2013 Red Sox predictions.

[SoxFanForsyth]

They should get rid of Salty. That will help just in case Farrell is notsuch a guru. Ricky Romwero fell apart completely on Farrell's watch in Toronto.

 

He also threw 225 innings to a 2.92 era under Farrell. And besides, that's comparing apples to oranges because Farrell already has a very strong relationship and understanding with Lester and Buch.

 

I certainly agree about Salty, though. I would be a bit surprised if he and Bailey weren't dealt during ST.

[jacksonianmarch]

Fred you're exactly right. This season hinges on Lester and Buchholz.

 

Fortunately they have a fantastic history with Farrell, and I really think not enough credit is being given to him for Lester and Buchs success. I think he's the kind of guy who inspires confidence in those pitchers because they trust that he knows what he's talking about. I know he's not the pitching coach, but I certainly think he will still have that same effect on them.

 

Both Lester and Buchholz had their best years when Farrell was here, that's undeniable. How much he contributed to those years is subject to opinion, but I for one believe he contributes a good bit.

 

This again. I see. I want to entertain a sig bet, one that lasts a month and the sig will politely read either jacksonianmarch's bitch or SoxFanForsyth's bitch. My bet is that the Yankees finish with a better win % than the sox, yours is the opposite. Put your sig where your mouth is my friend!

[SoxFanForsyth]

This again. I see. I want to entertain a sig bet, one that lasts a month and the sig will politely read either jacksonianmarch's bitch or SoxFanForsyth's bitch. My bet is that the Yankees finish with a better win % than the sox, yours is the opposite. Put your sig where your mouth is my friend!

 

Don't we already have a sig bet that is this exact bet?

[jacksonianmarch]

Don't we already have a sig bet that is this exact bet?

 

I think that was last yr my friend. I didnt take you up on it.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I think that was last yr my friend. I didnt take you up on it.

 

No it was this year because it was subject to any substantial offseason moves being made, and I asked if Hanrahan was significant and you said no.

[jacksonianmarch]

You are right. I am sorry.

[NativeBostonian]

This again. I see. I want to entertain a sig bet, one that lasts a month and the sig will politely read either jacksonianmarch's bitch or SoxFanForsyth's bitch. My bet is that the Yankees finish with a better win % than the sox, yours is the opposite. Put your sig where your mouth is my friend!

 

Yankees wont make the playoff, guaranteed.

[KrisBryant23USD]

Yankees wont make the playoff, guaranteed.

 

Wouldnt that be nice. I pretty much get the Same feeling as everyone here, The Redsox season Will either succeed or fail because of Lester and buch. Ive wanted to ask you guys something. Ive seen alot of people saying that Dempster will be a back of the rotation starter. But in my mind dont be surprised if he Is our opening day starter. The way i see our rotation shaping up is,

 

1.Dempster

2.Lester

3.Buch

4.Dubrount

5Lackey.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

[seabeachfred]

They should get rid of Salty. That will help just in case Farrell is notsuch a guru. Ricky Romwero fell apart completely on Farrell's watch in Toronto.

 

You keep getting back to Salty and I wonder why others aren't falling in line with you on that b ecause IMO you are spot on with that Ted. Our team's ERA seems to always be higher when he catches, but aside from that his arm is only average, he doesn't block balls very well, and his leadership qualities have been in question. Perhaps they expect him to become a 30+ home run hitter and with Varitek's careful help he might get better. It happened with Mike Piazza back in the 90's but this is not meant to be a comparison with that guy. Jarrod will never be the hitter that Mike was but it is possible the Red Sox think his bat could compensate for his defensive deficiecies. I don't. As much as I talk about having a good hitting team you must have a good man defensively behind the plate.

[seabeachfred]

Wouldnt that be nice. I pretty much get the Same feeling as everyone here, The Redsox season Will either succeed or fail because of Lester and buch. Ive wanted to ask you guys something. Ive seen alot of people saying that Dempster will be a back of the rotation starter. But in my mind dont be surprised if he Is our opening day starter. The way i see our rotation shaping up is,

 

1.Dempster

2.Lester

3.Buch

4.Dubrount

5Lackey.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

 

Sorry Kris......not Dempster. I think the Yankees would destroy him. I think it will be Lester because he is supposed to be our No. 1 man if it isn't Buchholz---and Lester has had better success against the Yankees. I might get hammered on this but I would consider Dubrount. He has pitched very well against the Yankees in the past, very well. He just might get us off to a 1-0 start, though in the end Farrell will go with Jon.

[SoxSport]

When you play the Yankees in NY, you throw all your left handers against them. That would include Morales.

[KrisBryant23USD]

Sorry Kris......not Dempster. I think the Yankees would destroy him. I think it will be Lester because he is supposed to be our No. 1 man if it isn't Buchholz---and Lester has had better success against the Yankees. I might get hammered on this but I would consider Dubrount. He has pitched very well against the Yankees in the past, very well. He just might get us off to a 1-0 start, though in the end Farrell will go with Jon.

