SchillingIsTheNatural

I've been waiting and waiting to see Craig Hansen. There are always teams that bring up an impact player for a playoff run and make a name for themselves in the playoffs. K-Rod and Miguel Cabrera were the last two I can think of and I would love for us to aquire that kind of push. Its a good possibility this kid can come in and take over the closer role quickly. I got to see him talk and discuss his thoughts on the matter...I must say I love his attitude. Nothing gets to him and he might have the best stuff out of anyone currently in our bullpen. High hopes and we shall see but I have my fingers crossed for that...not Keith Foulke at this point.

Everyone is talking about Schilling as if he was Alan Embree....its ugly no question....is it fair to get on him?? absolutly. Fair to call him a loser and a chump? deffinitly not. Don't forget he will go down as one of the greatest post-season stories ever. A true warrior who pushed through the pain and came through at one of the greatest times in Red Sox history. Hall of fame pitcher who has been around the majors for a long time. The problem at the moment is we don't have time for this. It's frustrating but we need results and quickly becasue we should be looking ahead to taking the White Sox off there thrown. Instead we are watching the Yankees close in. I still think we win the division cause with the Yanks pitching rotation...I just don't see a huge stretch of wins in a row. Then again I'm not sure we can either unless we settle in on a rotation, closer, bullpen, and Francona plays the starters EVERYDAY. (a month left Tito the main guys need to be in there at this point)

I don't think I saw good velocity from Schilling?? Maybe I missed it but the radar gun was hitting 90-91 mph with the fastball. Curt was up between 94-96 last year. Thats a real bad sign cause he doesn't set up the splitter. I know what people say about the transition....but it should be easier for a guy who has really always been a starter for YEARS. That was Kansas City but it was almost a throw away game anyways. No Papi, Nixon, Graffanino....Mirabelli was the pinch hitter with bases loaded. I dont think Francona was looking to win the game. Not much good came out of this game it was pretty horrible but not all hope is lost......Remlinger pitched well lol.

we are hanging on to the top spot at least. we are ok...this isnt the time to go on a streak anyways. the pieces need to come together right now so they can fall into place in september. schilling, foulke, hansen, no more off days for the starters, and the bullpen needs to be set.....then we can make our run and right into the playoffs.

even the worst team in baseball is due to win at some point. We are still 4-1 looking to go 5-1 against them this year...at least we didnt get swept ....oh snap

Well this is just an outlook on maybe what to expect. I like how Schilling will make his first start against the worst team in baseball. Hopefully it doesn't back fire and lower his confidence if he gives up some runs. Looking at his stats this year and thinking of what I have seen so far I have some thoughts and questions that will hopefully be answered tonight. The job of a reliever is to throw strikes. If you are a reliever and you don't throw strikes then you aren't going to last long. There is no working around players and potentially setting them up for the 2nd or 3rd time you face them. I think thats where Curt Schilling is most successful. He has a book on almost every player and knows what they like and how to get around them while preparing to face them later. He gets in there head and ends up being the one with the advantage. You don't get to do that in the bullpen. The thing I'm struggling to understand is how many 0-2 counts I saw with Curt as the closer but then it would be a hit or a strikeout. Even with the count in his favor he didn't appear to throw out of the strike zone and make players chase. Obviously we know the splitter has not been splitting so well. Thats pretty much my question and we shall see how his game changes tonight. Even though its against Kansas City I think this game will go a long ways in determining the 2005 Boston Red Sox. At least we know the team will be jacked up to get out there with the ace. This game and the first couple games of Keith Foulke are very important.

That may be the case but its not like Timlin is a long term solution. I don't believe either players are good at closing. As far as inherited runners yeah Mike is better served to come in for a whole inning. Myers and Bradford are good in that role considering there is usually an out or 2 and they just need to get the lefty or righty out....which they do very well.... I dont know about anyone else but I'm pretty happy with the Jay Payton trade. Bradford has quietly done an excellent job.

Thats true I suppose. If A-Rod had taken over and moved Jeter over then he would have looked like more of a dick. Unless Jeter volunteered then it would be a little different. Who knows guess I dont really care to be honest haha. They can both play there positions

Pitching wins championships

I'm not positive on what his role will be. I think some people have real high hopes on Papelbon though. Certainly I love what I see but I'm not sure how long it will last. Young pitchers have speed bumps sooner or later. We have too many pitchers and not enough places to put them which is an excellent situation to have. Currently these are the starters: Curt Schilling David Wells Matt Clement Tim Wakefield Bronson Arroyo Wade Miller Jon Papelbon Obviously Schilling, Wells, Clement must be starters. Wakefield should be a starter although knows how to throw out of the pen. The battle for the 5th spot in the rotation will be between Miller, Arroyo, and Papelbon. I know Papelbon has looked good but he may be better suited teamed with Hansen in the bullpen as two young flame throwing relievers setting up for Timlin and giving him a rest for the stretch. Then you have Arroyo and Miller fighting it out for the 5th spot. Arroyo would be better out of the bullpen than Wade Miller (although thats not a deffinite). Sometimes players just need a change of scenery and maybe Miller would suprise out of the bullpen. Couldn't be any worse than Remlinger. I really don't know how the Sox will play this out....but having too many arms is better than having too few. Its a good problem to have. If it were up to me and I had to choose this moment: Rotation: Schilling, Wells, Clement, Wakefield, Arroyo Bullpen: Foulke, Timlin, Hansen, Papelbon, Bradford, Myers, Gonzalez

Edgar Renteria is batting .357 this month and has been on a tear. Papelbon has given up 4ERs in his first 16 innings as a starter. John Olerud made a big impact when returning from the DL. Big Papi, Manny, and V-tek are doing what they do best. But has anyone come up bigger than Jeremi Gonzalez this month. In his last 12 innings he has given up 3 hits and 1 walk. I think the Red Sox found a keeper. My favorite thing about the guy is he doesn't walk people. Nothing drives me more crazy than bringing in a reliever and he starts throwing balls, getting behind, giving players a free pass. Any other fans??

