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I'm going to make 2 very important points: The Red Sox seem to struggle whenever they face a pitcher they've never faced before. This does not bode well for the Redding game, but if May pitches, he was with KC for a while so I'm sure they've faced him. Last night sucked, but momentum means very little with these two teams. It seems like a majority of the series are split the first two games. In fact, in New York, the Yankees took the first game in a dramatic comeback and we still took the last two. A cause for hope, right?

Talk of this deal is all over the Rumor section in a few threads. Perhaps this can be merged? Anyway, hopefully Bradford can come in and get the tough lefties out (Jeter, ARod, Sheffield) and we can leave the lefties to Myers (Giambi, Matsui). That and Timlin/Schilling closing it out-- should be an improved bullpen.

Not many players liked facing Pedro. Sounds like we need Bronson to establish the inside part of the plate on Matsui early.

The Red Sox have gone BACK to carrying 12 pitchers, hence sending Youkilis instead of Gonzalez or Halama to AAA. They must be confident that Cora can play third, because without Youkilis that's the only other option. Not that Mueller should need a day off after getting 3 in a row, but there's always the chance of injury... seems risky to me. That being said the bullpen needs a lot of help-- especially with the two new guys (Schilling and Bradford) coming off of injuries, they probably won't be as durable as they otherwise would be.

Does Matsui absolutely OWN every single Red Sox pitcher, or is it me? I think Wakefield usually does well against him now that I think about it. The Red Sox have faired pretty well against Mussina this season too... so if Bronson can figure out Matsui he should be in decent shape...

I think you're right. Papalbon and Declarman are both already in AAA and pitching well. These two guys seem very close and from all the rumors I've heard Theo would rather throw these guys into the fire than trade them away. Another intreaguing arm is Lenny DiNardo, who seems to be holding his own as a starter in AAA. With the Sox lefties struggling mightily (Embree and Halama), he may be able to add to the mix. Although the Sox had him up for a few days but didn't use him. I think any of these three should be given a shot before Hansen.

Well that's a good point and I hope that you're right. I just get very nervous when the Yankees come to town.

For the most part, yes. But doesn't that also bring out the best in the Yankees? (playing us)

But my expectation stems from the way these two teams have been playing of late. The Red Sox are struggling, the Yankees are red hot. Of course, the last time these two teams met when that was the case we took 2 of 3 in the Bronx. The Yankee arrogance just stems from being the Yankees..... Instead of critisizing me for my opinion, why don't you try to prove me wrong?

Like I said, the kind of Sox fan who's had to deal with a lifetime of dissapointment. It's hard to EXPECT the Sox to win. Like I said, old habits die hard. That having been said, my negativity has merit. The Red Sox just got out of losing 3 of 4 to the Orioles (in which they looked FLAT) and come out of the break playing a hot Yankees team. I'm probably one of the FEW fans who actually listens to 90% of the games on the RADIO (most of you kids have TV, but that's for the rich) so trust me, I'm really dedicated. I just have a bad feeling about the upcoming Yankee series. Would I love to be wrong? Absolutely.

Alright. I'm going out on a limb here and picking Wade Miller. I think Bellhorn will get himself into the .250 range before the season's over, but he isn't anything more than a .250 hitter to begin with. Kevin Millar will have a hot couple weeks (like he does every year), but will revert to his horrible self come September/October. I think this is what we can expect from Wells this season. Spotty effectiveness. When he's on, he's ON. Otherwise he's hittable. I predicted Wade Miller would make a big contribution to the rotation in 2005 before the season because of how damn good he was in Houston before his injury. Obviously, he's struggled mightily with his command and effectiveness this season. That being said, he's still got the ability to be an effective starter and I predict he'll put it all together in the second half.

wow. The Yankees expect a sweep. Seems like no amount of struggles can remove that typical Yankee arrogance.

I hate to even bring this up, but it seems like Kim was BETTER than Bradford in their pre-Red Sox careers. Kim was a dominant closer turned starter (then turned back to closer by us). Bradford is a situational right hander out of the bullpen.

