"Hot" Stove

Hide and go seek, Larry. "Larry out in free." We know you're out there somewhere, you rascal, you.

So, Peter Woodfork leaves to join Josh Byrnes in Arizona. Say hi to Tom DeMark for me. Guess that you could have stuck a fork in Woodfork's chances at the GM spot. Anybody else on the junior GM circuit in need of some sunshine/vitamin D.

We can group the candidates into three categories. First, the "Chorus Line" cast of characters, "I need this job." Right. That would be the Slim Jims, Jim Bowden, Jim Beattie, and probably Jim Bunning, Jim Bouton, and Jim Lonborg. Second, you have the "anonymous" category, which could include just about anybody, critics of the administration excepted. Third, you have the residents in training, like Jed Hoyer. Of course, the biggest group is the "Don't call me, I'll call you group from the Sabeans, Towers, Moores, LaCavas, and so on." They're are in the George Carlin group of "can you work with Larry LuQueeno" as in "are you out of your bleeping mind?"

Steve Silva has the Red Sox 'Apprentice' countdown going, and The Commissioner, Peter Gammons is still alive. Gotta DQ (disqualify) Peter, because he knows too many secrets.

There are an awful lot of rumors going about Mike Lowell and steroids. Lowell had cancer a few years ago, if I recall correctly, and anabolic steroids have medicinal uses in post-surgical patients (rarely). The problem historically has been that physiologic doses don't produce performance-enhancing effects, as do pharmacologic doses. I'm not accusing Lowell of anything, just wondering if smoke begets fire.

Does Bronson Arroyo have a future in the Red Sox rotation? Maybe it's just me, but I'd really appreciate him more with a less 'casual' approach, supplemented by a third pitch. The rotation with Beckett and Papelbon would sure look a lot younger and less anemic than last year's crowd. Sure, I'd really like Jon Lester to have a breakout spring training, and have both Delcarmen and Hansen in the pen as power arms. Hard stuff and just wild enough to keep the opposition a bit on their heels.

If the Mets have traded for Delgado, is New York just an intermediary in the Delgado and Milledge for Manny Ramirez deal?

Is the relative silence on Damon a good sign or a bad sign? If Youkilis and Pedroia get legitimate shots next year, it would be the first time in a very long time that the Sox developed a position player.

Nomar's not walking in that door again, either, in centerfield or elsewhere.

There's talk about trading Manny Ramirez for Ichiro, too. We definitely need more guys who can't read the newspaper.

If I could own any franchise in MLB as an investment, which one would it be? Gotta be Kansas City. Low salaries, low expectation. Worst case scenario, status quo, best case, relocation to Las Vegas.