Early Baseball Christmas Shopping

As we approach mid-December, our thoughts turn to buying presents for our loved ones. There are less than two weeks until Christmas, and there is, as usual, far too much to get done. Buy and trim the tree, prepare the holiday feasts, and, for law professors, grade those Torts exams. But even in the off-season -- or especially in the off-season -- baseball clubs are busy with their own Christmas shopping. Who might our club acquire that would make a difference on the field during the 2011 Championship Season?

The Boston Red Sox were first into the department stores this December with two blockbuster acquisitions -- one by trade, one by free agency (not to be confused with "one if by land and two if by sea," a common phrase when walking around Boston Common). The Red Sox signed two stellar ballplayers to long-term and expensive contracts. (I guess there was money left over after John Henry purchased the Liverpool club in the English Premier League.) Adrian Gonzalez (7 years -- $154 million) has long been an object of desire for the crimson hose. He will add power to a line-up that has just not been the same since Manny Ramirez flaked off to LA. Carl Crawford (7 years -- $142 million) has mostly been a constant annoyance for the Sox as a stalwart member of the division rival Tampa Bay Rays. Once on base, something that Crawford did early and often, he annoyed the opposing hurler until taking off for second base. His work in the outfield certainly qualifies him to patrol the Green Monsta at Fenway. There is good reason for the Sox faithful to be counting their blessings and counting the days until pitchers and catchers arrive in Fort Myers.

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