Bengie Molina close to signing with Blue Jays

[Kulish29]

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5311552

The Blue Jays are close to signing Molina to a one-year, $5 million contract with a $7.5 million option for 2007, FOXSports.com has learned.

Ken Rosenthal cementing his status as BBW of the year.

[JeffWeaverFan]

Rosenthal has been amazing in covering the offseason... Either way, I'm happy about this because I want no part of Molina.

[YankeePride1967]

Thank God.

[StatenIslandYankee]

Man are the Jays better than the Red Sox?

[yanksphan]

What's the J's payroll at these days anyway?

[Yankeeah]

http://www.hardballdollars.com/team....me=Blue%20Jays

$65

[Tifoso]

Man are the Jays better than the Red Sox?

I think so..I pick them to finish 2nd in the division, behind the Yanks (naturally )

[Sam18]

Phew!
The jays are gonna 'frame' their way to the world series.

[Snatch Catch]

http://www.hardballdollars.com/team....me=Blue%20Jays

$65

I think that only lists 16 players, though...

[LuckyLopez]

I counted 18, but the rest seem to be guys like Rios, Chacin, Hill, and League who aren't arb elligible. So the payroll shouldn't increase that much. Although Molina's obviouslly not there so his has to be added on as well.

[gold23]

I think the Jays are a clear #3 in the division. They don't have the depth of pitching or lineup to compete with the Yanks and Sox, unless injuries strike. And they'd need a very healthy Halladay to be a contender. I don't like their middle relief at all, and think the back end of their rotation overachieved last year.

I actually think people are discounting the quality of the Red Sox bullpen upgrade, as well as a major 2B improvement while not taking serious hits anywhere else (other than possibly SS, though Renteria was putrid most of the year).

[Sam18]

I think the Jays are a clear #3 in the division. They don't have the depth of pitching or lineup to compete with the Yanks and Sox, unless injuries strike. And they'd need a very healthy Halladay to be a contender. I don't like their middle relief at all, and think the back end of their rotation overachieved last year.

I actually think people are discounting the quality of the Red Sox bullpen upgrade, as well as a major 2B improvement while not taking serious hits anywhere else (other than possibly SS, though Renteria was putrid most of the year).

No, people are just way way way overestimating the jays.

[gold23]

No, people are just way way way overestimating the jays.

I agree about the Jays. It just seems that a few splashy moves and the ills of the team have been resolved. Nobody realizes that almost the WHOLE relief corps last year had career or close to career years in terms of numbers. Several journeyman types had excellent years, and with relief pitching amazingly inconsistent outside of the top 10% or so of relievers it stands to reason that they should have some dropoff.

I don't love Ryan- I think he's a good closer, but certainly not in the elite. He was extremely hittable down the stretch and in games against good competition.

Halladay is a true #1 starter, and Wells is a complete CF, but they are not deep in any facet of the game.

[Jace]

I think the Jays are a clear #3 in the division. They don't have the depth of pitching or lineup to compete with the Yanks and Sox, unless injuries strike.

They do have the depth in pitching, and injuries will strike the Yanks and Sox. I dont think their offense will be quite enough, however. They will be in it through early to mid September, probably.

[SubwayFanatic]

The Blue Jays will simply not score enough runs to compete with New York or Boston. The Jays scored just 775 runs last year. Glaus and Overbay will help that for sure, but it's not exactly like they are going to be Murderer's Row.

[gold23]

They do have the depth in pitching, and injuries will strike the Yanks and Sox. I dont think their offense will be quite enough, however. They will be in it through early to mid September, probably.

They have Halladay up top, with Burnett behind him. We have no idea how good Burnett will be, other than that he's never been a great pitcher before. Has great stuff, but he's been injured, mediocre, or slightly above. Chacin Lilly and Towers? Chacin is widely regarded as a back end of the rotation pitcher or pretty good reliever in the future- his stuff is average at best, and as teams have seen his motion more they have become much more comfortable. Lilly is always hurt, and he's ok when not. Towers is an ok back end type of guy who got amazingly lucky with his numbers last year- someone who surrenders tons of hits and hr is usually going to be a back end rotation guy. So their rotation is ok- great #1, followed by a bunch of middle of the pack guys.

