Javy will be on the move, but to where and for whom?

So remember when the Sox took a 2.5 game division lead into Minnesota during the last week of the season? With everything that happened afterward, it's kind of hard to remember that the Sox got crushed in the Metrodome. At the time, to steal a line from NBA Jam, we all thought it was the nail in the proverbial coffin.

Game One set the tone for the Twins' sweep. Before the game, Ozzie Guillen challenged starter Javy Vazquez (''He hasn't been [a big-game pitcher], that's the bottom line.''), only it had the opposite affect Guillen had hoped for. Javy got shelled, allowing seven hits and five runs in just four innings, looking resigned to his fate from the beginning.

After that game, I said Vazquez's time in Chicago was over - and that was before he followed with consecutive must-win stinkers, including one in the playoffs.

So it should come as no surprise that the Sox are shopping Vazquez. It should also be no surprise the Mets are interested. After all, Omar Minaya loves him some Latinos. Too bad Uribe is a free agent, maybe Kenny could have tricked them into taking him too.

Vazquez in Queens is, quite obviously, the perfect fit. Javy is good all season until it really matters, so are the Mets. They are meant to be one.

But what can the Sox expect back? In today's Trib, the immortal Dave van Dyck throws out the name Luis Castillo. No thank you. But there seems to be enough exchangeable parts between the two teams to make a deal work.

Who should the Sox be targeting? How about Carlos Beltran. Now before you write that off as thinking too big, remember who the Sox' GM is here. Last offseason he traded the Sox' three best prospects for a 260 lb. center fielder who can't run or throw. He also stole Carlos Quentin. The guy is nuts. If anyone can pull off a swap for a superstar this offseason, it's probably Kenny Williams.

The Sox have made it known that Swisher is no longer the team's center fielder. Does that mean he's on the move or is someone else? My guess is that the Sox don't want to sell low on a young player like Swisher with a cheap contract and a successful past. Though he was horrendous last year, I think Swish should rebound in 2009.    

That makes Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye the most likely candidates to be dealt. Lets be honest: the Sox couldn't give Konerko away if they wanted to. No team will take that contract. But Jermaine Dye, he may have some value.

Dye is a TUP fav, fo' sho'. I own one Sox jersey/t-shirt, it's of Dye. Stompy has also professed his love for him in the past. But trading Dye is the best way the Sox can get better. Dye was awesome last year so he has solid value. He's also kind of old. Dye is perfect for a team that is looking to win now, kind of like the Mets.

Is Dye and Vazquez enough to Beltran? If the Sox throw in someone like Clayton Richard, I think it's at least something the Mets would think about.

The wildcard in this deal is Fernando Martinez, the Mets' top prospect. You may remember Martinez because the Mets were unwilling to give him up in the Johan Santana trade. He's only 20 years old, but he mashed in AA last season. If the Mets think Martinez is up for the center field job next year, getting rid of Beltran's contract, and exchanging him for two guys that would help them win now, could be an option.

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A few Obama notes, since I know how much the fine readers of this here weblog love lefty politics....


- From ESPN yesterday comes this mesmerizing quote about Chicago's chances at the 2016 Olympics.

Japanese Olympic officials already have expressed their concern that Obama could turn the tide in favor of Chicago when the IOC votes in October.

"Mr. Obama is popular and good at speeches, so things could get tough for Japan," said Tomiaki Fukuda, a senior Japanese Olympic Committee board member.

Whoooo! Eat it, Japan!

- Obama and Kenny Williams: BFFF's

(Best Fucking Friends Forever)

“I’m interested in all these questions of foreign policy and national security,” Williams said. “In between his games, shooting a couple of baskets, he asks me, ‘What about your pitching?’ I said, ‘Excuse me, you worry about national security, I’ll worry about the pitching.’ ”

- One last quick shout-out for my guy Nate Silver over at 538.

Right now, Barack Obama has 63.7 million popular votes to John McCain's 56.3 million, whereas third party candidates have roughly a collective 1.6 million. That works out to 52.4 percent of the vote for Obama and 46.3 percent for McCain ... conspicuously close to our pre-election estimates of 52.3 percent for Obama and 46.2
percent for McCain.

Ridiculous, in every way.

(I waited to publish this post because I wanted to see if Melo could throw 44 on Warriors - which would have been the coolest thing ever - but, alas, he fell 16 points short.)

Oh yeah, there's an NFL game today, which means put in your picks for TUP NFL Pick Em' ASAP.