a700hitter

Here's a list of our starting rotation coming out of camp since 2004. I have included the depth options as well. The names listed do not include people who were not with the organization at the start of the season, e.g. Paul Byrd, Kyle Snyder and Bedard. Compare and contrast. There was only one season where a career reliever was in the rotation -- 2007-- Tavares. At least Tavares had pitched for a few seasons as a full time starter. Also, the depth options were Lester and Buchholz-- 2 major league ready guys. 2004 Schilling Pedro Lowe Wakefield Arroyo They averaged 31 starts. Fewest starts was Arroyo 29 2005 Wells Clement Wakefield Arroyo Wade Miller Depth: Schilling (11 starts), Papelbon (3 starts), Geremi Gonzalez (3 starts) 2006 Beckett Schilling Wakefield Clement Wells Depth: Lester (15 starts), DiNardo (6 starts), Tavarez (6 starts) 2007 Beckett Schilling Dice K Wakefield Tavarez Depth: Lester (11 starts), Bucholz (3 starts) 2008 Beckett Lester Dice K Wakefield Buchholz Depth: Masterson (9 starts), Colon (7 starts) 2009 Beckett Lester Dice K Wakefield Penny Depth: Buchholz (16 starts), Masterson (6 starts), Smoltz (8 starts), Tazawa (4 starts) 2010 Beckett Lester Buchholz Lackey Wakefield Depth: Dice K (25 starts), Doubront (3 starts) 2011 Beckett Lester Buchholz Lackey Dice K Depth: Wakefield (23 starts), Aceves (4 starts), Miller (12 starts), Weiland (5 starts) 2012 Beckett Lester Buchholz Bard Aceves Depth: Padilla, Silva, Cook, Maine, Ohlendorf, and Doubront

But losing just 1 starter would likely be catastrophic for the Sox since we only have 3 starters.

Sox passion has nothing to do with living in the area. I have been a crazy fan for 45 years and never lived within 200 miles of Boston. I have a number of friends and family and co-workers who feel the same way.

Drew was an extremely talented player. He did everything well. He had a classic fluid style that made things looks easy and effortless which contributed to the perception that he didn't care. His biggest problem was that he couldn't stay on the field enough.

Who would you pencil in as the 5th starter?

With a bum shoulder and his 8+ ERA he is more likely to be out of baseball before the end of the season.

Losing 2 starters for the Sox would be catastrophic for another reason beyond the lack of depth on the farm. Let's not forget thet we only have 3 starters. We don't know what we will get from the two converted relievers- Bard and Aceves. Thinking that we have a full rotation at this point is unrealistic.

Do the get the news in the old age home?

Yes, that is when he started using the term low risk/high reward acquisition. That drives me crazy. Jason Johnson was high risk whenever he took the mound. Low cost -- maybe, but not low risk. We lost 5 of his 6 starts. He was the worst starter by W-L in the history of baseball. I used to call him The Ultimate Loser. You bring back some painful memories.

I just checked his career stats. I'd rather that they invited Bill Lee to camp. Will they start throwing the likes of Ohlendorf and Silva out there so we start to be for Wakefield?

For those who were at Spring Training to watch them go through the motions with almost no enthusiasm and certainly no hard work, most believe that there was a carryover effect, especially in light of the lackluster play in the first two weeks. The Rays slow start has nothing to do with the causality of the Red Sox slow start.

Everyone talks about how the Sox were the best team in baseball in the middle of the season and that the collapse was an aberration that would be unlikely to repeat itself. For those of you who think that, you should be reminded that the collapse repeated itself during 2011-- they set a team record for a poor start and they set a record for a poor September. Do you really think that history can't repeat itself? It sort of already did.

Doji, Please tell us what there is to like about this move.

The Sox should probably put in a call to Fisk to have him visit camp. He'd give Bobby V some forceful backup on this new program.

Prices are up this year. It's very difficult to find discounts.

I'll be down there from the 17th - 24th. I will try to stop by when I arrive.

Oh Boy!

Pitchers and catchers report on Sunday. Wakefield and Varitek have still not retired. I wonder if they will report on Sunday. Reports were that Wakefield would make his decision last week. Does no announcement signifies that he will come to camp. There are no reports that either of them have rejected the minor league deals.