TheRivernator

Its a body of work thing jsinger. A pitcher can come up and dominate in one game, but how can they sustain it. You arent looking for a flash in the pan, you are looking for the next great lefty pitcher. I could say the same thing about Phil Hughes, who struggled in start #1 in AA then dominated in start #2. I want to see what he can do after 10 starts and see trends, so one game or a few games for that matter doesnt really matter. I know that sounds rather contradictory to the point I made about Lester, but to this point, his #s are all we have. I have no doubts that he'll lower those numbers and by the end of the yr, Lester will likely be one of the best pitchers in AAA, but right now he isnt. Give him time is all I am saying, he might be ready, he might not be. But wouldnt you rather have him when you know he is ready?

STOP THE ********!!! We have no idea which bones he broke, in what places and at what degrees they had to be repaired. How can you make a generalized statement about your personal experience when you have no clue how similar your injury was to his? You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. Also, he has access to the best trainers in the world and the best facilities in the world, aiming to get him back to peak performance on return. You didnt have that available, none of us do....

His expected return date is august, so I'm not pulling it out of my ass here. I also acknowledged the fact that these guys have setbacks more than other types of injuries, so his return date may be pushed back. Right now he is on pace to be ready for that sox series. Only setbacks can deter him, what is done is done now, and seeing as his prognosis is 3 months at this venture, then I'd say that the ligaments are intact....

2-4 4.05ERA 26.2IP 26H 29K 11BB 1.39WHIP Nothing in these numbers says that he is pitching well. I know that record in the minors is garbage and to an extent ERA is as well. (This is the only time I say that ERA is NOT a good marker of how good a pitcher is). But, WHIP and BB/9IP are huge indicators, IMHO, of how a guy will do in the bigs. The kid has good stuff due to his 9+K/9IP ratio, but that WHIP will get him killed in the bigs. He isnt ready now, and hence what is the problem with allowing him to stay in the minors for the rest of the yr?

it would be anaheim if anywhere. Bonds is too damn stubborn to give up now. Everyone wants him to not break the record so I can bet that he'll do everything he can to break it. He's a prick like that....

It will be interesting to see how he responds to the expectations when he returns...

You have no idea what type of injury he sustained. You make me laugh, judging based on bias instead of on substance. All we know is that he has a wrist fracture. We do not know the extent of his ligament damage, but the fact that he isnt considered out for the season means that his ligaments are not torn. This means that he likely sprained his wrist (people do it all the time and come back from it in 3 weeks or so) and broke his wrist. The sprain will heal first, the break will heal second. Broken bones heal almost completely and leave hardly any residual effects. Tearing ligaments is something that is dicey. Matsui will be back, I'd say he is back in time for the 5 game set with the sox in mid to late august. But as we see with Crisp, these guys have setbacks, so who knows when he will be completely back, but to speculate that he wont be the same again from this injury is just plain stupid, and shows a total ignorance of the facts on your part......

Any GM who watched the lines from Lester got a little scare early in the yr. Enough so that Lester may have earned himself a year long pass to stay in the minors. He is your prime time, A#1 prospect who is going to be hyped to the hilt when he makes his debut. Better to do it at the start of a fresh season than when you have already established yourself in a dog fight with your hated rival. People are very forgiving in April, and if Lester came up and shat the bed a week into the yr, people would attribute it to him being young and not ready. His ensuing demotion would just be for his seasoning. If he is brought up lets say in June, and he stumbles, then the fan base could turn on him and consider the hype BS and potentially ruin him for good. It is a legit fear, although it likely is not what would happen. I see Lester finishing the yr in AAA this season with a september call-up to do a little lefty matchup duty at the end of the yr. I expect him to supplant Wells in your rotation for next yr and be with you the whole yr....

I think the sox are doing themselves a disservice by sticking with DiNardo. They should be auditioning Alvarez and Ginter before the 5 spot is swallowed up by the fat man. Clement may have about a 3-4 start leash, and if he falters, they wont know who to turn to. Paps is the closer, Hansen and Lester wont be ready to join the rotation (so it seems) and Ginter and Alvarez havent started once. Might as well start the auditions now, as almost anyone who watches the games can see that DiNardo isnt the answer.....

sheff will be back in a couple weeks and then we can sit back and watch Melky Cabrera develop. We have a good one in this kid....

