ORS

I'm listening to the radio stream on the internet. Beckett struggled with command in the 3rd, walking Sheffield and plunking Mags. Two runs came in on a seeing eye single by Guillen. Nothing has been hit hard all game, save a Casey foul blast. He gave up 3 unearned runs in the 1st. 6-5 Sox going into the 4th.

I think our bench is going to be strength this year. Hinske, as long as he's hitting against RHP, can be dangerous. WMP is excellent for a 4th OF. Cora is a very competent MIF off the bench. Belli, meh?

Alright, that's enough. Back to baseball. Five-run first highlighted by a Hinske slam vs. Verlander.

Thanks, Zach. Although, I almost feel guilty for accepting your gratitude because it really didn't feel like service. It was tough work, but it was a lot of fun and I'd do it all over again if I went back in time.

Perhaps, Fred, I mean just maybe, I was reading the page while you typed and then responded because yours was the last at the page I was reading. So, rest easy my friend, my reading comprehension is better than you can imagine. It's funny though. It's funny that a guy who has been watching baseball for 60 years gets so worked up about a bad outing or two in spring training. Are you worried that Manny is only hitting around .200? Maybe that's a bad example; Manny's track record is a carbon copy from year to year. How about Pedroia? You seem to like him. Does it worry you he's under the Mendoza line? Here's what I think Fred. I think your daily rants are gross overreactions, and your focus on singular events prevents you from seeing the reality of a situation. And, this is in addition to your personal biases that make you want to keep non-performers around. You can't stand WMP, but he was valuable to the team last year, hitting .301/.349/.489 while playing every outfield position effectively. Don't laugh, he was 1 run above average for the year defensively. However, the gaffes stick out in your mind, and a bad play or two makes a "bum" in your eyes. All the while, you loved Loretta and his statue impression at 2B while putting up a .285/.345/.361 line. Don't get me wrong, I was content with Loretta last year, but I never understood the Wily Mo ire. You want my opinion of the bullpen? There are some quality arms there that have either had success in the past or are on the cusp of breaking out, it is only spring training, and until I see otherwise in a real game with the real bullpen out there, I'm confident 3 or 4 of them will pitch well enough to be the guys that get handed a lead late in the game. I can tell you this. As long as you remain the town crier on this board, I'll continue to be thorn in your side until you drop the arbitrary nature of your spite. Carry on, Mr. Frost.

The Fred, the Fred, his whining is incessant It makes his company quite unpleasant He bitches, he moans My mind, it groans Fred, what about your whipping boy from two days ago? You know, MDC, aka "the bum". Two scoreless. It's Hansen's first competitive inning pitched of the new year after a sore back. He was the only guy who might, I stress, MIGHT, be with the big club bull-pen when they break camp. The rest of those guys are either in Pawtuckett or on the waiver wire. It's like you just started watching baseball this week.

Hudson, hands down. But, Ellis and Polanco are quite good too.

It's pretty easy, Crunch. Lugo and Pedroia will cover a lot more ground. They won't make it pretty, but they'll get to more balls. Loretta, while as sure handed as they come, is a statue out there. I'll eat my hat if this years duo doesn't combine for as many or more Put-outs + Assists this year. It's not about how it looks; it's about how many outs are made.

Four run first for the Sox. Gabbard has already given two back in the bottom half on a dinger to Helms.

Mine is going out Saturday as well.

I think the IF is the other way around. It's about the same defensively. Lugo won't be able to match Gonzo's prowess, but the difference will be made up by not having a statue of Mark Loretta at 2B. I'm confident Pedroia can match or exceed Loretta's .706 OPS, and Lugo will be significantly better than Gonzo's .696.

Andrew Siciliao (sp?) had a good take last night on Fox Sports Radio.

Thanks, I kind of liked it. We need the season to start. The back and forth is fun, but I need to be watching baseball every night.

Somebody has taken the Wang off the pedestal and is now massaging it with his tonsils.

I'm not angry. I think it's funny actually. And it's not minimal. There are 14 AL teams, each one plays 18 IL games, that's 212 IL games. 30x more than a 7-game WS. 30x. It tells us 30x more than the WS does. It's still not perfect, but it tells us that much more than the WS.

What period of time has a greater chance of a team experiencing both a good patch and a bad patch, one week or five weeks, thus giving a truer representation of the team's overall quality? Swing and miss, Rodney. You are hanging by a thread.

I watched him in Anaheim. I also watched him be very effective for two straight years in Minnesota. He's a typical MRP. He's had good years. He's had bad years. It's folly to look at the latest example with those type of guys, and those type of guys are the majority of relief pitchers. You don't know what you are going to get in any given year. Thus far, he's looked good. Until he starts not looking good, I'm comfortable with him getting the ball, no matter what you saw last year.

It's real easy, numbnuts. The mid-season one is 30x bigger and 5x longer in duration.

Especially when you go all the way and say it like his countrymen would, then you'd have: Ho'elle

No bullpen runs allowed. Nice. Looks like we get to find out if Fred is bipolar ("THEY SUCK" - "THEY'RE THE BEST") or never pleased ("Well the bullpen was good today, but..."). I'm not sure which way to vote right now.

Sorry, Rodney, there is an answer, and the last couple of sentences suggest you are stubbornly coming around to see it. I never said IL was perfect. In fact, I said it wasn't. It's just better than the WS, which has been my point all along. And, you are wrong about it telling nothing. Hell, the WS tells us something, even if it is very little, but IL play tells us more.