ksushi

If he is going to be successful at the major league level he is going to have to have better fastball command than what he has now. Thats usually the story guys fresh out of the minor leagues. You get away with it in AAA, you don't in the majors. At least not for any extended stretch of time. Regardless of whether he was screwed, or the balls had eyes, giving up 10 & 8 hits in back to back starts is not a good sign. Giving up 5+ ER in back to back starts is also not a good sign. There are about 101 reasons to be optimistic about clay for the future, and the future could be this season. The future could be an august call up, but I agree with ORS, it makes sense regardless of his success - or lack thereof - to make the move after the 23rd.

Not before tonight he wasn't but all night tonight he was collapsing on his back leg like it was made of jello and hanging everything. Enjoy pawtucket, may i never praise anyone again. Its a curse.

colon and/or schilling when either of them are ready to make the move up. I think its plausible at least. Right now, I don't see them taking either Lester or Buchholz out of the rotation when Colon or Schill are ready unless one of them shows they need to be sent down but as of now, neither one of those guys deserves a send down.

I am of the opinion that if you ever let baseball stress you out, you shouldnt play.

Same thing as every year, he doesn't have the K-rate to match his stuff but the BABIP gods were not kind to him in April.

Poor guy. He must be under a whole lot of pressure making millions of dollars to suck at a kids game.

I've definitely noticed a shrinking in the zone. Not sure what could explain it, but it definitely is a cross baseball thing. Even in the minor leagues, I go to a lot of games at Pawtucket, and it seems like the zone has been shrinking.

He is a shell of his formerly promising self. He was talking about retiring, I always liked Matt Morris, I wanted the Sox to take a gamble on him when he was a free agent. Glad they didn't.

Hansen was 21 when he was drafted out of St. Johns university.

No. You actually could have stopped a lot sooner as I asked for a list of players who thrived at the plate after a switch from the AL to the NL. Hanley Ramirez doesn't fit the bill because you can't really say he played in the AL. Josh Bard wasn't given enough of a shot on an AL team and really his boost could be attributed to the increase in playing time. Edgar is a good example of a guy who couldn't hit in the AL, but I think there is a difference in the way the game is played from NL to AL and Edgar is one of those guys who plays the NL style of ball a little better but I'll give that one to you. He had a very very underrated offensive season here and there was a lot of talk that he was injured. We'll see what he does this year. Mark Loretta was guy who thrived in both leagues, he had a very good season at Boston. Not sure what relevance Mark Loretta has in a discussion about quality of NL pitching. He punished pitchers in both leagues pretty well. And why don't we give Kapler a full season before we judge. What I'm looking for is some proof that NL pitching is inferior to AL pitching. I'd say the difference between the NL and AL is that the AL has gained more hitting talent than it has lost over the past 15 or so years and has become a tough place to pitch. I don't think that the NL has just an overall inferior crop of players. Basically you're arguement that NL first basemen don't compare as well against Kevin Youkilis because NL pitching is some how better to hit off of for reasons you didn't supply, is crap. Basically, we should establish the criterea we're working with here. Are we talking about careers, production at age 26-28, or what have you. I would argue that I would rather have Adrian Gonzalez, Derrek Lee, Lance Berkman and Todd Helton over their career and in 2008. At specific seasons in their careers, I might not. I'd have to break it down and look at it.

Thats the pitch that has been lacking since he came up. He showed dominance in the minors after being drafted, and displayed a filthy slider. Became the first red sox to ever make it to the majors the season he was drafted and then unraveled and never showed that slider like he did in AA. That can't be the end of it. I'm pumped to see the slider back, and I bet he will be big for us in the 2nd half. I still like Hansen more than MDC, and I will stick to that until Hansen is either flipping burgers or our primary set up guy. Imagine what a bullpen tandem we would have if he lives up to his previous potential? From the 8th inning on you will see nothing but 98 mph heat. *giggles*

