Burnett At Fenway?

Some things that Theo may address at the deadline:

- Right Field?

With Trot Nixon probably out for a significant amount of time, the Sox won’t depend on the combination of Kapler, Stern and Hzydu to maintain the gap in right field. There have been some rumblings about Jose Cruz Jr. possibly coming to Boston, as he was designated for assignment yesterday. Cruz’s batting average is really low, but he gets on base a lot. Sort of reminds me another Mark Bellhorn if you reduce the strikeout rate. Bigbie is another option, but he’s in the division. I say the Sox either make a major push for Adam Dunn or grab Austin Kearns for some prospects from the Reds.

-The bullpen?

We all know Schilling will return to the rotation sooner or later, and who knows Keith Foulke’s timetable at this point? The biggest name floating out there is a possible Mueller for Romero or Mueller and Millar for Romero and Mays trade. The problem: the Red Sox don’t like Mays, are not too keen on giving up on Mueller and would rather get Kyle Lohse in the deal. If the Twins offer Lohse instead of Mays, then it becomes possible. Another rumor is that the Sox would trade Arroyo and Sanchez for Burnett, then ship Burnett to Philly for Billy Wagner. I don’t see that happening. It appears that the Devil Rays want too much for Danys Baez, also.

- Another starter?

Of course, Burnett is the leading candidate to be a Red Sock in the next week, especially with Clement going down. But that would mean trading Arroyo, Anibal Sanchez and possibly another player, and Theo may look another way. Mark Redman isn’t a bad alternative, although I can see this turning into another Jeff Suppan situation.

- Second base?

Alfonso Soriano is the big name. Some reports say that Tom Hicks wants to get rid of him, and others say the Rangers want to keep him. Regardless, I doubt the Red Sox would get involved, because it would most likely take Hanley Ramirez or pitcher Jon Lester to complete a blockbuster deal. But is Alex Cora and Tony Graffanino the world championship solution at that position? I don’t think so.


We could see a major makeover of this Red Sox team before the deadline. They have yet to find their identity in 2005, but maybe this will trigger something special where they go on a huge winning streak. Who knows? I just don’t know if I trust this group of guys to take the Sox to the promised land once again.