I realize it's the middle of football season but there's really not much for me to say about the Patriots until postseason starts. Until the everyone else in the AFC East gets their shit together the regular season is a formality for the Pats, so I figured I'd give you my take on newest addition to the Red Sox.
First off, I love this signing. Is Napoli worth thirteen million? No but this is a shitty free-agent market so teams are going to have to overpay for players or not sign them at all. Napoli fills a huge hole in the Red Sox line up. Batting wise he's something the Sox have neglected in the past few years, a right handed power hitter. Ever since Manny left the Sox have been lacking in right handed hitters, and despite playing in Fenway Park have almost exclusively pursued left handed hitting free agents. No one is going to mistake Napoli for Manny Ramirez at the plate but he is a good addition nonetheless.
In addition to being a good right handed bat he fills a gaping hole at first base for the Sox. He is also a viable option to DH if/when Ortiz goes down and will probably see some action behind the plate at some point in the season. Let's not forget that two years ago, had the Rangers won the World Series, he would have been World Series MVP. He's a guy that's proven he can play when the spotlight is on and that's why I believe he will do well in Boston. Simply put, the Red Sox are a much better team now then they were this time yesterday. With just a three year contract he's not going to be a huge burden if his stats fall in a couple years and while 13 million a year might be excessive it's not my money and it's what team's should expect to pay in this mediocre free agent market.
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