 

 

And they wouldnt Destroy lester???? I dont exactly remeber all the games he pitched against the Yankees last year but I know he didnt do good against them. I dont get why People have such a hard time Seeing Dempster as our #1(I know hes not a true #1) but hes the best we have RIGHT NOW. Dempster is that Crafty veteran you love to have on your team.

[jacksonianmarch]

Yankees wont make the playoff, guaranteed.

 

I'll own your sig too. Want in?

[KrisBryant23USD]

You keep getting back to Salty and I wonder why others aren't falling in line with you on that b ecause IMO you are spot on with that Ted. Our team's ERA seems to always be higher when he catches, but aside from that his arm is only average, he doesn't block balls very well, and his leadership qualities have been in question. Perhaps they expect him to become a 30+ home run hitter and with Varitek's careful help he might get better. It happened with Mike Piazza back in the 90's but this is not meant to be a comparison with that guy. Jarrod will never be the hitter that Mike was but it is possible the Red Sox think his bat could compensate for his defensive deficiecies. I don't. As much as I talk about having a good hitting team you must have a good man defensively behind the plate.

 

I Agree. Even Salty's Offense at times is Dismall. Sometimes you wonder if he'll even make contact with the ball ever again. And on the flip side his defense is terrible, I dont think the horrible starting pitching was just to blame on the SPers. Salty in My view still has no idea how to call a decent game and The pitchers dont seem to trust him.

[seabeachfred]

And they wouldnt Destroy lester???? I dont exactly remeber all the games he pitched against the Yankees last year but I know he didnt do good against them. I dont get why People have such a hard time Seeing Dempster as our #1(I know hes not a true #1) but hes the best we have RIGHT NOW. Dempster is that Crafty veteran you love to have on your team.

 

Kris, Lester pitched one of his best games last August against the Yankees, a seven-plus inning 4-1 victory and his lifetime record against them is still very good. You can be as big a supporter of Dempster as you want and I hope to hell he has a terrific year but he will not be pitching that first game unless two or three other pitchers are unable to go. And when he finally beats the Yankees the drinks are on me.

[NYlove4BoSox]

Lester has got to be the Opening Day starter. His biggest biggest obsticle has been his head getting in his way and he needs the vote of confidence.

Whomever starts, a winning opening series will be quite a relief after a couple of bleak starts.

[jung]

All of my ambivalence about Lester as a #1 aside, Lester is the opening day starter for this team. The very season hinges in large part on what Lester and Buch do not on what Dempster does. Whatever anybody thinks of the Sox chances this year, they are going to have to climb on Lester and Buch's backs. The Sox will go as far as they take them.

 

If Dempster is the opening day pitcher what the hell kind of a message is that to send the team. Climb on Dempster back!!!....you can't be serious.

 

In fact it would not surprise me one bit if Farrell put it to both of those guys just that way cause treating them with kid gloves at this point makes no sense. They are pros. They are experienced. It is time for somebody to say to those two guys that they have got to take the weight. If they crumble, they crumble. But with all due respect to both of them....this is their time. No hiding under Beckett's skirts this time around. In fact I would think it would be a tremendous boost to both of them if Farrell, a guy they both have great respect for took them aside and said, "Boys you have got to take me home." Either they will respond or they will fold like a couple of cheap suits. I don't think there will be a middle ground if Farrell sets that sort of tone with them.

[KrisBryant23USD]

Kris, Lester pitched one of his best games last August against the Yankees, a seven-plus inning 4-1 victory and his lifetime record against them is still very good. You can be as big a supporter of Dempster as you want and I hope to hell he has a terrific year but he will not be pitching that first game unless two or three other pitchers are unable to go. And when he finally beats the Yankees the drinks are on me.

 

How bout a friendly wager??? If dempster is the Opening Day starter Then you have sport a Yankees avatar for a week. If lester is the Opening day starter then i have to sport a Yankees avatar for a week. Deal?

[KrisBryant23USD]

All of my ambivalence about Lester as a #1 aside, Lester is the opening day starter for this team. The very season hinges in large part on what Lester and Buch do not on what Dempster does. Whatever anybody thinks of the Sox chances this year, they are going to have to climb on Lester and Buch's backs. The Sox will go as far as they take them.

 

If Dempster is the opening day pitcher what the hell kind of a message is that to send the team. Climb on Dempster back!!!....you can't be serious.

 

In fact it would not surprise me one bit if Farrell put it to both of those guys just that way cause treating them with kid gloves at this point makes no sense. They are pros. They are experienced. It is time for somebody to say to those two guys that they have got to take the weight. If they crumble, they crumble. But with all due respect to both of them....this is their time. No hiding under Beckett's skirts this time around. In fact I would think it would be a tremendous boost to both of them if Farrell, a guy they both have great respect for took the aside and said, "Boys you have got to take me home." Either they will respond or they will fold like a couple of cheap suits. I don't think there will be a middle ground if Farrell sets that sort of tone with them.

