Football playoffs kicked off this weekend, at this time of the year I really start to miss baseball. This offseason in particular has been, well, quiet for the Sox. I did want to take a quick look at a few of the acquisitions, or proposed acquisitions to this point.

Lets start with Andrew Bailey, this trade was a fantastic one for the Red Sox. I won’t sit here and hate on Pap, we all know what he did for this team and how clutch he was at the end of the game. We had to let him walk, and that was a sad day for a lot of Sox fans, but at his asking price it just wasn’t worth it. Next on the radar was Ryan Madson, another guy that would have been great to see at the end of the game, again the asking price was way to high for a closer with one year experience. Keep in mind there is still talk of him being targeted by the Red Sox if the price comes down, and a back-end of Melancon, Bailey, and Madson would be real good. Looking back at the Bailey trade we didn’t really give up all that much. I like Reddick and he is an everyday right fielder, just not for this team. Long term the team has been looking for Kalish to step up, not Reddick. People question Bailie’s ability to close in Fenway after coming from an incredibly pitcher friendly ball park. I think his numbers show that he has the stuff to attack the strike zone and get people out. Sure he used the park to his advantage but that shows me he has smarts. He is a fly ball pitcher much like Pap, who never got nearly as much talk about giving up home runs. His save percentage is almost identical to Pap last year and his lack of opportunities, seriously how many save chances is that potent A’s lineup going to give you, shouldn’t be a concern. I, for one, am extremely excited to see him in the game.

Paul Maholm is a name that has been tossed around the rumor mill the past week or so. To me this would be a great pick up for the Red Sox at the right price. Cherington isn’t looking for a top of the rotation guy here, he has a few of those that can get the job done. What he needs is a 4/5 started to eat up innings and get around 12 wins and, more importantly, keep the team in games. This is what I thought Lackey would be great at, his history showed he could eat innings but we all know how that is going. Maholm should come cheap after a down year with the Pirates and there is talk of him maybe looking for a one year deal to try to get back on track. He made about 6.25 mm last year on his way to 6-14 record while posting a respectable 3.66 ERA and getting over 5 SO/9.