Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Oki's back for another year

MLBTradeRumors has the dirt on the one-year deal the Sox have reached with Hideki Okajima.

I'm puzzled by the signing in a lot of ways -- Hideki looked to have just lost it by the end of last year. If you look at his stats, pretty much everything good has decreased over his four years in Boston, and at age 35 there's no reason to think he'll reverse that.

The most logical reason for the signing: We know what Hideki is. We know his strengths and weaknesses, and if we can use him in ways that can bring out even a 2009 performance from him -- 3.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP -- he'll be worth it. And it's better than trying to acquire another reliever on a multi-year deal. The Bill James projections on Fangraphs have him at a 3.68 ERA, which would be perfectly acceptable.

Your Morning Dump... Where The Guillens Continue To Do Guillen Things

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

So Bobby Jenks did an interview with MLB.com and ripped his former manager, Ozzie Guillen.

"I'll always respect [Guillen] as a person and give him credit that's due," Jenks said. "But I want to play for a manager who trusts his relievers, regardless of what's going on.

"With the way Ozzie was talking this winter and the way he treated me, I don't want to fight with the guy. How many times did he question my ability, and then saying how he would love to have me back, but I would have to come to spring training and fight for the closer's role like anyone else?

"Why would I come back to that negativity? I'm looking forward to playing for a manager who knows how to run a bullpen."

Oney Guillen rose up on Twitter to defend his father by attacking Jenks. I'll spare you the profane details and tortured prose, but he accused Jenks of assorted things, including having a drinking problem and not caring about losses.

Oney Guillen, you may recall, attacked White Sox GM Kenny Williams on Twitter last spring and then resigned his "job" in the team video department when asked to stop. This sort of thing is fairly common with the White Sox, who fight with each other all the time.

Make of it what you will. But this is more a Chicago issue than anything the Red Sox need to worry about. Whatever issues Jenks may have likely will be remedied by being in a more professional setting.

Globe - Jenks spars with the Guillens

This story has been going on for a few days now, but it's fairly amusing, and surely worth highlighting. 

I am someone that thoroughly enjoys the whole Ozzie Guillen experience.  Everything he touches seems to dissolve into a Jerry Springer-esque comedy.  This episode is no different, although it's not Ozzie but his son (again) who's running his mouth, er, Twitter Account.

Come April this lwill be long forgotten (until the Sox play those other Sox and then you'll surely be hearing about it again).  If Jenks is effected by this in any way, I can't imagine it being anything other than pure motivation to pitch his ass off this season and prove the Guillen clan wrong.

But it probably won't even do that.

Could you imagine if the Guillens were part of the Red Sox organization?  I'm pretty sure Oney would sleeping somewhere below the Harbor.

Rest of the links:

WEEI - Remembering Bill Lajoie's behind-the-scenes Red Sox impact | Herald - Dan Wheeler recalls coming of age | Red Sox: Something from nothing | NESN - John Lackey Will Be Worth the Expensive Price Tag in 2011 and Eight Other Red Sox Thoughts

Your Morning Dump...where is another pitcher really necessary?

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Red Sox: left-handed reliever. Felix Doubront, Rich Hill and Andrew Miller give the Red Sox three southpaws, so they may have all the left-handed relief they need. But Boston has been linked to Brian Fuentes all month and could pursue him. Jed Lowrie's strong finish to the 2010 season means the Red Sox don't have a pressing need for infielders, but MLB.com's Ian Browne recently suggested that the team could add a utility type player. Boston could also listen to offers for Mike Cameron, but he does provide value to the Red Sox.

MLB Trade Rumors: Unfinished business in AL East

The rumors have been swirling about Brian Fuentes but the Sox should just stand pat. Either Hill, Miller or Doubront would be able to step up and take the lefty specialist role. By adding Fuentes, you would have yet another closer in this bullpen not only make an adjustment not pitching in the 9th, but also continue the rumor that Jonathan Papelbon would lose his job as closer. We saw a little of this last year when a lot of people were calling for Daniel Bard to take the closer position from Pap.

Also haven't we learned that (for some reason) not all closers can adjust to pitching earlier than the 9th inning. Fuentes has saved at least 20 games the past six years so it will be a radical change for him, one that he may not thrive in.