Their pen is not great- led by Ryan, Jason Frasor is a decent setup guy. But they fall off from the top 2 (who aren't much different from most 1-2 punches in the league). Speier had a career year last year in his 8th season, and for his whole career has been a so-so reliever. Shoeneweiss the same. After that, they are young and unproven or simply poor, led by the career year last year of Pete Walker. So....the Jays pen is littered with pitchers who ALL had the best year of their careers last year. And many of them flukey.

Their offense is led by Wells, Glaus, and Overbay. Three good hitters, but not in the same hemisphere as the other AL East giants, and the falloff from those guys is significant. Their bottom of the order is simply weak.

[Spiker101]

The average age of the Jays rotation is 29. You don't want to know the average age of the other two teams. They have a nice bullpen, at least the equal of the other two. They probably won't score enough runs, unless Vernon Wells finally emerges as the star he's been projected to be. The other big question is their defense. The Jays did some harm to their defense in picking up Glaus. Still, I think they have a chance to be a Wild Card contender if things break right.

[gold23]

The average age of the Jays rotation is 29. You don't want to know the average age of the other two teams. They have a nice bullpen, at least the equal of the other two. They probably won't score enough runs, unless Vernon Wells finally emerges as the star he's been projected to be. The other big question is their defense. The Jays did some harm to their defense in picking up Glaus. Still, I think they have a chance to be a Wild Card contender if things break right.

Not sure what the average age of the rotation has to do with anything, other than to say they are less likely to break down. The problem is that Halladay, Burnett, and Lilly all have had somewhat significant injury histories. Their pen is NOT the equal of the Yanks and Sox- not even close. They have a closer who did well (not great, well) in his first season as closer and tired down the stretch, and a collection of mediocre arms with mediocre history behind him. The Sox have amassed a wealth of good arms (some young, some veteran) in their pen, and even if Foulke doesn't rebound will still have a superior pen to the Jays. The Yanks start with the best closer in the game, and follow with a decent setup guy, a few solid situational pitchers, and a talent like Dotel after a month or two.

In order to beat the Yanks/Sox, they'd need to be appreciably better in some areas, and they aren't in any except for their first starter.

[Spiker101]

They have Halladay up top, with Burnett behind him. We have no idea how good Burnett will be, other than that he's never been a great pitcher before. Has great stuff, but he's been injured, mediocre, or slightly above. Chacin Lilly and Towers? Chacin is widely regarded as a back end of the rotation pitcher or pretty good reliever in the future- his stuff is average at best, and as teams have seen his motion more they have become much more comfortable. Lilly is always hurt, and he's ok when not. Towers is an ok back end type of guy who got amazingly lucky with his numbers last year- someone who surrenders tons of hits and hr is usually going to be a back end rotation guy. So their rotation is ok- great #1, followed by a bunch of middle of the pack guys.


.

Wow, you grade on a tough curve. Burnett has a career 3.73 ERA with a .663 OPS against. If that's not great, it's pretty outstanding in this day and age, and it's certainly better than slightly better mediocre.
Chacin is a 25-year-old with has good stuff as evidenced by his 3.65 ERA in the first 36 starts to his career. Lily has batted injury problems but when healthy he's effective and if the Jays are smart they'll sandwich him between Halliday and Burnett. Towers is a number five guy who throws a lot of innings, gives up a lot of hits but doesn't walk anyone and keeps his team in the game.
I'd trade the Yanks starting rotations for the Jays in a heartbeat..