 

If Dempster is the opening day starter I dont think it sends the message " Climb on Dempsters back". To me that #1 starter has to be at the very least a guy who can Take the mound every fifth day and if your in a Loosing streak Be that guy that can get you a W when you need it most. Lester has shown when the pressure is on him that He just cant get it done, I think being the #2 kinda takes some of that stress off him and just lets him do his thing. You guys need to remeber that even with the straight bad year Lester had this year that Lester in previous seasons hasnt exactly coming screaming out of the gate he's always been that slow starter that really comes out punching in the second half of the year. I dont disagree with you guys that this teams Success or failure will soley hinge on how Lester and Buch do , I just feel like dempster Is the best choice for that opening day start.

[DocHolliday]

Lester has got to be the Opening Day starter. His biggest biggest obsticle has been his head getting in his way and he needs the vote of confidence.

Whomever starts, a winning opening series will be quite a relief after a couple of bleak starts.

 

Nothing would help boost (or hurt) the overall morale of the fanbase and expectations in the early season than getting off to a better start than the last few seasons.

 

In the opening series alone, the Red Sox are likely to face 2 lefties in Sabathia and Pettitte. Much talk has been made about the lineup being better suited against LH pitching, particularly with the new acquisitions like Victorino and Napoli.

 

You can't make too much of any regular season series, especially early in the season. But this year's opening series could be the closest thing to a crucial regular season series where mathematical elimination or playoff contention is not at stake.

 

Here are the results from the opening series in each of the last 3 years:

 

2010 (3 vs NYY): 9-7 W, 4-6 L, 1-3 L (1-2)

2011 (3 @ TEX): 5-9 L, 5-12 L, 1-5 L (0-3)

2012 (3 @ DET): 2-3 L, 0-10 L, 12-13 L (0-3)

 

An overall record of 1-8 and clear signs of a team that was not ready to play at the start of each season.

 

Farrell has commented several times about the importance of coming together in spring training and being ready to start the season. Perhaps its more than just filler.

[jung]

There is no question in my mind that Farrell would have to be dead and to stupid to fall over if he did not set some early season goals and standards. For two seasons in a row the Sox started the season with the usual almost fan like attitude of "hey its early...we got 162 of these things to play. Lets just ease into this thing."

 

Ya'...they just eased into it alright.

 

That is in part why I think that unless Dempster were to out-pitch Lester something fierce in ST, Lester will be the opening day pitcher with Buch to follow. Even if Dempster did out-pitch Lester in ST, I am inclined to think Lester is still the opening day starter.

 

Baseball is a game of starts and finishes. Starts and finishes of games, of series of months of half seasons...it just goes on and on like that. Unfortunately as much as Tito and V were different, it seemed like they approached the idea of starts and finishes similarly. Did they want to win the first month of the season instead of the first series of the season...the first half of the season instead of the first series of the season? I don't know. However I am willing to bet that Farrell will want to win the first game of the season...the first series of the season....I think he will approach the season much like the Pats approach their season...in sixteen bites...not looking past the next bite. He will likely modulate the gas pedal because it is a 162 game season. But I don't expect him to start the season feathering the gas pedal.

[mvp 78]

Wouldnt that be nice. I pretty much get the Same feeling as everyone here, The Redsox season Will either succeed or fail because of Lester and buch. Ive wanted to ask you guys something. Ive seen alot of people saying that Dempster will be a back of the rotation starter. But in my mind dont be surprised if he Is our opening day starter. The way i see our rotation shaping up is,

 

1.Dempster

2.Lester

3.Buch

4.Dubrount

5Lackey.

 

Let me know what you guys think.

 

Dempster is awful. Doubront will outperfom him.

[mvp 78]

Also, calling someone a "crafty veteran" just means the guy is a soft tosser. There's no way he has an ERA under 4.

[jung]

"crafty veteren" = Cook with no hair

[a700hitter]

Dempster was throwing in the mid 80s last year. I don't think we can expect a lot.

[Emmz]

Mediocre in the NL, last year was an obvious fluke IMO. This dude's getting rocked.

[jung]

Throwing 80's....maybe he can get a little slower...thatl' fool em':blink:

[a700hitter]

It is beyond me how Cherries can look at our starting pitching and see a big improvement over last year. I read SFFs posts over and over, but all I see is the same guys plus a mid 80s Dumpster and Lackey taking Beckett's spot. It doesn't inspire confidence.

[Bellhorn04]

190 innings and a 4.6 ERA would be about the best I expect from Dempster.

[Bellhorn04]

It is beyond me how Cherries can look at our starting pitching and see a big improvement over last year. I read SFFs posts over and over, but all I see is the same guys plus a mid 80s Dumpster and Lackey taking Beckett's spot. It doesn't inspire confidence.

 

I totally respect SFF's optimistic take. But if things go sour he's gonna hear it.