VA Sox Fan

Showalter apologizes to Epstein Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 28, 2011 09:57 AM By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff FORT MYERS, Fla. — Orioles manager Buck Showalter called Red Sox GM Theo Epstein to apologize for his comments he made to Men's Journal magazine. The apology was accepted and Epstein considers the matter closed.

Very proud of my alma mater VCU!! FINAL FOUR!! YES!!

Red Sox make more cuts Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 25, 2011 02:44 PM By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff FORT MYERS, Fla. — Scott Atchison was optioned to Pawtucket this afternoon as was Michael Bowden. Randy Williams, Rich Hill and Brandon Duckworth were reassigned. There could be a few more moves. If you assume Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler and Tim Wakefield are in the bullpen, the Sox have two spots open with Alfredo Aceves, Matt Albers, Hideki Okajima and Dennys Reyes still in camp. Atchison had an option remaining, which into the decision to send him down. Albers is out of options.

My brackets are cooked. Very psyched for the 2 local VA teams still hanging in there. Go Richmond and VCU!!!!

I saw Hughes pitch the other night against the Jays and thought he looked great early.

From Peter Abraham of The Globe: Projecting the roster for Opening Day Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 22, 2011 11:07 AM ROTATION Jon Lester John Lackey Clay Buchholz Josh Beckett Daisuke Matsuzaka BULLPEN Jonathan Papelbon Daniel Bard Bobby Jenks Dan Wheeler Tim Wakefield Dennys Reyes Scott Atchison Explanation: The only real decisions are at the back end of the bullpen. Wakefield is wedged into a role he doesn't much like, but the Red Sox need the rotation insurance he provides. In relief, he can eat up innings to save the bullpen for the next day. There is value in that. Reyes is a better fit as a lefty specialist than Hideki Okajima, which is what this bullpen needs. Okajima also has minor-league options, allowing the Red Sox to see what Reyes can do for a few weeks. Matt Albers has pitched well enough to make the team. But he had an rough few years in Baltimore and Atchison would seem to provide more versatility. It would not be a surprise if Albers gets traded in the coming week. Then again, it would not be a surprise if Albers makes the team and Atchison gets optioned. The final 2-3 spots of every major league bullpen are fluid and will change constantly during the season. If the Sox start with Reyes and Atchison, they will have Okajima, Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Miller, Felix Doubront, Junichi Tazawa (eventually) and Rich Hill waiting in Pawtucket. All six of those players have big league experience. Plus there's Michael Bowden, Matt Fox and Randy Williams. They also have big-league time. Add it up and Pawtucket will have nine legitimate candidates for relief jobs. That's excellent depth. **************************************** and the rest.......... FORT MYERS, Fla. — The season starts on April 1, so technically the Red Sox have 10 days to pick their roster. But I would bet they know the 25 players who will be in uniform against the Texas Rangers on Opening Day. As Terry Francona said yesterday, "When we make our decisions, I just think if you’re looking at the last week of spring training, you’re setting yourself up to make mistakes. Even with our bullpen, if somebody goes out and throws a killer inning, that doesn’t mean they’re going to make the team. We just need to set our team up where we think we’re best.” Theo Epstein and his staff spend all winter evaluating and projecting what the players will do. Spring training offers too small of a sample size to change those well-considered opinions — unless there is a physical issue. That said, here's my shot at projecting the roster: LINEUP Jacoby Ellsbury Dustin Pedroia Carl Crawford Adrian Gonzalez Kevin Youkilis David Ortiz J.D. Drew Jarrod Saltalamacchia Marco Scutaro BENCH Jed Lowrie Mike Cameron Darnell McDonald Jason Varitek

