Tom Brady: The Almost Montreal Expo

The trials and tribulations of Tom Brady at Michigan are well-documented. Behind bigger phenom Drew Henson on the quarterback depth chart, Brady seemed buried in Big Ten obscurity. But based on how his high school coach saw things, football was a long shot anyway. Brady was a star left-handed hitting catcher in high school—a 6'4" hitting and throwing machine. Major League scouts were all over him—particularly one from the Montreal Expos. Les Expos drafted him in the 18th round (about the same level of disrespect as his 6th round NFL selection later on). But the only reason for the low baseball draft position was the fear that he would live up to his commitment to play football at Michigan. It was not a commentary on his talent—which was prodigious. So, if things had gone differently, Tom Brady might be winding down his catching career with the Washington Nationals and not vying for his fourth Super Bowl ring.

Youk: 'Witch Hunt' After BlackSeptember

At his annual fundraiser for his "Youk's Kid's" charity, Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis said he thought the team was subjected to a "witch hunt" from the public and media after their historic September collapse. Said Youk:

“It kind of seemed like it was a witch hunt — what player’s doing this, what player did that wrong? We’re a team. We lose as a team, and we all failed. There’s not one player that didn’t fail because we lost, and we all failed.”

It was also revealed yesterday that Youkilis has been cleared to resume all baseball activities, as he recovers from October 4th surgery for a sports hernia.

Athletics May Be Open To Signing Manny

According to multiple reports, Oakland (soon to be San Jose) Athletics owner Lew Wolff has hinted that he'd be amenable to signing Manny Ramirez. ManRam would have to serve his PED suspension for the first fifty games of his tenure with any MLB team, but the A's are so depleted by trades this off-season, it might be worth the gamble.

Cody Ross Deal Is Now Official

The Red Sox formalized a one-year contract with outfielder Cody Ross for $3 million—which also includes performance bonuses. To clear space on the 40-man roster, Boston also released pitcher Scott Atchison.

The 31-year-old Ross is a nice complementary player, but will be pressed in to pretty heavy service in the new Red Sox K-Mart Mode. Ross hit 14 home runs last year while hitting .240 with a .730 OPS.

Shortstop Most Troubling Red Sox Position

Early voting on our latest FenwayNation Poll shows that a majority (51.2%) of readers think shortstop is the most troubling position on the 2012 Red Sox.

Starting pitching places second at 39.0%, while the issues in right field lag behind at 9.8%. You can still vote in the Most Troubling Position Poll HERE.

FN Poll: Which Position Is Most Troubling?

If Poll Not Visible, Click HERE

Four Sox Prospects Place In MLB's Top 100

Major League Baseball announced their list of the 100 top prospects in the game—and four of them are in the Red Sox system. Highest ranked was third baseman Will Middlebrooks (#56, pitcured), whose power display last year opened many an eye in the Nation. Next in the ranking was SS phenom Xander Bogaerts (#76), who many feel may also wind up at third base (creating a choice trade opportunity of one of these players for Boston). Next up was intriguing 23-year old slugging OF Bryce Brentz (#64), who clouted 19 home runs in A ball last year. Finally, Ryan Lavarnway posted at #93, a player many Red Sox fans grew to know and love last season with his pop at the plate. While Boston placed only four players in the ranking, they are all offensive forces that will insure that fans will see plenty of hitting at Fenway for years to come.

Former Sox Infielder Alex Cora To Retire

Believe it or not, there was a time when many voices in the Nation called for Alex Cora to supplant a young, shaky Dustin Pedroia at second base. Now, Cora has announced his retirement from baseball at age 36. After completing play in the Puerto Rican Winter League, Cora called it quits on his 14-year career. He spent a total of four years in Boston, hitting a respectable .252 and filling in at second, short and third base. He was a consummate professional and showed an acute knowledge of the game that many think will land him coaching responsibilities in the big leagues. We wish him well.

