example1

Okay... I didn't know sabermatricians were the ones who were so good at throwing money down the drain. Scouts can evaluabe a players fluidity and poise, but they can't measure overall production without statistics.

Fair enough, I guess this is where we differ. I think Pedroia is a blue-chip 2B prospect and we will not regret having a team full of players like him in a year or two. Smoltz is one injury away from retirement. I think that with the planning this FO has done, and their recent drafts, this team has a chance to win it all for the next 10 years (including this year).

Lester is a good pitcher. The best part? He makes people miss. Fossum didn't make people miss with the same efficiency at 22. THAT is what is so exciting for me.

You guys are all insane. Smoltz is good for one, two years at the MOST. He is not the type of guy to push a team over the top, and even if he were he won't be around in a year. The sox are not the type of team to give away a Bucholz and Pedroia for a 40 year old pitcher. They just aren't. They would give up a Bucholtz and Pedroia for a good YOUNG arm (i.e., Josh Beckett), but not an old man close to retirement. The only reason the sox went after Clemens is that he could be had with only $$$, and if the same were true with Smoltz I'd be all for it. I don't trust the AL--> NL move. I don't trust his age, and I don't think we're going to trade Pedroia for a guy like Smoltz. i just don't see it happening. Also, most of you were all in favor of the "retooling" process during the offseason. Now its all about winning this year... guess what? We're close to winning this year already. We can beat most teams, and I have plenty of faith in wakefield as a #3 in the playoffs (if we get there). I'm all for making deals, but not this one. Why not trade Pedroia for Kenny Rogers or Kevin Millwood?

Ta-! var-! ez! Ta-! var-! ez!

I think the sox are already competitive this year, they don't need to trade their future during a season the FO has already called a "retooling" period. We all believe that they will be one of the best teams in the next few years, so why trade Pedroia for a 40 y.o. starting pitcher? If anything use him in a deal for a Zito or a Willis, but not Smoltz.

I believe it was a nondisplaced fracture of his knuckle.

Then why did his motion change so drastically?

REALLY? Snow was DFA'd?

Seanez had a 2.69 ERA last year, and a 3.33 the year before that. Just remember that when we're talking about someone DEFINITELY being a good guy to pick up. Middle relievers tend to give up runs and they tend to not be able to shut the door or else they would be closers or starters. I think between Seanez, MDC, JVB, Timlin and Hansen (by the end of the year) we will have a more than suitable middle relief corps. I can't think of many teams out there that have MRs that consistently shut the door... perhaps CWS, DET, ANA, SD, LAD, NYM count but its not like those teams are putting catfish hunter out there.

It will get lower, you just won't be able to tell because of the x.xx format of keeping ERA's. It will go from 0.28314 to 0.28307 (or something like that). Amazing.

I mean, wouldnt you guys rather have Hansen on the mound than any of these jokers we've seen from the braves pen tonight?

mike lowell, mike lowell, mike lowell!

f*** YEAH!

I think you're too linear assuming that ERA is the best way to measure a pitcher like Seanez's value. He gives up other people's runs on a regular basis.

We don't think he's the answer, we HOPE he's the answer. There's a difference. Do you have any other ideas? All I know is that the guy can hit 97 and has had success at all levels. NICE RIP COCO!

How about a HBP right here, or, better, a double.

Come on Coco, time to do SOMETHING. Get on somehow please.

C'mon tek. Big spot here. I like him here

God let's hope so. He and MDC and Paps and Van Buren and Lester should all be getting regular work. This is supposed to be a retooling year and I think its obvious that those guys are just as capable of giving up runs as the shlubs we have in there now.

sigh... I'm still hopeful about this game.

ORS wasn't saying Beckett was all better. Just that sometimes a tweak isn't enough to keep other teams from being able to read your pitch. If he continues using the motion he used last night then teams that were reading him before will have a hard time reading him immediately again. I guess in that sense it is a good thing. I just miss his old windup.

Yeah, I think that sounds like a good theory. Why would that mean completely changing whether he puts his arms over his head during his windup or not? It seems they would tweak what was broken, not rework the whole thing. It's weird, I just don't remember seeing that happen many times (if any) before.

It was a pretty drastic change, whatever it was.

I may be goign crazy, but it seemed pretty obvious to me from watching yesterday (Saturday's) game that Beckett has done a considerable amount of tweaking with his delivery over the past few starts. He no longer turns quite so much, he has sped his motion up, and his front leg actually swings back and down now, rather than almost straight up like it used to. Did anyone else notice that? It is obvious watching yesterday's game because Beckett has traditionally had such a nice fluid delivery. People are giving this guy an awful lot of crap. He is and will continue to be a pitcher that hitters don't want to face. The key question is whether or not Beckett is intentionally changing his motion, or whether it is changing because he is compensating for something (an injury or something).