a700hitter

A watershed moment in TalkSox history! As time goes on we will probably agree more. We are both crazed Sox fans who know the game and can differentiate the good players from the bad ones.

What's sad is that he has emerged from the pile of garbage signed in the off season as our best option. Recognizing that he is our best option doesn't equate to pining for him. I would rather have had a dozen other options, but the FO got guys that had no shot, i.e. Carlos Silva and John Maine. Ohlendorf stinks too.

A veteran pitcher like Cook would not have nibbled in that situation. He would have made the hitters earn their way in a blow out. When he has been healthy in his career, he walks about 2 per 9 innings.

The first place Nationals drew 26,000 + this past Saturday to see Strasburg against the Marlins.

In a game like yesterday's, Cook would have thrown strikes and made the batters get themselves out.

I realize that we were lucky to be facing the A's yesterday, and I don't disagree with most of the rest of your post. However, my point is that we will not be facing a .200 hitting team every day, and this bull pen doesn't have the talent to pull this team through the tough spots. There are no go to guys out there. It's heart attack time. Arms are needed now. We can't wait for Bailey to come back in August. IMO, that will be too late. You wonder how I can say that the game wasn't bull pen proof? If you need 5 relievers to finish off a game in which you had an 11 run lead in the 7th and a 6 run lead when you turned the game over to the pen, the pen didn't do it's job. Bobby V should have been able to go to 1 maybe 2 pitchers to mop up the rest of the game, but he couldn't. This group actually let the tying run get to the on-deck circle with no one out in the 8th inning. You say that things wouldn't have looked so bad if Punto hadn't dropped the pop up, but on the other hand things may not have turned out so well had it not been for Pedroia's stellar DP on a scorching 1 hop liner by Reddick. That was a very nice play. The pen needs arms. As for AGon in RF, I agree that is what needs to be done. I am not so sure that it will be done. AGon didn't get any significant OF time in ST. Has anyone heard that he has been shagging flies during the regular season? I hope that he plays RF, because pulling Ortiz out of the lineup will have the same results as last year in the NL parks-- an offensive power outage.

A win is a win. Some good things could be taken from the ugly win. For the first six innings, Buch looked the best he that he has so far. That was a big step in the right direction. On the negative side, the bull pen once again proved to be inept. If an 11-0 game is not bull pen proof, you are in big trouble. The simple fact is that there are no reliable arms in the bull pen. Every pitcher is a crapshoot. They need some stability. They can't continue to have the team fight like hell building a lead only to turn it over to this group of arsonists who provide the team, the fans, and the manager with nightly heart attacks. This group will not right itself. They are not a talented bunch. Also, I mentioned this in another thread. What is going to happen when interleague starts and there is no room for both Ortiz and Agon. Sitting either one will be devastating to a team that relies on bludgeoning opponents.

The big man is carrying this team right now. What happens in less than a month when interleague games start? No Jacoby. No Crawford. No Big Papi?

Buchholz's 3-1 record with an 8.69 ERA is positively Lackey-esque.

Some may think that the soft schedule for the next couple of months is a blessing. I am not so sure. Such a schedule could lull us into a false sense of security. Our bull pen needs help. It is not a talented group. If we come out of the next month and a half or two months in a good place in the standings without adding a quality arm or two to the pen, the good teams will feast on our pen. IMO, the FO should act during the soft part of the schedule to prepare for the gauntlet as you call it.

I am waiting fr them to find some help. Apparently, it is hiding from us.

Could anything make the bull pen worse?

We need Buchholz to be good. IMO, his role is critical. Nothing good has happened yet with Cook or Dice K. Neither has pitched a game for us yet. I don't know what we can expect from either of them.

The lineup they faced sucks balls. Needing 7 outs, they gave up 4 hits and a walk against a lineup that is a AAA lineup. They have 2 guys hitting over .250, 4 guys hitting under the Mendoza line and two other guys hitting .206 and .200. You can put lipstick on this pig if you like.

There was definite progress from Buch, but the pen is just too scary for me.

After being up 11-1, it's ridiculous to need 5 relief pitchers to get the last 7 outs.

Too many damn walks against a lineup that is AAA.