Jays add Dotel as closer

The Blue Jays have found their closer: the 37-year old Octavio Dotel, who agreed to a $3.5 million deal.

"Octavio is excited about playing for a team that will give you the opportunity to close games in the strongest division in baseball," Torres said.

Fun comment from Octavio's agent. You know what? We're excited for him to have the opportunity to close against us as well. Toronto marks Dotel's 11th team. His previous stay in the AL East was 14 games of 10.80 ERA in New York in 2006.

Last year he spent time with three different NL teams, posting a collective ERA over 4. I'm going to go ahead and guess 2011 doesn't go well. It also means last year's Toronto closer, Kevin Gregg, remains a free agent.

Your Morning Dump... Where Miller Is Happy To Step Back

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

But now, after four disappointing seasons, Miller finally is slowing down. Traded to the Red Sox on Nov. 12, only to be non-tendered Dec. 2, the 6-foot-7 lefty passed up major league offers from the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants and returned to the Sox on a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation to spring training.

It was a head-scratching move to those unacquainted with Miller, who scored 1,300 on the SAT and studied business administration at the University of North Carolina.

“I signed with the Red Sox as a long-term plan,” Miller said by phone yesterday from his home in Gainesville, Fla. “I’m 25 years old. For my age, I do have a reasonable amount of major league experience. It hasn’t gone the way I would’ve drawn it up. I certainly believe in myself. However I get back (to the majors), I don’t know. But the Red Sox have the best opportunity for me to reach my potential.”

Herald - Andrew Miller goes at own pace

Miller is the classic case of a highly-touted prospect that was pushed too hard, too early, had the weight of the world on his shoulders and just couldn't put it together.  That's a daily storyline in baseball.

What nice about Miller is that he sees he's on a slippery slope, and wants to take a step back and piece himself back together.  You won't often see players turn down major league offers to stew in the minors a bit, but Miller realizes that's his best path to stardom.

With Hill and Doubront vying for the lefty role in the bullpen, we may not see Miller in Fenway anytime soon.  And apparently, that's just fine with him.

Rest of the links:

WEEI - Report: Rangers wanted Jenks as a starter | Thrown for a curve: Rich Hill's bending path to a potential Red Sox role | Herald - Bill Lajoie, former Tigers’ general manager, dies at 76 | NESN - Daisuke Matsuzaka Still Brings Value to Red Sox Rotation Despite Shaky 2010 (Video)

Nolan Ryan is interested in Adrian Beltre

Surprisingly, Adrian Beltre has not found a home yet but there has been interest around the league.  Now Nolan Ryan expressed his interest in Beltre, especially with all that extra cash they had in the bank for Cliff Lee.  I'm not suggesting they would pay him that much, but they can do a little more spending now for some other free agents. 

via WEEI

During an interview on Dallas radio station SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket, Rangers president Nolan Ryan stated that his team may have interest in free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, but would have to move some pieces around.

Ryan said regarding Beltre, “Well, when you have a player of his caliber out there, you have to have an interest if it’s realistic within what your budget is and how he would fit into your ball club and how you would hit him in the lineup and stuff of that nature. So, obviously with our ball club, it wouldn’t be nearly as clear-cut as somebody else, say whether it be the Angels and the rumor is that Oakland has made him offer. I would say if you looked at the free agent market right now, he’s probably the premier free agent that’s still unsigned.”

Beltre signing with the Rangers would be the best-case scenario for the Red Sox due to the fact that both the Angels’ and A’s first-round picks are protected, not allowing the Sox to receive them as compensation for the third baseman signing with another team.

Red Sox fans should be rooting for this deal to go through for the compensation from Texas.  Nolan Ryan seems to like him enough and may have the most money to offer.  I wonder if he is going to take him hunting.

Your Morning Dump...Where we think on Pap's mindset

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Papelbon’s career has been geared toward this season. While fellow homegrown teammates Kevin Youkilis [stats], Dustin Pedroia [stats] and Jon Lester [stats] have avoided arbitration and delayed free agency by signing below-market, long-term contracts, Papelbon has been content to go year-to-year, biding his time to achieve his optimal value on the open market.