A bunch of Red Sox have struggled in the first half. Which one do you think will make a second half resurgence in 2005? Kevin Millar Mark Bellhorn David Wells Wade Miller Alan Embree

I appreciate that you disagree with me for once-- it's refreshing. There's just something about Clement... He just seems too good to be true right now. He's 10-2, established himself as the ace of the staff at 30, despite being very mediocre and inconsistent BEFORE this season. It's almost like I expect him to relapse. One thing to keep in mind: He WAS 2-5 with a 5.09 ERA after the break last year. Yes, I understand he's got a better catcher and better team behind him... I just can't accept that he's THIS good-- yet. I also have this fear that's been built up inside me, probably from a lifetime of failure, that the Red Sox are GOING to fail. It's what they do. Yes, last year was tremendous and they finally didn't fail-- but old habits die hard. Clement's numbers (1-0, 1.74 ERA vs Yankees this year, 5-1, 3.67 ERA @ Fenway) point to a good start from him on Saturday (hey, there's hope for me yet!)

I'm just not as confident as you. These guys were flat in Baltimore and New York's a better team. Sure, the Sox play better at home, but the Yankees are going to come to play and play hard. The Red Sox team has had this ******** attitude where they can be laid back because they won it last year or think the team can't improve if they're in first place. If they come out flat they could very easily look very very bad in this series. A split I can see, IF Wake dominates and the Sox can jump all over Wang early... but 3 / 4 is pushing it. I'm still waiting to see that fire from these guys where they feel like they HAVE to win. They always play hard when their backs are against the wall (like last August or last October) but they haven't had that attitude last year. There was a HUGE difference between the 2004 team and the 2005 team: Schilling and Martinez. Last year this team had 2 aces. Two guys who could match up with any other ace in baseball. This year, without Schilling and without Martinez, they have NOBODY. Clement is not Randy Johnson, and when these guys go head to head the Yankees have the edge.

Did you see this confirmed somewhere or are you guessing? Arroyo vs Mussina-- advantage Yankees Wells vs Wang-- advantage Red Sox Clement vs Johnson -- advantage Yankees Wakefield vs Pavano -- advantage Red Sox I don't have a good feeling about this series right now. Wells could very easily get hammered, the Red Sox don't hit rookie pitchers well, and Wakefield gave up 4 runs his last time out. Johnson vs Clement and Arroyo vs Mussina should be Yankee wins, but I can easily see us drop 3 of 4 or even all 4 in this series. We need the pitchers to step it up in Fenway.

I've got to say Jeter's a great player, but he is WAY overrated. It comes with the territory of playing in New York. Someone who gets the job done is GREAT, someone who doesn't is AWFUL. Everything gets overplayed. If Derek Jeter was drafted by, and played his career for, say the Milwaukee Brewers, would anybody consider him for the hall of fame? Probably not. Would he be voted in by the fans to an All Star game? Nope. Derek Jeter is one of the top 10 shortstops in the game today, and I have said before and will say again that I respect his winning attitude and the way he plays the game. That's not the point. My point is that BECAUSE he plays for the New York Yankees, everything he does is overrated. Now before you jump all over me, take a look at some other guys who have the exact same thing happening: Johnny Damon? He's the same player he was in Oakland and Kansas City, but now that he plays in a big baseball market, all of a sudden the media loves him and has gone so far as to refer to him as "the best leadoff hitter in the game." If he was putting up the same numbers in KC, they'd casually mention: "oh by the way, Johnny Damon is second in the league in hitting." Miguel Tejada's profile TOOK OFF when he left Oakland to go to Baltimore. Peter Gammons went so far as to label him one of (if not the) best player in the game. (Before you attack me, I am just repeating what Peter Gammons said, so don't yell at me if you disagree) The list goes on and on. Tino Martinez? An average first baseman who was immortalized by some key hits in a Yankee uniform. Bill Buckner? A pretty good player with a decent career who was demonized because he missed the wrong groundball. Everything gets overplayed in the big northeast markets. If Derek Jeter patrolled shortstop for one of those smaller markets, nobody would be talking about him.

