Mike Cameron agrees to a 2 year, $15.5 million deal with Red Sox

[logan82]

the upgrades at C and SP'ing could allow for a large net gain

 

I think we are about maybe a win worse as a team right now than the team as it was constructed just after the Looper signing. Right about 83ish wins. I think the common belief is that Gomez is a better defender than Cameron but it is probably around half a win better or less. Even optomistic projections put Gomez somewhere around 2+ wins worse on offense I believe.

[Ennder]

Gomez and Escobar have to step up big time for us to be as good right now as we were last year. The loss of Cameron is as big a drop in production as the gain of Wolf and Zaun. Maybe the bullpen is a tad better but we are also probably weaker at 2B. If the team is going to actually improve this year it is probably going to be in Suppan, Bush and Parra pitching better more than anything else. The offseason moves have been a wash as we've given up 2 players capable of 4+ WAR and got players worth 2 WAR or so back.

 

I still will never understand this board's fascination with Cameron nor will I

 

There is no fascination, he is just one of the best CF in baseball and has been for years now. It basically comes down to low AVG and high K. People who think those two things are great sins don't like him, those who look at the total package realize just how valuable a player he is.

[TooLiveBrew]

Boston is going with Cameron in CF & Ellsbury in LF. Link

 

This is kinda funny to me, since Ellsbury won the MLB.com Defensive Player of the Year award for 2009. It was relatively undeserved, as Ellsbury has the knock of getting bad jumps on balls (his speed allows him to catch up on them & make 'incredible' plays). Basically, he's the anti-Cameron, who makes it all look so easy.

 

"It came down to the fact that Cameron's experience is almost exclusively in center and Jacoby demonstrated in 2007 and 2008 that he can be an impact corner outfielder defensively," Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "We are more than comfortable with Jacoby in center. We just feel that -- for now -- this alignment puts us in the best position to win games.

 

"Both Mike and Jacoby were great about it and said they would do whatever was best for the team. Jacoby knows he'll still be a centerfielder in the long run, and Mike looks forward to helping Jacoby any way he can."

 

With the additions of Cameron, Marco Scutaro, and Adrian Beltre, the Sox are shaping up to have an outstanding defensive club. Their rotation, bolstered by the signing of John Lackey, should also be superior to the staff they used in 2009.

 

"This is going to be our best defensive team we've ever had," Francona said. "Every time we've played good, we've caught the ball very well. You won't see too many sloppy games. Those runs we put together when we're catching the ball, we've got a chance to be really good defensively. You've got to score, things like that, but this gives us a chance to be a solid team. That's what we're trying to accomplish.

[dadofandrew]

Theo all but said Cameron is far better, so we're going with him in CF. Ellsbury's arm will be fine for LF, especially at home.