a700hitter

He's basically through for the entire season. They need another arm. They will be stretched too thin right from the beginning.

Can Padilla go multiple innings 2-3 times a week?

When is Hill expected to be back?

At this point it might be too disruptive to switch Aceves and Bard. Aceves will probably be the guy for now. The pen is really a huge step down from last season. Last year, we could go to Aceves in the 6th or 7th with Bard and Paps in the 8th and 9th. This year the starters will have to go deep into games.

I don't know if he is a consistent enough strike thrower and he doesn't have an overpowering fastball. I'd prefer to swap Aceves into the rotation and put Bard in the pen as the closer.

I don't like any of the available options. I am guessing that they'll go closer by committee until someone wins the job.

Lots of guys can pitch the 8th inning but can't close. Those last 3 outs are the toughest. You need a steel spine and a short memory.

Of course it was baseless speculation, Beckett was just flying from Florida to Texas to Cleveland to build some frequent flyer miles. Oh, and he just happens to be very close friends with hand specialists in each of those destinations.

A third opinion for Beckett. You've got to be kidding me! This is really shaping up great.

From today's Globe

Here's how I see it: We entered the off season needing to fill 2 rotation spots. Here's what was done to address the situatioin: No major league starter (who was a full-time starter in 2011) was acquired. One of the top 2 pieces from the bullpen (Bard) was converted to starting despite no experience as a ML starter and a track record of failure starting in the minors. A minor league pitcher (Doubront), with no major record of accomplishment in the minors, was installed as the #4 starter. The two most reliable bullpen pitchers (maybe the top end of game tandem) was replaced with a largely unproven pitcher with no major stuff (Melancon) and a fragile injury prone guy who can't pitch more than 40 innings in a season. For depth, a bunch of broken down, over the hill relics were picked off the scrap heap-- Silva, Ohlendorf, Maine, Padilla and Cook. I think that sums it up pretty accurately. Others may feel differently, but I look at this plan, and I don't see a high probability for success. We can hope that this team rallies in the face of adversity, because Bennies moves have not improved this team. There was one good move made during the off season and that was the acquisition of Bobby V-- and Cherrington opposed that.

Be careful. You might get accused of wearing a tinfoil hat.

But none of those reports came from any reliable source such as a FO source. Bard expressed his desire to start in interviews over the off season.

Wilson got blasted in his only outing of the Spring. That's all I know about it.

I am saying this because going back to last August there were stories in the press that he wanted to get a chance to be a starter. In the off season, he was very clear about his desire to close. The Sox decided to give him the chance. There is no evidence that they reached the conclusion that he couldn't close. It is just not supported by any reliable reports.

Overpaid at $4 million.

I don't think this accurate. Bard isn't closing, because he has been pressuring the Sox for sometime to get the chance to start.

You were in agreement with a lot of us, because that's where a critical analysis led us. If this guy is going to miss 8-12 weeks, Cherrington needs to get another arm. If we didn't need one before, we need one now. We don't have enough quality arms.

Basically, we will not get even 40 innings out of this guy who is obviously made of glass. He pulled a lat during his physical and now a mystery thumb injury? Of course he still has an elbow hanging together by a thread. Is it any wonder that Billy Beane dumped him on us for trash like Josh Reddick.