According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Red Sox are confident they would be able to trade Mike Lowell:

Lowell could be a candidate for Frank McCourt's Los Angeles Red Sox if the Dodgers failed to re-sign free agent Casey Blake.

Other rival executives, however, are skeptical that the Red Sox could move Lowell quickly.

Lowell, who turns 35 on Feb. 24, is coming off hip surgery and guaranteed $24 million over the next two seasons.

The Red Sox are confident he will be fine, but one general manager countered, "I don't think anybody will take a chance on Mike Lowell until you see him play next spring."

The blueprint for a Lowell trade might be last winter's Scott-Rolen-for-Troy Glaus deal, in which the Cardinals and Jays exchanged high-priced, physically questionable third basemen.

Randy Youngman from the OC Register predicts Mark Teixeira will land with the Red Sox before Christmas:

But I don't think it will be with the Angels. If he were going to re-sign in Anaheim, I think it already would have happened. Just a gut feeling. Even the people I talk to in the organization don't seem optimistic.

Teixeira would be ridiculed if he signed with perpetual losers such as the Baltimore Orioles or Washington Nationals, so my guess is he'll sign with the Boston Red Sox.

Kinda makes sense, if you ask me. If Big Teix wants to be on the East Coast and the Red Sox are willing to break the bank, then there we go -- we have a new first baseman ... and a new third baseman (sort of).

MLBTradeRumors.com says, according to Buster Olney: "The Red Sox are preparing, full-steam ahead, to play 2009 without Jason Varitek."

The Red Sox may be preparing but they still need to make a move. I don't think Kevin Cash can be the Red Sox' full-time catcher...

According to Jon Heyman, the Mets are willing to trade some of their catching talent, including Brian Schneider who the Red Sox have previously had interest in:

There are indications the Mets might consider overhauling their catching situation. While the Mets haven't spoken publicly about any dissatisfaction with their tandem of Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro, some competing executives say the Mets, whose top priorities remain a closer and a starting pitcher, appear open to trading either catcher.

Should the Mets find a deal for their catchers, longtime Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, a free agent, could be a possibility for them. Mets GM Omar Minaya has always liked Ivan Rodriguez, but it isn't known whether they'd consider I-Rod, as well.

Boston still has interest in keeping Varitek but isn't close to a deal with him yet. The Red Sox have looked into several other catching possibilities, including the Texas foursome of Jarrod Saltalamcchia, Gerald Laird, Taylor Teagarden and Max Ramirez.

I'm a fan of Schneider and I think the Red Sox are, too. He swings an OK stick, but his defense and game-calling is where he wins over teammates -- a lot like Varitek. Perhaps the Sox could trade for Schneider and grab a young catcher to work into the system. Schneider could be the full-time catcher and rotate with the youngster who, perhaps, could be one of the Rangers' trio.

Ideally (at least in my opinion), Varitek would come back with a cheap contract, the Sox would trade for a young catcher and then the grooming would begin. But it seems like Varitek would have to pass up a lot of money if that was the situation. If he wants too much, who could blame the Sox for not bringing him back? I love Varitek but the money is where things go downhill.

Where will this moment rank in 2008's best moments? (via digitalderek.typepad.com)

Just like we did last year, we here at Over The Monster are compiling the top 10 best moments of the 2008 Boston Red Sox season. But, like always, we really need your help to help us conjure up the best moments (or better yet, the moments that were great but may slip our minds).

Before we go any further, let me rehash everyone's memory on last year's top 10:

1. Who could forget last year's No. 1? That was Clay Buchholz's no-hitter. I can still see Nick Markakis' knees bend on that curveball to end the game.
2. This memory was an early one of 2007, but we all agreed that this was huge: Mother's Day Miracle. I haven't said this much, but thank you, Julio Lugo.
3. The emergence of Hideki Okajima slotted in at No. 3. That was the moment in the season when we knew: "Yup, this guy is good."
4. Pure domination -- Josh Beckett style (in the playoffs, nonetheless).
5. In hindsight, maybe this moment should have been a little higher. But still, Jon Lester's first game back after defeating cancer. What an amazing story.
6. Did anyone say, "back-to-back-to-back-to-back"? This one still feels good.
7. Yup, the Red Sox won a World Series in 2007 but still game four only hits No. 7 on our countdown. (And, as Allen will tell you, I lobbied for this to be much higher. I remember telling Allen something along the lines of "This is when Lester became the pitcher we know he can be." Oh, and look. What happened this year, Allen? Huh. That's right. Winner, winner chicken dinner).
8. Just like the moment above, this one was sort of a "hey, look what I can do!" kind of moment. Can you guess what it is? JD Drew's grand slam in the ALCS vs. the Indians. That's when all of Red Sox Nation rejoiced and forgot about Drew's struggles at the plate in '07. Look at him now...
9. The almost no-no clocks in at No. 9. Damn those, A's...
10. We can't have a top 10 list from 2007 without the name "Manny" popping up. And here's his moment, in walk off fashion.

I highly suggest to click through those links and just look at the pictures. You don't even have to read anything -- just look at it and get that feeling back. It's a good feeling isn't it? That's what we are striving to achieve for our 2008 moments.

So throw 'em at us. The obvious and the not-so obvious. Jon Lester's no hitter? You bet it will be on there. The seven-run comeback in the ALCS against the Rays? That'll be high. Manny's departure? Yeah, I'm voting for that one to be high on the list.

