Power Pros Forum

RED SOX HIRE JOHN KILLEBREW AS NEW GENERAL MANAGER
April Fourth, 2009

Life in Boston has been eventful of late. On the heels of a front office shakeup, the club has been pondering its future. Today, a local radio station reported that a deal had been reached with John Killebrew to become the new Boston general manager.

"We've been leaning in this direction for a while now," admitted a confidential source with the club, "But we had to evaluate all our options before going ahead. Killebrew brings a fresh outlook to the Red Sox organization."

Killebrew has vowed to bring a championship to Boston in 2009 and beyond. As soon as Killebrew sat down in his office, he was on the phone with the Angels of Anaheim, working out a blockbuster deal between the two teams which was immediatly accepted.

Thirty-year-old left fielder Jason Bay, twenty-four-year-old starting pitcher Justin Masterson, twenty-four-year-old shortstop Jed Lowrie, and twenty-five-year-old catcher George Kottaras will all be heading to the City of Angels in exchange for thirty-five-year-old left fielder Bobby Abreu, twenty-seven-year-old catcher Mike Napoli and thirty-one-year-old third baseman Chone Figgins.

"It was difficult to work out a trade like this," General Manager Killebrew told the Boston Globe. "They kept asking for more, but I finally put my foot down and said 'take it or leave it'. They took it. I'm happy with the players we got, too. Clay Buchholz, one of my favorite prospects, finally has a chance in the rotation with Masterson gone. Napoli is a decent catcher. He's definitely an upgrade over an aging Varitek. As for Bobby, he's cheaper than Bay and can probably put up the same numbers while costing us less and hitting for a better average. Mike Lowell has been moved to short until Julio Lugo is ready to return. When Lugo is back, Lowell will probably be traded, or he'll share time with Ortiz as a designated hitter."

is this power pros or OOTPB

OOTP Baseball is very fun but my demo has ran out so I can't play it

OOTB, he doesn't have PP anymore, sadly.

RED SOX ANNOUNCE OPENING DAY LINEUP
April Sixth, 2009


The Boston Red Sox have announced their opening day lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays in a pregame special. "We have a great team here in Boston," Francona told the press. "I believe this lineup is the one which can put it all together in the beginning of a game and drive in a few runs for our starters." Most experts are saying that the Red Sox lineup is flawed for one reason or another.

"Rocco Baldelli," Peter Gammons told ESPN, "should not be starting over J.D Drew on any occasion. If you look at the numbers, Drew is a superior right fielder offensively and defensively. Red Sox Nation is going to have to trust their manager here though, if they do falter though, they know who to blame. Beckett is definitely the most worthy candidate in the Boston rotation to be the opening day starter though."



The Red Sox are expected to come out on top against the American League Champion Rays, but only because a healthy Josh Beckett is on the mound.

I think that Figgins should go to shortstop, Lowell could never play shortstop in his life and Figgins seems like a shortstop

meh, I didn't like the trade very much in the first place. However Figgins should play shortstop (he's a utility man) much better than Lowell.

BECKETT SILENCES TAMPA, BOSTON COMES UP BIG
April Sixth, 2009



In terrific fashion, the Red Sox advanced to one and zero on the season after ace Josh Beckett pitched a beautiful gem well into the ninth inning. Beckett's performance was the best of the day by a long shot. The young ace struck out seven batters and walked two in eight point one innings of play. He only allowed four batters to get on base, and he picked off three of those four batters at first. Carl Crawford was the only guy on Tampa Bay to get past first while Beckett on the mound. Unfortunately, Crawford slid into second the wrong way, didn't get thrown out, but fractured a rib. He's out for five weeks.

Ben Zobrist replaced Crawford at second and stayed in for the remainder of the game. He was picked off at second. That was pretty much the entire game for Tampa Bay's offense. Get on base, get picked off, or just ground into double plays. "He was phenomenal on the mound today," Boston's Manager told the press. "Beckett was just in the zone, throwing strikes, and just making the other team look bad despite a good performance." Jonathan Papelbon came into relieve Beckett in the ninth with two outs. It was a non-save situation. He struck out one batter and let the other one pop up to shortstop Mike Lowell to end the game. Boston won 6-0.

