Getting into the spirit

Ozzie's new signal for putting Marquez into the game

Since I don't have the spine to talk about the Sox getting shellacked by the Cubs in their ST game, let's talk about...other things.

SOX:

- Gavin Floyd gets a new deal. I actually like this deal a lot. Floyd is young with good stuff, and we get him locked up for four years at a relatively solid price. If Floyd lives up to 2008's stat line, we make off like bandits. Apparently, Danks was offered the same deal and turned it down - hopefully we can lock him up for another three years at some point soon.

- Chris Stewart got dealt to the Yankees for "future considerations." The real ramification is not who/what we get, but more likely that Miller has sewn up the backup catcher job. It's just as well.

- Getz is pronounced 2B, and Marquez given a bullpen spot. Getz I agree with wholeheartedly, but Marquez has done nothing to merit a roster spot. Not only has Marquez not shown the patented "sink" his pitches are supposed to have, but his presence likely means that a bullpen spot is wasted on someone filled with suck (if this screws over Colon/Richard's spot on the team, I will be mightily pissed). It also looks like Anderson has sewn up the CF job - didn't take much.

- A little part of me wonders if the Sox are going to take a stab at Jim Edmonds or Kenny Lofton to shore up our CF spot...

CUBS:


- Corey Koskie chooses retirement over the Cubs. Well, not quite. The whole "sucking" thing makes it difficult to earn much of a spot. Having your brains scrambled one too many times will do that to you. The only real importance of this is that the Cubs still have no legit backup to Aramis Ramirez who can fill in when his usual back injury occurs.

- Rich Harden is still looking for some innings. Between the shoulder injury and the flu, Harden is way underworked for the Spring. If he's going to be ready for the season, he's going to need to get more reps in - or the Cubs will put torque on his arm like butter on bread. If you need a good start for the "getting worried o-meter", this is a good starting point.

And in other news, the Cubs still look f'ing ridiculous. Damn.