Another Free Agent Target Bites The Dust: Red Sawx Sign Jenks

"Bobby Jenks is changing his Sox from white to red.

The former Chicago White Sox closer agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, pending a physical, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

Jenks has been told he'll be a set-up man in 2011 and will have a chance to be the closer if Jonathan Papelbon is replaced, the source said." (via ESPN.com)

Man, it really sucks to be Daniel Bard right now, huh?  Poor guy gets tossed under the boss like a bag of garbage when the Sox go hunting for The Sandman and now he's going to lose his setup man role to Bobby Jenks?

I hate to dine with the enemy, but has Cash contacted Boston about Bard's availability?  Dude will come a hell of a lot cheaper than Rafael Soriano and is more reliable than Joba.  And since the Sawx clearly don't want the guy, Cash could probably get him for Craig Heyer and Abraham Almonte.  Shit, Bard might welcome a change of scenery.  At the very least, it would be nice for him to hear his last name pronounced correctly by the fans and radio guys (not including Mike Francesa).

Just a thought...

Ummm, Pass

As the potential Yankee free agent targets continue to drop like flies, a story this morning by Bill Madden suggests that the Yanks might target Carlos Zambrano in a trade to fill the rotation.

No.  Please God no.  A thousand times no!!  I don't want Carlos Zambrano anywhere near Yankee Stadium unless he's hocking fake NYY merchandise outside on the sidewalk after his Major League career ends.  Dude is a fucking nutcase.  And not in the Zack Greinke "Oh he has SAD so he might not be a good fit for the pressure of New York"-style nutcase.  I mean a legit nutcase.  Like he would probably kill you if you pissed him off enough.

The Yankees have already lost out on guys who they either targeted or who were good fits for the team in Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Matt Diaz, Scott Downs, and now it sounds like Kerry Wood and Randy Choate  also.  The next step needs to be bringing back a proven commodity who already fits in in Andy Pettitte and then focusing on shoring up the 'pen with Rafael Soriano or Bobby Jenks and then adding someone to the bench like either of the Hairston brothers.  With what's left available in terms of lefties, I wouldn't waste my time or money.  Just go to battle with Logan and see if something else develops from the arms currently in the bullpen and in the Minors.

The next step does not need to be trading away some of the top-flight prospect arms in the Minors for a guy who has essentially become a mid-level starter over the last couple years and, as previously mentioned, is a known and well-documented whack job.  Come on, Cash.  You preached patience the other day in your response to the Lee signing earlier in the week.  Trading someone like Manny Banuelos for Carlos Zambrano, even straight up, does not signify patience.