a700hitter

That's all I was saying, and I agree that he could get to the majors faster than 2-3 years, but I don't think he will be a major contributor before 2-3 years.

He made a really nice play going into the stands at Yankee Stadium to catch a foul pop in the same game that PD made the catch that bloodied his face. Pokey's catch was better. He had better control of his body allowing him to avoid knocking his head in the stands.

You didn't. I was being sarcastic. Any formulaic indicator of major league success for pitchers would be extremely unreliable.

If it was as easy as a formula, teams would hire actuaries instead of scouts.

Oh, so your point is that top 10 prospects always make it as stars in the major leagues? Unfortunately, that is not true. Many top 10 prospects fall out of the top 10 while still in the minor leagues. Scouting baseball is a very imprecise art. Prospects are long shots. Very few truly are can't miss major league stars. In all my years of following the Red Sox, the only pitchers that came out of the system and made it to star status with the Red Sox for an extended period were Bruce Hurst and Roger Clemens, and the Mets had passed on Clemens. That's not a lot in 38 years of following the team, so pardon me for not getting all excited about this current crop of young arms. I have seen other crops whither and die.

I agree that he is a fine minor league pitcher, but he is far from a can't miss major league prospect.

Prospects are always a long shot. How highly rated were Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr when they were traded for Pedro? Pedro spent 7 years in Boston, became a legend and went to the Mets for a year, and neither Pavano or Armas has yet cracked .500 as a major leaguer. Don't get your hopes up about Lester. By this time next year, he could fall to the the top 25 prospects.

He's a good couple of years away, and anything can happen in 2 or 3 years. Fortunes at the minor league level change very quickly. After seeing him today, I realized that he is not the almost-finished product that I had been reading about. He won't be at Fenway anytime soon.

JSinger, Have you seen Lester pitch? I was about 80 feet from home plate. I am not a professional scout, but I am just telling you what I saw. He didn't just have a bad outing. He showed nothing special in the outing. Command, velocity and movement were not there. The Pirates minor leaguers abused him. Lester is not a major leaguer, so he is out there to impress management. He's not out there just for the work. BTW I saw another former Red Sox prospect that was highly rated by baseball publications--- Freddie Sanchez. He's the Bomb too. Prospects usually don't pan out, so I don't get too excited about them. If one of the current crop turns out to be really good, I'll be happy. My money is on Papelbon.

I am just going by what my eyes told me from seeing him up close and personal. He might make the majors eventually, and he might be pretty good, but he has a long way to go because he doesn't have lights out stuff. I could see him being a John Tudor-type lefty, but Tudor didn't become Tudor over night either. He's going to have to get better command and it will take some time to for him to master his skill. He's a good couple of years away. Those who think he might contribute to the ml team this year will be disappointed. BTW By the time Lester entered the game, the most of the Pirate starters were out of the game. He was facing their minor leaguers. If he was the Bomb, he should have done better. They tore him up pretty good.

It looked to me like he got a little tired in the 4th and lost the pop on his fastball and the dive on the split. It was pretty hot and sunny out there today, and Schilling actually ran out a grounder in the top of the 4th. He'll build the stamina, no question about it. The good news is that he is moving pain-free out there, which he has been unable to do since May 2004. As for the top prospect Lester, who has been labeled as "untouchable" by fans on Sox boards all over the internet, he looked vewry touchable on the mound. He had poor command of his pitches. His velocity was very ordinary, and judging from the two hard hit extra base hits that he gave up he didn't have too much movement on his pitches. The HR hit against him was a screaming liner that I thought did not have enough height to get out. It was crushed. He's probably another Red Sox over-hyped prospect. Don't get too upset if they trade him at some point for a real major leaguer. It's the job of the FO to build up these guys and use them as trade bait. Tomorrow Papelbon goes again. I think that he is much closer to the real deal than Lester. Papelbon has much more velocity. Edgar Martinez is a work in progress Van Buren had some plus velocity today and good movement. The run that he gave up was tainted because the catcher, Concepcion was boxing balls around that inning and letting guys get extra-bases. The guy that scored should have been going to 3rd on the grounder instead of scoring.,

There were several balls that Bard did not get down for. He let a high strike three go by but threw out the slow-footed Fasano.

They were pretty good blasts. His swing was very fluid making the power he generated very surprising.

I am very happy. Good riddance to that former Yankee, former D-Ray a-hole.

No one leads a perfect life, and I am sure KP was no exception, but it's not like he was on the FBI's most wanted list. However, he has died at a tragically young age. At this time, we should celebrate the good aspects of his life, and he was a heckuva a ballplayer.

Maybe DiNardo starts at AAA or Seanez gets cut.

I read that Seanez's contract is not guaranteed.

Scott Boras was Varitek's agent also. If handled the right way by the Boston FO, the Yankee offer may not have made it to the table, or at the very least the Yankees would have been forced to go for a 5th year.

Seanez stinks. The numbers are deceptive in his case. Put him under the pressure of Boston and he will fold. He did in his first go around with the Sox.

He has a hefty contract, so if he doesn't perform in Spring Training, he might be the one to go. IMO, he stinks. His first stint with the Sox was a complete bomb. He had no command at all.

Because they can't carry 13 pitchers, and I have heard that Seanez contract is not guaranteed.

With 3 starters at or near 40, I have little doubt that Papelbon and/or Arroyo will find their way into the starting rotation in 2006. However, I don't think Wells should be traded at this point. When healthy he can win 15 or more games with a very high winning percentage. If Wells is traded and Schilling or Wakefield goes down or Clement under performs, then they will be short starters. I think the Sox should sit on the abundance of pitching until injury or other things cause changes to the rotation.

For a guy that played the game with such energy, enthusiasm and reckless abandon, he sure has had some major debilitating health problems. Whether he deserves to be a HOFer, it was a lot of fun to watch him play.

Move Papelbon and Arroyo to the Pen. Cut Seanez and send DiNardo to AAA until things shake out a bit.

He's probably dirt cheap right now, and I'd rather take a chance on him than Seanez, who failed miserably in his first stint with the Red Sox.