Re CF: It’s a tough call due to Petco’s defensive demands. There absolutely must be a plus defender out there, and since there aren’t that many available, you have to sacrifice some offense in most cases.

Personally, I would much rather have Cameron back than Hunter. Hunter is an aging player as a defender and his rep is way overblown by “Web Gems.” Offensively he’s not any better than Cameron, unless you’re going to let his “contract year” numbers fool you. Granted he’s younger, but he’s going to be more expensive, and I’ll guarantee (since it’s the internet and won’t cost me anything ) someone will overpay for him.

Jones for a year would be awesome, but I don’t see him as the sort of player who will be hurt by a sub-par season in his walk year. Going into his age 31 season and with his track record, he’s going to get paid and he’s going to get a multi-year contract.

Crisp is intriguing. For what it’s worth, UZR from 2003 through part of 2007 has him as a great defender in LF, but essentially average in CF. Chances are he’d struggle a bit in Petco’s CF, but he might have a good year. A bit of a crapshoot defensively, most likely, with no offensive upside. Depends on the economics if he’s a better bet than Cameron.

What’s Crisp’s contract status? I’m having problems with COTS.

#28: John Beamer recently projected that Andruw will go for 6/$85-90M, while Hunter will command around 4/$55M. Is anyone here comfortable with either of those numbers? Hunter is moving toward his decline phase, and his offense will probably take a hit at Petco, but if his defense is that good…

I’ve heard that Boston plans to keep Crisp and Ellsbury as insurance against a JD Drew injury. They can certainly afford to keep both and they’ve shown they’re willing to keep a guy even though it would be in their best interest to trade him (Wily Mo Pena).

For what it would cost to resign Cameron I’d rather spend a little extra and get Hunter or Jones.

13: I like Silva as well. He doesn’t strike anyone out but he doesn’t walk anyone either and when he’s been able to keep his HR rate down he’s been effective. He may not be exciting but he looks to be fairly consistent, which is what we need behind our big three.

Mainly I am trying to beat the “bring back Mike Cameron” drum incessantly.

#8: Different era, indeed. Our best relievers in the ’70s (before Rollie Fingers) were guys like Gary Ross, Mike Corkins, Mike Caldwell, and Dave Tomlin. Yikes.

#10: Clark was overmatched in center, no doubt. That said, it’s hard to retool an entire outfield with a week left in the season.

#11: I don’t think anyone scapegoated Clark. He clearly was a stopgap solution. As for the uneasy feeling when Trevor comes in, that’s been here for a while. We’re used to it by now.

#24: Is Crisp that bad defensively? I haven’t seen him play, but his numbers are decent. We’ve been spoiled with Cameron, but I would be okay with a Jay Payton (2004) type guy next year. Tough though it may be to swallow, Crisp is actually one of the most appealing options out there right now.