If you could get rid of anyone on the current Sox roster?

[SCM33]

In order:

Beckett

Lackey

Salty

 

Punto and Melancon are nothing players. They are not the reason for the mess.

 

Crawford isn't worth his contract, but hes not the problem that Beckett, Lackey or Salty are. Beckett and Lackey are poison....and Salty isn't a catcher. The pitching staff has been murdered for the last 2 years when he starts a game. Using catcher ERA (and I know its not the best stat, but there are some consistencies).

 

2011

Salty...........4.63

Varitek........3.56

 

2012

Salty...........4.60

Shoppach....3.72

 

Weird....

[RedSoxNC84]

Salty isn't a catcher.

 

I've thought this for awhile now, he's purely DH material.

[SCM33]

I've thought this for awhile now' date=' he's purely DH material.[/quote']

 

Hes not even that.

 

He hits well for a catcher...not enough for a DH. He would be in the bottom third of the league in terms of production from a DH.

 

He is a backup catcher.

[msubulldogs21]

When comparing the two, I think everyone hates Beckett more right now because Lackey is out for the year and hasn't given us any ammo since last season. That said, I can't stand either and would love to just cut our losses and get some guys who actually give a s*** on this team. I would much rather have a guy who works hard and genuinely cares who has a 4.00+ ERA than someone like Beckett who just walks off the mound and it doesn't phase him.

 

I hate this season so much.

[msubulldogs21]

A few nights ago I re-watched the "Four Days in October" 30 for 30 about the 2004 Sox run. Then I remembered how much fun Red Sox baseball used to be.

 

I miss those days.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

I did too on Netflix haha

[lospunchados]

To answer the question the way he originally asked, Lackey. If it has nothing to do with anything else then lackey is the one. He's an ******* to EVERYONE. When he left the angels , angels fans everywhere laughed at what he got to come to the redsox. He's arrogant and blames anyone else he can about his failures. Baseball is harder in the AL East. You don't get 38 games against Oakland and Seattle. Suck it up and do your job better.

[a700hitter]

To answer the question the way he originally asked' date=' Lackey. If it has nothing to do with anything else then lackey is the one. He's an ******* to EVERYONE. When he left the angels , angels fans everywhere laughed at what he got to come to the redsox. He's arrogant and blames anyone else he can about his failures. Baseball is harder in the AL East. You don't get 38 games against Oakland and Seattle. Suck it up and do your job better.[/quote']Oakland has a wild card spot as of now and Seattle has been hot too.

[mvp 78]

Lackey

[Palodios]

I think Leter is thru. The Sox should give him until the end of the season to get his act back together' date=' but if he cannot, they need to move on from him. I know that Wins and Losses are not the best measure of a pitcher, but any pitcher with a 5-10 record on a team that scores the most runs in the league is unfathomable. The Sox are 8-15 in his starts-- again, this is unfathomable. I don't think he can be salvaged. He's circling the drain. The Sox need to go in a different direction.[/quote']

 

Your stance on Lester really surprises me. You always stand by players with elite talent, above all else, even when they're underperforming, or the stats don't show it.

 

Even if you consider Lester a #2, why is it that you think he is unsalvageable when you always had the backs of guys like 2008 Ortiz, 2012 Youkilis, 2010 Beckett and about ten other players I can think of (most of which did turn themeselves around)?

[ibot2much]

God, I hate Lachey.

[Palodios]

To answer RSSFL's question, Crawford. He has a very good work ethic, and could actually end up being a very productive player for this team, but in the long run that money is definitely better served used elsewhere.

 

I've wanted Beckett and Salty gone for a while, but the reality is that they're only controlled for two more years. Crawford is controlled for five. Two years from now, the elite prospects of this system will start to emerge-- If Crawford's contract is already off the books, losing Beckett/Lackey/Salty will give the team a significant amount of payroll to work with to support their younger guys. Ideally, they'll use it to spend money on quality players this time around.

[a700hitter]

Your stance on Lester really surprises me. You always stand by players with elite talent, above all else, even when they're underperforming, or the stats don't show it.

 

Even if you consider Lester a #2, why is it that you think he is unsalvageable when you always had the backs of guys like 2008 Ortiz, 2012 Youkilis, 2010 Beckett and about ten other players I can think of (most of which did turn themeselves around)?

