The Official 2010 Hot Stove Thread.

[Dipre]

13 position/12 pitchers is the usual model of 25-man roster construction.

[Dipre]

What i mean by that, by the way, is that they'll probably go with Wake as the 7th BP arm.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Shakey Wakey is such a waste. Sucks.

 

Doubront would be such a better option. He can stretch out and be our 6th man, and he can be our 6th and 7th inning guy.

 

Plus we only have 2 lefties on our entire staff.

 

I know you're not necessarily agreeing with the Wakefield option, I just really don't like it.

[italstallianion]

Forsyth, do your damn redraft lineups haha.

[SoxFanForsyth]

i did them this afternoon dickhead!

[SoxFanForsyth]

I demand an apology

[Dipre]

My guess is that they'll go with two lefties (Okajima and Hill are my guesses) plus the three-headed dragon, Wheeler and Wakefield.

 

Doubront and Miller at AAA for spot-starter, lefty BP duties respectively.

[italstallianion]

I demand an apology

 

 

You can suck my chocolate salty balls.

[SoxFanForsyth]

That sounds disgusting. Wash your balls dude.

 

So Dipre - no Atchison?

 

I can see either Atch or Hill, but either way you look at it, they should both be on the 25 man roster and Wakefield shouldn't be.

[Dipre]

That sounds disgusting. Wash your balls dude.

 

So Dipre - no Atchison?

 

I can see either Atch or Hill, but either way you look at it, they should both be on the 25 man roster and Wakefield shouldn't be.

 

First off, for some reason Ital thinks he's black.

 

Second, these situations have a way of working themselves out.

[italstallianion]

It's a South Park reference, Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls

[SoxSport]

In all fairness, Francona sounds like Lowrie doesn't even have the opportunity to win the job at SS, and that's not fair to Lowrie.

 

He had a monster 2010 in his limited AB's, and has earned at least a shot to win the starting job. I would be pretty frustrated too if I were him. I think he is ready for some consistency in his job with the Sox, and after some disappointments this is his first opportunity.

 

Personally, I would like to see Lowrie get a shot at SS because if he can perform at or near 2010 levels, then give him the job. But don't count him out before ST even starts. To be honest, I want to see Lowrie play, but not at the expense of Pedey, Youk, or Gonzo, so where is he going to get all this PT? Youk plays about 145 games, Pedey about 155, and Gonzo about 160, so other than at SS, that only allows 25 games.

 

You know, Tito is a company man (which explains why he is still manager), and he's just reflecting the front office view: the guy that makes the big bucks starts.

 

I give Lowrie credit for having some spunk. I'm sure he has the respect of the FO and the manager, but he has to demonstrate some durability before he can lay claim to anything. The team has been very patient the past few years with him, and it's time now he demonstrated he has the durability to be a regular. Scutaro isn't a bad player, and Lowrie will have to show he's better.

[SoxFanForsyth]

It was just two days ago that Theo basically said the job is Scutaro's to lose, but that Lowrie could win the starting spot with a strong spring training.

 

This is the second time that Theo and Tito have been reporting different things. The first time, Theo said Ellsbury was symptom free, and Tito said he's still feeling it in his back a little, and this was about 2 days apart from each other.

[Dipre]

I don't get why you guys are so friggin' stubborn about this whole Lowrie issue. He will have the opportunity to win the starting SS job, but he has to earn it, and the article does nothing to dispel that notion.

 

The FO obviously sees something we don't, as does Tito, but even then, they're not discarding the possibility in the least. Why is it such a problem that he may have to win the job? The team owes him nothing, and everyone else has had to work and show they deserve the roles they have, so why should he get a free pass?

 

It's also misleading of you to say that he could only see time at SS, since the entire friggin' infield is either post-surgical or coming off injury, so he'll get plenty of AB's to go around if he does start the season as the Utility man.

 

Jesus Christ, the guy is not the next Derek Jeter or Hanley.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Nobody is saying he's the next Hanley or Tulo, but the article makes it seem as though Lowrie is going to be the utility man and Scutaro is going to be the starting SS.

 

All I said was that I think Tito should give him a chance to win the starting job with a solid spring training. If he can continue his success from 2010, then I don't see why he should be playing in a utility role.

[Palodios]

He's the next Hanley or Tulo.

 

There

 

But the team is actually better with him as a utility man.

