jacksonianmarch

But it isnt different when you start putting pieces like this in the press. See what I mean here? It is all about expectation and a lot of fans arent knowledgable and a lot of players arent realistic or rational. It adds to the pressure in this pressure cooker.

I tried to liven it up a bit. Guess I failed

Ortiz looked like he was washed up for 2 full months before he broke out. I do think the sox give him a bit of rope, but it wont be 2 months long. I wouldnt worry about anything in ST unless a pitcher's velocity is down more than 5mph consistently by the end of camp or if a guy gets hurt. Thats about it

I didnt say that. I said that the sox offense is relying on him to put up a 30HR 100RBI type season. Plus, I have said before that the entire offense just needs to hit ENOUGH to provide their stellar pitching with enough runs to win 90+ games. Ortiz is only a part of that picture, and if their rotation clicks like they have the potential to, anything they get above and beyond league average is a bonus. A couple points just to lay it out there since people seem to continue to jump on my every word. 1. The Sox pitching will be stellar 2. The Sox defense will be very good 3. The Sox offense needs only to supply something and they will win 90-95 games 4. I expect the Sox to win the Wild Card this yr and meet NYY in the ALCS. Keep those in mind before jumping down my throat with every post

Did you really say that they arent comparing him to Halladay, just pointing out similarities? Seriously, just admit defeat before you get your ankle and shin in your mouth, following your foot

25 and 90 isnt exactly easy to come by. Here are the guys who did it last yr... Fielder, Howard, Pujols, Teixeira, Bay, Lind, Braun, Longoria, D. Lee, VMart, Morales, Hill, Zimmerman, Ethier, Dunn, Cabrera, Kubel, C. Lee, Reynolds, Kemp, ARod, Pena, Morneau, Ortiz, Werth, AdGon, Mauer, J. Lopez, Youk, Ibanez, Utley, Tulo, Matsui, Uggla, Zobrist, Sandoval That's only 36 guys. Of that list, Dunn and AdGon are the only ones that jump out as trade candidates with Pena being an outside kinda guy. But when you are talking about 30 teams and 36 players on those teams, then break down the guys who are available and you run out of a lot of options. They arent as ubiquitous as they seem

The fact that a trade is in the discussion points exactly to my issue here. The sox lost some O, their consistency is now going to be paramount and no domino can fall without a big ripple going through the lineup. The fact that a player outside the org is considered second line for the DH role is exactly my point. The margin for error internally has slimmed

He'll probably be the #5 hitter on the Red Sox this yr. And since the 3-4 arent huge power number guys, I think the sox are kinda relying on Ortiz to be that power guy. We shall see how the offense pans out when the season comes about, but Ortiz in the 5 hole does assume that he should put up big offensive numbers

Dojji, we all get a little punchy right about now. We get the tease of spring training yet still get to live in the winter weather (most of us). By April, this site will be lively as usual. Plus, having multiple uber-defensive posters who take anything said by Yankee fans as a personal affront is getting kinda old. The season will bear itself out soon and the good posters will come back, hopefully

Yeah, he was really highly touted out of college, he was actually expected to be a top 10 pick. Sucks for him, he looked like the real 5 tool deal. Hopefully he comes back from it

I am sorry Dipre, I don't want to hurt your feelings lest you make a whiny post and leave for a short period of time. Then come back as if nothing happened. DiceK will BE AWESOME, A+ #1!!!!!1!!1

Reading is fundamental. They arent saying that Buchholz is the next Halladay, but they sure as hell are trying to compare his big league start with Halladay's.

Ortiz isnt THAT easy to replace, though, depending on your team's expectation for him. He's easily replaceable in terms of a body in a spot since it's the DH spot. But if the sox need to get 30HR and 100RBI out of that slot, then replacing him with that kind of player isnt very easy.

Arent you due to leave in a tiff soon? My point is that being compared to Halladay at all, statistically or whathaveyou can raise expectations, which is exactly what a young pitcher doesnt need, especially when they are trying to fight their way into a rotation slot.

