It sounds like more of a PR move than anything else, considering the position is unspecified. Who knows, maybe he'll end up having a similar amount of influence within the organization, but from that press report it doesn't really sound like it. This should appease the Boston faithful, though. What surprises me most about this move is that he didn't sign up elsewhere as a GM. I wonder what transpired between him and the Sox in between his departure and now.

"Theo's long-rumored return comes 2½ months after he turned down a contract extension and fled Fenway Park in a gorilla suit to avoid the encamped media." (Espn.com)

I wonder what Griffin and the rest of Toronto's media would have to say for JP to escape as BJ Birdy? I'm thinking that "the world's fastest ground's crew" could get him get out of any sticky situation...

Request: could we begin a thread comparing the AL East teams?

I think this played out like a break up. Theo breaks up with the Sox, goes out as a single man, looking for a new gal.
Finds out that there is nothing out there for him that can give him the satisfaction the Sox can, (money, great bar scene for his band, legendary status.) and goes back.

Theo wanted to land some other job, or at least see what was out there. The Nationals didn;t get sold, so they are sticking with status quo. The Phillies went with Gillick. The Dodgers went with coletti. and so, Theo came back. They are not sure what his role is, but when they see that they have Adam Stern (Canada's centrefielder for the World Cup) replacing Damon and another unproven player at short, he will become the general manager soon enough.

'Theo Epstein has rejoined the defending champ Red Sox '

Umm.. the White Sox are the defending champs.

Interesting poll at ESPN.com asking where the BoSox will finish in the AL East. 16% predict first, 43% 2nd, and 32% predict third (9% picked 4th or 5th). 18,670 votes so far. I think there's more support for third than most other years, which is nice ;-).

Even more interesting is when you look at the map and find the international results. 17% for first, 33% for second, 43% for 3rd and 7% for 4th or 5th. I'm hoping for a third place finish, myself ;-).

That message was brought to you by Jordan's Harajuku Girls.

Actually, since Theo is returning in an unspecified capacity, it puts me in mind of Todd Rundgren and Robert Palmer:

We can't play this game anymore
But can we still be friends
Things just can't go on like before
But can we still be friends...

Let's admit we made a mistake
But can we still be friends
Heartbreak's never easy to take
But can we still be friends

It's a strange, sad affair

Very nice, Jordan.

I just read Olney's blog on ESPN and he essentially says that Epstein won the power struggle with Lucchino, because if he didn't there'd be no reason for him to come back.

And of interest to the Jays, Olney also wrote that he 'guesstimates' Piazza will sign with the Jays to split time with Zaun (assuming Molina signs with the Dodgers). Apparently the Jays were in contact with Piazza 'weeks ago' to discuss splitting time with Zaun.

While Piazza is old and has been declining for years he had a pretty high starting point. His worst year at the plate (this year) is roughly the same as Molina's best year at the plate (also this year). And with the exception of a groin injury in 2003 he's been pretty durable, albeit with nagging injuries more recently. His games played the last 5 years are: 141, 135, 68, 129, 113.

Given the choice between similar one year deals I'd take Piazza over Molina without question.

Here's the link if you have Insider:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster#20060120

"And of interest to the Jays, Olney also wrote that he 'guesstimates' Piazza will sign with the Jays to split time with Zaun (assuming Molina signs with the Dodgers). Apparently the Jays were in contact with Piazza 'weeks ago' to discuss splitting time with Zaun"

Piazza would be a great fit for the Jays. There seems to be virtually no interest in him, so he might be able to be had for cheap. He is declining offensively and might be nothing more than a guy with a below average OBP and some good power, but that could still help.

Ernie "The Great Whitt North" will be on mlb.com radio at 12:30.

"Epstein played brinkmanship..."

From what I've read, it was more about Epstein having some dignity and self-respect, and it was Lucchino who played brinkmanship by feeding the media negative stories about his erstwhile Boy Wonder. Good for Theo for having some cojones. I wonder what Larry's shelf life is?

Molina, is, of course, a significantly better defensive catcher than Piazza (about even handling pitchers and with a much better arm) and has almost 1000 fewer games wearing the tools of ignorance. At this point, base thieves succeed at over an 85% rate against Piazza. When the average thief is Tim Raines or Eric Davis, you're in trouble.

