Sawks and Lopez agree on one year deal

The Sawks have signed lefty specialist Javier Lopez to a one year contract worth 840 thousand.It is also worth noting Youk filed for arbitration. As well as Kyle Snyder.Lopez was 2-1 last year with a 3.10 era last year fo the Sawks. Here's the link.

Sawks Japan plans set

Earlier today the schedule for the Sawks trip to Japan was released. The regular season opener will be palyed on March 25 at 7:07 local time. Here's the link.

Lester worry free and relaxed

Jon Lester is one of those guys you can't help but root for. After all he's went through and he just keeps coming back better and better. Aside from the cancer, he wasn't slated as a starter in the playoffs and ended up giving the Sawks some of thier most important innings. The guys a great story, and this year he could end up being one of the top pitchers in baseball. I found this article thought you might enjoy it. Here's the link.

Recap of a slow week

Nice article about Ped-Rock,and how he is dealing with all the accolades. Here's the link.
Rookie phenom Clay Buchholz and eleven other Sawks prospects are attending an orientation about the pressures, expectations and temptations, that come with being in the show. Here's the link.
World Series MVP Mike Lowell weighs in on testing for HGH, and how he thinks the test should be perceived. Here's the link.
Hideki Okajima is stoked about his return to the Tokyo Dome. I've actually taken to calling him pajamas. If you ask me he was team MVP last season. Here's the link.

Can the Sawks repeat in '08

The question is probably on every Sawks fans minds by now. Do you think they can repeat without Johan? Can they repeat if the Yankmees or another competitor gets him? Do you feel like they should have done more in the offseason to better the team? Did the Sawks not pick up any free agents because they've been burned the last couple of seasons?

Sawks top MSNBC's list of 9 things to watch in '08

It's been an awfully slow week in sawks news. However i found this one, and its a pretty good read. Here's the link. The best part comes at the bottom of the article. Where you can click a link to go to an article that says "Can the Blue Jays leap frog into second place." That is priceless.

Mirabelli re-signs

The importance of this can not be understated. Mirabelli is a huge peice in the Sawks puzzle. Tim Wakefeild brings thoughts to mind of Will Smith with out his dog in I Am Legend. It just does'nt work when they aren't together. Another smart descion by the Sawks brass.And hopefully another step towards the World Series. Time will only tell if they can come together like this with Youk. So here's the article with the breakdown of pay and incentives.

R.I.P. Buddy Leroux

The former Sawks owner died on Monday. Leroux started off as team trainer for the Sawks from '66-'74, from there he moved up to vice president of the team in '78 and '79. After that he was owner of the of the team from '79-'86. He was also at one time a trainer for the Celtics as wellas the Barrie Flyers a minor league affiliate of the Bruins. He was 77.His funeral will be Saturday in Wolfeboro. He will be buried in Tuftonboro in the spring.

Jim Rice gets the shaft....Again

Once again former Boston Greay jim Rice has been denied entrance into the Hall of Fame. Coming up short by 15 or so votes this time. This is a travesty that a player with his credentials is not in the Hall let alone the fact he has been passed up so many times. Heres the link. If you ask me its MULARKEY. I think these are Hall worthy numbers,and keep in mind these are pre-steroid era numbers
8-time AL All-Star (1977-1980 & 1983-1986)
AL MVP (1978)
6-time in top 5, AL MVP voting (1977-79,1983-84,1986)
2-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (1983 & 1984)
2-time AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1977 & 1978)
AL OPS Leader (1978)
2-time AL At Bats Leader (1978 & 1981)
AL Hits Leader (1978)
4-time AL Total Bases Leader (1977, 1978, 1979 & 1983)
AL Triples Leader (1978)
3-time AL Home Run Leader (1977, 1978 & 1983)
2-time AL RBI Leader (1978 & 1983)
7 seasons over .300
382 home runs is the 11th best all-time among American League right-handed batters (4th when he retired)
20-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1975-1980 & 1982-1986)
30-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1977, 1978, 1979 & 1983)
40-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1978)
100 RBI Seasons: 8 (1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985 & 1986)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 3 (1977, 1978 & 1979)
200 Hits Seasons: 4 (1977, 1978, 1979 & 1986)

Tek extension a critical peice of Sawks puzzle

If you were to look at Jason Variteks numbers over the last two seasons nothing would really jump out at you. However this is truly a case of you can't judge a book by his cover. Although Tek's offense numbers have been down his importance to the team has not waned a bit. Aside from being clubhouse leader his on field performance goes far beyond offense. Tek is probably the best catcher at calling games in the game today. Look no further than the '06 season at how the team fell apart after he was injured and finished in a dismal third place in the East. Not to mention Paplebon blew his first save while Tek was injured. Those are just my thoughts though. Here is an article I came across in regards to his extension

State of the Sawks Address

Seeing as this is a Red Sox blog, I've decided on the last day of every month I will do a State of the Sawks address here at TheSawks.com. Which will basically be a round up of all Sawks news for the month along with a little bit of my own opinion sprinkled in. Who am I kidding it will basically be me and my opinion on the goings on in Red Sox Nation. So look for it at the end of every month and if you have an opinion please leave a comment. I'd love to here from other Sawks fans.

