SchillingIsTheNatural

Anyone worried?...anyone?...anyone?....didn't think so...moving on

I refuse to read too much into certain stats in minor league baseball. Keep this in mind.... Last year Jonathan Papelbon got rocked several times in spring training, he did very well in Portland then pitched decent in Pawtucket. I recall Papelbon having around a 3.5 ERA in Pawtucket. He made that one start for the Red Sox and pitched well for 6 innings?? Since then the rest is history. Papelbon is pitching a better stats line this year than any other year. So my question would be why? How can he pitch better in a Red Sox uniform than in a minor league uniform? I believe when a player has talent they are in the minors to work on what they need to produce at the top level and results (especially as a pitcher) are not that important in the minors. Sure you need to be effective but chances are the Red Sox are forcing Hansen and Lester to pitch a certain way. Once those secondary pitches are effective and there stamina is at a max....they are ready to contibute. We will deffinitly see the two of them this year and the results they get from that will determine how far along they are.

He's had a good sinker?? Did I miss that?? All I have heard is he has a high 90s fastball and a high 80s slider

If he is working on a sinker it doesn't matter if his fastball is considered heavy or light or whatever the hell the nonsense is. If he develops a good changeup....again it doesnt matter....he will be able to set up the fastball and keep imposing hitters off balance. A 98mph fastball is rediculous to hit but whats more rediculous is not knowing when its coming. If he can make a ball sink with a velocity between his slider and fastball this guy will be incredible....I'm not sure it can be done but I think its worth a try for the Red Sox to develop him that way...if it doesn't work he can always go back to closing.... Thats why Theo Epstein wasn't worried about him closing games.

12 Ks....guess I could see that....but if I'm going to give the Yanks 12 Ks I'm going to give Willy Mo 3 HRs off those 3 hits. I would also love to see a Yanks-Sox game go extras....those are always fun

I think we will be fine and I'm not worried about the long stretch...we have top pitching and a solid lineup...I guarantee the Red Sox will win there share of games. I would expect the Yanks and Sox to be about .500 against each other like always. Pena in a bigger ballpark will be fun to watch. When he goes to Yankee stadium and crushes your so-called 3 top pitchers (whoever that is).

That makes sense actually. Running three-inning stints deffinitly makes sense for a starter. I was not aware he was developing a sinker....that would be incredible... 98 mph fastball 90 mph slider sinker and changeup Thats one hell of a starter if he can have control. I don't really care who the closer is and who the starter is between Hansen and Papelbon....I just want them to be placed in the best possible situation to succeed. I am suprised there is a chance Hansen would be ready before Jon Lester.

I'd at least "consider" giving Albert Pujols that kind of money....not Roger Clemens

So lets break it down.... $4 million a month $1 million a week $500,000 per start?? (if making 2 starts a week) No way in hell I would do that....no pitcher in the history of the game is worth that much per start.

That is very true and its something a lot of people don't think about. You could place Willy Mo Pena in the cleanup spot for the Red Sox and he would have a fantastic season (probably not to the extent of Manny). This was the reason I thought Mike Lowell and Coco Crisp would have great seasons because of the protection in the lineup. I must say Mark Loretta has been a suprise...having the protection of David Ortiz should be the best security blanket in the league but...who knows.

I have a hard time adding Carl Pavano because of injuries. Although I don't believe he is as good as his contract I still can't add him unless he plays. Barry Zito has been a .500 pitcher since his Cy Young and that was a while ago. He is still at the top of Oaklands pitcher list but in all honesty I think Rich Harden is the guy I would want on the hill. Reminds me a lot of Brad Radke before Santana was there....they called him the ace of the Twins but was he really an ace??....or just a quality pitcher...i think the term "ace" gets thrown around too easily.

At this point I'm starting to get annoyed with Seanez... Way off topic but I thought Riv would be interested to see Manny and Ortiz were the only Red Sox to go hitless today....and we scored 7 runs....good thing they are the only bats in our lineup

CF is the easiest to play??? Hmm...I dunno seems kinda strange that the best defenders in the MLB are playing CF.

