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So the Red Sox have a wealth of talent. I'm not sure I can recall the last time we had such a deep amount of arms, especially in the day and age where pitching is considered absolutely invaluable. The Sox have apparently been desperately ringing other GM's in hopes for obtaining a Short Stop. The Braves have inquired about Brad Penny, Clay Buchholz has been thrown around and everyone would love to have Jon Lester (who the Red Sox claim is off limits). A couple potential names they have looked at include JJ Hardy, Omar Vizquel and Jack Wilson. I'm a firm believer in keeping and developing in house draft picks, especially given the success the Red Sox have achieved over the past five years. The problem we face is Julio Lugo and Nick Green...both who have encountered defensive issues.

- I really do like Jed Lowrie. He has has fielded the ball well for the most part since his arrival in the big leagues and has a doubles swing. The downside is he was terrible to begin the year and is far from proving he is an everyday shortstop.

- Probably a longshot, but given the Marlins pension for firesaling their teams, why not inquire about the best shortstop in the league? We'd obviously have to deal big, but again, this wealth of talent may give us the option. Clay Bucholz (4-0 in 12 starts, 1.74 era, 57 K's in 63 innings and only 12 walks in AAA), Lars Anderson (2008 Red Sox Minor Leauge Offensive Player Of The Year) Possibly David Ortiz (Hurts to say that one) and possibly another reliever, prospect, Draft pick or cash considerations for Hanley Ramirez?

- According to Boston.com the Red Sox have also inquired about Miguel Tejada who is hitting 354. with 6 home runs and 33 RBI's for the Astros this season. Interesting to see how much the Red Sox would give up to attain him...especially given his recent troubles with the Law and his "I'm not sure how old I am" problem.

- That same article has also mentioned Jack Wilson, J.J. Hardy and Omar Vizquel. I can't understand Vizquel...he can still play defensively but I do not trust him down the stretch at 42 years old. He is an older, better defensive Alex Cora, but hardly a starting shortstop. Jack Wilson has always been a better glove than bat, and has endured shoulder issues recently. He is .270 with a solid glove...but I don't see him starting in Boston. J.J. Hardy could be a nice fit in Boston if the Brewers would be willing to give him up. He has struggled at the plate in 2009 after .277/26/80 in 2007 and .283/24/74 in 2008 but has a huge upside with being only twenty-six years old. I'd be curious to see Milwaukee's asking price.

- The Braves have been asking about Brad Penny, the trade rumors also included Jeff Francoeur to Boston which seems to make little sense as we are pretty full in the outfield (We could conceivably get rid of Mark Kotsay). Francoeur has had strong offensive seasons, however, rarely walks and swings at a ton of bad pitches. He is coming off of the worst offensive season of his career and is at .244 with 9 walks for the year so far. The Braves starting shortstop is Yunel Escobar... the twenty-six year old is batting 289./5/29 so far in 2009. The specualation on Escobar is that he is a talented shortstop. He is considered a top prospect for the Braves, however, is very unproven.