a700hitter

f*** me!!

He couldn't throw you out if you were carrying me on your back and they pitched out.

Dumpster Dipshits!!

The danger is that his buddy Beckett talks Bobby V into keeping Tek as his personal catcher.

On the bright side, my Sox tickets arrived in the mail today. Because I had to purchase Sox Pax of 4 games, I have a number of tickets for games that I will not be using. All seats are infield grandstand. I'm not looking for a profit -- just face value plus the $2.50/ticket convenience charge. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll tell you what games are available.

You just got an All Star pitcher for a DH that still has rookie status. You should be loving this trade. We should have traded them Lavarnway for the guy.

I think we have enough fans on this forum to make a difference if we took up a collection.

Just what we need Tek and Wakefield in the Fort Myers clubhouse throwing banana peels in the path of the pitchers and catchers. Some poster(s) excoriated another poster (I think Fred) for his fear that the Sox would look to bring back these over the hill bums. I think his fear has just been justified.

I don't think it is a very good situation when you have to start the season with your depth starters in the rotation. That would put an early strain on the bullpen, especially coupled with the fact that it would be unrealistic to expect Aceves to work deep into games. It is possible that Doubront steps up and wins a rotation spot, but other than that the others are just not very good options.

Of the pitchers on the list, which do you think are the top 4 or 5 that should be available. I think the Yanks have Hammels targeted. I also think that the Giants realize that their teams in that ballpark need to be built around pitching. They have been making big efforts to retain their top pitchers. Other than those two who else do you see as a target?

In light of your analysis, I'll ask you the same question that I asked E1. Do you see a high likelihood that the current pitchers will markedly outperform 2011, perform about the same as 2011, or markedly under perform 2011. Which do you view as the likely outcome? BTW. With regard to health and conditioning, I am not so optimistic that there will be much improvement due to organizational changes. Hopefully, a number of these guys are self-motivated by their lousy 2011 showings. Beckett just recently met up with Bobby V face to face, so I don't think our strength and conditioning people have been working with him yet.

Dice K will not be back by the All Star Break. That is very unlikely. Starting pitchers take at least 18 months to return to effectiveness. That's a minimum. We'll be lucky to see him by September. Edit: And what about the bullpen?

Do you see a high likelihood that the current pitchers will markedly outperform 2011, perform about the same as 2011, or markedly underperform 2011. Which do you view as the likely outcome?

It would be one story if answereing the question marks like Bailey's and Buchholz's health and the ability of Melancon to be an effective 8th inning guy would make the staff markedly better in 2012. Unfortunately, I think even when viewed in the most positive light, the 2012 pitching will be about the same as it was in 2011. If a few of the question marks don't have favorable outcomes, the 2012 pitching could be markedly worse.

That's the best argument yet that the 2012 pitching will be improved as currently constituted. However, other than to say that Bailey and Melancon constitute significant talent, you really didn't address how the bullpen plays out. How does Albers, Melancon and Bailey stack up against Wheeler, Aceves, Bard and Papelbon? I am assuming that Aceves is a starter, because he has been told to prepare to be a starter. I think there is a big drop off in the pen.

The danger in this approach is if the Rangers or someone other than than Yankees sign one of these guys. If that happens, we will be in a bidding war with the Yankees for the remaining pitcher. That outcome will not favor the Sox.

Take all the time you want in replying. I just don't think there are any very good arguments to believe that the 2012 pitching "as currently constructed" will be better than the 2011 pitching. If there were any strong arguments people would be all over it. No one, let me repeat, no one is disagreeing that if the Sox get another starting pitcher that the 2012 pitching will be improved. As of now, they have not acquired that pitcher, and if they don't acquire another pitcher it is very difficult to make an argument that the 2012 pitching will be improved. Arguing that Buchholz will be healthy for the whole year is not an effective argument. Even if his back injury doesn't recur, I had pointed out that the top 3 pitchers in our rotation have not stayed healthy for an entire season for many years. I wouldn't be betting that they will all stay healthy this year. While I agree that Lester could do better this year, do you really think Beckett will pitch to the same ERA in 2012. BTW Clear your pm mailbox. I am trying to reply to your questions about Fort Myers.