Hardball Heaven

Lots of talk today that the Sox are on the verge of acquiring longtime Rockies' 1B Todd Helton. The Sox would give up Mike Lowell, Julian Tavarez, and possibly either Manny Delcarmen or Craig Hansen in the deal - and the sides would split the remaining $90 million on Helton's contract. ESPN's Buster Olney has been all over this story like flies on you know what.

While I'd rather it was Youkilis heading out west instead of Lowell, I like the deal. I understand Helton's not the mega-star he was earlier this decade, but he is a superior defensive first baseman (three Gold Gloves) and he's the kind of guy who would be a great complement to the big boppers, Manny and Ortiz. Helton makes pitchers work, and would slot in nicely right after J.D. Drew in the lineup. If Lowell stayed on (I believe he's only got one year left on his contract), the Sox would have the best corner infield defense around.

At any rate, if the deal goes down here's what the lineup would look like:

SS Julio Lugo
3B Kevin Youkilis
DH David Ortiz
LF Manny Ramirez
RF J.D. Drew
1B Todd Helton
C Jason Varitek
CF Coco Crisp
2B Dustin Pedroia

Not too shabby. Can you say high pitch counts?