[gold23]

Wow, you grade on a tough curve. Burnett has a career 3.73 ERA with a .663 OPS against. If that's not great, it's pretty outstanding in this day and age, and it's certainly better than slightly better mediocre.
Chacin is a 25-year-old with has good stuff as evidenced by his 3.65 ERA in the first 36 starts to his career. Lily has batted injury problems but when healthy he's effective and if the Jays are smart they'll sandwich him between Halliday and Burnett. Towers is a number five guy who throws a lot of innings, gives up a lot of hits but doesn't walk anyone and keeps his team in the game.
I'd trade the Yanks starting rotations for the Jays in a heartbeat..

Burnett's been decent- he's never been very good. If you want, check out his game logs- there's very little consistency. He can be absolutely dominating or downright mediocre. Plus, he's missed significant time in several seasons due to arm issues.

As for Chacin, he's simply not likely to continue his brief success. He doe snot have good stuff- it is mediocre. Sits at 88-89 with slight movement, and a decent overhand breaking ball. Mediocre change and a spinning slider. He was successful with his motion, but many teams that saw him more than one or two times began to tee off a bit as the season wore on. At best, he should be a middle rotation type.

How you would take the Jays rotation over the Yankees is startling. The Yanks have questions, to be sure, but to take a staff where only one pitcher has put together a very good season in their whole career over the Yanks is stretching it a little.

[Spiker101]

Not sure what the average age of the rotation has to do with anything, other than to say they are less likely to break down. The problem is that Halladay, Burnett, and Lilly all have had somewhat significant injury histories. Their pen is NOT the equal of the Yanks and Sox- not even close. They have a closer who did well (not great, well) in his first season as closer and tired down the stretch, and a collection of mediocre arms with mediocre history behind him. The Sox have amassed a wealth of good arms (some young, some veteran) in their pen, and even if Foulke doesn't rebound will still have a superior pen to the Jays. The Yanks start with the best closer in the game, and follow with a decent setup guy, a few solid situational pitchers, and a talent like Dotel after a month or two.

In order to beat the Yanks/Sox, they'd need to be appreciably better in some areas, and they aren't in any except for their first starter.

Much less likely to break down. Lilly is injury prone. Burnett is fully healed from Tommy John and those injuries appear to be once in a lifetime. Halliday's injury last year was to his leg, not his arm.

BJ Ryan is not Rivera, but I'd take him over Foulke, especially coming off the knee injury.
As for the rest of the bullpen the Jays had a combined 3.81 ERA from their pen last year, and added Ryan.
Boston had a 5.15, the Yanks a 4.37.
Well, well, you say both teams boosted their pens signficantly in the offseason. But have they really? Is Farnsworth going to be better than Gordon? I have my doubts. Is Dotel going to be effective? When exactly? Will Villone be worth a damn? How about Myers?
Foulke is coming off a serious knee injury. Timlin had a nice year in '05, after posting a 4.13 in '04 and he'll be 40 years old. How much has he got left in the tank. Seanz has a career 4.12, is 37 and has a long, rich history of sucking in the AL. Riske was so beloved by his manager that he didn't receive a hold the entire year. It's Riske the home-run dispenser. On and on, it's question mark after question mark for both these pens. The Yanks and Sox got the bigger names, but that doesn't necessarily translate into superior performance.

[Panamaniac42]

Much less likely to break down.

What?

Age does not make it "much less likely" to break down.

Halladay, Burnett, and Lilly have tough injury histories.

Once you have that injury history age has little to do with it. Just look at last year when we got "younger" with Pavano & Wright, two 28 years old. Boy that was fun.

It's all a gamble, and average age of rotation has nothing to do with your odds when the top 3 guys in your rotation are ?'s.

Jays are in the same boat with the Yanks and Red Sox as far as rotation questions are concerned, sorry.

P.S. The Cubs have a very young rotation.

[gold23]

Much less likely to break down. Lilly is injury prone. Burnett is fully healed from Tommy John and those injuries appear to be once in a lifetime. Halliday's injury last year was to his leg, not his arm.