Former Sox Hurler Richardson Suspended

Former Red Sox left-hander Dustin Richardson was suspended for 50 games by MLB for testing positive to a range of performance enhancing drugs—including mphetamine, Letrozole and metabolite, Methandienone metabolite, Methenelone and metabolite, and Trenbolone and metabolite. Richardson showed some promise in his Red Sox tenure, but ended up playing just 29 games for the Carmine Hose. He was dealt to the then-Florida Marlins for Andrew Miller in November of 2010. Last year, the Braves picked him up off waivers from the Marlins.

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Bailey

The Red Sox and their new closer Andrew Bailey agreed to a one-year, $3.9 million deal—avoiding arbitration. Bailey was looking for $4.7 million, while Boston was countering with $3.5 million. Bailey will face the daunting task of filling the shoes of the best Red Sox closer ever. Papelbon, despite his many ups and downs, was a rock at the end of games—posting 217 saves over 7 seasons with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings and a WHIP of 1.018.

Red Sox Prefer Edwin Jackson To Oswalt

UPDATE: Red Sox have offered Oswalt a one-year, $5million deal. On the heels of reports that Roy Oswalt rejected a Red Sox contract offer, word is that the team prefers Edwin Jackson to Oswalt anyway. This may be Lucchino-esque spin from Yawkey Way, but ESPN's Jim Bowden reports that Boston is now in discussions with Jackson. The 28-year old Jackson is a workhorse, 200-inning guy, but hasn't delivered the results Oswalt has. Jackson might, at this point in the off-season, be willing to lower his earlier demands (5-years, $15 million) and accept a one-year deal. We will keep you posted.

Oswalt May Have Rejected Red Sox Offer

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Red Sox offered a contract to right-handed starter Roy Oswalt—but he may have rejected it. Word is that, after having already rejected a Detroit offer, he may prefer the Reds, Cardinals or Rangers.

Jenny Dell Is Reportedly NESN's New Heidi

Multiple reports suggest that Tom Werner (who, don't forget, gave us Roseanne Barr) has picked Heidi Watney's replacement. Word is that ESPN's Jenny Dell is NESN's choice to be the new Red Sox on-field reporter. Chances are these reports are correct, since all of Dell's reporting videos have been yanked off ESPN. This decision, of course, runs afoul of our readers' choice of Kelly Malone—who is both competent and local.

Honestly, we know nothing of Ms. Dell (pictured here at Fenway in 2010)—except that football, not baseball, appears to be her main gig. Maybe we're jumping the gun, but this decision seems to fit with all the other ones made by the NOG this off-season.

Are The Sox About To Make A Big Trade?

The Red Sox have a dilemma: a full 40-man roster and nowhere to put newcomer Cody Ross. As the Providence Journal's Brian McPherson points out, something's got to give. What that something might be is a trade—either a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 swap for a starter or a blockbuster deal for SS Hanley Ramirez. Clearly, there is need at both positions. It's hard to believe that Boston will go to war with Nick Punto at shortstop. And 'Lester-Beckett-Buchholz-Bard-Whomever' may not be good enough to contend in the AL East. Apparently, the NOG will not spend any more significant cash on free agents like Roy Oswalt. So, a trade seems the most likely scenario—even with the depleted stock of top minor leaguers in the system. Some have suggested that teams like the re-building White Sox might take a chance or two on marginal prospects in the Sox system in exchange for a guy like Gavin Floyd. Getting Ramirez, of course, would require higher-level prospects and a major league player or two. Both are tough choices, but something needs to be done soon.

Prince Fielder Deal Has Boston Angles

In case you hadn't already noticed, everything that happens in the world has some connection to the Boston Red Sox. So it should come as no surprise that Detroit's signing of Prince Fielder has a Carmine-tinged thread through it as well. If former Boston catcher Victor Martinez had not torn his ACL, the Tigers would probably not have pursed The Big Vegetarian. With V-Mart's season-ending injury fresh in their minds, the Tabbys had to get more offense to remain the favorites in the AL Central. So, they overspent ($214 million) and over-extended (nine years) the big fella. Otherwise, he likely would have landed a deal in the National League with a far shorter term. Of course, he would also have been out of our hair. As it stands now, the Tigers are yet another obstacle to the Red Sox reaching the post-season. Even if Bud anoints another Wild Card team this year, that means six quality teams (New York, Tampa, Boston, Detroit, Texas, and Anaheim) are vying for only a maximum of five spots—maybe only four. This, of course, does not account for another surprise team or two emerging as contenders (Toronto, for example). So, while it's all connected to Boston, none of it bodes well for Boston.