[Dipre]

Where does the article say (or anyone) say that Lowrie won't get a shot at the SS position? That's what i don't get.

 

I see perfect logic in Tito viewing Lowrie as the utility man, and i'll detail the reasons.

 

First, let's establish this: Lowrie is a better utility player than Scutaro because he can play first base and has a better arm (Scutaro's arm is accurate but weak) for playing third.

 

Seeing as the entire infield is coming off surgery/injury, what about any of these scenarios:

 

1) Gonzales is not on spot to start the season, Lowrie plays first.

 

2) Pedroia has problems with his foot, Lowrie plays second.

 

3) He outperforms Scutaro by a wide margin or he is injured, Lowrie plays short.

 

4) Youkilis has problems with his thumb, Lowrie plays third.

 

All of the above are likely possibilities, and all four of those guys will likely be rested regularly throughout the season, giving Lowrie ample opportunities to play, and making his ability to play around the infield much more valuable to the team (in the case that there are complications).

 

If he's meant to be the regular shortstop, he'll earn it, but in the meantime, there are so many question marks that his versatility is extremely important.

 

I've said this before, but the most underrrated aspect of baseball is a deep bench, and having a guy who can produce at any IF position is golden.

[Will617]

Or, Lowrie could be penciled in as the starting SS, and if any of the other players aren't available at the start, he temporarily moves over to cover.

This is assuming that Lowrie wins the job, which I think he should.

[Dipre]

I need Advil.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Well, Francona didn't just come out and say "I'm not giving Lowrie a shot to start at SS", but he said "Scutaro's our SS and Lowrie is our utility man".

 

I understand that Lowrie is very valuable as a utility man, and if that's the role that he has this year, I'm sure he will excel in it.

 

Basically what I'm saying is, barring any injuries, if Lowrie is going to get a shot to get a significant amount of playing time, I think everyone can agree that ideally it would be at shortstop so that he's not taking playing time from Youk, Pedey, or Gonzo.

 

Now - I understand that next season every one of those players I mentioned above are coming off of surgery, which will add more than usual playing time for Lowrie at their respective positions, but it just sounds like Francona has it set in his mind that Lowrie is the utility guy.

 

For the record, this whole conversation started with someone talking about how Lowrie is mouthing off a little bit regarding not being the starting shortstop, and all I said was that he deserves a shot and it sounds like Francona thinks he is just going to be the utility man.

 

Also - I don't like the idea of having Lowrie as the starting SS and utility man when someone goes down. Unfortunately, Scutaro can't play first or third, so maybe Lowrie can split time with Scoot at SS and spell everyone else when needed.

[Spudboy]

Pass the Advil Dipre.

[Ravenous916]

HEY! we are off topic. Yanks signed Andrew Jones. In the article they described him a good RH 4th outfielder. NOT saying sox should have signed Jones, but hey... didn't we need one of those? not sold on cameron at all!

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

We're not off topic this is the Red Sox hot stove thread. The Yankees have their own.

[Dipre]

Mike Cameron would be more of a DH vs lefties/5th OF. The actual 4th OF should be Darnell McDonald, who can't hit for as much power as Jones, but should play better overall D and add an element of speed to the bench.

[SoxFanForsyth]

This from Jon Heyman -

 

The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago

 

Imagine Bard - Soriano in the 8th and 9th. That would be freaking lights out.

[jacksonianmarch]

Now imagine Soriano and Rivera. Double lights out.

[Keeper]

Only when you have a lead entering the 8th, which won't happen as often as you'd like with your current rotation.

[a700hitter]

I guess Heyman had nothing to write about today.

[jacksonianmarch]

Only when you have a lead entering the 8th' date=' which won't happen as often as you'd like with your current rotation.[/quote']

 

You keep forgetting about our offense there captain. Listen man, the Yanks have the #1 offense in baseball and the #1 bullpen in baseball. They have an ace, they have a promising starter who won 18 games and a talented enigma in Burnett. The rotation is not what it should be, I will give you that, and in a playoff series, it is a MAJOR disadvantage, but for the regular season, our offense will swing enough to give the pen the ball with a lead on most nights. They need another pitcher, no doubt. But the offense can carry the final 2 spots in the rotation through most of the regular season. In the playoffs, completely different story

[Keeper]

Yeah, I know. I was just giving you a hard time. Still, I'm glad you acknowledge that come October they will problems with the roster as is.