Thats actually not really the case. With the arm injury Miller sustained there are few pitchers (I cant think of any) that went back to form immediatly. If you look Wade Miller is still very young and the stuff has been there time to time. I knew he would probably end up on the DL one more time this year (I was hoping it would have been earlier) but he deffinitly needs an off season to gain his control back. There are people to jump on now (Millar, Remlinger, Bellhorn, whatever) that really don't have an excuse. If the Sox gave up on Miller now I think we would be throwing away a very valuable player for this time next year.

How do you figure? An athlete is an athlete. Can he run? Jump? Catch? Throw? Derek Jeter for being one of the best SS in the league and an excellent athlete should be able to make the move just fine. Would there be speed bumps? Name one third basemen who hasn't made any errors. It happens to all of them and lets consider there are plenty of other third basemen that....really arent that good...im sure Derek could be up to the challenge....well he should have been at least. Not to mention I think the Yankee faithful would have been easier on Jeter if he made an error as opposed to E-Rod signs. Just out of curiosity why wouldn't they make the switch of moving Jeter or A-Rod to 2B as opposed to 3B? They always say the positions in the middle determine a lot about the team defense (2B, SS, CF)

Those playoff moments will forever have a lasting effect. The hardest thing in sports is to hit a baseball and to do it consistantly is even more difficult. Mark Bellhorn was never much of a talent to begin with. Sometimes I think we forget how hard the game is and not everyone can continue for a long period of time. Mark Bellhorn played his heart out last year and took on the 2B job knocking off gold glover Pokey Reese. He took a lot of heat in the playoffs from many who were quick to jump on someone for the lack of success the Sox were having in the first 3 games against the Yankees. We all know what happened next. Without Mark Bellhorn the Boston Red Sox would not be champions and he deserves respect. He couldn't continue his success in MLB with the best team in MLB. Not many can but he made the most of his opportunity and I will cheer for him wherever he goes (unless its the Yankees).

It was nice to finally see this guy play yesturday. You can sense the great potential and I'm guessing he would move to Pawtucket next year. He had a nice double and a hard shot up the middle that was played nicely by the Trenton Thunder 2B. I know he has struggled this year but I still can't wait to see how he looks a few years from now.

I was just thinking about this too....if Hansen comes up and dominates....I bet some more jobs will be lost in NY considering they could have gotten him

HAHA that would be SWEET

Yeah I don't know a lot about him. After reading in the minor league section people saying he is better or as good as Houston Street....fine make him the closer lol...I wanna see it first though

Craig Hansen is supposed to be better than Houston Street?? Holy s***. So if Papelbon, Lester, and Burnett came to Boston next year....who would be leaving?? I would almost like to see Lester get some time in Pawtucket first. Maybe he can play the role of Papelbon next year.

1. Schilling 2. Wells 3. Clement 4. Wakefield 5. Arroyo .....I think Wade needs to stay out for the season and come back next year for us. I still think he is going to be awesome when fully healthy but this team is making it no secret they are looking to win now and can't afford messing up (no more Bellhorn, Millar being benched, Schilling back to the rotation). I think the rotation comes down to Papelbon vs. Arroyo. If Papelbon can survive later in the innings I think he will be huge. If not then I think you need to use him as a flame thrower in the bullpen. Bullpen should look like: CU: Keith Foulke (RH) SU: Mike Timlin (RH) SU: Mike Myers (LH) RP: Chad Bradford (RH) RP: Jeremi Gonzalez (RH) RP: Craig Hansen (RH) RP: Jon Papelbon(RH) Obivously the downside is a lack of LHP. However there aren't many options so the Sox bullpen will just have to go with the best arms. Craig Hansen is a huge "?" but there are other alternatives. Maybe, Mike Remlinger can put it together. He may be good for just one out as opposed to a whole inning. An outlook on the possible post season: Game 1: Schilling Game 2: Clement Game 3: Wells Game 4: Wakefield .....with Arroyo and Gonzalez on "stand by"

That is why I said Millar wouldn't be a bad player to have on the bench. He says the right things and the team loves him. He can't hurt us enough to cost us a game or ruin the chemistry by sitting on the bench. The Red Sox are not fooling around and want to win the World Series....goodbye Bellhorn, move Schilling to the rotation, start Johnny Helmet full time.

My opinion.... 1. Damon (LH) 2. Renteria (RH) 3. Ortiz (LH) 4. Ramirez (RH) 5. Nixon (LH) 6. Varitek (S) 7. Petagine (LH) 8. Mueller (S) 9. Graffanino (RH)

please get rid of Remlinger and Millar....I can't deal watching them anymore...its a horror scene

This is the most retarded thing I have ever heard. What the hell is Randy Moss thinking?? What does he gain by coming out and talking like this. Maybe he just wants the spotlight back on him and not Terrell Owens. Marijuana is illegal and you probably shouldn't go and tell everyone publically you do illegal drugs. I don't care if everyone does it I'm fully aware....but I'm not gonna go public and say "Hey I smoke marijuana"...its like me going out publically and saying "I download tons of illegally shared music"....just asking for trouble....actually I'm going out of my way to be in trouble. I think the marijuana numbed his senses cause this makes no sense to me. Friggin stupid Randy just shut the hell up and play football.

Once you start watching a game and can almost guarantee an out....you know something is wrong. Yesturday durring the game I was saying...well looks like Mueller and Graffanino are getting up with one out. Its just going to happen...you know its going to happen and its going to look ugly...and boy was it ugly