Amfox - i'm pretty much right there with you regarding Beckett... I do think I have a little higher outlook on his ability than you do though. At some points in time, the front office is going to have to resign some guys to second contracts. They need to be wise as to which guys they do give their money out to, but if we want long-term sustained success there cannot be constant turn-over all the time. Beckett, to me, is a guy that should hold up physically (I feel weird saying this considering the questions surrounding him early in his career). However, he's a big power pitcher and those guys typically age well. I would not hesitate to give him 4 years for this reason. There is something to be said for continuity and if he's let go then you need someone to replace him, even as a number 2 (I think of him more as a 1A) unless we plan to cross our fingers and home someone else becomes that guy in the next 2/3 years. Even if Kelly is going to be the guy, realistically, he won't even be in Boston before late 2011. Then once he's here, it's safe to assume he'll need some adjustment time. Can we really expect Casey to be a 1 or 1A before 2013 (and this is an accelerated time scale)... This team will need someone to fill that void for a few years and I'm usually for the guy that's already here. He does annoy me with the inconsistancies, but he's gotten it done for the most part as well as almost anyone other than a small group of 10 or so guys. He's certainly a top 20 guy in baseball...