I am so close to siding with Jacko on this one. If he could learn to sustain his early level of play over the course of an ENTIRE season, than I would agree with you JHB, but as of right now youk is .280/.380/.450 1st basemen who gloves well. That guy is pretty good, and he has a ton of value to the sox - top five in team win shares on the team last year. I just don't see him as a top ten 1st basemen. Helton had a MUCH better season than Youk last year and plays an equally good first base. I don't care what he did at Coors, if it was so easy to hit there, they would be a much more formidable team than they have been and they would be pumping out career .300 hitters at a much better pace. Todd Helton is one of the best players to play the game. He will probably be a hall of famer as his legacy remains unscathed by the steriod era and he was one of the better hitters of our generation. Youk could not lift Heltons jock off of the ground with a crane. Adrian Gonzalezs' inter-league line doesn't strike me as an important stat in determining overall value. Last year he went something like .280/.370/.500. The important part being the .500 slugging, something I would be willing to venture kevin youkilis will never do over the course of an entire season. Other things Gonzalez has done K-Youk has yet to do (and may never do)? Hit 30 home runs. Drive in 100 runs ( in a much weaker line-up). Hit .300 for a season. If you wouldn't take Adrian over Youk as your major league first basemen, you're out of your mind. Morneau is one guy who you have an argument with. Despite impressive power numbers, Youk was a better OPS guy than Morneau. But, in 3 full seasons as the Twins first basemen, he has hit 20 or more home runs 3 times, driven in 100 twice (130 in '06), and posted an OPS of .930 in '06. He is a presence in the lineup that Youk will never be. His 06 was phenomenal. I think you have to consider Morneau a better hitter than Kevin Youkilis and any sane person not lying to themselves would agree. Fielding is another story, but how much is fielding really worth over the course of a season from the first base position? I think you need to look at Paul Konerko's career a little longer if you really think at their respective peaks Kevin Youkilis is a better player. Paul Konerko is a power hitting beast. He had a down year in terms of average hitting which any player who tends to strike out a lot will do as they get up in years, but with any luck on his side this year, another year around his career averages in his rate stats is definitely not out of the question. He showed very little if any decline in power hitting last year with 30+ homers, 30+ doubles and in a down year a .490 slugging percentage which beats any figure Kevin Youkilis has posted in his (albeit short so far) career. You'd be crazy to trade Paul Konerko's best years for Kevin Youkilis's. Granted, Youk might still be looking ahead at his best while Konerko's are certainly in the rear view, Konerko is in an entirely higher class than Youk as a hitter. Plus, Konerks goatee is MUCH better than Youks over the top broom bristle goatee that I think is thicker than any of earths most thickly settled forests. Konerko has the slight but very much there goatee that is on a level of class that Youk hasn't really achieved thus far in his facial hair ventures. Derek Lee is a better fielding first basemen than Youk. And even if Youk is better at staying on the field, Derrek Lee is so much better than Youk that it doesn't really matter. Going all the way back to 2000, Derrek Lee has posted good year after good year, only missing the majority of one season. Missed some serious time after the MVP-type '05 season in '06 but other than that never played less than 150 games from 2000-2007. He isn't injury prone by any stretch. It takes more than a skill, it takes luck to play day after day for a 162 game stretch without getting injured. The same can be said for playing season after season over the course of a career. Youk can say whats up if he ever posts a 1.000 OPS or ever hits 40 home runs or ever has 6 consecutive seasons of 20+ homers. First basemen are traditionally power hitters who strike out too much, age poorly, and field poorly. Derrek Lee hits for power, fields exceptionally, and has yet to show the ugly signs of age putting up a .317/.400/.513 line last year. Derrek Lee is the better player. The NL being a less competitive league is a pretty misleading thing to say. What makes the AL a better league than the NL is that in terms of hitting, the AL has gained more talent than they have lost over the past 15 years or so. The quality of pitching from league to league isn't necessarily less competitive. Come up with a couple examples of guys switching from the AL to the NL and thriving at the plate and we can talk about it in its own thread. I count eleven and unless you can make some kind of magical argument against these guys, I think thats the count. I would put youk as the 12th best first basemen in the major leagues. Maybe we should start a thread and rank the top position players at each position by arguing it out and voting on it. Anyone down? We don't seem to get good thorough arguments in anymore. plzplzplzplzplzplzplzplzplz?

I'm curious what you guys think of hansen after a peak this season. I thought his stuff looked worlds better than in any previous call up. The home run, IMO, was a better example of good hitting than it was of bad pitching. Either way, its not what you like to see from a guy who needs to bounce back and get his career in the majors back on track. I loved the way he was using his slider and that velocity is very impressive still. I think Hansen might be ready for a more lengthy cup of coffee.