He will have a low 3's era by the time the season ends. Unfortunately, he'll still have a losing record....

NHS, you are a total moron. Seriously, RSN blasts the yankees for spending, now we are getting blasted for using our minor league system. Solid work son!!! Cabrera is a 21 yr old switch hitting OF prospect who was hitting .385 in AAA. We know the deal with him, good bat, good speed, no glove. So far he is 3 for 6 in parts of 3 games and he has impressed with his ability to work a count. His AB vs Schilling when he was down 0-2 and worked a walk was a veteran move. He looks more comfortable here this yr, but Joe is doing it right. He is easing him in, playing him until the late innings and replacing him in the OF. The kid has flown under the radar of most scouts, but when you watch him, you know he's a hitter (you also know he is NOT a fielder). Also, the only way we go after another player is if Sheffield is out for longer than May. If he drags this s*** out into June, then we'll have to find somebody. It wont be Huff, it wont be Lugo, or any Devil Ray for that matter. It will either be a major salary dump guy, like Abreu (see Olneys blog, Abreu is underachieving this yr and is due 30 mil over the next 2 yrs) or a fill in guy like Craig Wilson or a Jeromy Burnitz. Our offense will survive. As Gammons pointed out (for once I agreed), the offense is now mortal, but it is still better than 90% of the offenses in the bigs. Also, our pitching has shown that it can handle good lineups (sans the Red Sox for some reason) and can dominate poor lineups. Plus, without the comfort of knowing how solid our offense could be, mayeb our pitchers will actually pitch like the bulls that they are supposed to be. Who knows? Matsui's injury hurts a lot, but it is far from a lethal blow. We are strong on offense, if we lost a pitcher for 3 months, we'd be dead....

that would fit. Kidney stones are no joke man....

You arent getting my point. Beckett was an injury prone RHer that they were basically cutting their losses on plus sending an underachieving (not any more) 18 mil player in a package. Willis is younger and he is a power lefty who won 20 games last yr. He is a guy who you not only build a rotation around, but he has the potential to be a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Plus, their team is loaded with potential, they would need a young guy in return who has already shown some of his potential at the big league level. If they are going to sell their team to a new fan base whether it be Vegas or San Antonio, they will need to have a face they can recognize and a guy they can count on. Willis, even though he has started slow, is a guy who can do that. Lester? Del Carmen? Nope, they have shown nothing on the big league level. They'd want Papelbon, period....

Matsui is the man. I love the guy and the fact that he is apologizing for breaking his wrist on a balls to the wall play in LF is amazing. He'll be back this yr from the sounds of it, and I hope he can stay motivated. A guy who hasnt missed a game in 12 yrs will be itching to get back on the field....

you guys are funny. Derek Lowe is the ace of the dodgers staff. The dodgers are in the weak NL West and will likely be fighting for a playoff spot. Lowe is in the 2nd yr of a 4 yr contract paying him 9 mil a season. Lowe will NOT be traded. Also, he left on such bad terms with the sox that he'd demand a trade in the offseason, which he can do because any player traded in the middle of a multiyear deal can force a trade or become an FA after a season. Also, they would not take a scrap heap in Clement. That's like saying we could get Lowe for Wright, and btw, Wright and Clement may be about on the same level right now. You guys will audition #5 starters from now until Wells comes back in early june. The best one will battle with Clement and who knows, maybe clement gets dealt in a salary dump move. Clement is damaged goods right now, you wont get anything good in return, especially seeing as he has 10 mil coming to him next yr and a total of 9 mil this yr....

Loe isnt your typical pitcher who starts slow and heats up. He is a guy who starts hot then loses it.

for the most part, the sox have taken the fear out of facing the yankees. Now both teams win games that they shouldnt and it is no longer one sided. This is gonna be a good season, and btw, the yankees and sox are the creme of the crop, we'll both be there this yr....

i dunno, f***en A...

we should still beat any team in the league and we should have won today....

well, back into a tie for first with the sawx...in the loss column (which is all that matters)....

what a horrible AB. Sox win 5-3, actually Joe Torre loses 5-3....

yep, his lack of care for small ball killed us...

Posada's spot should have bunted. It would have tied the game. I am not a believer in the predetermined outcome, so I think we're tied right now. Also, having Bernie in RF was a joke...