That's the good news.  And given that it went missing for a while, that is good news.  Sadly, however, there is also some bad news.  The thing is, what happened to it is proof that you can't make some stuff up, and that truth really is stranger than fiction.  Because the truth is that Papelbon's dog ate it:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3163105

http://www.minorleagueball.com/story/2007/12/14/161952/59

Looks a lot like what we see around here, though there are some names I haven't heard bandied about, like Josh Reddick, Dustin Richardson, and Zach Daeges.  Regardless, if you compare the scores our prospects got to what other teams' prospects score, it's obvious he likes our farm system, which is nice to see.

[editor's note, by Allen Chace] Figured I'd front-page this, since it's gotten some discussion. Interested? Know a way to work this out with our roster?

I'm wondering about the possibility of the Sox going with a 6-man rotation in 2008.  You've got six possible members of the rotation, two of whom are over 40 (Schilling and Wakefield), two of whom will be innings limited (Lester and Buchholz), and one who never pitched in a 5-man rotation until last year and wore down by the end of the season (Matsuzaka).  Only Beckett is an obvious candidate for a 5-man rotation, and it's possible that we could occasionally move him up in the rotation or skip a start from one of the others in order to let him pitch more often.  

It's definitely a radical notion, but given our starting pitching for next year, it might be our best option.  One concern is whether our pitchers would have trouble reverting back to a 5-man rotation in subsequent years (or in the event of an injury).  Another is that carrying an additional starting pitcher would mean that we'd have to go with one less reliever or one less bench field player.  

Seems that one of our minor league affiliates, Lancaster (A), lost a heartbreaker last night.  Ok, maaaaybe "heartbreaker" isn't the right word.  The JetHawks lost, got creamed, destroyed, obliterated -- pick your verb and it still won't do it justice.  Try 30-0 at the hands of Lake Elsinore, a Padres affiliate.  The two teams are now part of a 3-way tie for first(!) in their division.  Maybe the team can win Saturday and Sunday to take the weekend series and end up in first by themselves.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070519&content_id=245802&vkey=news _milb&fext=.jsp
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_05_18_lesa fa_lncafa_1

ESPN.com is reporting that Manny wants to retire as a member of the Red Sox:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2007/news/story?id=2782750

If this news is to be believed, I think this is great news -- he's one of the best hitters in the game, and I'm not sure any left fielder can replace his offense.  That being said, forgive me if history causes me to feel a bit skeptical.

Poll

Will Manny Ask to be Traded in 2007?

• Yes -- Why should 2007 be any different than any of the past three years?
• No -- Manny figures his best chance of getting traded is to pretend to be happy, thereby giving the Red Sox the leverage they need to do better than 75 cents on the dollar in a trade.
• No -- Rather than go public with his trade request, Manny is about to embark on a string of "injuries" like the one he had last Fall, which will cause the Red Sox to do whatever it takes to get rid of him.
• No -- Manny has genuinely turned a new leaf, and looks forward to being a Red Sox for the rest of his career.

  20 votes | Results

[editor's note, by Randy Booth] I just read the story on the wire:

Curt Schilling said Monday he will not retire at the end of the 2007 season as previously indicated and plans to pitch for the Boston Red Sox in 2008.

The 40-year-old Schilling made his comments on WEEI-AM radio and confirmed them to The Associated Press.

The right-hander's contract with the Red Sox ends after the 2007 season, but he said he was in discussions for an extension. If he can't work out a deal in Boston, he will pitch for another team _ but not the New York Yankees.

"I'm in discussions with the Red Sox, we had talked last week and there's a lot going on obviously right now, but where I'm going to play beyond 2007 ... I hope it's Boston," he told the radio station. "This is where I want to play and in the days leading up to spring training we'll figure it out one way or the other. If I go into this season without a contract from the Red Sox then I will go out and find a home for 2008."

Schilling told the station he decided to play beyond the 2007 season after discussions with his family.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

Schilling will be a free agent after this year.  His 2007 salary is $13 million.  The questions are what he's worth in 2008, and whether the Sox should make an effort to extend his contract during Spring Training (or at least before he becomes an FA).  Matsuzaka, Beckett, Lester and Papelbon are all under contract for 2008, and Wakefield can be if we want him.  Furthermore, there's a decent chance that one or more of the minor league starters could be ready by then.  

Poll

What's Schilling worth to the Red Sox in 2008?

