jacksonianmarch

You have to start it prior to the age of 5. Venditte has been switch throwing since he was 2

I think you are right.

Colts 55

My pick for total points is 55

you win your 27th World Series. Also, throw enough money at the problem and you can break curses too....

Doesnt bill James work for the Red Sox and arent you reaching a bit deep to bash the Yankees. You know, the team that won the 2009 world series?

Eventually, it becomes a trend.

The Yankees have been a second half team for quite some time now aside from 2008 when injuries derailed them. Heck, even in 2008 our post ASB record was pretty good. 2009- 52-22 .703 2008- 39-28 .582 2007- 51-25 .671 2006- 47-29 .618 2005- 49-27 .645 So while I disagree that the sox would be 15 games out come the deadline if Ortiz is still slumping, I do think that they are f***ed beyond a shadow of a doubt for the division if they arent well ahead of NY come the ASB. And Ortiz slumping would likely preclude that

How is his time with the Marlins relevant now, especially after 2 healthy yrs where he was very productive? And how do you expect to win an argument about health when the guy who is supposedly "healthy" made only 12 starts last yr?

It wasnt major, nope, he only missed nearly the entire season! My god, you're insane. I am sure you're expecting CY type numbers too and the sox are on point to win 130 games.

I wasnt responding to you Dipre. That being said, I find it absolutely hilarious that people are considering DiceK more of a lock to stay healthy than Burnett. Hilarious. Burnett had TJS. He's been healthy for 2 yrs straight. DiceK cannot stay off the DL. Big difference.

Verlander got a pretty standard deal and didnt leave much money on the table. I bet he would have won his arb hearing, and if he stayed healthy, could have commanded 20 mil a yr on the FA market as a 29 yr old. If he got max dollars ($9mil in arb in 2010, $12mil in arb in 2011, and $20 mil each of the next 3 yrs) he would have made $81 mil. The only problem with him getting locked up right now is that he lost the opportunity to get a long deal on the open market a la CC Sabathia (7 yrs). It works for both sides

So wait, Burnett is more of a concern than DiceK, really? And you call me biased

I have read the other reports saying that Depaula could hit 97mph, I have not seen any other documented readings higher than that. Regardless, even if he is 19, a kid who can throw that hard is nice to have around. Sounds like he was going to get a 7 figure bonus prior to his scandal. I assume he'll still sign with NY for something in the 500K range now

this yr will be big in determining if I will be doing any singing.

Oh I know. He had a very good first season in A ball, but coming out of college highly touted, you should expect him to do that. I'd be intrigued to see if they skip him over A+ ball this yr or if they take it slow with him. He reminds me a bit of Neil Medchill who we picked up this yr. Tons of power, tons of K's and good performance in a league where he's more experienced than most.

Spud, I have already said that he has a big hurdle to overcome. I still think the odds on likelihood is a AAAA player or worse. But he is at least a bit different from the prior guys who tried

Jury is still out. Good power, lots of K's, has some potential.

The problem with previous switch pitchers (and there have been plenty more who failed aside from Greg Harris) is the fact that they stay very similar from both sides. Similar motions, similar pitches, just different sides. And, these guys really need to have their weaker side be the left side since a weak righty pitcher is useless. The thing that is so interesting about Venditte is the fact that he is 2 different pitchers in one. He is a sidearming lefty who throws a slider and a slow but controlled FB a la Myers. From the RH side, he is a traditional over the top pitcher with a harder fastball, a big breaking curve and a crappy change. This is his one potential saving grace is. He's not the same from both sides

Predicting MiLB numbers, especially for a kid who regressed the yr before is a fool's game. I have predicted Lars to improve, but we all know that it is a crap shoot. But this yr will be huge for him. If he doesnt get back to the forefront of the prospect map with a yr akin to Dipre's projection, he'll get passed by.

He sure is interesting. Coming out of college, he threw 80-81mph from the left hand side with a big slider. But he is a sidearmer lefthanded, so he fits the Mike Myers mold I guess. That really hasnt been a big problem, due to the movement, location and deception, he should be at least passable from the lefty side. His intrigue is the right hand side. He was more of a mid to high 80s pitcher from the right with very solid control and a good curveball. But with a few mechanical tweaks, he's sitting around 90. The big knock on him right now is that he's an advanced pitcher pitching to hitters who are still developing. He gets a lot of swing and misses from the right hand side while throwing the curve out of the zone. He is going to need to prove that he can get those swing and misses while throwing inside the zone to be effective. If his right hand side can be average, he'll be very valuable at the big league level due to his versatility. But that isnt a sure thing right now. He'll start in Trenton this yr, where he really will get to see advanced hitters for the first time. But thus far, he's had video game numbers in the minors.

The writers in Boston have always been quick to slam someone and long to thank them or congratulate them. This is just how it is. If Theo's model fails, then they'll all say I told you so. If it works, they'll be very slow to come around to his POV.

He is a Boras client.... Its always possible that Jacoby gets moved. Reddick does bring more to the table in terms of his average to above average power. But in order for the sox to make that decision, I would assume they would need to see an extended string of Reddick. So the only way they move Jacoby for Reddick, IMO, is if someone gets hurt this yr and he steps in for an extended period of time.

Its Dojji. Do you really want to start arguing with him about prospects. He more prospect batty than I am. Reddick will not be a power hitter, IMO. And a power hitter to me is someone with 30+HR power. But I think he could safely hover around the .800OPS mark in CF, which most any team would love to have. The problem is, Reddick is blocked by Jacoby and I doubt that he'll hit enough to start at the corners for Boston. I bet he's a starting CFer for some team come 2011.