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I didn't say to keep Papelbon on the bench. Where did I say that? If you had asked I would have said that you stretch Okajima out tonight and use Papelbon only as absolutely necessary. He should be warmed up and able to come in right now. It's a marathon not a sprint and sometimes your role guys have to win it or lose it for you. Last year we made every key situation a Papelbon situation and he was done by 2/3 of the way through the season. This isn't a playoff game. It is a game where a AAA call-up for us started against one of the league's best starters. :dunno: It doesn't seem too crazy to me TheKilo.

Now this just doesn't look good.

pop up a bunt here Thames

C'est necessaire. Papelbon will have to close this one out if the Sox are to win.

Ummm, I called that s***. (I wish there was a sunglass-wearing frowing yellow head! ) So did Jim Leyland and just about anyone else who has watched this team recently.

you have got to be f***ing kidding manny. Seriously? Argh. Soooo, I'll ask the question again... anyone see any merit to putting Manny in the 3 hole?

Who's the pooper?

OH FOR f***'S SAKE LUGO. sigh... okay, a groundball to the right side would be okay. or a basehit.

Of course, the Tigers hope for bunt. walk. double play.

a double for Mr. Crisp. He best score. Bunt. Fly Ball. Papelbon.

I have faith in Hideki-san.

This seems like a pretty well-played game against a quality playoff caliber team. 2-2 against the highest scoring team in baseball is pretty good, no?

I find it refreshing to hear a road crowd that isn't 40% red Sox fans. The AL central appears to be one of the few divisions where that is the case (discounting KC, that is).

I tend to agree.

Manny DelKiller with the heat. He's looking much more confident. This could be the appearance that cements him as the 7th inning/pre-Okajima guy.

Any chance Ellsbury comes back after the break? He wouldn't have been eligable to play in the Futures game if he was with the big club, but he certainly contributed some nice ABs and some runs and defensive security. :dunno:

Good stuff man. The red sox build their top organizational prospects around having quality plate appearances. It helps them win games in the big leagues, so they want to teach it to their players now. That's why it seems like a player like Alfonso Soriano or Andruw Jones will never come to Boston, they simply don't have the same philosophy. It is also why the Red Sox have worked so hard to get and retain draft picks recently, because they want to pick the guys who already show a propensity for that type of hitting. Youkilis, Pedroia and Ellsbury are all really impressive hitters in terms of quality ABs and the ability to get on base. They wear down pitchers and bullpens. I agree about moving Ellsbury. I would much prefer that they get a top tier young talent when giving up a guy with as much athelticism and passion for baseball as Ellsbury. Like BDD quoted Eckersley saying: "I'm not a big Buerhle guy at all. Talk about pitching to contact. Everybody hits him. The only thing good about him is that it doesn't take very long to pitch a game, one way or another. He throws a lot of strikes. I mean not to get on him, lefthanders have always amazed me how they get by. He knows how to pitch obviously, he threw a no-hitter, he's one of the best lefthanders around. I just... I'm afraid of him. I'm afraid of him because he throws too many strikes. I just, Fenway Park, I really don't know. You're only renting him for a couple of months, but beyond that, I'm just not a big fan of his because I think he's very hittable ... to me Gabbard's like Buerhle, but younger and throws harder." He doesn't quite highlight the upside enough, but I think what he's talking about is what keeps Buerhle from being a top-tier pitcher worthy or multiple top-tier prospects.

This is from Mlbtraderumors.com, right? Isn't most of that stuff just garbage? I thought I remembered it that way...

So what do you see as their ceiling? Or, do you see Buehrle as the one player who will definitely put this team over the top? This is certainly debateable, so I won't tell you you're wrong. If you don't see a long or all-star career for Ellsbury or Lester then I could see your point. I'm very unsure about Lester's career projections at this point. I guess he feels like a #2 on a smaller-market team when he's matured, or a #3 on a well run big market team. I don't see #1 starter from him. Of course, I don't see #1 starter from Buehrle's numbers either, but his results have been pretty impressive. someone the other day made a comparison between Jacoby Ellsbury's plate approach and Derek Jeter's. While it is obviously very early to talk about ellsbury's career, I think that a player like him can turn into that cost-controlled mainstay for a generation of Red Sox. He has the charisma and flare that guys like Pedroia and Youkilis don't entirely have. He will quickly become a fan favorite and will provide years and years of runs and solid CF play if he sticks around. That's just my two-cents. I understand the inclination to get a guy like MB. He's a great pitcher and could certainly put this team over the top. I just think one has to be very careful when trading away the top, most develop prospects in the system to make that happen. Getting to the playoffs is the hardest part, winning in the playoffs often comes down to how the team is playing when they get there and how the ball bounces in those particular games. I would be inclined to try to get Buehrle with a couple of guys like Lester, Brandon Moss (who won't really get a chance in Boston anyway, but who has had 2 really good milb seasons), Aaron Bates, Lowrie, Craig Hansen, possibly even Manny Delcarmen. Of course, a guy like Coco Crisp may be able to fill a big part of a deal too with his recent resurrgance.

Maybe, but if Cora gets injured are you willing to live with Lowrie at SS, or Pedroia, or this year's Ricki Gutierriez acquired via trade. All the players we have had at SS who have gone on to success didn't have very long sample sizes in Boston. I suggest we hold onto Lugo unless someone actively wants him as part of a trade. No matter what we would be dealing him without his true trade value being evident. The tools I'm talking about from Lugo are, specifically, his range, his versitility, and his speed. He can play 2B, 3B or SS. I believe Cora can too, though I'm unsure how much 3B experience he has in his career. In any case, they are two very similar players: Lugo has far better speed, Cora is more consistent in the field, Lugo has higher upside at the plate and on the bases. Unless we look to get A-Rod (which would be sweet but won't happen) then I just see us looking to get another middle-infielder with plus defensive versitility and the ability to draw a walk and make some contact. Nothing too special, as evidenced by the number of players who have filled the roll over the past 5 years.

It is not really shocking. Ellsbury is a terriffic player who is being held back by Crisp's resurgence. I imagine this log-jam will clear one way or another around the All-Star break, or the Sox will just hold onto Crisp and WMP--both of whom could have some trade value due to age and cost--and bring Jacoby up when the roster expands. It was great that Ellsbury had such a positive experience with the Sox. Hopefully we see more of him soon.