a700hitter

Ross and Sweeney are better rightfielders than Crawford.

I think part of the problem was that he had to close his hips and bring his hands back as the pitcher was delivering the ball. It took too much time and he couldn't get around on the good fastballs.

I can't believe that Bailey already has a strained lat.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2012/02/varitek_to_anno.html

Aren't you concerned that we don't have 5 planned starters. We only have 4. Our depth guys need to cover the 5th slot. What if something happens to one of the 4 in addition? We have to dig further into the depth options. I agree that there is no such thing as a spare pitcher ,which is why I'd like to have 5 planned starters at the start of spring training.

He's just a very stubborn personality. If people are looking for a statement of contrition, you are not going to get it from Beckett. He is a tough competitor, and hopefully he has come to the realization that in order to compete the way he likes to compete that he has to do some extra conditioning. If he does his work, I don't care if he spits toward the stands and the press box. The greatest hitter of all time did that for his entire career after his rookie season.

Is your point that all plans are doomed to fail, so that you can never have 5 solid starters for a season?

Lefties fall off the mound toward 3rd base. Maybe Bobby V will have him dragging some bunts to the right side against the tougher lefties, using his speed to give the pitchers something else to think about.

Who else have we given up on besides Gabbard?

I attended one of his victories. I think he pitched a shutout against the White Sox. It was part of a day/night DH on a Sunday. He was not a hard thrower, but he knew how to pitch. Trading anyone for Gagne would have ended up being a mistake. Gabbard is not a terrible comparison, but we need Doubront to be an Arroyo type horse who can take the ball every 5th day and give the team a chance to win. Some of you may scoff at calling Arroyo a horse, but the guy has taken the ball every 5th day for many years. He's not a star, but he is a reliable piece of his teams rotation. Edit: My memory was faulty on 3 counts. The game was played on a Saturday. It was not part of a day night DH and Gabbard pitched 7 innings giving up 1 run. He did not pitch a shutout.

Yesterday, I mentioned that the stories out of LA are that the Angels are looking to move Abreu, but they are finding no takers. I asked if he would be a good pickup if the Angels released him. Only one poster responded by saying that they will get something for him. I'll ask again. Whether or not he gets released, is he worth pursuing at a reasonable price, i.e. LA eats almost all of his salary and they don't want much in the way of a prospect. Abreu is as steady as they come. He maybe a little long in the tooth to play everyday, but he could share RF with Ross in a platoon. Ross would still get plenty of ABs with the platoon plus spelling Crawford or Ellsbury against tough lefties.

He was an emergency starter who made 6 starts in July. We are going to need more than that from Doubront. He needs to hold down the rotation slot from beginning to end. We haven't had a pitcher step up and do that in quite some time. Other than highly touted guys like Lester and Buchholz, the last marginally talented pitcher that we had step up and claim a rotation spot for the entire season was Arroyo.

^ My sentiments exactly.

We need Doubront to be much more than Gabbard.

1. It would be great if Doubront could take a big step forward and claim and hold a rotation spot. He certainly has poise on the mound. The question is whether he'll have the stuff and the stamina and conditioning to go through the league twice. 2. Carl Crawford is a great player. If he is healthy and Bobby V has a plan to use him correctly, he should have a big season. 3. I'm not sold on Dice K making any significant contribution in 2012 no matter how many stories I read about his accelerated progress. The body has its own time table. No one has had a productive full half season 12 months after surgery. Maybe he can provide a shot in the arm in September. Expecting more is just setting yourself up for disappointment. 4. They had better have chip on their shoulder after last season, because another ending like 2011 will result in an complete house cleaning. 5. I am not so sure that the starters ERA will be better, but I would never bet against the Sox. The starters are only part of the picture. Do you think the overall team ERA will be better. I am not sold on the pen yet.

I think we are over thinking this issue. We have 6 players that are all stars and then there is a big drop off for the bottom 3. Who hits where in the top 6 will in part depend on how they are doing. If each performs up to their expectations, the power hitters will be hitting 3 - 5 or 3-6. If Ells is still hitting HRs, he should be in the 3 hole, and we will have 4 legit power hitters. If CC hits like his Tampa Bay days, he should be in the 2 hole. If not, he'll hit 6th behind Ortiz. Lefty-Rights doesn't matter with our top 6. Their order doesn't much matter as long as they are all bunched together. It would not be smart to drop any of them into the bottom 3. Our bottom 3 is well below the class of the other 6.

Wouldn't pitchers pitch around AGon who can beat them with a HR and pitch to the singles hitter instead?

If the Angels release him and have to pick up his full salary, should the Sox pick him up for the waiver price and he can platoon with Ross?

I wouldn't mind him in the 5th spot.