Leave a comment and let us know. We don't want to miss a single great moment!

A bold prediction for my new favorite Globe writer, Tony Massarotti:

Here's a prediction: By the time this is over, win or lose, the Red Sox effectively will have made Mark Teixeira the largest contract offer in the history of your storied franchise.

Preposterous, you say? Clearly, you have not been paying attention. Since the Red Sox changed ownership, management, and philosophies early in 2002, the new owners and operators of the Red Sox have stopped at virtually nothing to acquire those things they have coveted most. When the best of the rest were bidding $35 million-$40 million to acquire the rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox bid $51.11 million. When the rest of the world wondered why J.D. Drew opted out of his contract in Los Angeles, the Red Sox dropped $70 million in Drew's lap. And knowing what we know now, nothing might have been more aggressive than the $36 million the Sox paid for Julio Lugo.

The point is this:

When the Sox want something enough, they make sure they get it.

[...]

In the case of Teixeira, the parameters have been in place for quite some time. Roughly 18 months ago, before being dealt by the Texas Rangers, Teixeira turned down an eight-year, $144 million offer that translated into $18 million per season. At the time, Teixeira was still a season and a half short of free agency. Teixeira's resume has only grown since then, which likely places Teixeira's current value between $20-$25 million per season over the next six to eight years at a minimum.

Know what that means? It means that in order to sign him, someone must pay $150-$200 million over at least the next six or eight seasons. On the shorter end of that, Teixeira easily will eclipse the annual $20 million salary earned by Ramirez during his productive and somewhat tumultuous time in Boston. On the longer end, Teixeira could end up with a package approaching $200 million, $40 million more than the $160 million deal Ramirez acquired during the winter of 2000-01.

I can't even imagine what the Red Sox lineup would look like with Teixeira anchoring the middle. Undoubtedly, the Sox would have a player capable of hitting in the No. 3 spot forced to hit No. 7 -- Jason Bay? Kevin Youkilis? JD Drew? Any one of those guys could hit No. 3 for most teams...

Well, it looks like the Red Sox have increased their interest in AJ Burnett:

The Red Sox's pursuit of Burnett complicates the Yankees' plans. A source close to Burnett said that a half-dozen teams are in contention for his services: the Yankees, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Braves, Phillies and Orioles. The Red Sox, the source said, have significantly increased their involvement in the pitcher in the past 36 hours and are now "fully engaged."

We've talked about it all offseason: he's going to cost a lot of money and he's going to give you one of two things -- a great season or an injury-filled one. If he has the same season as he did in 2008, the Red Sox would undoubtably have the best rotation in Major League Baseball.

With that said, will the Red Sox sign Burnett?

It's official: Dustin Pedroia is the the 2008 American League MVP!

Just call him Mr. November. Or better yet, refer to Dustin Pedroia as the Most Valuable Player of the American League.

The second baseman of the Boston Red Sox continued his rapid burst into the national spotlight on Tuesday, when he was recognized with that impressive honor.

Though most pundits expected the race for MVP to be agonizingly close, Pedroia won in comfortable fashion, outdistancing a solid field that included, among others, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez.

MLB.COM

This is the happiest day of my life ... I swear.

Just like the voters of SBNation predicted, Albert Pujols was named NL MVP today:

Pujols won despite the Cardinals finishing in fourth place, the lowest spot for an NL MVP winner since Andre Dawson and Chicago Cubs wound up sixth in 1987. Howard led the majors in home runs and RBIs for the World Series champs.

[...]

Pujols hit .357 with 37 home runs and 116 RBIs while playing with a sore right elbow that required surgery. Howard hit 48 homers with 146 RBIs for the Phillies.

Voting was completed before the playoffs began.

"I'm happy I didn't have to make that decision," Pujols said on a conference call from his St. Louis home. "What you do for your team. The players who take their teams to the playoffs should have some consideration."

ESPN's Pedro Gomez has the story that the Red Sox were prepared -- and even sent letters out -- to suspend Manny Ramirez because of his unwillingness to play in July:

According to multiple sources, Boston management had drafted an official letter of suspension for Ramirez, and delivered it to him at Fenway Park at around 11 p.m. on Friday night, July 25. For the second straight game, Ramirez had refused to play that evening, and the Red Sox lost 1-0 to the rival New York Yankees in front of a boisterous and sold-out home crowd.

The letter informed Ramirez that the suspension was to go into effect the next day, Saturday, July 26. It said Ramirez was being suspended without pay for being unwilling to play. Copies of the letter were also sent to Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association and Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras

[...]

Within two hours after Ramirez received the letter of suspension, the Red Sox received two calls, according to sources. The first call was from one of Ramirez's teammates. He told a member of Boston's front office that Ramirez would play in Saturday afternoon's game against the Yankees. Within minutes, the second call came in from Ramirez himself, who confirmed that he would be available for Saturday's game.

When will this saga end? Yes, Manny Ramirez was a slug for a good chunk of his Red Sox career. Maybe he should have been suspended a long time ago, but I'm just happy we don't have to deal with him anymore. Manny will go down as one of the greatest Red Sox ever because of what he did with his bat, but it's time for the Red Sox to cut whatever ties they have left with the dysfunctional slugger.