I didnt even read the initial thread. I just saw a title that asked why there are personal attacks and I responded with a personal attack. I didnt even see who wrote it

Comparing anyone to Halladay is ridiculous since Halladay mixes great command and pitch movement with an unparalelled work ethic. Guys like him dont come around often. This is a big season for Buch, but these types of commentaries dont help the kid feel his way around a batters box. He's gonna have a good yr IMO, some patches where he is dominant and others where he is downright inconsistent. By the end of the yr, he'll cement a spot in the rotation for a long, long time.

He'll start the yr on the DL? Wow, shocker.

I think we are all saying the same thing here, just with different verbage. 1. The Sox are not the same offensive lineup as they have been in recent yrs 2. They are relying on some players to be consistent when their histories show that they are anything but 3. They lost their biggest power threat and didnt replace him with someone of similar ability at the dish. If everything breaks right, then they are a top 5 offense easily. But that entails Papi reversing Father Time, Scutaro proving that last yr wasnt a complete fluke, Beltre proving that last yr was a fluke and actually playing better than his SafeCo numbers, etc. Those are a lot of variables. And when Lowell gets moved, which I see happening in about 2 weeks, the sox will lose any of their redundancy offensively. If those guys falter, it will create a black hole in a lineup that isnt built to be a funnel to the middle of the order, but is built as being tough outs in spots 1-9. The flow of the lineup is more important to the Sox than ever. In the past, they would just put guys around Papi and Manny who could work the pitchers and get on base. Now, without a true blue HOF level basher in the lineup, the sox need to have consistency throughout the lineup. Losing that consistency in any spot will be much bigger for the sox than it would be for a team like NY. NY has reverted to the Sox theory of 2003. 2 HOF caliber offensive players in the center of the lineup and a well oiled machine around them. But those two guys could carry them for long stretches of time due to their overall offensive performance. For the sox, they just cannot match them. But everyone gets sidetracked when I make a comment here. The sox offense slipped IMO and anything that goes awry will cause it to slip much further. The question shouldnt be "how far did the Sox fall offensively?" The question should be, "Can they hit just enough to give their stellar rotation the runs needed to win consistently." I think that answer is yes. I just have a feeling that the optimistic offensive minded fans might be disappointed this yr. A lot more 3-2 games than the 8-7's IMO

Why the personal attacks? Cause you suck. That is all.

How did you gather that? If the Cardinals lost Pujols, they'd fall into the back third of the league in offense. I am talking about the sox slipping down from the #2 spot to the #9 spot. I just dont see how this is arguable. The Sox offense got worse, their pitching and defense got better. I dont think that is really debatable, at all

Its okay Spudboy. Imperial/Dutchy is gone, so I think cooler heads will prevail. Saying that the sox offense won't be worse is ludicrous. Saying that they havent lost some consistency and have had a problem on the road the past few yrs is just flat out incorrect. The biggest Red Sox question will be, can they hit enough? The pitching should be solid, the defense should be really good. Can the offense hit enough for the pitching to win them 90-95 games. I think it will be. But I do not think that this offense will be a top 5, and might be on the back end of the top 10 when it is all said and done.

Without Nathan, they pull from a pretty strong middle relief to fill the void. With their rotation being average at best, they will rely on that middle relief to fill the void. And with Nathan down, it is gonna be a weaker spot than it was in the past. Losing elite closers is not something to shrug off as nothing.

No real positions are up for grabs. The #5 slot in the rotation, maybe, but I think its gonna be Buch's to lose. Otherwise, a quiet spring isnt a bad thing.

Beckett, when he is healthy, is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Lackey is not in Beckett's league. Beckett was the main contributor to two title runs simply because he got hot at the right time, and a hot Beckett is untouchable. One more healthy season gets Beckett a 5-6 yr deal in the 20 mil range per season. Someone will be looking to make a splash, I promise you that, and if Beckett hits the open market, I have a feeling he walks