I stand by guys who are in slumps or who have been injured, if I think they still have what it takes. The thing that concerns me most about Lester is that he has been healthy for the duration of the season and he has not shown even brief stretches of dominant pitching. It could be a mental issue that he needs to work out. He gets so flustered over balls and strikes, maybe if he gets his emotions in check he can turn it around. His velocity is down. His strike out are way down. I don't like the direction all the signs are pointing. I'd give him until the end of the season to get his act together. If he doesn't, then they need to part company. I have less tolerance for under performing pitchers than hitters, because they are more in control of the teams fate than a one or two hitters in a 9 player lineup. You can't keep handing him the ball if he can't keep his team in games. This 5+ ERA crosses over the barrier of off year into suck-ville IMO. He needs to turn things around fast, or he needs to go. He and Beckett are making 2010 Lackey look like an ace.

[Palodios]

The thing that concerns me most about Lester is that he has been healthy for the duration of the season and he has not shown even brief stretches of dominant pitching. It could be a mental issue that he needs to work out. He gets so flustered over balls and strikes' date=' maybe if he gets his emotions in check he can turn it around. [/quote']

 

He has been dominant in games, but the problem is that he seems to give up on games that he could have toughed out. Two days ago, he had five innings of one hit ball against the Texas Rangers, and then he got two consecutive bad calls by the ump and then gave up two consecutive hits.

 

My impression is that he simply had a bad month last September, and it left a bad taste in his mouth all offseason, and can't seem to get rid of it, and he's lost a bit of mental toughness. Pitching to a hack like Salty sure doesn't help, I'd bet.

[ibot2much]

I can't fault Crawford for his bad contract. If Theo was stupid enought to give him that, then Carl was right to take it. I always enjoyed seeing CC play for TB and I would pray that he woulkd turn it around last year for the Sox. Everytime he was at bat, I just wanted him to get a hit. He always sruck me as a pleasant, polite young guy for whom Boston was not the right place. I wonder if he got some counseling over the winter because he seemed to be in a better place emotionally this year

[a700hitter]

He has been dominant in games, but the problem is that he seems to give up on games that he could have toughed out. Two days ago, he had five innings of one hit ball against the Texas Rangers, and then he got two consecutive bad calls by the ump and then gave up two consecutive hits.

 

My impression is that he simply had a bad month last September, and it left a bad taste in his mouth all offseason, and can't seem to get rid of it, and he's lost a bit of mental toughness. Pitching to a hack like Salty sure doesn't help, I'd bet.

They should have him throw to Shop for the rest of theseason if that makes a difference. They need to figure out if hecan return to form before theseason ends.

[Beecke]

Well, where to start. This team is such a clusterf***. It?s not just not a well rounded team, that was to be expected from the start.

 

In the end this is not even a team. No one unit, nothing. The problems regarding the batting approach by the team have been well documented, it seems like everyone is in it for himself, regardless of the specific situation in the game that surrounds every at-bat.

 

And the same is true IMO for the pitching staff. I really don?t get why seemingly it is impossible for guys like Beckett and Lester to just keep the team in it on the scoreboard. It seems like they are battling their own fight, totally seperated from everything else, too. I mean, I get that they suck at the moment, but with our offense why can?t they let themselves get picked up by the runs the offense scores and instead of totally collapsing for 5+ runs in 5 or 6 innnings, at least keep it tight and hand the ball over having somehow limited the damage? To me it looks like in this Red Sox team there just is no cohesiveness and they are totally unable to play together as a team. It?s everyone for himself, sometimes that works out and leads to good results and the accumulated talent comes through one by one, other times it doesn?t and it looks like these don?t even know each other, nevermind the gameplan.

 

So how should I know who should go first? There seems to be quite a huge problem with this team, even before you adress their performances, and I don?t know if just winning would cure that. Maybe this roster needs a complete revamp, and I mean complete. I don?t think people would shed too many tears, I know I wouldn?t.

 

That being said:

 

Beckett

Lester

Lackey

Dice-K

 

I am so sick of all of them.

[a700hitter]

Well, where to start. This team is such a clusterf***. It?s not just not a well rounded team, that was to be expected from the start.

 

In the end this is not even a team. No one unit, nothing. The problems regarding the batting approach by the team have been well documented, it seems like everyone is in it for himself, regardless of the specific situation in the game that surrounds every at-bat.

 

And the same is true IMO for the pitching staff. I really don?t get why seemingly it is impossible for guys like Beckett and Lester to just keep the team in it on the scoreboard. It seems like they are battling their own fight, totally seperated from everything else, too. I mean, I get that they suck at the moment, but with our offense why can?t they let themselves get picked up by the runs the offense scores and instead of totally collapsing for 5+ runs in 5 or 6 innnings, at least keep it tight and hand the ball over having somehow limited the damage? To me it looks like in this Red Sox team there just is no cohesiveness and they are totally unable to play together as a team. It?s everyone for himself, sometimes that works out and leads to good results and the accumulated talent comes through one by one, other times it doesn?t and it looks like these don?t even know each other, nevermind the gameplan.

