I will admit, I did not know very much about JD Drew before talks of him signing with the Red Sox began. After just a little bit of digging, I found that he does in fact fit Epstien's model of high OBP. Nevertheless, I am still not impressed.

Last year, under Epstien's influence (but not ultimate decision), the Sox refused to sign Damon to a five year deal worth fifty million dollars because the management did not want to face the risks a five year deal entails. Damon, a clearly better player than Drew, never suffered an injury damaged season. Drew, on the other hand, reaped the benefits of a missed Damon acquisition last year. He has been even MORE injury prone than Nixon. Compare Nixon's 238 games and 789 at bats over the last two seasons to Drew's 218 games and 746 at bats. And we didn't take Nixon, with comparable performance stats, who we could have got for millions dollars cheaper and fewer years of contract risk. Over the next five years, as he watches Wily Mo Pena play, Drew will receive seventy million dollars while he limps around the dugout on his bum knee that will soon give way.

Wily Mo, whose OBP and Slugging Percentage last season were comparable to Drew's, is younger and more durable. He has even more power than Papi, blasting line drives over the Green Monster AND he’s still under the Six-Year-Rule contract. We traded away Arroyo, a valuable, young starter, in exchange for Pena. Why does Epstien refuse to promote Wily Mo to an everyday player? If it’s that he's not yet ready, why not gradually add him into the line-up when, say, Nixon gets hurt? It's a waste to buy an over priced outfielder and not allow Pena to play. The Sox want another power hitter behind Papi and Manny. Pena is a power hitting machine. Give him at bats and let him swing!

Ultimately, Epstien dropped the ball (along with $70 Million). Show Wily Mo more respect. Epstien threw away money that could have been spent on pitching. Lugo fit the Sox's needs but Drew is just excessive. I hope Drew proves me wrong. But I still wonder, what about Wily Mo?