On offense, the Red Sox were awesome. There wasn't a single player who stood above the rest -- it was a team effort -- a good one at that. The new acquisitions like Figgins, Abreu and Napoli all got a hit. Figgins was the only one who didn't drive in a run. Napoli had two. Abreu had one. Mike Napoli, catcher, was definitely the offensive player of the game -- two hits on four at-bats and two run-scoring doubles. He had a great day at the plate.

On the eighth, the Red Sox and the Rays go at it for game two of a three game series. Jon Lester will get the start for Boston. Lester is a left-handed pitcher who had a 16-6 record last year with a 3.21 ERA. On the mound for the Rays is James Shields, a right-handed pitcher who went 14-8 with a 3.56 ERA.

Around the league and in the AL East, Scott Rolen is out for two months. He fractured his hand. In the NL Central, Alfonso Soriano of the Cubs, is out for six days with Swine Flu.

_______________________
@Longball and Jacobye: I've moved Lowell back to third, and sent Figgins to short. After thinking about it for awhile, it does make more sense. As for the trade, I needed to cut some costs. Holliday, Harden and others are free agents after this year. If I can sign them, Boston will be good for a long while.

Anyother input is greatly appreciated. If you would like to know more information about anything, let me know.

Swine Flu! LOL! Typical Alfonso Soriano...

MLB BLOCKBUSTER: IWAMURA FOR PUTZ
April Seventh, 2009



You can focus on the negatives after being traded to a new team -- finding a new place to stay, leaving teammates and friends, having to start anew -- but one player hopes to focus on the positives. "It means I'm wanted somewhere. At least one team sees potential in me." Those were the comments heard after the Tampa Bay Rays came to an agreement to deal 30-year-old second baseman Akinori Iwamura and 20-year-old minor league starting pitcher Joseph Cruz to the New York Mets for 32-year-old reliever J.J. Putz and $1,750,000 in cash earlier today. The deal is expected to be formally announced later this evening.

The Tigers and Pirates also traded a few players. Andy LaRoche, twenty-five, was traded to the Tigers in exchange for twenty-six year old center fielder Josh Anderson. According to Baseball News Network, this could only be a sign that a bigger deal is brewing. "We expect to see some outfielders traded," said an anonymous source close to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Major League Baseball.

In other news, Glendon Rusch, a thirty-four-year-old relief pitcher (LHP) tore a flexor tendon in his elbow. He's out for the season (thirteen months). Christian Guzman of the Nationals, thirty-one, is out for three months... he strained a hip muscle after getting into a fight in a local bar. No formal charges have been filed.

Pedro Martinez, arguably the most dominant pitcher in baseball in his prime, signed a one-year deal worth six-hundred thousand with the San Diego Padres. He not only provides some veteran presence, but he should be able to help some of the Padres' younger pitchers develop correctly.

As for news involving the Boston Red Sox, they made a few minor changes to their lineup and infield. Mike Lowell and Chone Figgins will be swapping positions. Figgins will move into an unfamiliar shortstop role while Lowell will become Boston's starting third baseman. "I'm happy with the move." One of the players told reporters. "I want to do whatever is best for the team, even if it means doing something I'm not use to." The Red Sox also came to terms with thirty-three-year-old right handed pitcher, Eric Gagne and thirty-four-year-old Trot Nixon. Both players are expected to start out in the minors (Double-A) and work their ways up to the show... Nixon and Gagne have both played in Boston before.

INJURED SP BEN SHEETS ATTRACTING ATTENTION
April Eighth, 2009

He's attracting too much attention for an injured player. He's out for three months with a torn tricep. Will he be able to come back and play like he did before this injury? Probably not, but that's not stopping teams like the Dodgers and Yankees from getting into a bidding war. In fact, it's becoming more and more like an auction for the thirty-year-old starting pitcher. "I just want to play baseball. My agent [Scott Boras] is telling me I need to let these two teams bid each other into the upper millions. I'm not sure if I want to do that..." Sheets was quoted by the New York Times. "Regardless, I'm just going to let this all play out. Money won't be the deciding factor in any of this."

