The deal that will give Boston a dynasty

It's been all quiet on the Johan Santana front for nearly a week now, which has been kind of enjoyable, since it has given Yankees fans time to wallow in the possibility of the Sox acquiring another ace. Imagine this starting lineup:
Josh Beckett

Johan Santana

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Curt Schilling

Clay Buchholz

Tim Wakefield

That's if the Sox deal Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and a package of Minor League prospects, as has most frequently been mentioned.
If Boston includes future Hall of Fame center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in the deal instead of Lester, you could put Lester into that rotation and bring Wakefield in out of the bullpen, a role he's filled very successfully from time to time in the past.
Can you imagine Wakefield coming in to clean up for Beckett, confusing hitters with knuckleballs after they've struggled to catch up with Beckett's fastball?
And you'll notice that I listed a rotation of six pitchers.
If the Red Sox pull off this trade for Santana, why not a six-man rotation? Matsuzaka thrived in Japan under that scenario, and did far better in Boston when he had an extra day of rest.
With that extra time off between starts, and the adjustments he's going to make during the offseason to life and pro baseball in the U.S., Matsuzaka's stuff could be as dominant as Beckett's and Santana's.
Good luck beating Boston in a five-game playoff series the next few years.

The Red Sox' knockout punch?

The Boston Herald is speculating that fans might quickly get over their hatred of Alex Rodriguez if Boston were to pursue the most aggressive strategy possible this offseason and move to re-sign World Series MVP third baseman Mike Lowell AND sign A-Rod.

Rodriguez has made it known that he's willing to switch back to his natural position of shortstop.
Julio Lugo, acquired last offseason by the Red Sox to bolster their offense from that position, has been a disappointment at the plate.

Boston would shop Lugo around in a heartbeat, perhaps to further bolster its pitching staff or pick up a catcher to eventually succeed the aging Jason Varitek.

Imagine, Yankees fans and Yankee haters, Josh Beckett on the mound and a Red Sox lineup of Ellsbury, Pedroia, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, A-Rod and Mike Lowell. And it wouldn't be too shabby to have Kevin Youkilis and Varitek as your #8 and #9 hitters.

With Ellsbury's emergence as an offensive power who has unbelievable speed in center field and on the base paths, the Sox also have the luxury of trading Coco Crisp this offseason for further pitching help or prospects.

The balance of power may have shifted for a long, long time in the AL East.

Red Sox rooting for the Yankees

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Red Sox are rooting for the Yankees, if only for one game.
Boston has four days off before the start of the AL championship series, having swept the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. Though none of the Red Sox would express a preference in the lone remaining division matchup, they wouldn't mind if New York and Cleveland wear each other out before it's over.
"I guess my preference would be that they play for about another eight days and go 20 innings every game," Boston manager Terry Francona said after beating the Angels 9-1 on Sunday to earn the extra time off. "We'll get guys throwing. We'll get guys hitting, and we'll stay ready."
The Yankees and Indians were scheduled to play Game 4 on Monday night, with Cleveland holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. If New York wins they will play a deciding fifth game on Wednesday.
"My preference is they play five games, try to use their guys up, so we can be more rested than them," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "But either team is going to be a challenge for us and it's going to be a tough series, and hopefully we can be ready for it."
Josh Beckett, who pitched a four-hit shutout over the Angels in Game 1, his second consecutive playoff shutout, will have eight days of rest before the opener of the AL championship series. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched the second game in the first round, but Curt Schilling could get the Game 2 start in Round 2 and he would have five days of rest.
"It's certainly better than playing a 17-inning Game 5 and heading straight to Cleveland," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.

Every Yankee Wang suck tonight

Chien-Ming Wang put all talk of contention for the Cy Young Award to rest with his miserable performance against the Red Sox yesterday.
With Wang's stats - if not the sense that he can dominate batters - similar to Josh Beckett and a few others in the American League going into the weekend, there was a strong sense that the Cy Young was up for grabs and that pitching over the last few weeks of the regular season would be the difference-maker.
Yesterday's game was perhaps the marquee showcase as Beckett and Wang went head to head.
Beckett allowed only 3 hits and 1 run over 7 innings, striking out 7 and walking 2.
Wang lasted only 5 2/3rds, giving up 9 hits, 5 runs and 3 walks while striking out 3.
His ERA is up to 3.87, while Beckett has a 3.20 ERA and has a good shot of winning his 20th game before the regular season ends, by far a career best.

Not the Roger Boston used to know

A far fatter, weaker, cockier Roger Clemens faces the team he started his Major League career with tonight as stock in the Red Sox goes in the opposite direction of the team to which the Rocket has hitched his wide wagon this year in what quickly shaped up to be a failed attempt to win another World Series ring.

Like their decisions to jettison Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez, who absolutely fell apart physically after leaving the Sox for greener greenbacks with the Mets and Yankees, Theo Epstein and Co. have got to be thrilled at their decision not to outbid the Yankees for Roger's services this year.

So tonight the Sox will be sending Cy Young candidate Josh Beckett to the mound to face a future Hall of Famer whose $28 million salary this year has produced a 5-5 record, 4.34 ERA and 6 runs given up in five innings in his last start.