BJ Ryan is not Rivera, but I'd take him over Foulke, especially coming off the knee injury.
As for the rest of the bullpen the Jays had a combined 3.81 ERA from their pen last year, and added Ryan.
Boston had a 5.15, the Yanks a 4.37.
Well, well, you say both teams boosted their pens signficantly in the offseason. But have they really? Is Farnsworth going to be better than Gordon? I have my doubts. Is Dotel going to be effective? When exactly? Will Villone be worth a damn? How about Myers?
Foulke is coming off a serious knee injury. Timlin had a nice year in '05, after posting a 4.13 in '04 and he'll be 40 years old. How much has he got left in the tank. Seanz has a career 4.12, is 37 and has a long, rich history of sucking in the AL. Riske was so beloved by his manager that he didn't receive a hold the entire year. It's Riske the home-run dispenser. On and on, it's question mark after question mark for both these pens. The Yanks and Sox got the bigger names, but that doesn't necessarily translate into superior performance.

I'm not arguing with your points about the Sox and Yanks. But the Jays bullpen is made up of, with the exception of Ryan and Frasor, career mediocrity in which EACH pitcher had a career year. Even if Ryan and Frasor duplicate their '05 seasons, you can reasonably expect a few of the Jay relievers to convert back to career norms. The Yankee and Red Sox pens last year were so atrocious (Yanks after Mo and Gordon, you could realistically throw random pitchers in and get better results) that the mere addition of competent and talented major league arms is an immediate upgrade.

I am not totally disparaging the Jays team- just saying that the flash of the off-season should not be seen a a total fix to a team with major holes.

Additionally, Halladay has missed significant time due to injury in three of the past five seasons. Regardless of his injuries, that is an injury prone player. The Yankee and Sox staff have their own injury issues, but the Jays are not in much better shape.

[Spiker101]

Burnett's been decent- he's never been very good. If you want, check out his game logs- there's very little consistency. He can be absolutely dominating or downright mediocre. Plus, he's missed significant time in several seasons due to arm issues.

As for Chacin, he's simply not likely to continue his brief success. He doe snot have good stuff- it is mediocre. Sits at 88-89 with slight movement, and a decent overhand breaking ball. Mediocre change and a spinning slider. He was successful with his motion, but many teams that saw him more than one or two times began to tee off a bit as the season wore on. At best, he should be a middle rotation type.

How you would take the Jays rotation over the Yankees is startling. The Yanks have questions, to be sure, but to take a staff where only one pitcher has put together a very good season in their whole career over the Yanks is stretching it a little.

What the Yanks have are two dramatically aging pitchers, two guys with serious injury histories and Chacon, the great mystery man.
Chacin gets it up to the low 90s and added a cut fastball in '05 that's apparently very effective against righties.
For some reason people's notion of what constitutes a good starter has gotten skewed over the years. Anyone with an ERA at about 4.00 is solid. Burnett 's ERA was full half run below that. He's also averaging pretty close to a strikeout an inning. With Halladay and Burnett the Jays have two potentially dominating starters who can shut a team down in a short series. That by itself makes them dangerous. Their three remaining starters and the pen are solid with a lot fewer questions that reside in Boston and New York.
As I said I don't think they have the hitting to be championship contenders, but they made great strides this offseason. Another bat or two and look out.

[SubwayFanatic]

Man are the Jays better than the Red Sox?

Yes.

The addition of a 300-pound catcher, who in his best season posted a 110 OPS+, easily puts the Blue Jays ahead of the Red Sox.

[Spiker101]

What?

Age does not make it "much less likely" to break down.

Halladay, Burnett, and Lilly have tough injury histories.

Once you have that injury history age has little to do with it. Just look at last year when we got "younger" with Pavano & Wright, two 28 years old. Boy that was fun.

It's all a gamble, and average age of rotation has nothing to do with your odds when the top 3 guys in your rotation are ?'s.

Jays are in the same boat with the Yanks and Red Sox as far as rotation questions are concerned, sorry.

P.S. The Cubs have a very young rotation.

This is nonsense. Of course age is an issue. Muscles become easier to pull or tear with age. Bones become brittler. Tendons are not as supple. In a sense you're right':all pitching is risky, but risk rises with age.

