"There are no problems, only solutions."

So said John Lennon in 1980, and you know what? As the years slip by so quickly, those words and other Lennon utterances have grown to be eerily true. I refer to the dilemna of the Johan Santana sweepstakes. The winner will receive the services of just about the best lefthanded pitcher in all of baseball, Johan Santana. The dilemna....who to dangle in front of the Twins as trade bait. This is from the Boston Herald, and I'll be back with more to say after you read it.....

"The Boston Red Sox? Most everyone in baseball agrees the Sox could be a player (in the Santana sweepstakes) if they want to be, primarily because they have the combination of wealth and talent to make the trade happen. The obvious problem is that center fielder Coco Crisp does not come close to matching packages potentially offered by the Yankees, Mets or Dodgers, an obstacle for which the Red Sox have only one answer:
JACOBY ELLSBURY......
At this stage, of course, it seems highly unlikely the Sox will trade Ellsbury, let alone put him in a package with someone like Clay Buchholz. But ask yourselves this: What if the Sox could make the deal for Santana by giving up Ellsbury while retaining Buchholz and Jon Lester? (Such a deal would require the inclusion of one or two lower-level pitching prospects like Justin Masterson.) Would you make the deal then?"

Peter here, and THE ANSWER IS NO, NO AND NO AGAIN!! Buchholz and Ellsbury should be on the "protected at all costs" list. Coco and Jon Lester and one or two others will have to go, if not more, but Jacoby and Clay? No way. This whole thing is very tempting, because the reward to the winner of the sweepstakes is having Santana in the number two spot of our rotation, behind Beckett and in front of Matsuzaka and Schilling. What an awesome front four. But I want to reiterate. There is no way I would concoct a trade with a package that consists of Buchholz and Ellsbury included in that mix. Not even for Lou Gehrig in his too short prime. Wait! Wait...I might have spoken too soon. Lou, you're welcome to join the Sox anytime you wish. You were the absolute best! Ok,ok, back to reality. But talking to the one and only Lou Gehrig was wonderful, if only for a fleeting moment. I leave you with this--I want to hear your comments about this whole "what if Johan goes here, what if Johan goes there" drama, and I will respond to each and every one of you. You know my feelings. In a nutshell, I think Ellsbury and Buchholz should be protected against any and all scenarios. They shouldn't be going anywhere, except when they leave the team for their retirement. Justin Pedroia should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "trade." Thank you Maine Catwoman, for all your comments on this subject. Readers, look at her comments over the last couple of posts and you'll know what I mean!

I might have overslept today, which is something I NEVER do, but I'm roaring (yawning!) and ready to go. Thanks for being here, and click on the title of this post for the Herald's Tony Massarotti's Sunday article. His words are the ones that sent me on the path to write this post. So enjoy your Sunday, go Pats, and don't forget, it's number five in the country Duke going up against number two UCONN today. It's the last of a three game set in paradise, the United States Virgin Islands. St. Thomas, to be exact, a place I've been to countless times. Go get 'em, UCONN.

And remember this. If the Sox have Santana, no other team gets him.