Red Sox set rotation behind Lester Permalink|Comments (20) Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 17, 2011 09:42 AM By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox have set their rotation behind Jon Lester. Here's how it will line up: April 1 at Texas: Jon Lester April 2 at Texas: John Lackey April 3 at Texas: Clay Buchholz April 5 at Cleveland: Josh Beckett April 6 at Cleveland: Daisuke Matsuzaka April 7 at Cleveland: Lester April 8: New York: Lackey April 9 New York: Buchholz April 10 New York: Beckett and so on ... The Red Sox also optioned Jose Iglesias, Yamaico Navarro and Luis Exposito to Triple A Pawtucket. In terms of the rotation, Terry Francona explained his logic. "I think we feel like Lack has a way of matching up with whoever he's pitching against. Whether it's a guy who's a No. 1 or No. 5, you look up in the seventh and you have a chance to win, which we really like. Buch did so good [last year]. I think we feel like having Buch come out third just enhances our chance to win a little bit. "Buch's numbers would say that he can pitch anywhere. Just think Lack's a veteran and he's done it. I just think spacing [buchholz] and Lester out, there's something to be said for that, too. Lack showed up in great shape and looks like he's ready to go. Ultimately, if they pitch like they should, it's not going to matter and if they don't pitch like they should, it's not going to matter." Francona said Beckett missing a few days with a concussion earlier in camp had no effect on where he was slated. "Just watching the way last year unfolded, we want to get him off to a good start. He'll pitch in that game in Cleveland. I think that's a good place for him to start." Francona said the opponent is not a major factor in determining the rotation early in the season. "We certainly notice. But we weren't going to skip Lester in the [Texas] series if it wasn't a good matchup. We'd never do something like that," he said. "You can only put so much into the first couple of weeks anyway." A for the Yankees series, if the Yankees use their five starters in order, the Sox would face Burnett, their No. 4 (Freddy Garcia?) and their No. 5 (Ivan Nova or Bartolo Colon) at Fenway. The rotation is further evidence that the Sox like what they have in Lackey and do not share the misgivings some fans and media had last year. "I know Lack took a little bit of heat for maybe under-performing. I don't think we felt like that," Francona said. "He just seemed like that guy last year where he gave up runs late or somebody gave up his runs late or he made a mistake late. I just think he's going to give you the 200 innings and every time he pitches, you're going to have a chance to in. That's kind of how we feel, regardless of who he matches up against. "I think he's worked hard to get in real good shape and I think it's going to show. I think across the board his numbers will be a little bit lower this year." It's worth noting that Beckett faced Texas twice last year and was rocked. 12 IP, 17 H, 13 ER, 6 BB, 4 HR, 8 K. But the Red Sox do have faith in Lackey's durability. "It's huge," Francona said. "You've got to come up with a certain amount of innings somewhere. There are going to be some bad days, we know that. But if you know you can pencil in those innings, that's huge. If you start hunting for innings in the middle of the summer, that's tough." That Lackey took the ball every five days impressed the Sox, particularly given that he was helping his wife through some health issues. "Regardless of what was going on, and believe me there were some things going on," Francona said. "He's very accountable and he does his job and he doesn't care who he's pitching to, he doesn't care who he's pitching against. He just takes the ball and stays out there until you take it away."

No, it's a state law when it comes to auto insurance. Obama-care would be federal. The person that hit Ron Johnson's daughter may have had minimum or lower policy limits (or no insurance). Her medical bills have to be enormous. Even with higher policy limits, enough medical bills can exhaust them easily. John Lackey looks nothing like Billy Bob Thornton as the character Carl in Sling Blade. They both have an under-bite, that's it.

Boy might need some help.

Love ya ORS!

No way Rookie of the Year. I've "known" him too long and will ALWAYS give him grief

If he had sucked, you wouldn't have started this thread

See pages 6 and 8 of this thread.

Cardinals.

Finally!

Good for you doc. It's called "Freedom of Speech". One of the many things I love about our country.

I don't care who you are or what your personal life experiences are with you or your family members. We all have them. Every single one of us. We ALL have a story. Unless you walk in someone else's shoes, you cannot speak for them or attempt to judge them, regardless of your life experiences/situations. Period. People grow up differently, different circumstances, cultures, etc etc. We all know what we would do or what is right for us but that doesn't mean that other people are going to feel/live/act the way we think "is normal". Cabrera will get help or he won't, it's his decision. Call him what you want.

I disagree. Tony Dungy is not like the Jesse Jackson's or Spike Lee's of the world.

jacko being jacko. Also, he and Dipre have a history of "not getting along" On another note, maybe Tony Dungy could make some visits to Cabrera. So far, he's helped Vick a lot. Would hate to see him throw his career down the fk'n toilet. But...what the hell can ya do? People are people.....

Boy needs some serious help.

I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine. Hang in there. Go Sox!!!

SWEET! How perfect is that??!!! :thumbsup: