TheRivernator

also, no word as to whether he was on cocaine at the time...

for those of you who dont care about the yankees, close your screens now. Jaret Wright sucks....

willie harris is awful. Reminds me of Tony Womack, except worse...

we are all homers in our own right. For the most part, there are always 2 sides to any debate. We just always take opposite sides, nothing wrong with that eh?...

thanks buddy

I wont call you out if you show favoritism. I'll call you out if you try to make a seemingly "unbiased" opinion that is clearly homer-esque. If you have "faith" then say so. I have no problem with that...

I understand the Coco argument, but he is only a part of the puzzle. And another thing, I harped on how Coco grew up in a pressure-less environment in Cleveland and had the knock of wilting under pressure over there (Cleveland fans mostly, maybe they were mad, whatever). Point is, if he is viewed as the team's sole reason for not playing well, and he returns off an extended injury leave and he does not hit right away, he will be crucified in the papers. That Boston kind of pressure even got on Boomer's nerves and that guy is tough as nails with the media. My point is, the sox nation has nailed its offensive hopes to this kid, and if he struggles in his return, he may take a renteria-esque nosedive and never be the same. You better hope that the sox O turns it on before he arrives so he becomes a welcome addition and not a messiah. That being said, how can a team that is so middle heavy in their lineup, generate more runs if their bottom and top (at least the 2 hitter) cannot hit period. Coco is not the entire piece of the puzzle, the sox offense as a whole needs to come together. It is an interesting mix that theo added this yr. He picked up 3 players who came off career worst yrs and so far, none have reverted to their past glories. They have to in order for the sox to return to offensive prowess....

I understand the "getting the guys into roles" bit, but the fact is, you have 8 of your 9 starters in your lineup which is better than most of the teams in the bigs right now. As far as stating that your offense will improve magically and our pitching is horrible, that is such a blatant homer call that it isnt even funny. You think your team as it stands, 22nd in the league in offense will turn around with the addition of one player? Also, what do you have to say about the yankee's lower ERA in the rotation and the pen? Also, you do build your team around pitching, I agree, but your bullpen and your offense get you to the playoffs and your starting rotation win in the playoffs. As it is, the sox offense has been severely downgraded from last yr. Lowell is worse than Mueller, Crisp (to this point because of lack of durability) is worse than Damon, Loretta is worse than Graf, AGon is much worse than Renteria offensively, Vtek is not at top notch and remember he is a catcher who will only get worse as the season progresses. Brushing over it with the broad stroke that you will turn it around and jump 17 spots in league ranking is homeresque.....

I understand your point, but the only time a negative run differential is valid is if your team is a losing team. Your team is a winning team to this point, even though they hit a little rough patch. The point is, when they are winning, they are winning close. When they are losing, they are losing big. Winning games that you had no business winning is how you get out of losing streaks and bring your team together (you'll remember the arod vtek game that the sox really had no business winning, but they did and it sparked their hot streak). If you cannot even be in games that you are losing because your offense cannot keep up and your pitching lets things get out of hand, that cannot happen. I know it is a small sample size, only 12% of the season, but if this continues, then the sox will likely be a close to .500 team as history indicates.

okay, nice argument. Do any smart posters want to chime in one this point and not my alignment. Where is ksush and ORS??

