Nobody screws with Brian Myrow on my watch.
additional unblurry version here
We Can Has Beckham?
Chris Getz, who did in fact make it to spring training and is definitely not murdered, could feasibly hit 5 runs better than that over a full season, but he'd still be below average and the Sox are already giving away runs elsewhere on the diamond. So unless he's a serious defensive whiz, that's a full 2 win deficit to the Tigers and 1 to the Indians . He's a useful piece, but he's also disposable because of his limited upside and lack of marginal utility. Gordon Beckham will be here soon enough, and with him multiple pennants, but I still have a soft spot for Getz. I'd like to see him latch on as a utility infielder after '09.
Meanwhile, neither of the Twins' second base candidates project to beat out Jayson Nix. I'd point and laugh, but I'm sure that'd inspire the Fates to inflict Jerry Owens or The Great Cole Armstrong Experiment on us. Polanco and DeRosa are no great shakes, but they're certainly legitimately talented and barring injury will be significantly better than Getz.
Interestingly, the Sox may well be set to dominate middle infield over the next few seasons in the Central. Between Beckham and Alexei, that's a potential 7 win pairing and there are really no other great middle infield prospects in any of the competing systems. DeRosa and Polanco are well on the wrong side of 30 and in contract years whereas JR will pay Alexei and Beckham no more than $2M combined in '10 and '11.