That opportunity is closer than ever for the All-Star closer, and he is coming off by far the worst season of his career. That, more than anything, should be his motivation.

Herald | Papelbon's 2011 no laughing matter

The more you think about it, Papelbon's season could get really interesting. Surely when he made the decision to go year to year, he didn't expect to decline through his prime, and with two legit closer candidates in the bullpen with him, he could have a short leash. What happens if he ends up a set-up man, lost in the mix of average relievers? Where is his market in the offseason?

Hopefully it won't get to him. We've always cheered his Bud-Light-helmet-wearing mindlessness, but we better hope it's all true this year, because thinking too much about the opportunity that he may have squandered could send him into a tailspin.

Your Morning Dump...where the Sox are swinging from the left

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

On most days, manager Terry Francona’s lineup will feature five left-handed hitters: Ellsbury, Crawford, Gonzalez, David Ortiz [stats] and J.D. Drew. It’s possible, even likely, that outfielder Mike Cameron will sub for Drew against lefty aces (the Yankees’ CC Sabathia and the Rays’ David Price, for example), and Youkilis has terrorized lefties throughout his career, even posting an otherworldly 1.311 on-base+ slugging percentage last season.

But the Red Sox remain at risk of being silenced by southpaws, unless Gonzalez is able to reprise his performance from last year (.937 OPS vs. lefties) or Ortiz (.599) and Crawford (.696) improve upon theirs.

“Everyone says, it comes up often, ‘Is this team too left-handed?’ There have been some really good teams that are too left-handed,” Epstein said a few weeks ago. “You face right-handed pitching two-thirds of the time. I don’t see anything wrong with building your team to be predominantly left-handed and then building a bench that features a number of guys that really hit left-handed pitching well.”

Herald:Sox pointing up and to the left

Is it such a bad thing to have five lefties regularly? Especially when they're all legit bats in the lineup? I think we'll be alright. We're just nitpicking at this point. We have a complete team, one that should win 90-110 games, grab a spot in the playoffs and cause some havoc there, and maybe, just maybe win a title. Let's enjoy our pick ups this off-season and wait for spring training so we can go crazy seeing Adrian Gonzalez hit some BP bombs and Crawford amaze us with his speed and athleticism.

To all those in the Boston area, be safe out on the road. Stay at home if you can. Trust me it sucks out there.

Christmas break!

Everyone at TedsArmy hopes all of you had a wonderful Christmas.  We will be back soon as we try to recover from stuffing our faces and prepare for the blizzard.  Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Your Morning Dump... Where Jenks Has Some Incentives To See Papelbon Fail

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

According to a major league source, Bobby Jenks’ contract — which is guaranteed to pay the reliever $6 million per season for the next two years — also includes some noteworthy bonuses. The 29-year-old can earn up to an additional $1 million by finishing games, specifically: $200,000 each for 30, 40, 50, 55 and 60 games completed.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said Tuesday that the plan is for Jenks to be setting up closer Jonathan Papelbon for the 2011 season.

“We feel really lucky that Bobby wanted to pitch here and we were able to get someone of his caliber to join our bullpen and help Dan Bard set up for Pap,” Epstein said.

WEEI - Jenks has bonuses for closing games

Oh, Theo, sometimes I think you just like the drama.

Now we all have to wonder how short of a leash Papelbon is going to be given this season.  More importantly, Papelbon has to wonder this same thing.

A little shaky heading into June?  Bring in the Jenks!

Of course, none of this really means anything.  These types of things aren't thrown in by MLB GM's - "Hey, I just want to throw in some additional clauses to make sure your paycheck gets as big as possible."  They're thrown in to appease the player and agent, little 'what-if' sweetners to make sure that Jenks comes to Boston and not somewhere else.  Something to dance in his head at night as he tries to make his final decision.

Still, that isn't going to stop anybody from reading way too far into it.  No matter how loudly, and how many times Theo screams that Paps is the closer.

Rest of the links (at least, what's available this Christmas Eve morning):

Globe - Beyeler named PawSox skipper | Herald - Adrian Gonzalez a rock of faith in all facets | NESN - Adrian Gonzalez Receiving Several Votes of Confidence Surrounding His Future Dominance at Fenway Park