A little Johan

I almost don't want this Johan circus to end. It's way too much fun seeing what is out there. Quick update:

The Red Sox are definitely in the lead right now. As much as it would suck to have yet another Minnesota superstar thrive in Boston, they are offering the best packages. It's reported the Twins can select from either of the following:

1. SP Jon Lester, OF Coco Crisp, SS Jed Lowrie, OF Justin Kalish, and SP Justin Masterson OR

2. SP Justin Masterson, OF Jacoby Ellsbury, and SS Jed Lowrie

I would love to get Ellsbury, but that first option looks better and better as the Sox keep sweetening the pot. Crisp can step in for Hunter, and he has a funny name, and Lester, Lowrie, Kalish, and Masterson are the #2, #5, #6, and #7 prospects in the Sox system according to Baseball Prospectus. Right now I'm leaning towards #2, but I think I would be ok either way.

It looks like the Yanks are pretty much dead at this point. Not only is Hank Steinbrenner a complete jackass with his "deadline" that didn't mean dick, and only served to make me look like a pompous idiot with no business sense, but they aren't coming close to what the sox are offering.

SP Phil Hughes is one of the best prospects in all of baseball, and the Yanks are willing to let him go, but will only package him with Melky Cabrera, who is like a third or fourth outfielder in my estimation, and a third player, not a top prospect. That's crap for the best pitcher in baseball. When they Yankees said they refused to include SP Ian Kennedy, #3 prospect in their system, the Twins countered with Hughes, Cabrera, SP Jason Marquez (#13), and either SP Alan Horne (#6) or OF Austin Jackson (#4). I'm shocked the Yankees rejected this. It would have been an absolute steal for them, and if they think they can get Santana for less than this, they're seriously delusional, which seems about right for the Yankees.

A nice little bit of news is that it sounds like the Angels have thrown their name in the ring, which should help drive the price up. The Angels have some very nice prospects - particularly SP Nick Adenhart and 3B/SS Brandon Wood, and things could get interesting if they come to play.

Ideally, Santana goes to the Red Sox for SP Lester, SP Masterson, OF Ellsbury, and SS Lowrie. That will most likely not happen, but there's always hope.

Notre Dame -5.5 vs. Kansas State
Memphis -7.5 vs. USC
Rhode Island -2 vs. Providence
Michigan St -3.5 @ Bradley

Yesterday: 1-3
Season: 73-68