Joh-on, Joh-off

With the Sox in pursuit of perhaps the best pitcher in the game, you'd think he'd garner more than a passing mention on this site from me.

It'd be great to have a 1-2 tandem of Santana and Beckett, two of the top 5 starters in the game. They'd make the Sox a cinch to best the Empire again. And what a pair they'd be in the playoffs, like Curt and Pedro, or Curt and Randy Johnson.

But there's something not right with it. I disagree with those (like Christine) who say the Sox are now the Yankees. I understand the argument, but it's not quite true. This deal, however, would be hard to argue. We don't need him, and last year's championship, unlike 2004's, was more about the future and young, homegrown talent. In 2004, it was an aging powerhouse whose window was closing.

It's been quiet on the Sox end, but that's not necessarily good. Who saw Schilling coming before the great '04 when all the talk was on Javy Vasquez?

Theo, thankfully, said it best last week in the Boston Globe:

"We reached a point with our situation, having most of a world championship club back, having a burgeoning farm system, which I think was just rated the second best in all of baseball, where we feel that we can improve by letting our young players play. We don't have desperate holes we need to go out and fill at any cost. We can pick and choose what makes sense for us, rather than be desperately in the marketplace."

That's not an arrogant GM who thinks a successful club one year will autmatically be successful the next. Just one who also understands the value of a great farm system and young talent like Pedroia, Papelbon, Elsbury and Buchholz.

Hopefully, Theo has been hovering over the deal soley to drive the price up for the Empire, who'll have to pony up to beat any of the incarnations the Sox have reportedly offered.

If they get him, we're still the favorites, and hopefully, they'll send enough of their prospects to hurt themselves in the long-run.

Also making a resurgence is the Mets bid, which still doesn't seem to include Jose Reyes. If the Mets land Johan without losing Reyes, the Phils will have a real tough time backing into the division again. If Reyes goes in the deal, it'll still be tough for the Phils , but should make their prospects better in the long-run.

My apologies: In my brief Johnny Podres post yesterday, I didn't mention that he was a former Red Sox pitching coach as well, responsible for developing pitchers like the pre-roid Roger Clemens, Bruce Hurst and Oil Can Boyd. I just found out myself.