NY Boston Fan

So a couple of hours listening to New England sports radio yesterday afternoon presented the appearance that Red Sox Nation is in an absolute panic over Pedro. If Pavano is gone, and Pedro isn't an option, what the heck are we going to do for a rotation? Schilling-Wells-Arroyo-Wakefield-Kim is not adequate!

At the same time, if the Sox go out and match Pedro's supposed offer of 4 years, $50 million plus, we're going to have at least two years (if not more) at the back end of the deal of people lamenting over Pedro, his attitude, and how overpaid he is.

So it's a lose-lose situation for management, at present. The only way it can be fixed is with a trade, or some smaller free agent signings that leave the team with flexibility for 2006 (I know, blasphemy!).

But in my opinion, the worst thing that can be done is a knee-jerk reaction to "keep up with the Yankees," which is exactly what hurt the Sox in the late 90s, and the Mets since 2000. Yes, there are Hudsons and Burnetts, and even Randy Johnsons out there, but let's not give away the farm just because the Yankees are overpaying for Carl Pavano.