a700hitter

The one stopper will keep them competitive by avoiding prolonged losing streaks.

The good news is that we have also avoided lengthy losing streaks. As long as we can avoid losing streaks like last year, we should hover around .500 and be within striking distance. A couple of winning streaks would put some distance between us and the rest of the division. I just don't see us going on a winning streak until Buch starts pitching better and one of the kids start starts to figure it out at the plate. Also, Victorino is a must.

Another bat is needed and we have to hope that Victorino doesn't miss too much time.

Men on first and third with one out and he PH the old slow catcher who makes contact most of the time. WMB most likely would have k'd or hit a flyball giving us another shot at getting the runner in from 3rd.

Last year to my amazement, Ortiz got pitched to most of the time. They didn't stop pitching to him until the 6th game of the WS. Managers are a very stupid slow learning bunch.

The Big Papi # is misleading, because he isn't getting challenged most of the time.

That could be a broken wrist for XB. I am surprised that he is staying in the game.

Dempster got 2/$26 and he was a dog. Lackey will cost at least the same.

The Sox offerd him a multi-year contract at the end, but he declined it, because he wanted to go out as a Yankee. The Yankees used that as leverage. Koji doesn't have the same loyalty to the Red Sox that Mo had with the Skanks.

I don't think your concern is at all paranoid. Lester's value is going up as he continues to pitch well. He is at the top of the FA pitcher class. The Sox have not showed any recent inclination to pay market value for long term contracts. Also, the Yankees and the Dodgers will open their wallets for the. Guy and when they do, Ben will fold his tent and go home. I think that our window for retaining Lester will be closed if we don't do an in-season deal. As for Lackey, the minimum wage clause was merely a part of negotiations. He never expected that the clause would be implemented. A guy at the end of his productive career is not going to want to play for pocket change. I expect a lot of posturing by him to get out of the deal. He has a lot of capital right now as he is our second best pitcher and he was instrumental in winning a world championship. He is going to expect respect (I.e., $). There is no way that he plays for us for the minimum next season unless it is coupled with a back ended 2-3 year guaranteed deal for big bucks. It will be a very complex negotiation and it is possible that we might lose him. As for koji, he will be 40 next year and the FO has consistently demonstrated a reluctance for multiple year deals for relievers, so it is very Possible that we lose him. Those who think this is paranoid thinking will be the first ones rationalizing the loss of these guys if it happens.

SFF, I posed the question yesterday about WMB. How much rope does he get. Two HRS is not going to justify the fact that he can't put the ball in play very much and a low OBP. He needs to start depositing some balls into the stands. He needs to at least be a power threat.

I would be surprised if they made a deal for a big name. I don't see the FO f having the appetite to trade highly touted prospects the year after winning the championship. That could change if this team continues to play uninspiring ball. Being a .500 team is one thing, but this team is a bit boring too. Don't get me wrong. I am not bored at all, but they are just not generating much interest among the broader fanbase. If that translates to decreased revenue, they might look for a splashy move. I am not expecting anything big. I could see them adding a solid but lower profile bat if the 3 kids continue to struggle into the ASB.

I haven't changed this signature, because I am superstitious. We did win a world championship while I was using. Crazy? Yes, superstition is crazy stuff.

Victorino has a knee injury. This was disclosed after the game. There are no details on severity. He is one of the indispensable pieces to this team's success.

If among WMB, Jr. , and Bogey, 2 of the 3 start to contribute offensively before the end of May, but the 3rd guy doesn't, do we stick with all 3 the rest of the way? You can tolerate light production from the more demanding defensive positions, but if WMB is the laggard, you should make a move. You can't have an offensive black hole at a position where you should have a power stick.

I didn't watch the end. I saw this movie on Tuesday. I didn't expect the ending to change.

Resting Victorino and batting XB second helped wreck the only productive part of the line up. The top of the order was dragged down to suck like the bottom of the order. You could see this coming as soon as the lineup was posted.

He needs to start driving some balls out of the park soon or he will be getting his ticket punched for Pawtucket. If he can't provide a power threat, then he isn't of much use.

Hitting in front of Ortiz, XB will see nothing but fastballs with a 3-2 count, and that is what he saw in his last AB-- one fastball after another. A lot of them got a good part of the plate. He had many opprtunities to drive a pitch in that AB.

With Gomes and Carp in the OF today, the team D is substandard.

No Victorino and Bogey is hitting second. Carp gets some PT.

Ortiz is in a zone. Unbelievable. He is like a man playing against children.

Ortiz is locked in. I can't imagine that opposing pitchers will keep pitching to him, but then again, the Cardinals didn't stop pitching to him until game 6 of the World Series.

I don't know what OBP vs. BA average has to do with old guard vs. new guard. It's not like OBP is a new metric. My dad (if he were alive today he would be 95) taught me about OBP and how BA doesn't tell you the whole story.

BTW Jacko, for punking out on making the game thread for yesterday's game in clear violation of accepted TalkSox norms, I am placing a curse on your Yankees. The injuries that they have experienced up to this point will seem like nothing compared with what will come. Be prepared to see Jeter in a cast while going through his farewell tour.