Thats true with a lot of teams.....mostly I just want the middle relievers to keep us in the game. I have to blame the loss last night to Keith Foulke...before he got crushed his three previous outs were high fly balls (means he didn't have his stuff). But it wasn't long ago he went a few scoreless innings for us. I say with a one run lead I want to feel comfortable with our setup man and closer. A one run lead doesn't mean too much unless you get to the end of the game. I feel very comfortable with our closer and setup man....Tavarez has some nice movement on his pitches and I would expect him to do alright. Like I said with Seanez...he always gets so close to being out of the inning.... These guys may not come around and get on track but thats why we have a farm system loaded with talent incase later in the season the issue needs to be addressed. I wouldn't give up hope on them yet.

Dealing with "overrated players"...usually you can go by there contracts but here is my list... Barry Zito Scott Podsednik Richie Sexson Alfonso Soriano my #1 most overrated player.....Adrian Beltre

There have been times this season where Keith Foulke has been very effective and Julian Tavarez can put up a fight. The whole bullpen can't have a 0.00 ERA, it just doesn't happen. Relievers go hot and cold throughout a season but so far I would have to say the only real draw back has been Rudy Seanez. However, he has been able to strikeout a lot of guys and usually comes within one out from getting through his inning.

I'm not sure the Marlins would go as far as asking for our top three prospects. If what has been said is true, they are serious about moving him cause they can't afford him. No team is going to trade three prospects of that caliber for one player. The Red Sox already turned down trading Jon Lester to the Marlins when dealing for Josh Beckett and I don't think Willis is that much better.

Well it appears the Toronto Blue Jays have our number this year. They are now 5-2 against us and unless Matt Clement can pitch in control tomorrow it may not be pretty. I love the defense our infield provides but Mark Loretta and Alex Gonzalez need to get those bats going.

I got to watch Lester pitch in spring training and a few times last season...great chance he is the real deal. Nobody will be sold on him until he makes his mark in the majors. If you wanted a comparison this is the best I can do (maybe someone can do better).... Fastball, obviously the nod goes to Papelbon who throws a dart. Lester may have more movement but he doesn't have the same velocity. Lester does have better secondary pitches from what I have seen. The curve and change are better delivered through Lester's motion. When it comes down to there "stuff" both are real talented...I guess the big difference at this point is control. Papelbon does nothing but throw strikes. As the season moves on I think you will see Lester really gain strong control and if he does....look out...and thats why I would want to wait on the kid. I really have a feeling he can be a top pitcher in the league and possibly sooner rather than later

If we were going to upgrade the SS position it would need to be more dramatic than Izturis. I know Gonzalez hasn't done much thus far with his bat but Izturis is nothing special either. A lot of us are forgetting Dustin Pedroia and he will get his chance at some point this season if we still have issues. The young guys need a chance to play at some point and he could really show something.

I heard a rumor the Marlins wanted David Wright for Dontrelle Willis. If that was true then the Mets laughed in there face.....no way the Mets would trade Wright for Lester so we aren't on the same page yet. Personally I have to shy from the deal because I still have a feeling Jon Lester will be an excellent pitcher....now that Francisco Lariano is in the majors Lester is considered the top lefty starter in the minors. He is 22 years old and I wouldn't put it past him he could be Dontrelle Willis in 3 years when he is 25. If the Red Sox can't figure out the #5 starter situation for a while I'm sure they would give Lester a shot at some point....what happens if he shows the same impact that Papelbon has thus far?? All of a sudden we would kick ourselves for making the move. Not to mention the extra talent we would have to throw in. If anything I would expect Theo Epstein to hold on to all of our young talent incase he needs to boost our hitting later in the season.

I agree with you so don't beat yourself up over it haha. I really like bringing guys up as well and seeing them achieve great things on only one team. I'm real excited to see what Jon Lester can do. The one thing about him that really gets me is how some scouts can say he is better than Papelbon.....that speaks volumes because I'm pretty damn impressed with Paps thus far.

Big news...Tony Womack was released ...I think you guys should jump on that:blink:

haha that is rediculous....and there are so many holding it up someone must have noticed.

Oh true I was just trying to find who all the rookies are to this point. Very few thus far but some will get called up in the coming month I'm sure