Sox lineup finally coming into focus...

Yes folks, you have someone named after a cereal in Center field. Actually his real name is Cavelli believe it or not. For those of you that have seen "A Bronx Tale" (starring DeNiro, and one of our top 10 films of all time by the way), we will be referring to Coco as "C" going forward. (Also note that in the movie, "C" was once a Yankee fan, and now the actor is in jail. No kidding - "You little Mary".)

Apparently the Sox have been very busy & managed to stay under the radar for the past month. Kudos to management "post & pre" Theo for keeping it quiet. Reportedly there have been around 75 calls back & forth with Cleveland to get this thing done. The only hurdle remaining is for Cleveland to spin off part of the trade to get an outfielder (Michaels) from the Phillies to replace Crisp.

The Details

Sox get:

CF - Coco Crisp / Relief Pitcher - David Riske / Catcher - Josh Bard

Indians Get:

Relief Pitcher - Guillermo Mota / Catcher - Kelly Shoppach / 3B - Andy Marte

Who gets the best of this trade? Both teams improved their clubs - both short & long term. Because the trade-off of relievers & catchers is somewhat a wash, the value is Marte for "C".

Sox did fairly well considering they essentially plugged 2 holes with "C" in CF & leadoff. He's a younger version of Damon, probably with more range in the OF, more speed, and a substantially better arm. His numbers aren't all that different from Damon's, and he's only 26, so they should increase. Is he a potential all-star? The only question is how he handles the pressure in Boston, one of Damon's strengths.

The Indians get one of the best rated prospects in the game in Marte, who should be a full time starter no later than next season. He was rated higher than the Sox former prospect Hanley Ramirez in the Beckett deal. Supposedly a good defensive player, but his real value is the pop in his bat. Something that is coveted in corner infields these days. He could also be a potential superstar.

Bottom Line

The Sox improved themselves both now & in the future. They get an above average CF who is 6 years younger than his predecessor, and will more than likely improve especially with this lineup behind him. They did lose a potential superstar (still unproven), but may have received an all-star themselves, who is an established everyday player. They got younger, will be paying less than half of what they would have for Damon, and didn't give up any pitching. In fact, Riske had better numbers than Mota (whose health could be a concern). They also saved a couple dollars with Riske only getting $1.8M in 2006...

Other News:

Sox are supposedly on the verge of signing free agent SS Alex Gonzalez. They are probably waiting for the "C" deal to be final before pulling the trigger. So much for all that "faith" in Alex Cora. Here's a look into Gonzalez's #'s:

2003 - .256 BA, 18HR, 77RBI, 16Errors

2004 - .232 BA, 23HR, 79 RBI, 16E

2005 - .264 BA, 5HR, 45RBI, 16E

Not outstanding, but he's your #9 hitter and solid defensively. Might be a little expensive at $5M per for two seasons, but he's also a mentor to Pedroia. Let's hope that dropoff in power wasn't due to "enhancers". He should be primed to prove folks wrong...

UP NEXT:

Once the deals are final, we'll take a look at the numbers from last year vs what we project for 2006. Stay tuned for updates on Wells & Graffanino...