Of course, choosing Piazza over Molina would continue the off-season trend of preferring offence over defence. If you believe that defence is 5% of the game, then this is probably all right. That is not the view of most modern analysts though. To get a flavour of the prevalent view, check out David Gassko's article in today's THT. Pitchers receive 69% of the credit in today's high strikeout environment for "pitching runs created", which is essentially "runs prevented" re-scaled. In other words, defence is about 15% of the modern game with an average K rate staff, pitching about 35% and offence 50%.

While Molina is obviously superior to Piazza throwing out runners I think he's overrated.

In 2002 and 2003 he threw out 45% of runners but in 2004 and 2005 he threw out 28% of runners (average is about 32% and Zaun was at 23% last season).

On Theo: Theo is much diminished by his return. If he has the same or a lesser role, shame on him for coming back. The only way I would think it makes sense is for his first order to be, "Bring me the head of Larry Lucchino!" Notwithstanding the forgoing, the Sox minor league system will continue to flourish.

On Molina/Piazza: Molina is a catcher. The more I think about it the more I think we sign him for three years. He and or Zaun see in Thigpen and Jaspe as their replacements. Piazza is a circus act. The guy hasn't been able to play defense for a generation. Formerly, a terrific bat, now just one-step ahead of embarrassing. A DH strutting in the tools of ignorance.

On 08 and beyond: (Yea I know this isn't being talked about but I've been thinking about it) Rogers has thrown the dice. This is a contender for the 06 - 09 period or Rogers loses the gamble. The only way we support the payroll beyond 07 is for guys like Lind, Cannon, Thigpen, Jaspe, Santos and several other position players to come forward. We know we have lots of options for cheap pitchers. Even if all that happens the fans have to come forward and give Rogers the income to support a $90 to $110 million-dollar payroll. If it all falls into place TO is going to be one sweet place to be for the next 5 to 7 years! If it doesn't there's an island just off Belize I've been thinking about.

Cuba is back in the WBC, after the U.S. Treasury Department reconsidered. It's not hyperbole to suggest that the Classic truly may not have occurred had the Cubans been kept out.

Theo will have an "unspecified position"? Surely we at daBox can help specify his position for him. Exactly what title should he have on his door (assuming he gets an actual office) at Fenway?

Exactly what title should he have on his door (assuming he gets an actual office) at Fenway?

Lol, this may need its own thread. Then again... It may not garner any responses.

The only way we ever get Molina for three years is if we give him 7+ million a year. And that's the last thing I'd want to do.

Molina turned down the Mets initial offer of 21 million/3 years on the basis that he could create a bidding war. The opposite happened, and Molina is now looking for a place he can spend one year, and have another go at free agency next offseason. Unless of course, a similiar offer the Mets gave him was presented.

BP weighs in on the changes to the Jay starting pitching and infield.

Some of BP's criticism is right and more of it is fair, but parts of it are pretty ridiculous. It's just laughable to call the trades of Hudson and Koskie "crippling" -- it was a straightforward defence-for-offence swap, and the Jays are counting on Hill to be a fine fielder, which he is and will continue to be.

The "projected loss of offence up the middle" is especially curious. Why does PECOTA project collapses from Adams and Hill -- very young players with very respectable walk rates? I don't think that giving the at-bats of O-Dog and Menechino to Aaron Hill projects to be a loss of offence. Nor do I think that Russ Adams will decline.

Blair and Griffin were on Prime Time Sports. Blair thinks we're a third place team while Griffin was a tad more optimistic.

Both doubt that Vernon Wells will be affected by having Troy Glaus hitting behind him, and were skeptical about the bottom half of the rotation repeating their success of last year.

SI's Albert Chen offers his two cents on the Jays upcoming season.

The Blue Jays' most intriguing player in 2006, however, could turn out to be 23-year-old fireballer Dustin McGowan, who might be Toronto's No. 3 starter by the All-Star break. "He could be better than Roy Halladay," says a scout.

Toronto is experiencing abnormally warm weather today. Why not? Spring Training is 4 weeks away!

Although that BP article is pretty dead-on in terms of evaluating most of the Jays' potential weak areas (ie - Rios's production and Chacin's likely digression), I can't understand comments like this:

"Factor in the projected loss of offense up the middle, and it’s debatable whether the Blue Jays have improved their infield at all."

I think it's pretty clear that offensively, Glaus is an upgrade over Koskie/Hill, Overbay is an upgrade over Hinske, and Hill (barring a sophomore slump) should be better than Hudson.

While the argument about the loss of defence does have validity (although it ignores the fact that Hill is still an above-average 2B), I can't understand how a credible sports writer could question the offensive side of the Jays' new infield.

