mosox

I like this lineup of Ortiz, Ramirez and Hinske. The lefty, righty, lefty situation forces opposing managers to make moves late in close games.

I believe they made a choice based on the performance of the young arms late in 2005 to go with them. There were alot of middle relievers dealt in the past few weeks. Hansen had no place out there with the season on the line.

Hansen has doesn't deserve blame. He never should have been there. Throwing 97 doesn't make you a big league pitcher. He needs to learn how to pitch from pro coaches. That's why there are minor leagues. His mistakes should have been made in front of 2 thousand people in places like Scranton and Ottawa, not in front of 36,000 in Fenway and millions on TV. The FO gambled that they could save money and send a college pitcher right to the major leagues, and they lost. I still think he can be a good pitcher one day.

Wells is just the type of guy who doesn't give a sh*t and may go out and toss a beauty today.

I know there's been alot of talk about Tek's loss hurting the pitching staff, but the failure of the pitchers also seems to coincide with Dave Wallace's return to the dugout to replace Al Nipper. Nipper has earned a reputation for working well with young pitchers, and the young arms seemed to do well under him this season. I'm just wondering if Wallace has changed the way things were being done for most of the season.

I think all the FO drama last fall forced the Sox to get a late start in the offseason. Even so, it's hard to understand why they didn't get a decent lefty in the pen, especially with the yankee lineup. Bronson has had a bad second half, but he did pitch well last week in St. Louis. That deal was Theo looking ahead to 2007 and replacing Trot. The problem now is Pena doesn't look like an everyday player, and now Theo had to go get Hinske. He also can't preach the pitching and defense sermon if he goes out and gets "bargain-reject" middle relievers. Theo is walking a thin line here trying to build two years ahead and still make the fans paying the highest ticket prices in baseball feel like they're getting their money's worth. From what I read in the paper's Theo has struggled with LL on a "win now" philosophy. We're only two years removed the title, he needs to be cut a little slack. The only shortcoming I see is an underestimating of their biggest rival. Any Sox team Theo builds must be built to beat NY.

It's embarassing and also very clear, despite NY's doubleheader sweep, that the Tigers and White Sox are much better teams this year.

I'd feel much better if they had landed a lefty reliever heading into this series with NY. Schoenweis was dealt to the Reds. Why not try to get him?

The next four weeks will be the toughest stretch of the schedule. DET 3 games at home NYY 5 games at home LAA 3 games on the road SEA 3 games on the road OAK 3 games on the road TOR 4 games at home CWS 3 games at home Just one off day in that stretch. Playing 500 won't cut it.

This is a bad combo of bad relief pitching and poor hitting. Sox hitters should be pounding this lousy KC pitching.

The Royals telecast on extra innings did not give any replay, I was wondering of Manny dropped the base hit or bobbled it?

This is the perfect Rudy situation. He can't possibly screw this up.

Who's taking me to dinner tonight?

This is odd, but has anyone noticed that Tek seems to swing at the first pitch whenever he's up with the bases loaded? I'd swear he does it every time.

It doesn't seem to affect his swing when he turns on a ball. This won't heal on it's own, but cortisone will keep the swelling down and get him through the season. Ultimately it will have to be arthoscoped and fixed.

There are three that stand out for me in the first half. April 17, Patriots Day walkoff HR by Loretta. May 1, Mirabelli's return as Wake goes 7 and gets back to form against NY. June 29, Schilling against Glavine, Coco's catch and a sweep of the Mets.

I think he's gone by the end of the month also, or as soon as Theo makes a deal for another arm. The guy is so hittable, he can only be counted on to pitch in games with lopsided scores and no pressure, and that is not reliable.

I think they still need to deal for a solid lefty in the pen. Lopez was a good shot but he is not the guy to get a hitter like Giambi out in a crucial situation in September.

This is the perfect situation for him and I think Tito finally realizes it.

He should stay away from a mound when the game is on the line. Mop up duty, only.

It's not paranoia. This isn't football. You don't take the time and money to develop a draft pick and then suddenly throw him up there in front of 40 thousand people and tell him to get major league hitters out. There is always a mental element to this game. These players are not robots. Some guys can handle it, like Papelbon, others need time to feel comfortable, and some just fail.

Manny and Ortiz got two at bats each in that inning and got no hits. Way to go Lowell, Coco, Cora and Youk.

And what a coincidence it happened during the National League Championship Series.

This inning started with Ortiz and Manny striking out.

CorAH!!! CorAH!!! CorAH!!!