Posada Gets Our Grudging Respect

In all my Yankee-hating years, I've only respected four pinstripers—Yogi Berra, Joe Torre, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. I didn't say like, I said respect. Posada retired today. To be honest, Posada was a borderline case—his head-pointing antics back and forth with Pedro always rubbed me the wrong way. But, Posada was an All-Star five times and had 1,664 hits over a 17-year career. And a lot of those hits were clutch, back-breaking ones against your Carmine Hose. He played hard, he played hurt, he played well. I hated seeing him come up in a key spot, didn't you? And there's another reason to respect Posada—loyalty. There are precious few players left who value being with one franchise from start to finish. Our own Jason Varitek is one. Posada is another. He probably could have caught on with someone outside the Bronx this year, but he preferred retiring. As he put it, "I could never wear another uniform. I will forever be a Yankee." Loyalty, even to the Evil Ones, has to be respected.

What's The Dissolution With J. D. Drew?

According to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, J.D. Drew is "very likely" to retire. It's obvious the Red Sox didn't want him back, and Scott Boras wasn't carting around "the big book" much on J.D.'s behalf. While it's extremely easy to bash J.D. for his career in Boston (constant injuries, lackadaisical attitude, the famous "Statue Of Liberty" play on Jacoby's steal of home), the fact is that he was a pretty productive player. I know, I know—revisionist history through the lens of Theo Epstein. But consider this: In his five years with Boston, he hit .264 with a .370 OBP and an .824 OPS. Nothing dazzling, but certainly not a slug. He averaged 16 home runs and 57 RBI in his time here. All in all, not horrific—but certainly not enough to justify his salary. Moreover, all of these stats are below his career 162-game average. Those career numbers are: 25 HRs, 82 RBIs, .278 AVG, .384 OBP, .873 OPS. So, if he had just performed to his career norm, his legacy in Boston would have been a positive one. But, he fell short. And one heroic ALCS Grand Slam will not outweigh that failure.

Red Sox Sign OF Cody Ross

Multiple reports suggest that the Red Sox have signed former Giants OF Cody Ross to a contract ($3 million base, with incentives). Presumably, Ross would platoon in RF with Ryan Sweeney--and, at least temporarily, play left field until Carl Crawford is ready.

Scutaro Trade Paves The Way For Oswalt

UPDATE: Oswalt Turns Down Tabbies. The Red Sox traded away shortstop Marco Scutaro to Colorado for RP Clayton Mortenson. But more importantly, the move clears $6 million of salary—allowing Boston to seriously pursue Roy Oswalt. Of course, the team now basically has no legitimate shortstop—with Mike Aviles (slated to play a lot in RF), Nick Punto (a perennial back-up) and Jose Iglesias (still raw) the only players in the mix. One has to assume another move to shore up this position.

Red Sox Shake-Up Medical Staff

Just as more questions arise about Carl Crawford's recent wrist surgery, the Red Sox have shaken up their medical staff from Head Athletic Trainer to Strength and Conditioning Coach to Head Team Internist. This long overdue restructuring is a welcome sign that the Red Sox might finally be taking a critical piece of team competitiveness seriously.

Texas Inks 'Dice-K 2.0' To 6-Year $60M Deal

The American League Champion Texas Rangers significantly upgraded their rotation by signing Japanese star Yu Darvish to a 6-year, $60 million contract. With the posting fee added in, Texas committed over $111 million to the 25-year old righty—known in some circles as "Dice-K 2.0". Getting to the World Series just got a little tougher for the Red Sox. (Photos by AP Photos/Kyodo)