Amarsh, it's a head-scratcher. They come to that conclusion by predicting substantial collapses for Adams and Hill. They project that both young infielders will be significantly worse with the bat (.250 EqA each) than was Frank Menechino last season (.255 EqA).

Yeah, I can't figure why they'd project such a collapse from both of them, makes no sense to me.

Also, in reference to the starting rotation, I think Towers's relative consistency last year, and his age, point to him probably coming close to putting up numbers similar to 2005. In terms of Chacin, I think any dropoff in his numbers will be balanced out by improvement from Lilly. So basically, at worst, I think Lilly and Chacin combined will be about as good as last year.

"The "projected loss of offence up the middle" is especially curious. Why does PECOTA project collapses from Adams and Hill -- very young players with very respectable walk rates?."

BP is a great site in many ways, but it relies too much on iffy things like Pecota, FRAA, and Vorp. It's odd that you can have an entire discussion about a team and not mention OBP or SLG once. (Could the Pecota project collapses for Hill and Adams because of they both had a poor second half?) However, apart from the comment about the offense up the middle, I agree with their assessment.

I would think that PECOTA wouldn't base its projections based on monthly splits. Adams didn't have a poor second half so much as he had an awful September. My guess is that PECOTA looks year-by-year, which would obviously incorporate slumps and streaks alike.

Sammy has (had?) a bad back. Sammy uses (used) 'roids. Sammy is a BAD BOY!! Naughty, naughty.

BUT, Sammy was shut down last season because of a "bad toe injury" I've Googled it and read a half dozen reports BUT none of them say WHEN the toe actually was injured. IF Sammy was playing much of the year on a bad toe that could explain his AWFUL stats. If we could get him to ST on a non-guaranteed heavily incentived (incentived, is that even a word?) minor league contract and 'da bum turns out to be done then no damage done. BUT, IF just IF there is some life left in those 37 year old bats of his that might be a good move. Now, how would he play in LF in TO?

Just a thought.

"I think Towers's relative consistency last year, and his age, point to him probably coming close to putting up numbers similar to 2005."

I know I've pointed this out before, but Towers got very lucky in his starts last year.

Starts against Boston and New York- Lilly(9), Bush(7), Chacin(7), Downs (5), Halladay (4), Towers (4)

Starts against Baltimore and TB- Towers(9), Chacin (8), Bush (5), Halladay (5), Lilly (4), Downs (2),

I was just thinking...IF the Jays win the WS in 06 what will have had to happen for that to occur.

Firstly, others had to stumble a bit (bit?) the Bomber Giant has to finally succumb to his age and height, exposing the weak Yankees starting pitching. At least Schilling, if not he and Beckett, has to implode. Remember Beckett's shoulder is hanging by a thread.

On the Jays four things will have happened; one, McGowan turns into "Halladay Two" by at least mid-season; two, Hill is the Hill we saw while he replaced Koskie; three, Wells has his career year and lastly; Overbay is the doubles machine many think he might be in Rogers Centre.

A couple of notes re BP's article:

- Was Koskie really all that great defensively in 2005? He never looked especially mobile to me
- No mention of the defensive upgrade at 1B, Hill's promising 2B debut, or the possibility of Adams' improving in his sophomore season
- BP touts Toronto's overall 3B production last year, .282/.361/.421, "thanks to decent numbers from Koskie and Aaron Hill". But Koskie's line in 2005 was .247/.339/.398, actually dragging down that average. And his ABs have declined each of the last few years, diminishing his role offensively and defensively
- No mention of the Jays' depth among the starting pitchers beyond their front five
- No discussion of the team's bullpen

It seems to me that the article focuses on the Jays' current weaknesses (lack of offense in RF, possible weakening of the infield defense, injury risk among the starting pitchers, etc), without saying much about the improvements (deeper lineup, addition of legit #2 starter, deep bullpen, addition of elite, or potentially elite closer, minor league pitching depth, etc).

The 2006 Jays have some question marks, for sure--particularly around potential injuries, RF, the middle infield, catching depth. But at least the current version has a fighting chance in the AL East. There is no way last year's lineup, or pitching staff for that matter, gets the Jays into contention.

The BP analysis has been getting sloppy during the past year. I don't expect to agree with them on everything but I've always expected a reasoned analysis leading to a defensible conclusion. Lately, they seem to come to the BP approved conclusion and then throw some proprietary stats at the screen to prove their point. I've been a BP subscriber since they first went to a subscription format but I'll think I'll let my subscription lapse.

