I want my MTV.

The OF of Bonds-Grissom-Alou could be the oldest trio since the Del Rubio Triplets.

Whereas the Renteria and to a lesser extent the Clement signings and the Billy Traber blunder speak very little to the brilliance of the Red Sox management.

When you steal guys like Wells and Miller and get cash and usable parts for Dave Roberts (not to mention Mueller and Ortiz all signed to under-market deals), you can afford to overpay for players like Renteria and Clement. This wasn't Christian Guzman and Jaret Wright, ya know.

And I'd hardly call the Traber releasing a "blunder", since a) he wasn't theirs in the first place and b) the chances of him seeing the light of Fenway anytime soon was slim-to-none.

'maybe get a blister on your little finger, maybe get a blister on your thumb.'

oh, and btw, nice comments on Miller. ;-)

"The OF of Bonds-Grissom-Alou could be the oldest trio since the Del Rubio Triplets."

I love it!

"Whereas the Renteria and to a lesser extent the Clement signings and the Billy Traber blunder speak very little to the brilliance of the Red Sox management."

If Cabrera is worth $8 million per year, then I have to think Renteria is worth $10 million.

As far as Clement goes, I don't think they over paid at all. In fact, he looks like a bargain compared to Benson and Wright (both of whom signed for almost the same size contract) as well as Pavano (who will be making a couple million more per year).

I also give Theo & Co. credit for not ceding to the wishes of Pedro. They gave him a very competitive offer, but they didn't panic when the Mets topped it. Instead, they immediately went out and signed Clement at less than two thirds what they offered Martinez. Looking at it in a different manner, Boston picked up Clement, Wells, and Miller for about what it would have cost them to keep Pedro.

Now that is brilliant!

The Red Sox have scored more runs (by far) than anybody in baseball, and the team ERA has been in the top five for each year of the New Regime. Theo must be dumb. What team does John Mill manage again?

Joe--
"When you steal guys like Wells and Miller and get cash and usable parts for Dave Roberts (not to mention Mueller and Ortiz all signed to under-market deals), you can afford to overpay for players like Renteria and Clement. This wasn't Christian Guzman and Jaret Wright, ya know."

Of course, and I don't think the Clement deal was that bad, especially in the context of this free agent pitching market, but a shrewd GM does his best not to play by the market rules and Clement's still a natural 3.80-4.20 ERA pitcher in the NL who struggles to go deep into games whichever way you look at it. It's not a brilliant deal then, and that's all I was saying. Renteria on the other hand is just flat out overpayment, though perhaps the Green Monster might disguise the mediocrity of his bat.

"And I'd hardly call the Traber releasing a "blunder", since a) he wasn't theirs in the first place and b) the chances of him seeing the light of Fenway anytime soon was slim-to-none."

He was theirs - he was claimed off waivers. And it wouldn't have hurt the Red Sox to have left him on the 40-man roster. Still, you're right, he's no big loss. But I didn't mean to imply that he was.

Rich--
"If Cabrera is worth $8 million per year, then I have to think Renteria is worth $10 million."

The thing is neither of them are worth anything near that. And Cabrera got his deal after Renteria, so I suspect the Renteria signing set the market for him in the same way as Benson's deal set the market for every other mediocre pitcher in the game.

Peter--
"The Red Sox have scored more runs (by far) than anybody in baseball, and the team ERA has been in the top five for each year of the New Regime. Theo must be dumb."

I didn't say he was dumb, I said he wasn't always brilliant. The same applies to every GM in the game, although with varying regularity. I think people have too much of a tendency to judge deals not on their merits but on the track record of the GM(s) involved. Had the White Sox signed Renteria to a $40m/4yr deal...

"The thing is neither of them are worth anything near that. And Cabrera got his deal after Renteria, so I suspect the Renteria signing set the market for him in the same way as Benson's deal set the market for every other mediocre pitcher in the game."

Fair enough, John. In Rich's world, Renteria would have gotten $8m/yr and Cabrera $6m/yr. But John Henry and Arte Moreno live in their own worlds and not mine.

Rich -- color me puzzled by the praise Epstein is getting for the Miller deal. It's a shoulder injury, which almost always turns out badly for the pitcher. It's a low dollar bet (relatively speaking), so fine, but it's a gamble all the way.

Sure, it's a gamble all the way, but it's low risk ($1.5m if things go badly) and extremely high reward (the rights to the age 28 and 29 seasons of a 130 ERA+ pitcher). Why doesn't he deserve a lot of praise for that kind of move?