Latest Sawks mailbag

Latest Sawks mailbox was posted on mlb.com today. Some pretty good questions here including will the Sawks have early season jet lag, which plagued the Yankmees in 2004. Anyways these are question probably on the tip of most Sawks fans tongues. Check it out here.

Sawks roster report

The latest roster report from Scouts.com was recently posted. Its a pretty in depth report going in detail on key losses, gains, and major needs. Which besides left handed pitching out of the bull pen there doesn't seem tobe to many. Read the entire article here.

Baseball America ranks The Sawks top prosects

Came across this one its basically an indepth breakdown of the top ten prospects in The Sawks farm system. This is very in depth even braking it down by categories. Definetly a good read for any Sawks fan or baseball fan in general. Check it out here.

Nothing new on Santana front

A lot of people, sports writers and fans included seem very worried that The Sawks will go into next season with no significant additions to the roster. Barring a trade which is not likely any time soon. The Sawks are gonna look like last years World Champions.I dunno why thats such a bad thing. Besides the Tigers there have not been any huge moves in the American League. So the question now is can The Sawks beat the Tigers, instead of the normal, can The Sawks beat the Yanks. Anyways here's the article.

Breakdown of latest Santana rumors

Apparently the Santana deal is not dead yet and could still happen but now there are a few more teams in the running,Including The Sawks. I hope with everything in me that the Yankmees are unable to pull off this trade. I obviously would love to see the Sawks pick him up, but if not we are very strong in the pitching department. If the Yankmees were to get him it could take them from wild card contender to possible World Series contender. Anyways heres the link. check it out and let me know what you think.

Edwards like the Sawks ?

In an empty attempt to win over New Hampshire voters John Edwards compared himself to the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Or maybe he was predicting a clean sweep in November, which is another great Sawks trait. You can read the article here.

Sawks pick up two veteran pitchers

The Sawks signed veteran pitchers Jon Switzer and Michael Tejera to minor league contracts and invited them to spring training this season.
Switzer 28, has spent his major league career with Tampa garnering a career record of 2-4 and 6.11 ERA. Tejera has spent time with three major league teams compiling an 11-13 career record with a 5.14 ERA in 111 major league appearances. Hopefully they can pan out and be viable bullpen options this season for The Sawks.

Head to Head comparison of Sawks vs Yanks in '08

I found this on Fox Sports. I think the guys kind of a whack job when i read his batting lineup comparison.The rest is favorable. Anyway here it is give it a read.

The Sawks major winners in '07

Just read this article on cnnsi.com thought i'd share it, since it has quite a few Sawks players included. Lookout '08 we're looking to go back to back

Peter Gammons chats about The Sawks

Peter Gammons hosted a chat with some Sawks fans today. Click here to read the article. As always Gammons offers some great insight on the team and the future.

Sawks top list of 10 things to watch for in 2008

The Sawks top a list of milestones and stories to watch for in 2008. The question here is will they be the first team since the 1999 and 2000 Yankmees teams to repeat as World Series champs. If you were to ask me, on top of the phenomenal pitching staff that may or may not include Johan Santana. We have the best bullpen in baseball and batting order that helped win a world series while half the team was having down hitting years. Its in the bag baby. (i'm not really that cocky actually i'm a little scared of Detroit at this point but i'll put on a brave face)

Q & A with 2008 rookie of the year

Thats right im calling it right now , right it down and mail him the hardware. Jacoby Ellsbury will win the 2008 R.O.Y. Here's a recent interview conducted with him by MLB.com.

Back In The Saddle

After an extended vacation im back and ready to get down to the nitty gritty. I dont know if i've posted this before but my ambition is for this site to be where you go for all your Sawks info. So if you have an opinion an idea or anything send it to me and ill be glad to debate it or post it. Which ever one fits.

A Rod Re-signs

The word out of New York is that A Rod has signed a new 10 year 275 million dollar contract. What a complete idiot he would of got more money had he signed an extension before opting out. Apparently he just wanted a chance to finally make headline in October. I think he's one of those guys who enjoy punishment because no matter what, the first time he chokes in a big situation he'll be public enemy number 1 again in New York.
This basically brings the Yanks from a longshot wild card contender right back into the mix in the division. Had he left I think the Yanks would have had a hard time breaking .500 next year. Now we get another season or maybe ten of nail biters down the stretch. The only good part of this is it knocks the Yanks out of the Mike Lowell race.