The one thing that gives me hope as a Jays fan is that BP is giving the 2006 Jays the 2005 White Sox treatment. And we all know what the White Sox did.

New Blair is up. Of note for the Jays:

- JP is not budging with Shea. "In other words, don't expect the sides to merely split the difference"

- JP has not spoken with Piazza's agent for a month.

- Molina looking for a two years 12 mill. JP not going over 1 year 4.

- Blair provides a link to a list of available free agents. Including Durazo, Thomas, and Weaver.

A lot of people worry about how the Jays match up against the yanks and sox. The Jays have played them fairly evenly I think. How will the Jays match up against the teams they fare poorly against. I think they have what it takes to beat down most of the AL. Baltimore's head will be on a platter this year (my prediction).

The BP article claimed that the infield defense was significantly weakened, but I'm not sure I agree. Some sports authorities regard Glaus as a defensive liability, but many others regard him as a perennial gold-glover.(e.g., TSN)
It's quite possible that Glaus will perform as well as Koskie defensively. Adams should improve slightly as he's gained a year of experience. Hill should be a downgrade, but he'll still be solid. Overbay should be an upgrade.

Infield defense:

3B - Slight downgrade?
SS - Slight upgrade?
2B - Downgrade
1B - Upgrade

It looks like a wash to me.

Even if the defense is worse in 2006, it will only be by a very small margin IMO. That's a margin easily overcome by the offensive additions of Glaus and Overbay.

I just checked out the Baseball Classic promo on the mlb.com site and I must say it was very well put together. I mean, you have your typical 'athletes trying to act but failing miserably' in there but, overall, it is well done.

When Jason Bay came on and said, 'Canadian,' it brought a tear to my eye... sniffle.

Seeing as I've recently been FORCED AGAINST MY WILL by the Blue Jays front office to become a Diamondbacks fan I just have to point out a pet peeve I have with the team... the logo and team colours are god awful.

Cristian, I couldn't agree more about your comments on Baseball Prospectus. Instead of analysis, instead of research, we're getting opinions, and (as you say) increasingly sloppy opinions.

Last year I renewed my subscription, with misgivings. It'll be an easy decision this time around.

For those who would like a link to the Blair story TJ mentions.

From Rotoworld (from Newsday):

"Newsday is reporting that the Mets have traded Kris Benson to the Orioles for Jorge Julio and fellow right-hander John Maine.
Still a poor trade for the Mets. Maine gives the team some additional insurance in case Aaron Heilman isn't ready to start, but he's probably nothing more than a fifth starter. Mets fans will have to hope Rick Peterson can do better with Julio than Ray Miller did. If not -- and if GM Omar Minaya doesn't have some big plans for the additional cash -- this is a disaster. Jan. 21 - 1:31 pm et "

"I think Towers's relative consistency last year, and his age, point to him probably coming close to putting up numbers similar to 2005."

"I know I've pointed this out before, but Towers got very lucky in his starts last year."

While I DO agree with you that had he started more games against Boston and NY, Towers probably might have had a couple more rough starts, I have to point out that he pitched very well against both of these teams (even if it was a small sample size).

Aug 7, NY: 6 IP, 3 ER.
Aug 23, NY: 7 IP, 2 ER.
Sept 14, Bos: 8 IP, 3 ER.
Sept 25, NY: 7 IP, 4 ER.
Also, Towers was 0-3 in these starts, which shows you that his record did suffer from Bos and NY, even though he did pitch well.

So like I said, I know 4 starts is a small sample size from which to draw an analysis. Regardless, I doubt that you'd find many bottom-end starters in the AL who could say they pitched as well against Boston and NY.

Buster Olney reports in his blog that the Mets may sign Jeff Weaver with the money saved in the Benson deal. Benson and Weaver would offer pretty similar production. Maybe the Mets were tiring of the Anna Benson sideshow.

The Jays have added pitcher James Baldwin to a minor league deal according to Skychiefs.com.

Do we have confirmation from the parent club on Mr. Baldwin yet? While he's had his share of struggles sine his all-star season in 2000, he did post relatively solid numbers in 2005 between Texas and Baltimore.

ERA+ of 111
WHIP of 1.235
56.7 INN of solid work

Sure, Baldwin won't be winning any Cy Young awards for the Blue Jays; but he surely signals as inexpensive depth. Far more than Mr. Weber.... if the posting on the Skychief's site is true.

