Zenny

Absolutely. I've been kind of banking on that as well. Shoppach seems to "step too far into the bucket" and he can't wait back on those curveballs, but destroys fastballs. I think he needs to cut down his stride, maybe make it a modified "glide", if you will, or something like that. Think Nomar, he barely moved his front foot and in his prime, could hammer anything you threw at him. Shopp might need the same adjustments.

She is registered on the soxprospects board as "noblepap" (read it backwards). She has confirmed on several occasions with great detail that it is in fact her.

There's a good chance he starts next season in Pawtucket. I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Cabrera + Mueller + Roberts = 2 runs + lead + pitching change I love math! :thumbsup:

Looks like Bronson's found his control and his balls. 10 in a row sat down on 30+ less pitches than Bitch-O.

Manny tied Dewey with 385 career bombs.

:thumbsup:

Irony at its peak. :harhar: El Dictionario

Thanks, man. The Penis (A-Rod) joke is hilarious!

I have more good news... I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Thank God, that was such ********. I can just hear Steiny. "I don't give a good goddamn if there's a hurricane! We're the Yankees! Not being on time is disrespectful to me, the Yankees, New York and all the police and fireworkers who died on 9/11! *Cue heartattack*"

I'd say that would be a proper ETA if he keeps pace. But the way his offspeed stuff has been developing, he could be a candidate for the 2006 rotation. He will definitely start 2005 in Portland's rotation. He could have been there half-way through this season, but Cherington and Theo decided to leave him in Sarasota to work with their pitching coach who is a guru on getting guys to develop their breaking balls, etc. He could spend half the year in Portland and the other half in Pawtucket next year. Hell, the way he's pitched, with a strong Spring, he could be in Pawtucket to start the year if they deem him ready. I've spoken to his mother (no joke, let me know if you guys want proof) and she described one of his off-speed pitches as a "cut-splitter". Basically, it's a cross-seam splitter that has the basic downward movement of a standard, Schilling splitter, but it has a little tailing action at the end. Supposedly, it is very similar to Tim Hudson's off-speed split. (On soxprospect's bio, that is the unidentified "breaking ball".) He also has a very good slurve that is already a big strikeout pitch with that cut-split. They could become to plus pitches with his fastball if they develop at their current rate.

I'd rate him #1, even ahead of Alvarez, but you can't go wrong with either one as your #1. They bring different things to the table. Most people only give him #3 starter upside because of his age, but he could become Curt Schilling at the rate he's going and I wouldn't be surprised.

Disappointing, injury-plagued season from Murphy. I wouldn't mind seeing him start '05 in Sarasota, but with a good spring, he should get the bump to Portland. He has a lot of work to do.

His highest big-league upside is probably Millar. He really tailed off his stats in June-July, but he began to pick it up again in August. I have a feeling most Sox fans would hate him due to how streaky he is. He's not Varitek or Shoppach streaky with lots of highs and lows. He's Millar streaky, one great month and then he takes a nap the rest of the season.

Varitek really only played like 30 games in Pawtucket after the trade from Seattle and only hit one homerun in that time. Carlton Fisk is the biggest name catcher I can think of to come through Pawtucket. Eric Wedge, the Guardians current manager, and someone else (I forget his name) shared the 21 mark before Shopp broke it. Most players, if they are good, don't get the benefit of a full-season at one level, so in some occasions, the players to break AAA records usually aren't MLB caliber players (granted, that's only some instances, like Izzy Alcantara or Earl Snyder).

Well, Shoppach went 1-4 with a K today. He hit .278/.316/.556/.872 in 5 September games. FINAL SEASON LINE:.233/.321/.463/.784; .34 (46/137) BB/K ratio; 25 2B, 22 HR in 113 G and 399 AB's and 454 PA Rate Stats: AB/HR- 18.1; AB/K- 2.9; PA/BB- 9.9; AB/2B- 16; AB/XBH- 8.5 Here's my final analysis: Shoppach has officially claimed the title of the best power hitting catcher in PawSox history, all while doing it in his first season there, making it that much more impressive. As a 24 year-old, Shoppach outproduced 25 year-old Jason Varitek, while Varitek played in the hitter friendly PCL and Shoppach played in the neutral IL. Shoppach has fantastic power, utilizing all fields, and destroys left-handed pitching. He also takes a good share of walks (nearly 50 for a 24 year-old in his first year at AAA is very good) and had an OBP nearly 100 points above his BA most of the season. His defense is also second to none. He has amazing footwork behind the plate and an outstanding release. He threw out over 35% of prospective base-stealers against him, all while catching many games from Frank "The Snail" Castillo. Shoppach still has a great deal of improvements to make, though. He strikes out far too much against right-handed pitching. Many of those are on curveballs that he cannot wait back on and he swings in front of them, while only a few are on fastballs by him or being caught looking. Being off on timing one's swing on curveballs is a fixable problem. Our current catcher had the very same issue in his younger days, as did our right-fielder and many Hall of Famers, Mike Schmidt being the most renowned. At his age, he can certainly make the adjustment; he just needs a little more time. If thrown into the MLB fire, he would probably be a league average catcher and hit something like .220/.300/.425/.725 without really taking the Fenway effect into consideration, which could boost some of those numbers. A half-season, or potentially even full season, at Pawtucket would likely be better in preparing him for the big leagues. Without straying too off-topic, I am still not in favor of giving Jason Varitek a long-term deal based solely on him as a player and catcher without taking in outside factors.

395. He'll finish just south of 400 this year, because today is the last game and he shouldn't get more than 4 AB's, maximum. By the way, Shoppach finished with the single season HR record by a PawSox catcher with 22 (21 as a C, 1 as a DH). Nice job, Shopp!

2-4 with a 2B, solo HR and 2 K's tonight. At least he had more total bases than whiffs. Season Line: .233/.321/.463/.784; .34 (46/137) BB/K ratio; 25 2B, 22 HR, 64 RBI

I don't have as much faith in Wake that I did last season. I'd much rather see Bronson take the hill in Game 3 of any series.

0-2 with a K last night and 0-4 with a K tonight. Season Line: .230/.319/.453/.772; .34 (46/135) BB/K ratio; 24 2B, 21 HR, 64 RBI

*Releases breath* *Passes out*

OK, here comes Ramiro. *Holds breath*

I don't trust Wake much anymore. I'm sorry, but I just don't. Knuckleballers are too unpredictable.

I will never, ever forget the look on Bob Stanley's face and I still hold a grudge against the Rockies' Preston Wilson for being goddamn Mookie Wilson's spawn.