Sorry, I posted this in the cleveland game thread, but I was hoping it could spark some debate, which is, btw, why we are all here. All of these points lead to one thing. It is still early for both teams. I think we can now see that those of you pointing towards the yankee demise because of a poor start were premature, and those of us pointing towards the sox demise are likely premature as well. The only thing that I will point out before I go for my run is this.... Last yr at this point, the sox were 11-10, which was an ok start, but they were +24 in run differential meaning that they were winning by large margins and losing close game. It was only a matter of time before they started winning a lot of games, and that is in fact what happened as they started to win the close ones and continued to win going away in others. This yr, they are -9 in run differential and at 13-9 in the standings. This means that the games that they win are close and the games that they lose are not. Here is the significance of that stat, and mind you the sox have not played the toughest of schedules, mind you it isnt the easiest of schedules either. The point is that last yr, only 2 teams finished the season with a minus run differential and had winning records, and those 2 teams were Fla and SD, and they were a total of 6 games over .500. On the flip side, only 2 sub .500 teams had a + run differential and those teams were Tor and Texas, and they were a total of 6 games below .500. Now take a look at the yankees, they are +44 in run differential yet are only 11-9. This means that they are losing close games and winning blowouts, they have been in every game for the most part. This trend means that they will likely have a successful season if they keep this up as they will start to win some of the close ones and will continue to win the games that they score a ton of runs. My point is, run differential is a good stat to follow, and if the trend continues to where the sox cannot step on the throat in their victories (ie they cannot take a 2 run game and turn it into a blowout like they did in the past) yet continue to lose big games (+5 run diff), the tides will turn. Over the long haul, close games typically even out with the better teams winning about 50-60% of their 1-2 run games. The games that do not even out are the 5+ run games and those are dependent on offense and pitching and that is where the better teams make their hay. Right now the sox dont have a good mix as the offense has struggled and the burden is on the pitching. I'll tell you right now, relying on your pitching to carry you through the regular season is not as money as it is in the postseason. You need the offense to ease the burden and lessen the load on the relievers as well as the starters. As it is, the sox are 22 games deep and Papelbon is on pace for an 80IP season as a closer, that is way too much. Foulke is on pace for a near 100IP season. Also, starters typically start the yr strong and then hit the wall as the season goes on. Then they regain their edge for the home stretch. If your pen is already taxed going into April, which the numbers indicate, you are setting yourselves up for failure once the starters start to show a little wear. Basically, your offense has not lessened the load on the pitching and the pitching can only carry you so far this early in the regular season. One man returning isnt going to do it either. You need the sox offenses of yesteryear and before in order to lessen the pitching burden. As it is, the sox are not playing like a team destined for the playoffs, but this is their first rough patch in their defense. It will be interesting who starts them on their next big winning streak, if it is the offense or the pitching. If it is the latter solely responsible for your next stretch of winning, then there will be issues. TB is this weekend, now if the chance for your O to make their hay.....

All of these points lead to one thing. It is still early for both teams. I think we can now see that those of you pointing towards the yankee demise because of a poor start were premature, and those of us pointing towards the sox demise are likely premature as well. The only thing that I will point out before I go for my run is this.... Last yr at this point, the sox were 11-10, which was an ok start, but they were +24 in run differential meaning that they were winning by large margins and losing close game. It was only a matter of time before they started winning a lot of games, and that is in fact what happened as they started to win the close ones and continued to win going away in others. This yr, they are -9 in run differential and at 13-9 in the standings. This means that the games that they win are close and the games that they lose are not. Here is the significance of that stat, and mind you the sox have not played the toughest of schedules, mind you it isnt the easiest of schedules either. The point is that last yr, only 2 teams finished the season with a minus run differential and had winning records, and those 2 teams were Fla and SD, and they were a total of 6 games over .500. On the flip side, only 2 sub .500 teams had a + run differential and those teams were Tor and Texas, and they were a total of 6 games below .500. Now take a look at the yankees, they are +44 in run differential yet are only 11-9. This means that they are losing close games and winning blowouts, they have been in every game for the most part. This trend means that they will likely have a successful season if they keep this up as they will start to win some of the close ones and will continue to win the games that they score a ton of runs. My point is, run differential is a good stat to follow, and if the trend continues to where the sox cannot step on the throat in their victories (ie they cannot take a 2 run game and turn it into a blowout like they did in the past) yet continue to lose big games (+5 run diff), the tides will turn. Over the long haul, close games typically even out with the better teams winning about 50-60% of their 1-2 run games. The games that do not even out are the 5+ run games and those are dependent on offense and pitching and that is where the better teams make their hay. Right now the sox dont have a good mix as the offense has struggled and the burden is on the pitching. I'll tell you right now, relying on your pitching to carry you through the regular season is not as money as it is in the postseason. You need the offense to ease the burden and lessen the load on the relievers as well as the starters. As it is, the sox are 22 games deep and Papelbon is on pace for an 80IP season as a closer, that is way too much. Foulke is on pace for a near 100IP season. Also, starters typically start the yr strong and then hit the wall as the season goes on. Then they regain their edge for the home stretch. If your pen is already taxed going into April, which the numbers indicate, you are setting yourselves up for failure once the starters start to show a little wear. Basically, your offense has not lessened the load on the pitching and the pitching can only carry you so far this early in the regular season. One man returning isnt going to do it either. You need the sox offenses of yesteryear and before in order to lessen the pitching burden. As it is, the sox are not playing like a team destined for the playoffs, but this is their first rough patch in their defense. It will be interesting who starts them on their next big winning streak, if it is the offense or the pitching. If it is the latter solely responsible for your next stretch of winning, then there will be issues. TB is this weekend, now if the chance for your O to make their hay.....

