ORS

You are right, it was a little slower than game 1. However, by 'flat' I meant that it doesn't move much. It doesn't tail left or right, up or down.

If he was a Yankee fan, he'd fit right in at the YES boards.

Puppy love? Get over yourself. I am looking at what is good for the organization. I see the value of dealing him now, but that scenario is shortsighted. I think a good basball move can be made with an eye on the not so immediate future as well. Either way the FO handles it will be good for the team. If they deal him, we'll fill a hole that we have right now. If they hang on to him, barring injury, we won't have to worry about finding a catcher in the future. I am of the opinion that it is easier to find a decent 1B than it is to find a slugging catcher that has good defensive skills.

Wow, who would have thought that there'd be a walk-off by a guy with no HR during the regular season.

Now we get to see if there are any lingering effects from Pujols on Lidge.

Or a regular hitter who shortens his swing......6-6.

Does anyone else here find Jenks FB to be a little flat? I mean, don't get me wrong, that velocity is impressive and most aren't going to catch up to it. That said, it is straight as an arrow IMO. A good FB hitter can give one of those a ride.

I've heard many lay the claim that Mike Port, the new MLB Exec. VP of Umpiring, has a soft hand with the umpiring crews.

Fox does this with every missed call.

I don't see them going hard after him because he's too risky. He's a .500 pitcher with a career ERA+ of 110, which means he's league average, and he's had injury troubles. Yeah, his stuff is electric, but he doesn't seem to have much control of it. Forget throwers, get people that can pitch. We have Curt for two more years. His contract had an option for '07 that became guaranteed when they won the Series last year. If he was flying under the radar, then I'd say take a shot with him. But there has been a lot of hype around him, so the price to land him will be greater than what he can deliver IMO.

I don't think his knees can hold up at 2nd base any more. They are becoming more of a concern every year. Rumors have it that the Sox will offer him a one year deal at his current rate, but if he seeks more than one year, or truly wants to go west as has been reported, then I think Billy Ballgame has played his last game for the Sox.

Fair enough. For what it's worth, I hope Jenks has truly found the type of happiness that will keep his name off the police blotter and out of the tabloids. It is a great success story up to this point. Back to the Series. If Houston loses tonight, they are in a serious hurt locker. I think Oswalt is a good bet to win game 3, but they stand a real good chance to be down 3-1 with Backe vs. Garcia in game 4 (if they lose tonight). Can the 'Stros come back from 3-1? Sure, they could, but I wouldn't bet money on it. Clemens is question mark for game 5 (I have a feeling his sore hamstring will fare better in Houston's warmer climate), and I just don't see them taking 3 straight from the ChiSox. Anything could happen though.

I agree. Everyone has some parts of their past that I'm sure they'd like to forget. That said, I'd be less inclined to issue a warning if it was mere substance abuse, but he has demonstrated some seriously self-destructive behavior, ie drunken self-mutilation. I'm not saying he should be villified, but just keep in mind that he could be the type of guy hanging on by a very thin thread. Given your comments about other teams, players, and fan bases, I'd bet money you aren't so dismissive of his behavior if he's not on the White Sox.

We must agree to disagree there. I don't think it makes good managment sense to alter the direction of the club's future in order to make sure a late 30's knuckleballer is marginally more effective. I say let Shopp catch Wake. Kelly's rated very high defensively, and is regarded as someone who will be very good at handling a pitching staff. Besides, how hard can it be to call for the knuckleball 5 out of 6 times?

That is absolutely wrong. Kelly will be 29 when Tek is 36 and his contract runs out. Kelly, if kept, would most certainly be next starting catcher for the Sox.

I don't think the Payton trade was a bad one at all. He wanted out because he was in his walk year and didn't want to play on the bench. He was very vocal about playing time, and that is never good in the clubhouse. Plus, getting Bradford helped the shaky BP, and I think the FO knew we'd be getting Kapler back before pulling the trigger on the deal. You can look back in hindsight and always make the right move, but at the time it made perfect sense.

I'd keep him at arms length for a while before totally embracing him. Given that type of history, his impulses could lead to a meteoric fall from grace. The article does go on to say that family life has given him some stability, but tomorrow's headlines are only one domestic dispute and a bottle of whiskey away. SeattleTimes.com

I think if Glaus comes here, he will be used at 1B not 3B. His history is shoulder trouble, which can be reduced if he's playing on the other side of the diamond.

Pure speculation, but perhaps the Sox have come to terms with the Angels on a Manny trade that involves Brandon Wood. That gives them the flexibility to trade Hanley, who could be the big name in a Glaus for prospects deal. The D-Backs are set at the corners of the IF and OF, but I'm not so sure about their future middle-infield.

This is good news. BostonHerald.com

Duke's actually a pretty shrewd baseball guy. I don't think he deserves all the blame in the Clemens saga. Roger gets a 4 year $20M deal and then procedes to do this... 1993: 11-14, 4.46, 191.2 IP, 29 GS 1994: 9-7, 2.85, 170.2 IP, 24 GS 1995: 10-5, 4.18, 140 IP, 23 GS 1996: 10-13, 3.63, 242.7 IP, 34 GS Prior to that contract, Clemens averaged 257 IP in 34 starts per year, with his ERA being above 3 once in 7 full seasons. Plus he managed to gain a few extra pounds every year. I can't give Duke all the blame for not offering him top dollar because he didn't really deserve it. Toronto was taking a big gamble, and luckily for them, Roger got in a pissy mood since Duquette made the "twilight" comment and decided to get in shape. He sheds 30-40 pounds in the offseason and has two Cy Young years. Why couldn't he stay in shape here after Boston gave him a big contract the first time?

Timlin was our best option in the BP last year. If we need depth, as you say, then we need to keep him. His performance last year warrants $3M.

Did anyone think the game would be 1:15 old and tied 3-3 at the end of the 3rd? I sure didn't. The uncertainty is just part of the game's charm. I love baseball.

Delgado's contract is obscene. I don't think the FO is going to be looking to add that much salary (especially since they want to get out from under Manny's so much).

The Angels are deep with young infield talent. Brandon Wood, Howie Kendrick, and Kendry Morales are tearing up the AFL right now. And when you add Dallas McPherson, Casey Kotchman, and Eric Aybar, they have 6 good young players competing for 4 spots. It's not a stretch to suggest that we could get them to part with at least one of them as part of a package deal. Our needs right now are corner infielders, so Aybar, Wood, and Kendrick would only add to the logjam of middle infielders we are looking at in our farm system. I don't think they are going to be willing to part with Santana, especially not since Colon experienced his injury troubles at the end of the season. Perhaps we could get them to include Jered Weaver in the deal? Supposing we do get a Morales/Weaver combination, where does that leave us? It will certainly affect our competitiveness in 2006 since Weaver and Morales haven't cracked AAA yet. Now, if the FO is looking more toward the future when we could be fielding Ramirez, Pedroia and our rotation would include Papelbon, Lester, and Sanchez, then this wouldn't be a bad move. But, it will piss a lot of fans off knowing that they will have to wait for a serious contender. Papi in the field? Depends on how good he can field at first. When you put a weak link on the field, it is more reasonable to stick it in left field than at first base where there will be much more action.