Hot stove.

So now that Theo's gone, Lucchino and company are cleaning house. 'Theo's guys' are being shipped out of town or given walking papers, amidst the craziest baseball off season since 2000 (the Year of the Bloated Free Agent Contracts). The Marlins just finished gutting their very talented team. The Phillies traded Big Bad Jim Thome out of town. Alfonso Soriano, traded away from Texas. Clemens, finally retired? The Blue Jays are actually spending money. And Manny might still be traded (nooooooooo...).

At the end of the 2005 season, the starting lineup of the Sox looked something like this:

C Jason Varitek
1B Kevin Millar/John Olerud
2B Tony Graffanino
3B Bill Mueller
SS Edgar Renteria
LF Manny Ramirez
CF Johnny Damon
RF Trot Nixon
DH David Ortiz

SP Curt Schilling
SP Matt Clement
SP Tim Wakefield
SP David Wells
SP Bronson Arroyo

Now we're looking at a rough draft like this:

C Varitek
1B ??? (Millar -- let go / Olerud -- retired)
2B Mark Loretta
3B Mike Lowell
SS ??? (See ya, Edgah)
LF Ramirez (for now)
CF ??? (Damon re-signs?)
RF Nixon (for now)
DH Ortiz

SP Josh Beckett
SP Schilling
SP Wakefield
SP Jon Papelbon
SP ??? (Wells likely gone / Clement might be gone)

A lot of question marks. A lot of rumors. By trading for Loretta, super prospect Dustin Pedroia is now going to sit in Pawtucket. Is he going to be traded away too? What happens to Youkilis? If they trade Manny, who's going to fill the production void? Troy Glaus? Will Damon re-sign? If he doesn't, then do they trade for Bobby Abreu? Can Lowell be his good ole .280/25/100 self? Do we have enough super glue for Beckett's blisters? Is Nomar coming back???

I love offseasons like this -- a massive shakeup to the status quo. To teams like the Mets, Cubs, and Blue Jays, this recent infusion of talent reinvigorates their hopes and chances. The White Sox are, for the time being, a force. The Indians are on the verge. The current superpowers, the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels, Cardinals, and Braves, are still around, while the Dodgers, A's, Twins, Astros, and Giants can still be factors.

How many more days until pitchers and catchers report?