[gold23]

What the Yanks have are two dramatically aging pitchers, two guys with serious injury histories and Chacon, the great mystery man.
Chacin gets it up to the low 90s and added a cut fastball in '05 that's apparently very effective against righties.
For some reason people's notion of what constitutes a good starter has gotten skewed over the years. Anyone with an ERA at about 4.00 is solid. Burnett 's ERA was full half run below that. He's also averaging pretty close to a strikeout an inning. With Halladay and Burnett the Jays have two potentially dominating starters who can shut a team down in a short series. That by itself makes them dangerous. Their three remaining starters and the pen are solid with a lot fewer questions that reside in Boston and New York.
As I said I don't think they have the hitting to be championship contenders, but they made great strides this offseason. Another bat or two and look out.

I guess we just slightly disagree on the quality of the Jays staff. I agree there are fewer questions, but that is not a good thing for the Jays. The Jays have mediocre pitchers in their pen- it's not a question of whether they will be excellent or not- it is a question of whether they will be decent like last year or revert to mediocrity as their whole careers have shown. With all the question someone like Farsnworth comes with, he's head and shoulders above everyone in the Jays pen below Ryan. As for Burnett, he's put up a 3.03 era in a tremendous pitcher's park and a 4.17 era on the road over the past three seasons. Add the difference of the AL East compared to the NL East, and you have the mold of a talented pitcher who has not done anything remarkable. He's so far below Halladay right now, he can't even see him.

[Snatch Catch]

This is nonsense. Of course age is an issue. Muscles become easier to pull or tear with age. Bones become brittler. Tendons are not as supple. In a sense you're right':all pitching is risky, but risk rises with age.

That's not necessarily true.

General injury, probably true, as it would be in all human beings, but these are highly consitioned athletes. The probability of injury based on age is completely dependent on the bio-physical makeup of the individual.

I would argue that injuries in pitchers are MUCH more a product of their physical makeup than it is their age. Mechanics also play an enormous role. Being that their primary concern is their arm/shoulder, it may be that you either have it or you don't.

RJ has "it". Wakefield has "it".

Wood does not have "it". Ismael Valdes does not have "it". Burnett did not have "it".

[Kulish29]

Wood does not have "it". Ismael Valdes does not have "it". Burnett did not have "it".

They should try eBay.

[StaceyRosie]

Yes.

The addition of a 300-pound catcher, who in his best season posted a 110 OPS+, easily puts the Blue Jays ahead of the Red Sox.

Come on 300 lbs is overstating it a bit, no? He's 297.

[Snatch Catch]

They should try eBay.

[keg411]

Burnett is one of those pitchers that is either really really really good or completely gets creamed. And sometimes he walks too many and sometimes he strikes out a ton, but still gives up a ton of hits/runs. But he's EXTREMELY inconsistent. And the injury history looms -- it's not just the Tommy John, but I think he had some concerns last year as well as he pitched horribly down the stretch and missed time. The attitude is a concern as well, as the Marlins pretty much threw him out the door at the end of the season, money or not.

I think Chacin is a decent starter -- the thing is that the Yanks simply owned him last year as a rookie (there was more than one game where he gave up 6ER, IIRC). Whether Chacin adjusts is yet to be determined.

I think the Jays begin and end with Halladay. If he can stay healthy, they have a great chance to compete. If he can't, they'll likely finish third again.

[Panamaniac42]

Come on 300 lbs is overstating it a bit, no? He's 297.

Yeah he is pretty plump...and very insecure about it as well.

I don't know if you recall a game vs. the Angels (think it was when Posada broke his nose in 04?) when ARod ran all the way to the pitcher's mound before throwing to first and Molina practically wanted to fight him because he thought he was "showing him up", when in reality ARod was over there because he was charging hard and took a few steps more before getting rid of it. Molina kept was still upset about it even a couple innings later when ARod came to bat.

If the Jays were getting Yadier Molina I'd be impressed. Bengie's body is going to get old real fast.