"While he's had his share of struggles sine his all-star season in 2000, he did post relatively solid numbers in 2005 between Texas and Baltimore"

His 111 ERA+ ties the best mark of his career. His career mark is 91+ and from 2002 to 2004 he was horrible. He was horrible with Texas too and Baltimore picked him up on waivers. His peripheral numbers, even last year, were not good (29/16 K/BB in 57.67 IP) and seems very unlikely to repeat his ERA. He's fine as minor league filler which I assume is what he's being signed to do.

2002-80 ERA+
2003-86 ERA+
2004-28 ERA+

Career-91 ERA+

Completely agreed Glevin.

However, at this point; is Mr. Weber really that much better a pitcher?

After all, Mr. Weber received a great deal of bandwidth when he was first signed...

Benson acquired by Baltimore:

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060121&content_id=1298963&vkey=hotstove2005&fext=.jsp

Skychiefs.com is the official Web site of the Jays' triple-A affiliate. They would not post it unless it was 100 per cent.

The Jays also resigned veteran minor league pitcher Matt Duff, who was injured most of last year and catcher Jeremy Frost who has a lot of power but can't hit for average very well. He played last season in independent ball. He will likely play at Dunedin given the Jays' lack of projected catching depth at that level.

Theo Epstein is beyond childish. Glad it gives me yet another reason to hate the Red Sox.

I think a lot of these moves are to help out the Skychiefs. Phillips, Weber and Baldwin can go a long way for a minor league team that hasn't done jack in the last few years. Plus, Syracuse is getting restless and wants a winner. Needs like this need to be done to help restore them.

Interesting deal in the works with the BoSox and Indians:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2301457

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/scorecard/mlbnews.asp?articleID=154192

ESPN on the radio was reporting it was a 6 player deal.

Andy Marte, Mota are the pieces for the Red Sox - Coco Crisp and possibly Jason Micheals.

Then the Sox would sign Alex Gonzalaz (the Marlins one).

Probably still plenty more to come soon enough.

I read the BP article, and missed completely the "projected loss of offence up the middle" comment.

I presume the rationale for the projected loss by Adams and Hill is that their major league performance last year was somewhat better than one might have estimated from their high minor league career. I do not know how PECOTA works, but my own informal observation is that players with good speed, some pop, and good W/K and K/PA rates tend to progress better than others who lack some of the traits. I would be very surprised if Hill is worse with the bat in 2006 than he was in 2005; a little less so, but not much, for Adams. Both are, in my view, more likely to improve than to regress with the bat.

On the other hand, last year Hill, Hudson and Adams played in the middle infield, along with McDonald. Given the absence of Hudson, it's reasonable to expect McDonald (93 AB last year) to get more work, and that will mean an offensive hit.

Crisp looks like a nice addition for Boston (though Marte and Mota could be a steep price, depending on the deal as a whole). I think one article described him at Damon lite, which his offensive numbers (.345 OBP, .810 OPS) seem to reflect. He's only 26, and inexpensive, so at least he looks like a decent short-term replacement. I'm not sure he'll get on base and steal enough to be a great leadoff hitter though. At least I'm hoping not... :)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster#20060122

Blog Article on the Red Sox recent changes. Just looking over them, all the players they brought in (Crisp, Loretta, Snow, Lowell, Gonzalaz) are all exceptional defenders at thier respective positions.

The only 2 holes they have at defense, are at the Corner OF positions.

It's unlikely that Snow will play full time, and I wouldn't call Loretta ecxeptional. Also they should be scared to death of when Wakefield pitches. I believe his ERA without Mirabelli last year was around 6... Combine that with age expected declines for Manny (I expect him to lose a step in the field but maintain his monster #s), Varitek had an absolutely atrocious September, and they have no real 4th OF I believe... actually I have no idea what I'm trying to prove... Sorry

Apparently the Dodgers are out of the Molina mix. But Molina says he may sit out the season if he doesn't get at least $6 million. Somehow I don't see that happening.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3427977

If I've been following the "Molina Marathon" accurately then the Jays are the only team that have presented Molina with a concrete offer. The Yankee's silence on this matter still mystifies me.

I'm still hoping the Jays DO NOT sign Molina. I'm just not convinced that he is going to outperform Zaun/Quiroz or Phillips. It's not that I expect our current catcher situation to produce outstanding results, but considering the amount Molina is likely to get, the relative improvement would be marginal at best. I think we're better off spending the money elsewhere/holding on to it for later.

