People talk about blowing up the team, but it's tough to blow it up when there are guys coming back next year that we seemingly can't get rid of, and who are going to encumber the roster so that we have almost no choice but have them there and hope they perform the way we'd like. It would be a lot easier to blow up the team after next year.

With that in mind, is there a corner OF we can acquire on a 1-year contract next year (or impending FA) that would be a reasonable fit in LF and would allow us to compete? That way we can evaluate whether guys like Paps, MDC, Beckett, and Lowrie can upgrade their play next year, have another minor league year to evaluate what the real chances are for some of our top, especially upper-level prospects, and have a grand, both short- and long-term reinvigoration strategy after 2010.

shoosh, seeing your post after mine hit the board here, maybe Abreu is the answer, if he'll take another 1-year contract.