[StaceyRosie]

I don't know if you recall a game vs. the Angels (think it was when Posada broke his nose in 04?) when ARod ran all the way to the pitcher's mound before throwing to first and Molina practically wanted to fight him because he thought he was "showing him up", when in reality ARod was over there because he was charging hard and took a few steps more before getting rid of it. Molina kept was still upset about it even a couple innings later when ARod came to bat.

Do I remember? I was laughing my ass off for a good 5 minutes. And I still laugh thinking about it. I could beat Bengie Molina to first from third on a bad knee and bad ankle!

[DontHateOnNumber2]

Yeah he is pretty plump...and very insecure about it as well.

I don't know if you recall a game vs. the Angels (think it was when Posada broke his nose in 04?) when ARod ran all the way to the pitcher's mound before throwing to first and Molina practically wanted to fight him because he thought he was "showing him up", when in reality ARod was over there because he was charging hard and took a few steps more before getting rid of it. Molina kept was still upset about it even a couple innings later when ARod came to bat.

If the Jays were getting Yadier Molina I'd be impressed. Bengie's body is going to get old real fast.

Yeah, him carrying that weight and holding it up while in position will probably wear on his knees first. As far as his lack of speed I could never forget that, I'm sure I could run a bit past the pitcher's mound and still get the put out.

[ruthianblast]

I certainly don't like the Molina move if it turns out to be true. I also don't think that people are overestimating the Jays...if someone predicts the Jays to win the East; yes they are overestimating. But for someone to say with all of the additions that the Jays will compete and possibly win the Wild Card I don't is an overestimation at all. At the beginning of last year I don't think the White Sox got any credit and I beg you to find a site that had them beating the Twins out for the Central let alone a favored contender to win the World Series...I dare you, I triple dog dare you.

The Jays have a good team, are they good enough to beat the Yankees if both teams go without injuries and every player on both teams perform to their career bests, no. But if that pitching staff can stay healthy, Burnett and Halladay especially they are going to be a good team. Halladay is a good enough pitcher to win 20 games again, Burnett if he develop some consistency can win 15-20, Lilly is good for 10-15, and Chacin though a rookie last year did a hell of a good job. The team had a good core last year; they added to it, Hudson's Defensive loss is pretty big up the middle, but overall I think the team got way, way better.

[Kulish29]

I certainly don't like the Molina move if it turns out to be true. I also don't think that people are overestimating the Jays...if someone predicts the Jays to win the East; yes they are overestimating. But for someone to say with all of the additions that the Jays will compete and possibly win the Wild Card I don't is an overestimation at all. At the beginning of last year I don't think the White Sox got any credit and I beg you to find a site that had them beating the Twins out for the Central let alone a favored contender to win the World Series...I dare you, I triple dog dare you.

The Jays have a good team, are they good enough to beat the Yankees if both teams go without injuries and every player on both teams perform to their career bests, no. But if that pitching staff can stay healthy, Burnett and Halladay especially they are going to be a good team. Halladay is a good enough pitcher to win 20 games again, Burnett if he develop some consistency can win 15-20, Lilly is good for 10-15, and Chacin though a rookie last year did a hell of a good job. The team had a good core last year; they added to it, Hudson's Defensive loss is pretty big up the middle, but overall I think the team got way, way better.

You're overestimating Molina. He's got a career OPS+ of 84. He's simply not that good.

[ruthianblast]

You're overestimating Molina. He's got a career OPS+ of 84. He's simply not that good.

You didn't read what I wrote apparently, I DON'T like Molina....

[38Special]

GZaun Career: .251/.342/.375 - 717 OPS
Molina Career: .273/.309/.397 - 706 OPS

[SouthernBoSox]

And Zaun's name even sounds cooler. Really I don't see why they did this signing but its not that bad since it is just one year.

[Panamaniac42]

Do I remember? I was laughing my ass off for a good 5 minutes. And I still laugh thinking about it. I could beat Bengie Molina to first from third on a bad knee and bad ankle!