Since when are the Yankees the good guys? Since when is Sheffield talking s*** a "new dynamic?" I've said 100 times that the Yankees are a good team this year and will make for a great race down the stretch. Obviously, these two teams match up well as there is only 1 game difference head to head this season. I think all the pressure is still on the Yankees. They've got the talent, they're coming at us with their best guys (Johnson, Mussina) while we have to go with Bronson Arroyo and David Wells the first two games. The Yankees definately have the advantage the first two, while with Clement and Wake we should have the upper hand in the last two. When does Pavano come back? Will we see him this weekend?

I would say you're right on that. Considering who won't be starting, look at who the NL will have to throw at us after Carpenter's through: Smoltz, Clemens, Willis, Peavy,Hernandez, Lidge, Wagner, Isringhausen, Cordero, Fuentes, Oswalt Vs what we'll have left: Clement, Colon, Garland, Rogers, Santana, Baez, Duchscherer, Nathan, Rivera, Ryan, Wickman. Seems like whoever's ahead after 7 should win this thing, those bullpens are nasty. Should be a lotta fun.

This seems like the most appropriate place to put this comment. Staying away from Yankee bashing but keeping with the All Star theme, How about comparing the two All Star lineups, position by position? Catcher: Jason Varitek vs Mike Piazza-- Advantage Varitek (AL) 1st base: Mark Teixiera vs Derrek Lee-- Advantage Lee (NL) 2nd base: Brian Roberts vs Jeff Kent-- Advantage Roberts (AL) 3rd base: Alex Rodriguez vs Aramis Ramirez-- Advantage Rodriguez (AL) Shortstop: Miguel Tejada vs David Eckstein-- Advantage Tejada (AL) Left Field: Manny Ramirez vs Carlos Beltran-- Advantage Ramirez (AL) Center Field: Johnny Damon vs Jim Edmonds-- Advantage Damon (AL) Right Field: Vladimir Guerrero vs Bobby Abreu-- Advantage Damon (AL) Designated Hitter: David Ortiz vs Albert Pujols-- Advantage Pujols (NL) Seems like a landslide for the American League according to these picks. The two hardest to pick were centerfield where Damon and Edmonds are really completely different players, but Johnny's been incredible this year so I had to give him credit. The other, DH. How can you go wrong with Ortiz vs Pujols? I picked Pujols as a NARROW advantage over big David. Other opinions? It seems like the AL should be the overwhelming favorite here.

While it's true that Eddie Guardado is in the AL and Wagner is in the NL, there are some other factors to consider here in comparing the two. I don't think NL/AL is really a fair comparison. In theory, both pitchers would enter the game in a close game, late. How many pitchers do you think Wagner faces in that senario? He probably faces a pinch hitter. Wagner pitches in Philadelpia, which is a NOTORIOUS hitters park, while Guardado pitches in Seattle... a pitcher's park. Some stats to consider: K/9: Wagner: 8.93 Guardado: 7.84 K/BB: Wagner: 3.73 Guardado: 4.50 WHIP: Wagner: 0.97 Guardado: 0.87 Groundball/Flyball ratio: Wagner: 1.30 Guardado: 0.69 Opponents AVG/OBP/SLG: Wagner: .197/.255/.340 Guardado: .186/.225/.310 What does this all mean? First of all, both thoese guys are NASTY. Wagner's more apt to get you a big strikeout, but Guardado gets himself in less trouble. You really couldn't go wrong with either one of these guys, but along with the better K's / 9, I like that Wagner gets more groundballs (Guardado's a flyball pitcher) and that he's used to playing in a hitter's park (and let's face it, Fenway is a hitter's park). I voted Burnett and I stick by that. But if I had to choose between Guardado and Wagner, I'd pick Billy Wagner.

for real. These guys have been terrorizing the board all afternoon is seems.

mid-90s heater from a lefty... that really is nice... and rare. Seems like the Sox are pushing the prized arms pretty quickly. Declarman and Papelbon have already been promoted. Is Lester next? Just think we almost dealt this guy for A-Rod in the Ramirez deal.

I can't believe Bellhorn still attracks this much hate considering this team has much bigger problems. Millar's gotta go We need a closer We need to improve the bullpen I wouldn't mind another starter. Bellhorn's strikeouts are alarming, and his offensive contribution has been minimal, but second base is still priority # 5 in my book.