John lackey takes physical in Boston: deal may be imminent!

[Donoghus]

I think the Sox (if need be) can go with a one year platoon in left field without it killing them.  Hermida/Cameron would be alright.  Honestly, I'd prefer that than overpaying Holliday or Bay. 

[Big_Matt34]

http://wbztv.com/local/john.lackey.mike.2.1369315.html

The AP is reporting the Cameron deal is done pending a physical, its a 2 year deal. Ken Rosenthal is saying 2 years 15.5 million, im fine with that.

Rosenthal is also saying that he is going to be an everyday player which is fine by me. He will hit 25 HR's here, walk 60-70 times, hit .250-.260, play GG defense, and crush lefties. I really like this deal, and hope/think its a precurser to A-Gon or Beltre. Id prefer A-Gon because well he is better but Beltre is an elite defensive 3B who i think would hit 30 homers here so id be fine with him too.

[nickagneta]

Cameron in CF makes all the sense in the world. He might not have the speed to cover as much ground as Ellsbury possibly could, but he will get better initial reads and make many plays Ellsbury makes diving look rather routine. Ellsbury, with proper initial reads, can cover way more ground than Cameron, especially in center at Fenway, but you can't always count on that like you can with Cameron. Besides, Cameron's arm is much better than Ellsbury's arm and Ellsbury's deficiency in holding guys on 2nd on flies to center field because of his arm will be eradicated by sticking him in left.

[Redz]

Cameron in CF makes all the sense in the world. He might not have the speed to cover as much ground as Ellsbury possibly could, but he will get better initial reads and make many plays Ellsbury makes diving look rather routine. Ellsbury, with proper initial reads, can cover way more ground than Cameron, especially in center at Fenway, but you can't always count on that like you can with Cameron. Besides, Cameron's arm is much better than Ellsbury's arm and Ellsbury's deficiency in holding guys on 2nd on flies to center field because of his arm will be eradicated by sticking him in left.

Is Cameron's glove worth the bat?  Lifetime .250 hitter.

[rondohondo]

There has got to be another move coming. They still need a power hitter at 1st or 3rd.

[Donoghus]

Cameron in CF makes all the sense in the world. He might not have the speed to cover as much ground as Ellsbury possibly could, but he will get better initial reads and make many plays Ellsbury makes diving look rather routine. Ellsbury, with proper initial reads, can cover way more ground than Cameron, especially in center at Fenway, but you can't always count on that like you can with Cameron. Besides, Cameron's arm is much better than Ellsbury's arm and Ellsbury's deficiency in holding guys on 2nd on flies to center field because of his arm will be eradicated by sticking him in left.

Is Cameron's glove worth the bat?  Lifetime .250 hitter.

As a short-term stop gap?  I think he's adequate.  

[yall hate]

it'll be interesting whether they leave ellsbury in cf, and then do cameron/Hermida in lf (I assume the splits work properly with those two in a semi platoon?).

although I guess you could do Cameron in Cf, and then have ellsbury slide over to cf when you play hermida...

[Chris]

Well, there is still one more move to go, but this is an interesting remake of the team so far.  Clearly, they are looking to win with pitching and defense.  Not a terrible plan.  I really hope they can get Gonzalez, but I have a feeling it's going to be Beltre.  So here is what I think the lineup will be looking like next year:

Ellsbury
Pedroia
Martinez
Youk
Papi
Drew
Cameron
Beltre
Scutaro

That lineup doesn't have a ton of pop in the middle, but is relatively balanced throughout, without any major black holes, like they have had the last couple of years (well...depending what they get from Beltre).

I also think Max Ramirez could be a sleeper for this team, and could end up picking up some of the slack if Papi doesn't have a bit of a bounce back season.  Before last year (when he was battling wrist injuries), he was a top flight hitting prospect.  

Ultimately, this team's success is going to come down to which Beckett, Dice-K and Bucholtz show up.  All of them have the talent to be aces, and if they take advantage of that talent, this team will have one of the best pitching staffs we have ever seen.  But they also have all been very inconsistent, and if they are not on top of their games, this team could be very mediocre.

[nickagneta]

it'll be interesting whether they leave ellsbury in cf, and then do cameron/Hermida in lf (I assume the splits work properly with those two in a semi platoon?).

although I guess you could do Cameron in Cf, and then have ellsbury slide over to cf when you play hermida...

I see this.

[Big_Matt34]

Is Cameron's glove worth the bat?  Lifetime .250 hitter.

Sometimes people who hit .300 arent nearly as good as their average because they dont take walks or have any pop. Cameron is the exact opposite, while he hits .250 he brings alot of good things to the table offensively that makes the average bearable. He will strike out a ton but he hits homers, takes walks, and really hits lefties well.

I'm really in favor of them playing him in CF, he is just better defensively then Jacoby and like Nick said his arm will help, where Ellsburys noodle arm wont hurt as bad in LF.

I also agree with Chris about them ending up with Beltre, he wont cost Clay or any prospects which is big for Theo. The lineup will be good enough offensively, and the rotation would be beyond good with Lester/Beckett/Lackey/Clay/Dice-K/Wakefield. Plus you can do much worse than Beltre offensively, he has put up really good OPS on the road since going to Seattle, thats just an awful stadium to hit in.

[nickagneta]

I don't want to see Beltre. He has horrible numbers here in Fenway.

[Donoghus]

I don't want to see Beltre. He has horrible numbers here in Fenway.

My fear is that he'll be here.  I just hope the money and years aren't ridiculous.  Some of the numbers/terms being floated out there definitely cause concern for me. 

[OriginalODb]

I'd feel a lot better about the Lackey signing if it was for 3 years. As of now I hate it mainly because although they have a ton of money to spend it seems sometimes like the Red sox try too hard to be a middle of the pack spender. basically I'm mad because for an extra 1.25 million a year or so we could of had texeira and we say thats too much but 17 million for Lackey?

Lackey in my mind is a good number 2 on a contending team and now hes getting ace money for FIVE years

[Fan from VT]

Lackey's a very good pitcher. I'd expect his numbers to get a little worse. I was looking at the "MLB Park Factors," Fenways a pretty hitter friendly park while the Angels' stadium is middle of the pack. That, plus playing AL East, would give his numbers a negative bump.

Cameron's a decent fill-in.

I'd love Adrian Gonzalez here. putting up those numbers in the worst hitting park, imagine him in fenway. yowza

[Big_Matt34]

I don't want to see Beltre. He has horrible numbers here in Fenway.

Yeah but 67 plate appearences is a ridiculously SSS. He also did all that while hitting in a usually awful Mariners lineup. Here are his numbers away from Safeco the last 4 years, he was hurt most of last year but with his defense a .800-850 OPS is very valuable.

2006 .283/.343/.462/.806
2007 .288/.320/.538/.858
2008 .292/.349/.512/.862
2009 .279/.324/.393/.717

Ive read the reports of him wanting 5 years at 13 million a year, he obviously wont get that. He will have to settle for something like 3/30 or 4/40, both of which id do. Like i said, id prefer A-Gon or Cabrera, but Theo has loved Beltre for years and you know he'd prefer to hang onto Buchholz/Westmoreland/Kelly.