Don’t Believe Every Rumor You Hear During Red Sox Hot Stove Season

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Nov 24, 2009

Don't Believe Every Rumor You Hear During Red Sox Hot Stove Season Red Sox manager Terry Francona will be answering questions on NESN.com this offseason. Send questions to his mailbag.

Here’s his fifth installment.

How is the hot stove season progressing for the Red Sox — better than expected, worse than expected or just about what was expected? What, if anything, has surprised you so far?
–Rich, Hamden, Conn.

The hot stove part of baseball can almost be as exciting as during our season — but certainly for different reasons. This is the quiet time (at least publicly). As we near the winter meetings in Indianapolis in a few weeks, things are sure to heat up. You will hear many rumors (probably about 99 percent are not true), but we will also be busy signing players and talking of potential trades, all in order to make us more competitive in 2010. 
 
Would you consider using Jason Varitek to catch Tim Wakefield next season?
–Tina, Lewiston, Maine

I don’t think that probably makes a whole lot of sense. We have always used the other catcher to catch Wake, and Victor [Martinez] did a very good job with him. We will probably use more of a conventional rotation with our catchers in 2010. And when Victor is not catching, we’ll try to strike a balance with keeping his bat in the lineup and getting him his rest. 
 
Have you seen Ryan Kalish play? Where do you envision him playing in Boston when he’s ready to be called up?
–Eric, Somerville, Mass.

Ryan is an exciting young prospect for us. I haven’t seen him play a whole lot yet. He came over and played a few games during spring training but never in an extended look. I know our player development people are very excited about his progress. Hopefully, we will get a longer look at him next spring. 

What is your preferred media source for baseball news — online, TV, newspaper or radio? How much do you follow what is going on with other teams besides the Red Sox during the season and offseason?
–Kerry, Sarasota Springs, N.Y.

When I am on the road, I enjoy getting up and looking at the box scores with breakfast. I usually watch SportsCenter or something like that in order to keep an eye on what’s going on. When we are losing, I usually watch CNN or something. It's hard to watch baseball when we are losing. I end up rooting for everyone to lose (and that’s probably just not going to happen).
 
Do you think players who used performance-enhancing drugs should get into the Hall of the Fame?
–Paul, Newton, Mass.

I think that I don’t have all the answers on that one. I think we (baseball in general) were very slow to realize we had problems, and we are paying for that now. The policy that is currently in place ensures that good players all stay on an even playing field, and I think the vast majority of players are happy about that. The problem with assuming some are people guilty before anything has been proven is a dangerous way to go about things. So I am very careful. I get to see how hard these players work and how many sacrifices they make. We have to figure out a way to get past the last decade and some of the problems that came with it. I need someone smarter than me to figure out how to do that.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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