Leave David Pauley alone. He had that one sweet start in the stadium and... just leave him alone! He's a human being!! *cue crying*

Eh, 1.17 ERA at pawtucket. He knows how to do something right. We'll win anyways, we're hot as hell and we have the angels number.

Stiff neck? Jesus, I thought he just had the flu. Lame. The one game i get to watch this week and its going to be david pauley. If this stiff neck is serious, we're in trouble.

Any official word on whether or not Beckett is getting the ball today?

Theo is in a great position to sit back, benefit from the OF depth for now, and make someone pay through the nose when the races become clearer, and some team needs a CFer or a spark in the lineup. Side note: I've kind of noticed peoples tendency to go personal in a baseball discussion, too. It sucks, but it won't change unless people point it out. Good looking out. At the end of the day, we all have lives and deal with our own personal business outside of talksox, but we come here to talk baseball, but it seems like sometimes people don't even enjoy it and personal attacks break out. Not that we all aren't guilty of letting frustration get the best of us sometimes, but man, it seems like it happens too much here lately.

Teks knowledge and experience in game calling, over the long haul, probably benefit the pitching staff greatly. But the amount of impact it has on a game by game basis is probably minimal. Its definitely a big plus for the pitching staff, but probably not a plus that can be directly measured statistically. Over a starting pitchers say 30+ starts, the preparedness and experience of the catcher probably affects the body of work more than any individual game. If a pitcher trusts Tek's ability to call pitches for him, if Tek is doing a significantly better job than you're average game caller, the pitcher will likely benefit provided he holds up his end of the bargain by executing the pitches. I don't know if it is worth paying top dollar for, however, being a joint effort on the part of the pitcher and catcher and given the fact that game calling is an ability that can be learned. I think most major league catchers are prepared and aware of the scouting reports, and take advantage of hitters weaknesses. I think that an extension will be reached to bring tek back prior to his hitting the market, but I just don't see them not exploring other avenues in hopes of bringing in his future replacement sooner rather than later. I don't feel comfortable talking about Tek as the everyday catcher beyond next year. Regular catching duties are having a more significant impact on his late-season play than in the past, and while there is no way to clearly quantify game calling in terms of wins and losses, it seems to be a big part of his overall value, and I am of the belief that it is an acquired skill. Having said that, I think game calling is pretty low on the totem pole of crucial skills for a major league catcher. I think hitting approach and ability, and defensive skill rank a little higher. Those are the parts of variteks game that are most obviously diminished at this point, especially late in season. I think given void of talent at the catching position across baseball, they re-up for two more years, but into that second year I bet Tek will be seeing some time at 1B and there will be a replacement in the wings. Catcher has to be on Theo's mind at this point. Game calling and knowledge of the opposition is a big deal, sure, but its a big deal that can be impressed on a younger catcher by the coaching staff and doesn't have to be a tool that a younger replacement already has mastered. Whether it can be accounted for statistically or not, it helps. Otherwise, tek would not be lauded by the pitching and coaching staff the way he is. Its just whether you see it as something that makes a difference every night, or whether you look at it as a small facet in the catcher/pitcher relationship that benefits us over 162 games more than it does over 9 innings on any given day.

I was just thinking today about how last season and so far this season its been kind of a reversal of the trend I was used to. In '03 and '04 I would always check the Yankees score in like the 7th or 8th inning of the Red Sox game, and whenever the yankees were trailing, it seemed by the time the Sox game was decided, the yankees had come back and won. Lately it seems like the Sox have picked that up this year and last. Whenever I expect them to lose, they keep themselves in it. I like that.

Gabbard has been nothing but solid in his major league tenure thus far, I don't know why some sox fans think he wasn't a big loss in that Gagne deal. I would love to have kason gabbard right now. 4.08 career ERA so far.

Yeah, Hansen battled sleep aphnea for a long time. That can really zap your energy and when you don't have the energy to maintain a consistent delivery and arm angle, you lose your offspeed sharpness and your location. Hansen has electric stuff. One of the better sliders I've seen with 95+ heat. He will get the call at some point this season.