Theo Epstein, the former General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, appeared on ESPN to discuss the Sheets situation. "Personally, I'd be bidding on Sheets. Teams who have great depth, like Boston, and even teams who don't, need to understand that Ben is a terrific player to have at the top or bottom of a rotation. He'll be going to a contender, no doubt." Epstein said on Baseball Tonight. It sounded like he was calling out Boston's current General Manager John Killebrew. Killebrew, however, refused to mix words with Epstein and only walked away when he was approached by reporters outside of Fenway Park.

One has to wonder... how much is a guy who can throw over 150 innings when healthy with a decent ERA+ is going to for on the open, free market. People like Peter Gammons are expecting him to go for over a million dollars.

Anyway, Boston has a game with Tampa Bay scheduled for tonight. Jon Lester, a left-handed pitcher, will get the start for Boston. He had a career year last year. He'll be facing James Shields of Tampa Bay, a right-handed pitcher, who's had some success against Boston in the past. The Red Sox are expected to tryout a new lineup tonight, and showcase Figgins defensive skills at short.

LATE-INNING RALLY SENDS BOSTON PACKING
April Eighth, 2009

"****ing Francona!" Must have been the first thing on Jon Lester's mind after tonight's game against the Rays ended. You see, Francona exited with a comfortable two run lead. He had thrown over one-hundred pitches in six innings though, so most of us can see why he was taken out. His mediocre four run, three walk, four strikeout performance wasn't impressive. Thus, the game was turned over to the bullpen. Brad Penny gave up a run. 6-7, Boston in front, no big deal. Hideki Okajima and Takashi Saito each face one batter and do fine, but then Manager Terry Francona takes them out in the eighth and puts Manny Delcarmen in charge of saving the game. Papelbon was resting after he appeared in a non-save situation yesterday. Delcarmen gave up a two-run blast to Pat Burrel after walking Evan Longoria in the ninth with two outs. Fans were not happy with Delcarmen when he was walking off the field. In fact, two fans had to be thrown out of Fenway -- one threw a bottle of budlight at the twenty-seven year old, while another attempted to bean him in the gut with a foul ball. Fortunately, nobody was harmed in the process.

Other than that though, it was a normal game -- David Ortiz delivered big with a three run shot to put Boston in front early in the game, Abreu, Figgins, and Ellsburry all added to the lead. Speaking of Ellsburry, he committed the first two errors of his career and of the season. He blamed the sun for his errors. Luckily, Ellsburry recovered quickly each time and didn't allow the Rays to score. Figgins on the other hand booted a routine groundball. A run scored. It's his first error of the season though in an unimportant game, so you can't hold it against him.

J.J Putz got to close out the game for the Rays. He struck out the side. He's definitely going to be a good closer for the Rays. He can keep his pitch count low (eighteen pitches, all strikes). Gabe Gross was named the player of the game. He went four for five with two home runs and three RBIs. His first home run came against Jon Lester in the first... he sent a first pitch fastball over the Monster. His second was against Brad Penny.

Overall, the game was great. Nothing spectacular about it though other than a few good performances. John Maine stole the show though, and he wasn't even playing for the Sox or Rays. Maine tested positive for steroids, but the news did not break until after he threw a pitch in the Mets' game. To make matters worse, he's out for eight months with a torn rotator cuff.

I need some cheap bullpen help. I'm thinking of trading away Okajima, Lopez and Saito for some prospects, then I'll call up Bowden and others, but I don't know how that would work. I consider a good pen to be important. Anyone know of some good relievers I should try for?

Pat Neshek? Scot Shields? George Sherrill?

Don't trade Okajima or Saito they will help you down the stretch run.



Also, if you are trying to turn a contender into a winner, you wouldn't be trading your set-up men (And Saito can close) for prospects, you'd be trading your prospects for top players. You are supposed to be buying, not selling!


Take a look at real life. They gave up Masterson and Hagadone and Bryan Price for Martinez. Prospects for top players.


If you are trying to set a theme (which you did in your title, Turning a Contender into a Winner) then follow with the theme and buy, not sell. Get your needed prospects from the draft.