• Nothing. Curt will always be part of Red Sox lore, but by 2008 it'll be time to turn the page toward the future.
• $5 million -- the only way Curt should be on the team is if he takes a significant hometown discount.
• $5 million, plus incentives
• $10 million
• $15 million

  18 votes | Results

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_5099281

6 years left at $15M/year is a looong contract for a 33-year-old with back issues.  Apparently, the Sox would want to throw Clement into any deal -- http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2744952&name=olney_buster&CMP=ILC-INHEAD& amp;action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d 2744952%26name%3dolney_buster%26CMP%3dILC-INHEAD, and the Rockies apparently would want Hansen &/or Delcarmen as well.  

But would his acquisition make the Sox a better club?  It depends on whether he's healthy, and how inflated his numbers have been due to playing in Colorado.  While Helton has been one of the most productive players in baseball, he hasn't hit more than 20 homers in either of the past two seasons despite playing in Colorado, and the power outage can be attributed at least partly to his bad back.  He's a 3-time gold glover, but Youk was solid at first, and of course Lowell was fantastic at third, so it's not clear how much of an upgrade he'd be defensively.  

So I guess I'd say that it probably wouldn't be the right move, regardless of how little we'd have to give up.  Now if he could be a lights-out closer....

Poll

Should the Red Sox pursue Todd Helton?

• No way -- the Sox don't need a past-his-prime player with 6 years left on his mega-contract.
• Yes, for the right deal -- he could be a significant boost to the club.
• Absolutely, if he's on the block, do whatever's necessary -- Helton would make an already dangerous lineup absolutely lethal.

  62 votes | Results

...and takes a front-office job with the Dodgers.
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/11/17/mueller_retires_takes_front_office_job/

It too bad that injuries have forced him to retire.  I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor -- Bill is a class act, and he was one of the keys to 2004.  

Seeing a guy we traded away in the acquisition of a 5+ ERA pitcher throw a no-hitter made me take a look at how poorly our GMs (the plural in recognition of the brief non-Theo period) have done over the past year.  Let's review the basic deals (I've omitted some of the peripheral players) --

The good:

1.  Signing Gonzalez.  This might be the team's best decision, as he provided stellar defense and more-than-expected offense.
2.  Mirabelli for Loretta.  No complaints here.  We added an all-star second baseman for an every fifth day catcher who can't hit .190.
3. The draft.  Sickels rates our haul as one of the best in the league.
4.  Wells for Kotteras.  At least they recognized when the season was lost and got a decent prospect for Wells.

The OK:

5.  Marte for Renteria.  Renteria has rebounded incredibly well, and arguably would have been much better in his second year with the team.  Meanwhile, Marte is still a top prospect, so I figure this is a wash, but for the fact that we're paying millions of Renteria's salary.

The Bads:

6. Not re-signing Damon.  I think he probably would have been wrapped up for 4 years, $40 million, but the team refused to guarantee a 4th year.  We'll see what he offers in year four, but this year he would have more than earned that $10 million.
7. Lowell and Beckett for Sanchez and Ramirez.  Admittedly Lowell has been a bright spot here, but while Beckett has pitched well at times, it's hard to argue with an ERA over 5.  Ramirez already is a better lead-off batter than Crisp ever will be, and tonight Sanchez lowered his ERA to below 3.  In other words, Florida ended up with at least as much talent, and is paying ~$13 million (guess, not actually looked up) less this year, with a bigger gap next year.
8.  Bard and Meredith for Mirabelli.  We gave up too early on a solid catcher (.321 BA) who needed more time to get used to Wake, and Meredith has an 0.79 ERA in 34+ innings.
9.  Arroyo for Pena.  Maybe Pena will be an awesome outfielder, and certainly Arroyo wouldn't have put up those numbers with Boston.  But in a year we were losing starting pitchers all over the place, we gave away a solid #4-5 pitcher in exchange for a 4th outfielder.  That Arroyo never pitched another inning after signing for a hometown discount adds insult to injury.

The ugly:

10.  Crisp for Marte.  We gave up one of the top prospects in baseball for a guy we might be dumping after a year.  I think that says it all right there.
11.  Signing Beckett to a 3 year, $30 million extension.  EXCUSE ME??  

So by my count, we've got 4 positives, one neutral, 4 bads, and 2 wretcheds.  That adds up to a poor record in my book.

According to espn.com, there's at least an 80% chance Wells is going to be traded in the next day or two.  

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2565280

He passed thru waivers right after his disastrous July 31 appearance, and as we all know, he's been pitching great since then, meaning he's got as great a tradeability as you could ask for in a one-month rental.

As banged up as we are, I take this as the clinching sign that we're throwing in the towel for this year, so hopefully whoever we land in a trade will be a useful prospect for the years to come.