1 To virtually no one's surprise, the Red Sox bring John Farrell back as their third skipper in as many seasons. I don't know if Farrell made the right move though. The Red Sox Nation harbors high expectations of him and their team. He should show improvement over last season, if for no other reason than the Red Sox can't have a repeat of their injury woes from last season. However, even with their best players healthy, I don't see them as being able to compete with the present club in their division next season, although I'd love to hear what any of you have to say about that.
2. I noted in the transactions page on mlb.com today that the Red Sox traded for former Astro David Carpenter. Farrell must think that he's got something that I saw, which was a live arm with no field/situation sense.
3. The A's traded a spare part for OF Chris Young, deepening their OF talent. Next season is getting even tougher in the AL West, as much as I hate to say that is where my beloved Astros are going to be.
4. Finally, in what again was no surprise, the Fish gave beleaguered closer Heath Bell a change of scenery, shipping him to the Snakes. Heath Bell still showed a plus arm last season, but from what I saw, his problems were poor location and a lack of confidence. I think that his chances of bouncing back in Arizona are pretty good.
