Peter Gammons Chat Wrap

Peter Gammons stopped by Boston.com to chat with sports fans about all things Red Sox. Below are some of the highlights.


- With the additions of Smotlz and Penny the Sox have one of the best rotations in all of baseball.:

Gammons: "Obviously Josh Beckett has to be healthy and I think they really improved the set up crew in front of Papelbon with the addition of Ramirez, and Masterson and Okajima. Obviously they should have three really good starters, the alternatives with Wake, Smoltz, Penny, Buchholz, and Bowden could be potentially the deepest staff in the league. I lovve the Smoltz signiing. Both John Farrel and Ben Cherington went to Atlanta to watch him throw and were very impressed. And Smoltz is one of those rare players who thrives on pressure and crowds."

- About young catchers on the Sox radar screen:

Gammons: "There's a difference between wish list and realistic wish list, but right now, they seem to be focused on Miguel Montero from Arizona, with Saltamacchia in Texas a possibility. Early in the fall, they tried to make a run at Russel Martin of the Dodgers and Mike Napoli of the Angels, but without success. They can have Montero if they'll trade Michael Bowden but thus far the Red Sox have refused to trade him."

- Why the Sox are leaving Masterson in the bullpen instead of starting him:

Gammons: "There's still a chance that Masterson will start, but until he blossomed late in last season, the 7th and 8th innings were serious problems for the Red Sox. I agree that 600 outs are worth more than about 200 outs, but the Red Sox do need a strong bullpen and his learning to finish games could make him a better starter two years down the line."

- Will MLB teams consider sign and trades to avoid losing 1st round draft picks, as in the case of Jason Varitek:

Gammons: "That is a great question. I think it's a possibility and I only think it's fair. Scott Boras can explain to Varitek why he turned down arbitration. And Boras has to understand that Florida will never give up their first draft choice to sign a 37-year-old catcher. Considering the depth of the Fla. farm system, the Red Sox probably could get the equivalent of a sandwich pick if the Marlins are willing to give Varitek $5 million."

- The status of Clay Buchholz:

Gammons: " I still think he can be a No. 2 starter in the big leagues. There were front office people from the Marlins nad Dodgers who saw him in Az. and believe he can be a No. 1 starter. My guess is they'll send him down to begin the season and let him prove that he has enough command of his fastball to make his changeup and curveball that much better."

- Do the Sox need another big bat to hit behind Ortiz?

Gammons: "What they need will depend on the health of both Ortiz and Mike Lowell. Ortiz's 190 point decline in OPS wasn't because of who was hitting behind him b/c Manny Ramirez only batted behind Ortiz in 7 games of 2006 and 2007, and in '07 Ortiz led the major leagues in Sept. OPS. I do think that the economy is going to force some teams to have to unload salary in June and July and the Red Sox are so under budget that they're going to be in a great position to acquire a contract when they know exactly what they need. For instance, if J.D. Drew is hurt come the middle of June, a player like Magglio Ordonez may be available because of the economy in Detroit, and that contract would only cost them for a season and a half."

- Are there any trades for Theo to make before the season starts?

Gammons: "If they make a trade, I still believe it will be for a catcher. And that might not happen until spring training when teams like the Rangers, D'backs, and Angels have had the opportunity to assess their pitching."

A reminder that Peter Gammons presents Hot Stove Cool Music tomorrow, for tickets and information vist www.hotstovecoolmusic.org. ITM will attend the Hot Stove round table discussion at Fenway Park and we'll have our thoughts and hopefully some pictures for those who could no attend.

Thanks to Peter Gammons and Boston.com, the full transcript can be seen on boston.com.

Clay Buchholz, Now or Never?

Talking with a buddy of mine last week about the Red Sox catching situation we wondered if the Sox are going to attempt to trade for a young catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia of Texas was our focus. After signing Brad Penny and John Smoltz for this year the Sox have pitching depth, however all we ever hear is that Theo Epstein is hesitant to deal his young starting pitchers. That prompted my buddy Chris to pose the question; "Is Bucholz more Jon Lester (be patient and he'll become what we expect) or more Craig Hansen (young, looks great but just not gonna get there)?"

Jon Lester was drafted in the second round by the Red Sox in 2002. Lester quickly moved threw the minor league system, being called up in June of 2006. Lester pitched well in his rookie year starting 15 games, winning 7 and losing 2 with an ERA of 4.76. Lester's biggest problem was throwing strikes, I distinctly remember a lot of full counts and early exits for him. In 2007 Lester averaged 5.25 innings/start and in 2006 it was 5.4.

In 2008 Lester started 33 games, with a 16-6 record and a 3.21 ERA. Lester pitched 210 innings, averaging 6.4 innings/start with 2 complete games. He figured it out.

Craig Hansen was drafted by the Red Sox in 2005 with the 26th pick overall, first round. He made his major league debut later that season, going on to make 4 appearances. In June of 2006 Hanson was called up to help a struggling bullpen; Hansen did little to add any 'relief' to the situation, ending the season with a 6.63 ERA . In 2007 Hansen spent the entire year in Pawtucket with an ERA of 3.86, however he was never called up to pitch for the big club.

Hanson was trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Brandon Moss as part of the deal that sent Manny Ramirez out of town at the 2008 trade deadline. Hansen never figured it out.

Clay Buchholz is staring is Red Sox future in the face as he enters spring training this season. Buchholz is a highly revered prospect and his name swirls with any trade discussion, however to this point Theo has yet to deal him.

Everyone remembers Buchholz's no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in September of 2007, the game was a look at the future ace of Bostons pitching staff. However 2008 was not a good year for Clay, he started 15 games with a 2-9 record and an ERA of 6.75. The Sox were 3-12 in games Buchholz started, and the synopsis of his season was a late August start against the same Baltimore team he no hit; Buchholz went 2 1/3 innings and was sent down to double A Portland after the game.

Like Lester and Hanson, Buchholz was drafted early by the Red Sox. (Buchholz was the 42nd pick overall, a sandwich pick the Sox received for losing Pedro Martinez to free agency.) Is this the year when Buchholz figures out what he's doing wrong on the mound and adjusts to the hitters in the major leagues?

Francona admitted that perhaps the Sox rushed Craig Hansen in the big leagues, Lester was given time to work through his control problems and turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball. Will Buchholz recover from the change in his release point and remember how to throw his lights out change up again?

It's been rumored the Texas Rangers want Buchholz for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Does Theo sell high on Buchholz and hope Saltalamacchia develops into one of the best catchers in the game to replace Jason Varitek; or does he wait to see how Buchholz performs to start the season and move him at the trading deadline? Option 3 would to keep Buchholz and continue to develop him and hope he finds his no hitter form again.

I don't know what's going to happen with Buchholz, but from everything I've heard about Saltalamacchia, he's got the potential to be the real deal. I suspect if Theo hasn't pulled the trigger on a deal for him yet involving Clay, Theo and his boys must still be really high on Buchholz coming into this year.

Regardless of what happens Buchholz is looking at a fork in the road. Is he going to follow Craig Hanson down the road of pitching mediocrity or take the road traveled by Jon Lester and become one of the aces of the Red Sox?