Holy sh*t...I think this is when Percival's injury problems started:





That poor bastard. You can tell Glaus is running over to try and save him, but it's too late.

Wikipedia: "His fastball, once clocked consistently at 96 -100 MPH, was down to about 92 - 93 MPH in 2004, due to a degenerative hip condition that first appeared in 2003, which forced him to alter his pitching delivery."

The picture is from 2002. Is it no suprise Percy's condition appeared soon thereafter in 2003? Look at the way he's standing...he's already bearing his own weight (235 lb) on his right leg, then that slob jumps on top of him. My hip would be messed up too, if not my back.

Of course I'm not being serious

[SouthernBoSox]

Holy sh*t...I think this is when Percival's injury problems started:





That poor bastard. You can tell Glaus is running over to try and save him, but it's too late.

Wikipedia: "His fastball, once clocked consistently at 96 -100 MPH, was down to about 92 - 93 MPH in 2004, due to a degenerative hip condition that first appeared in 2003, which forced him to alter his pitching delivery."

The picture is from 2002. Is it no suprise Percy's condition appeared soon thereafter in 2003? Look at the way he's standing...he's already bearing his own weight (235 lb) on his right leg, then that slob jumps on top of him. My hip would be messed up too, if not my back.

Of course I'm not being serious

Of course you arn't but I wouldn't even be suprised if that screwed up his back. I mean that can really jack someone up. I remember Tek jumping on Foulke and it looked like Foulke was about to die from the strain. Then what do ya know he is injured and can't pitch the next year.

It really is amazing Mo is still alive!

[Panamaniac42]

Of course you arn't but I wouldn't even be suprised if that screwed up his back. I mean that can really jack someone up. I remember Tek jumping on Foulke and it looked like Foulke was about to die from the strain. Then what do ya know he is injured and can't pitch the next year.

It really is amazing Mo is still alive!

Heck yeah man, I cringe everytime I see a pileup, even if it isn't my team that's celebrating.

There is no good that can come out of 200+ pounds (in Molina's case 250+) jumping into your arms without much warning.

Then when everybody and their mother who was sprinting out of the dugout smacks the crap out of you and you topple over onto the ground and to the bottom of a pile...damn.

[Panamaniac42]

Anyway they should now trade Quiroz and either Hillenbrand or Hinske for something they need.

[jonnyc39]

Man are the Jays better than the Red Sox?

Bengie Molina = Power signing that definitely tips the scales.

[brosiusbuddy]

I actually think people are discounting the quality of the Red Sox bullpen upgrade, as well as a major 2B improvement while not taking serious hits anywhere else (other than possibly SS, though Renteria was putrid most of the year).

I hate to turn this into a Red Sox thing, but I dont think people are underestimating Boston, but just acknowledging that they have to have a lot of things go right for the team to be as successful as it has been over the past few seasons. There is no team with as many new pieces as Boston. And that is huge for a team that admittedly relied a lot on chemistry to maintain success throughout the past few years. The loss of Damon, Mueller and Millar will have a big effect. Boston will no longer be the same unique team.

Also, they have no definite closer as of now.

[flymick24]

Of course you arn't but I wouldn't even be suprised if that screwed up his back. I mean that can really jack someone up. I remember Tek jumping on Foulke and it looked like Foulke was about to die from the strain. Then what do ya know he is injured and can't pitch the next year.

It really is amazing Mo is still alive!

mo has been smart about things because used to be the one jumping onto the catcher or kneeling down.

wetteland also jumped into girardi's arms after the 96 series.

[JeffWeaverFan]

Bengie Molina = Power signing that definitely tips the scales.

Bengie Molina = a downgrade from Greg Zaun.

[jonnyc39]

Bengie Molina = a downgrade from Greg Zaun.

Yes. Perhaps my sarcasm wasn't obvious.

[Looie #19]

Ken Rosenthal cementing his status as BBW of the year.

I still think it's Queen Latifah's title to lose.