Cano core in tact, the Sox are now down to Manny-Ortiz-Varitek-Nixon-Lowell for an offense. And that's IF they keep Manny.

Ciao, Woe-mack, and good riddance! This might be the best news of the offseason.

Other news from Gammo: Lucchino handled Boras on the Damon front, and that there's no one bidding for Damon.

I may be a Yankee fan for life, but baseball rules in this town, and it's fun. It's almost as if the Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots were in the off-season!

Reds acquired second baseman-outfielder Tony Womack and cash from the Yankees for second baseman Kevin Howard and outfielder Ben Himes.

In summary,
a) Howard has more present and future value than Womack
b) The Yankees save 2.8 million (including luxury tax)
c) The Yankees get Hines (a single-A outfielder) as well.

Good job, Cash.

unpopster,

I assume that the Sox will add Damon to that list and you can add Loretta to it as well. Loretta is a career .300 hitter who walks more than he strikes out. A fabulous number 2 hitter.
So you list 5, we add Damon and Loretta and that leaves two holes. That's a lot fewer holes than the Sox had last year.

And they have a lot more pitching staff.

That's good, Alex.