This being a Red Sox fansite, as soon as the final out of the season is made, our thoughts turn to re-tooling for next year. Fire up the hot stove, people.

We were a very good team this year. Probably the second best team in MLB (though I know the run differential tells a slightly different story). While we are aging in some key positions, we have both the money and the prospects to sustain our success.

Let's look at the free agents first of all, before we come up with creative trades for Tim Lincecum and Ryan Braun. Pick your priority free agent in the attached poll. If I've missed one out, chose Other and state your choice below.

Here's an apparently full list of FAs for reference, though I've spotted an error or two.

Share with the Over the Monster community, if you will, your fondest memories of Manny in a Red Sox uniform.

He has been spectacular, and bizarre, and infuriating in equal measure, and he will be sorely missed.

I will start the ball rolling by mentioning the walkoff home run he hammered off K-Rod in Game 2 of the ALDS last year. It was a legendary blow, and I will treasure it for a very long time. Pimping? Damn right. Damn right...

Thanks Manny.

via i151.photobucket.com

So, let's assume that Ortiz is going to be out for more than a month, or worst case scenario, the whole season. Could you stomach avowed Boston-hater* Barry Bonds in a Red Sox uniform, or would you rather stick with internal options, such as Carter and Moss?

Make no mistake. Sports teams are mercenary and there is generally very little they won't do to win. Truly, I'm not sure ethics would be a sticking point for Theo and co. Barry Bonds is still a ferociously good hitter and he would be likely to match Papi's production. He would only cost money.

*Perhaps with good reason. I'm not going to gainsay his personal experiences of racism.

Bottom of the 2nd. Sox have jumped to a 1-0 lead.

Dustin Pedroia got the RBI - pretty amusing given how he has mouthed off about Daniel Cabrera 'having nothing'.

Jonathan Van Every is patrolling CF, Ellsbury in RF. Buchholz in the DL with a broken fingernail (trans: an excuse to break for a week or two, with the bonus of limiting his innings).

Jon Lester is your starting pitcher for the good guys.

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Alex Cora, SS
9. Jonathan Van Every, CF

-- Jon Lester, SP

Orioles

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Jay Payton, LF
3. Nick Markakis, RF
4. Aubrey Huff, 3B
5. Kevin Millar, 1B
6. Ramon Hernandez, C
7. Luke Scott, DH
8. Adam Jones, CF
9. Freddie Bynum, SS

-- Daniel Cabrera, SP

Manny Ramirez keeps Mike Mussina in a gimp mask, and brings him out when he feels like batting practice. (Note: not a euphemism.)

So, last night the Bad, Bad Man got homers 494 and 495, and the 500 mark is just around the corner.

Foolishly/enthusiastically, I opened up the 500 sweepstakes in March last year when Manny was on 470. It looked like he'd reach the mark in August. Gulp. Just a little bit out... 

But let's have another crack at this. State below when, and off which pitcher, Marvellous Manuel will make the mark. There will be prizes. Lots of virtual, imaginary prizes.

For the record, he's 24th all time. Ted Williams sits at joint 16th, with 521. Suddenly that looks achievable in 08.

Craig Hansen has started off the 2008 season in terrific style for the PawSox. Six innings, eight strikeouts, one hit. If that doesn’t make you say "MMMbop", I don’t know what would.

Yes, yes. Small sample size. But last year he had two big problems:

Severe sleep apnoea: He was waking many times a night and as a result was suffering fatigue and problems with focus. A 500-lb fat man, if you will (and who wouldn't). But off-season surgery in has corrected the problem

Release point: The probable reason his slider hasn’t as devastating as it was at St John’s. But looks like he’s found it again. Hello: I’m from the school of extrapolating wildly based on a handful of innings. Regardless, I’m back on the bandwagon.

I’m bravely predicting is that Hansen will make it to the Sox pen soon after the All-Star break, when he’ll become a solid 6/7 inning guy. All part of his renaissance in realising his potential as a dominant setup man.

Craig Hansen note: He was described as the most Major League-ready player in the 2005 draft class.

Bonus Craig Hansen note: He’s from Glen Cove, NY, where Hitchcock filmed bits of North by Northwest. The bits where James Mason and Martin Landau get Roger Thornhill liquored up and behind the wheel of a car, I believe. (And having looked it up, Glen Cove was also used for Annie Hall, Arthur and Batman Forever. We’ll forget about Batman Forever. Or try to, at any rate.)

Hanson note: If I saw the drummer, I’d probably bust him one on the snout. It would be a purely reflex action.

Bonus Hanson note: Their Wikipedia entry alleges that fans all over the world still celebrate Hanson Day on 6 May. Let’s just say I’m sceptical.

Here's my contribution to off-season silliness, though there is a serious point buried deep beneath the drivel.

There are plenty of Red Sox fans vehemently opposed to the signing of A-Rod. Would these people find it difficult to root for the Red Sox if he were manning third base for the next decade?

Assuming it's unlikely that even the biggest A-Rod hater would abandon the Sox if he were signed, what would be the final straw?

At the heart of this is a question about the nature of fandom. Even the most diehard fan has a tipping point...right? Is it the uniform or the name or the personnel?

I don't know what my tipping point would be. A name/town change would probably seal the deal though.

According to ESPN, Schilling has agreed to a one-year deal "worth about $8 million in base salary and another $2 million in potential incentives".

Whichever way you slice it, that's a good deal for a pitcher of Curt's calibre and experience. It even looks like there might be a bit of a home-town discount here.

[editor's note, by Allen Chace]Sweet mother. Sounds like a good deal for us, though I figured a $10M base with incentives to possibly push it over Schill's original asking price of $13M.

A rockier month for the Red Sox, but we still maintained a double-digit gap ahead of the second-best team in the AL East...

This poll isn't the embarrassment of riches we've had previously, but there are some strong performances to consider. Two hitters, two star pitchers, Julian Tavarez and a Y*nkee: it's the classic combination.

Near misses:

It's been largely about hitting this month, after a pitcher-dominated April.

One notable absence from this poll is our leftfielder: Manny's heating up, and recorded a May OPS of .970.

For the record, Beckett won last month's poll, with 57% of the vote, trailed by Okajima with 30%.

Let me know if you think anyone else is worthy of consideration.

breaking news - Clemens back to the Yankees. No word on $$$, or anything else yet.

We didn't need him - I'm glad we don't have him, to be honest, though of course he would have made the rotation stronger.

Must admit, I'm very surprised that he's not stayed with the Astros, though they have been crappy recently, and of course Andy Pettitte is with the Yankees.

It's been a corker of a month. All about the quality of our starting rotation, backed by two studs in the pen, right?

Well, pretty much. But there have also been some strong offensive contributions. I've included Alex Cora below because he's been tremendous in limited opportunities. Though he's not in the poll, Tito Francona gets a double thumbs up too, for his all-round strategy - though it's relatively easy to manage a team whose starters go seven innings.

Let me know if I've missed an obvious candidate.

...because there isn't one yet.

Lugo lines the first pitch of the game straight back at Karstens, smacks him just above the right knee. Karstens struggles on, but Youk gets a single.

Kei Igawa in - he had been relegated to the bullpen.

The Yankees' luck this year = our luck last year.

Ortiz hits into a DP. Lugo over to third, though.