What about the prospect of trading Hillenbrand and his rather large arbitration proposal, and signing Molina who *crushed* lefties last year to platoon DH with Hinske who put up quite good numbers against righties?

The problem (IMO) is that Zaun is probably good for about 80 quality starts behind the plate. It looks like he gets extended when he starts 100+ games. So the question becomes--do you feel comfortable with Q/Phillips for 80 games (or, say, 60 games and risk that Zaun gets tired again in August and September)?

BTW, the NY Post reports the Jays still have some interest in Piazza. For what it's worth.

Further to Greenfrog's note, apparantly the Jays would extend a one year offer to Piazza only if he understood that he would only be called on to catch approx. 70 games. This would leave about 90 games for Zaun. There is no mention of the dollar amount.

BTW, today I bought two tickets for the first game scheduled to be played at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for Pool D (Dominican v.s. Venezuela). I guess tickets are selling well considering I had to settle for 2 split tickets on the 3B lawn. Anyhow, since I am going to be there on holiday I figure it will be a great experience. I will be hoping Chacin or Quiroz play!

"What about the prospect of trading Hillenbrand and his rather large arbitration proposal, and signing Molina who *crushed* lefties last year to platoon DH with Hinske who put up quite good numbers against righties?"

Well, it's not going to happen as the Jays seem committed to Hillenbrand for this year. But even if they didn't I still don't think it makes sense.

1. There aren't a lot of lefties. The RH side of a platoon will get about 150 ABs.

2. If you sign a catcher to be a platoon DH you have to carry three catcher. Ugh.

3. If you're going to sign a lefty masher you're better off with LeCroy.

4. Hinske and Molina both outperformed their career numbers last year from what would be their side of a platoon. It's not reasonable to expect that to stay the same this season.

5. Hillenbrand provides much better defensive versitility in case Glaus or Overbay is hurt.

----
(and on the NY Post / Piazza note, I suspect it was just picked up from Olney's blog and not anything new. If something was active with Piazza Blair would have mentioned it last week when he shot Olney's note.)

Rotoworld has the AL East top-10 prospects up. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/story.asp?sport=MLB&storyid=19141

Worth a look.

I thought that Brandon League would still make Rotoworlds list of top 10 prospects for the Jays? Did he spend too much time in the majors, or are they that down on him.

Big props to Scott Carson for giving a shout out to us and our bluejayway brothers, in a column on sportsnet.ca entitles Snow Birds

"AN INTELLIGENT GENERATION OF FANS

-- Big shout out to the regular contributors of battersbox.ca and bluejayway.ca. For the uninformed, these two websites create passionate, humorous and informed debate on all things Blue Jays. They are good places to vent and give opinion. And they are the reasons why the Jays will never go the way of the Expos and disappear from the Canadian sporting landscape. During this busy offseason, their debating of trades and rumours is a welcome respite from the same old, same old from the mainstream baseball media in this country."

Technically both League and McGowan have expired their rookie eligibility based on service time, which means neither could win the Rookie of the Year award. However, publications like Baseball America do not take service time into consideration when rating prospects. They base it on 50 innings pitched or 130 at-bats.

According to ESPN.com (and many other sources), recently deposed GM Theo Epstein has rejoined the Red Sox "baseball operations department in a full-time -- but otherwise unspecified -- position."

It has now been specified--He's the GM (again).

Ken Rosenthal seems to be pretty down on the Red Sox going into the season. I think he's over-reaching a bit. I don't think Boston is in as bad of shape as he believes. As long as the Sox suit up Ramirez, Ortiz, and Varitek every day, they will be tough to beat. Not to mention any possible "down" time will be short-lived as they have one of the best front office teams in baseball, IMO. Forget the office politics there. They have some smart baseball people.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5271546

I am not sure if this has been posted elsewhere but Rotoworld has the following bits regarding the Marte-Crisp deal being on hold:

First, the deal is in jeopardy as Mota failed his physical.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/breaking_news/13702712.htm
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/13703005.htm

Second, there was another deal discussed prior to this one that would have also sent Crisp in Boston - this one involving the Reds (Kearns) with Clement leaving Boston. New GMs involved, wonder if this might be revisited.
http://www.journal-news.com/sports/content/sports/stories/2006/01/24/hjn0125redsweb.html

Theo Epstein has been given the title of GM by the Red Sox again.

That is all.