 

So how should I know who should go first? There seems to be quite a huge problem with this team, even before you adress their performances, and I don?t know if just winning would cure that. Maybe this roster needs a complete revamp, and I mean complete. I don?t think people would shed too many tears, I know I wouldn?t.

 

That being said:

 

Beckett

Lester

Lackey

Dice-K

 

I am so sick of all of them.

^ it's a shame that the team's most passionate fans have been made to feel like this. This organization is a mess.

[lospunchados]

Oakland has a wild card spot as of now and Seattle has been hot too.

 

Oakland is a good team, Seattle isn't. They still can't hit though and are a lot easier to face as a pitcher.

[a700hitter]

Oakland is a good team' date=' Seattle isn't. They still can't hit though and are a lot easier to face as a pitcher.[/quote']As bad as Seattle is, they ran off something like 8 wins in 9 games recently. The Sox have not had a run like that all season long.

[3rdManOut]

I dont know why Im so stuck on trying to stick it out with Lester. I feel like if we got rid of the so called poison in the club house maybe he would get better on the mound. I think Lester has been very influenced by Beckett and Lackey.

On another note maybe we could get something (and I mean this in a very loose term) for Dice-K?

[Elktonnick]

I dont know why Im so stuck on trying to stick it out with Lester. I feel like if we got rid of the so called poison in the club house maybe he would get better on the mound. I think Lester has been very influenced by Beckett and Lackey.

On another note maybe we could get something (and I mean this in a very loose term) for Dice-K?

 

I agree. I'd like to see how Lester would respond if Beckett and Lackey weren't around. I also think that the Sox should trade Salty not Shoppach. Salty is a worse defender than Shoppach, calls an inferior game and strikes out too much. He has struck out 36 of his last 74 ABs. One can predict his ABs. Get ahead, then with two strikes, throw a breaking pitch down and in, strike three .

[iortiz]

Lackey.

[TutGadol]

Stop hating on Lester. He sucks a bit now but he isn't and ass and he actually cares about the team and his performance. He isn't like Beckett or Lackey. Get rid of Beckett and Lackey. Too bad nobody wants them. At least we're getting rid of Matsuzaka.

[Laser Show]

Beckett, Lackey, and Salty

[SoxFanForsyth]

Lackey, but Aviles is a close 2nd.

 

I cannot take Aviles cocking his head to the side in complete disbelief everytime he makes an out or watches a called strike.

 

And I cannot take Lackey throwing his arms up in the air everytime a player doesn't make a diving catch.

 

Crawford would be really far down on the list for me. Putting him, Ells, and Pedroia in the top 3 slots is really fun to watch with Ortiz, Gonzalez, and Middlebrooks hitting behind him.

[mvp 78]

In total:

 

Lackey

Beckett

Salty

Aviles

 

I'd be open to moving the entire roster for the right price. I don't think there are any untouchables playing higher than AA.

[SoxSport]

Lackey, but Aviles is a close 2nd.

 

I cannot take Aviles cocking his head to the side in complete disbelief everytime he makes an out or watches a called strike.

 

And I cannot take Lackey throwing his arms up in the air everytime a player doesn't make a diving catch.

 

Crawford would be really far down on the list for me. Putting him, Ells, and Pedroia in the top 3 slots is really fun to watch with Ortiz, Gonzalez, and Middlebrooks hitting behind him.

 

The problem is the starting pitching--look at the ERAs. And they keep trotting out the same deadbeats every game to get hit. They can't last more than 5-6 innings, probably because they aren't asked to--and the arms aren't there to do it when it's needed.

[SoxFanForsyth]

The problem is the starting pitching--look at the ERAs. And they keep trotting out the same deadbeats every game to get hit. They can't last more than 5-6 innings' date=' probably because they aren't asked to--and the arms aren't there to do it when it's needed.[/quote']

 

It would help if they had a SS who had any range at all whatsoever.

 

Aviles is a clown at SS.

[a700hitter]

Salty needs to go to. He can't catch, throw or hit. Is there anything else? He strikes out about 50% of the time. He swings and misses more times than any hitter that I can remember. Does anyone remember Salty throwing behind a runner at first or second base? I can't remember. I don't think he is allowed to try it, because there is a 50% chance that he would throw the ball into the OF.

 

Edit: I strongly suspect that he is part of the pitching problem.