a700hitter

He's demonstrated a good Fenway stroke at Fenway South.

Yep, I knew you were kidding. I was just setting the record straight for the rest of the board. I completely agree with your post.

Aviles has done nothing but pound the ball this spring. His offense has been very impressive, and his D has been adequate.

Spud, I'd never give you the slap down. I agree that it is spring and time to be optimistic. It isn't time to throw in the towel. They have to play the games, but objectively the Yanks staffis much stronger and deeper than ours. As we learned last year strength on paper doesn't always translate on the field.

Tina did have a knack for interviewing players before the game who had big games that day. Maybe she inspired them. She had a very large mouth.

It will be interesting to see who Miller replaces when he is off the DL. Bowden has no options, and I think Padilla could also refuse a minor league assignment after he has been promoted to the big club.

This is a tough one. There are so many. Jerry Adair- He seemed to be in the right place at the right time at the end of 1967. Rogelio Moret - a supreme Yankee killer. I saw him shut them out twice-- once at Yankees stadium and once at Shea. Bellhorn- He was a big part of 2004. I thought it was disgraceful how the fans booed him in 2005. Nick Green-- He was probably the most clutch suck-ass player in Sox history. He had a lot of big hits, but none bigger than the Father's Day walkoff against the Braves. I was at Fenway for that one. It was a happy Father's Day.

The truth is that the Yankees staff crushes ours. Hughes has pitched well this spring. They have Sabathia at the top of the rotation and Nova at the bottom. They have added Kuroda and Pineda and they have Pettitte waiting in the wings. We have 3 pitchers.

In a 10 year career, Cook has surpassed 180 innings only twice (last time in 2008). I'm not optimistic that he will be so durable.

True, Doubront has stepped up, but he has not been close to eye-popping. He has one or more innings in each outing where he loses the plate badly. He has not been a consistent strike thrower. Cook has remained healthy, which is a big deal for him, but he is nothing special. He could be a big punching bag in the ALE, because he has no ability to put batters away with a K. Overall, I am not encouraged about the bottom of the rotation, not yet.

It is very disappointing that no one has stepped up to claim one of the 2 available spots. I had hoped that at least 1 guy would step it up big time, but with one turn left to go around the rotation, no one has stepped up. I really thought it would be Bard, but he has looked ordinary at best. We can be as optimistic as we like, but no one is winning the jobs.

If there is one thing to be more encouraged about Bard's outing it is that he threw strikes more consistently--but still not consistent enough.

I'll be going to the weekend series against the Nats in June. If Dice K makes a start before that, the drinks will be on me.

He did not step up like he needed to. If Aceves recovers from his last outing and puts up a solid outing, I think there is a good chance that 4 and 5 would be Doubront and Aceves with Bard in the pen. No one has stepped up and claimed either spot.

I've seen insanity set in as a result of a low carb diet. People on loe carb diets have been known to kill over a bread stick.

He's a career minor leaguer for a reason, but he can handle a 4th or 5th OF spot.

Doubront stepped up today, but Aceves, who had been the best of the bunch so far, really s*** the bed today. He looked awful. Hopefully, Bard steps up tomorrow and locks down the 4th spot.

What kind of s*** is Bobby V talking about his players? I haven't seen anything that I think would cause a problem.

I am trying to be optimistic about the rotation, but it is March 22nd and opening day is less than 2 weeks away. No one is stepping up to win the 4th and 5th spots in the rotation. Silva washed out before games started. Padilla pitched a few games and now he is injured. Ohledorf sucks. Doubront has been inconsistent at best. Bard has had terrible command. He ended well in his last outing, but he needs to step it up in his next outing or Bobby V is going to send him back to the pen. The only guy that has performed better than expected has been Cook, and he will not log enough innings to start the season in the rotation. Aceves has been the best of the bunch and he probably deserves a spot in the rotation, but losing him from the pen would be a huge blow. Our bullpen has been equally disappointing. Melancon has been horrible as has Albers. Ditto Miller and Bowden. Bailey has looked ordinary. They have two weeks to get on track, but I don't think there is any cream that will rise to the top in that time. It looks more likely that the s*** is sinking to the bottom. I'm not being negative. This is how they look at this moment. IT is bad enough that many of us are pinning our hopes on an early return by Dice K, but that is a long shot.

This Durango is parked in the lot at my condo. [ATTACH]821[/ATTACH]