First of all, the Texas game was the first start of the season, so that has to play into it. Also, Texas is not the same team they were last yr with Soriano and Dellucci now playing elsewhere. Either way, Texas is a top 10 offense, so they are good, but the jays and Guardians are 3 and 1 respectively in the bigs and he had one good and one bad start vs the jays. Fact is, his era is 4.50 and that is not a saviour's ERA, than again it is early and I love busting your chops. As far as Lowell is concerned, he is a power player with no power. You need him to drive the ball out of the park for him to be worth his money. Youk is a good player, but he is no Bill Mueller, at least not yet and to say he is is pissing on the memory of Bill Mueller. He was only your most clutch player on your team not named big Papi.....

for what it's worth, I have been here the whole yr. Either way, it is one game, but the fact still remains that against the better offenses, Beckett has struggled. He is a fly ball pitcher and his park helped him A LOT last yr when he was in the roomy Marlin Stadium. Put him in the smaller fields (and Jacobs field is only a little bit smaller, but Broussard's granny would have hit the wall in FLA) and those long fly balls that he gives up are gone. Over the entire yr, he should eat up the poor offenses, so I still expect him to win 15+ and have a sub 4 era, that is assuming he stays healthy. As far as the rest of your rotation, wake has been alright, clement has been abysmal and DiNardo isnt the answer. You better hope Wells can return to form, or you may very well be looking at a deal come July. The bigger surprise is your offense. I had a feeling it would be poorer this season, but I had no idea they'd be 22nd in runs scored, 20th in BA, and 15th in OPS at the end of the first month. Papi can only do so much. Vtek, a typical fast starter is starting the yr slow, and with his propensity for trailing off at the end of the yr, he is in line for a career low season, which happens. Loretta has been awful with his .601 OPS and it looks as if his bat is so much slower than I remember. Lowell has been getting hits, but he is supposed to be a power bat and his 1HR is surprising, even for people who thought he'd continue to downslide. Everyone knew AGon was gotten for defense, but he is hitting .200 with an OPS of .540. That is about as awful as any starter in the league. His OPS is 184th out of 194 qualifying offensive players. Youk has been good, but he is coming back to earth a little bit from his amazing start. And your replacements for Coco have been abysmal. Adding Coco back to your lineup should be a big boost, but he is not the saviour. Youk in the one slot has been great to this point, so adding Coco back to the top of the lineup really wont do anything new. The change will be adding youk to the bottom of the order, which may turn out to waste his OBP because they have been so terrible. Overall, your pitching is the key to getting back to consistent baseball, but your rotation is topheavy and they cannot carry your team's lack of offense. Also, relying on 2 players to be your sole source of runs will cause you to have an inconsistent offense and will eventually force theo's hand to make a move. Overall, this is the most flawed 1st place team so far, but they have the propensity to turn it around quick....

who was advocating MDC as the next bullpen saviour?

says you. Chacon and Wang were horrible early on and have locked in. Our pen has been surprisingly good thus far. 5 straight great pitched ball games against 2 of the top half in the league in scoring. Funny how I have no faith in the next 2 games though. Jaret Wright tomorrow against Halladay and RJ against the Jays is just bad news. I dunno why, but RJ cannot pitch against the Jays....

btw, just saw the clip of it and it was hilarious....

The sox top 2 are likely better, but the entire Guardians rotation is stronger top to bottom...

so far this yr, the yankee pitching has been very good. 3.85 starters ERA, 2.75 bullpen ERA. The sox are 4.82 starters ERA and 3.88 bullpen ERA. What is that about pitching again???

funny, Chacon and Beckett now have almost the exact same ERA, lol....

wouldnt be the first time....

Beckett just dont have it today...

btw, these umps suck. Trot was safe, belliard was out. It likely wont mean anything, but these umps suck, and I'm a yankee fan, lol..

what, you cannot handle the same treatment we get? Beckett just took one in the bum wicked hahhhhd. Lets see how the rest of the game goes...

30 pitches and counting...