jacksonianmarch

Imperial, you dont like to read, do you? You remind me of Dutchy, actually, I wouldnt be surprised if you were. Regardless.... I never denied that Buchholz wasnt a stud. He is. He had himself an inconsistent but promising 91IP in the majors. Joba was inconsistent, but promising as well. He had a better 111IP stint through the end of July, then regressed big time in August when they started futzing with his role. Now, just to help you since your disability makes you incapable of looking up prior posts....I said that a good rotation needs 3 innings eaters. The sox have 3 now with Lackey, assuming he is healthier than he was last season. And the Yankees now have 4. I have said all along that Buchholz and Joba and Hughes are ???s coming into 2010 out of the rotation, because neither put up strong, full seasons out of the rotation. Are you following? SO, where exactly have I questioned their depth overall? In comparison to NY's rotation, the sox dont have enough depth since NY has 4 guys who approached 200 innings pitched last yr. But still, they have enough length out of their first 3 to make their rotation a strength no matter what happens in the last 2 spots. Regardless, I cannot say this enough. Joba, Hughes, and Buchholz all had incredibly promising seasons last yr. All 3 had periods on inconsistency. All 3 had flashes of dominance. And none were completely dominant for sustained periods of time out of the rotation. Counting on them is not a smart thing to do. Now, with the acquisitions of Lackey for Boston, and the resigning of Pettitte and the deal for Vazquez, neither team is truly relying on them.

per mlbtraderumors.... Mark DeRosa is close to a 2 yr deal with the Giants for $12 mil overall. As of right now, he's set to be the LFer, but could move to 3b should the G-Men pick up Holliday or Bay

I am kinda in the middle on it. What I like about it, is that at worst he could slot into the #4 OF spot and Gardner is still there. If he can put up a .800+OPS and 25+HR, he would be well worth it, in the 9 hole.

Theo would trade Papelbon without even batting an eyelash if he has a viable in house candidate ready for the big time right now. He doesnt. He has a few guys who are close, in Bard and Ramirez. But neither are ready to close on a playoff team right now. Theo is very much in tune with Billy Beane. And Beane has always traded closers since his theory is that a good middle reliever and a good closer are not all that different in terms of talent, but are worth way more in terms of cost. If Bard comes out this yr and puts up a 1.1WHIP, sub 3ERA and a K per inning over a 65-70IP season, then Papelbon is gone for 2011.

I think the above post is revisionist at best and complete homerism at its worst. Chamberlain and Buchholz showed tons of potential. Just so happens that Chamberlain put in a lot more innings and faded towards the end. Buch started slow, but got stronger as the yr went on. Neither were incredibly consistent, but were completely lights out when they were one.

Their plan kinda fell apart when Damon decided to be greedy and not pay attention to the market. I think NY was expecting Damon to accept the 2yr 16mil offer and be in LF. That would have opened up the books for Granderson in CF and rotate a gaggle of possible AAAA's through the DH spot to see if any of them stick. Once Damon was really unattainable, they lost their flexibility stance and focused on building the best team available, which is where the Nick Johnson signing came into play. Now, LF is open. Their team would be much better defensively if they went with a Hoffman or Reed Johnson and Gardner platoon. But if they can buy low enough, Dye is an intriguing option. He still hits for lots of power as evidenced by the 27 homers in 141 games of a down yr. The question is, which Jermaine Dye do they get. The guy from the first half of the season, who was an All-Star caliber player. The guy from the second half of the season, who belonged nowhere near a major league diamond. Or somewhere inbetween. If he is signable on a one yr deal with lots of incentives, then I'd be okay with it. I think any base salary that would cause Cashman to be reluctant to release him should he suck is too much. Maybe a 2 mil base with 4 mil of incentives? Regardless, we could do a lot worse than Dye. Hell, if we did sign him and trot him out to LF for 120 games or so, he'd bat 7th, 8th, or 9th in all likelihood.

Dipre, that was with the caveat that the sox were resigning Bay. Also, saying that Wake is better than Vazquez is retarded. Sorry, but it is. You have sauid before that ERA is not a good way to evaluate a pitcher, and I agree with you. But then you use ERA to support your case. Kinda hypocritical. Regardless, we need this season to start so the proof can be rammed down your throat.

I said through the first 4 months. 111.2IP 105H 44ER 50BB 97K. 1.39WHIP, 7.8K/9IP, 3.54ERA. For the first full yr of a 24 yr old starting pitcher, you would call that really good. At least I would. Buch was "really good" for his debut too. Compared to the league, its slightly above average, but its something to build upon.

Will you be yawning when the yankees run away with the division? The current sox offense took a MASSIVE hit with the loss of Bay. They made a major upgrade in the rotation as well. For the regular season, its a wash. And the Yankees were much better than the sox were in 2009 AND they got better.

Regardless, the park sucks, we all know this. But the change in division and the change in pitching is going to be just as important. I will tell you this, unless Theo changes his tune, Gonzalez is not coming to Boston. The funny thing is, the sox are right up against the $170 million mark, and they have the chance to get a player similar in age and better in production in Holliday for nothing but a 3rd round draft pick and cash. Do the sox pull a Yankee and open the wallets all the way? Or do they pack it in and go to war with the team that they have? The current sox team cannot hold a candle to the yankee squad in the regular season, but they should make the playoffs

He played in the Cuban National League. Hence, he was a pro

The sox top 10 is talented, but raw and not likely to help the big club directly in 2010. By 2012, their top 10 is going to be full of their 2009 draft. Their 09 draft is one of the most talented classes I have ever seen, although they took a TON of risk since all of their big signings were HS kids.

They might be talking about amateur talent. Cuban and Japanese players have the caveat of being professionals before coming to the US.

Regardless, we are in a pretty good predicament. Two stud kids, both with electric arms. One will be the #5 starter. The other will be the prime setup man. If I had to guess, we're gonna give Joba one more yr. He is stretched out and he was really good for 3-4 months before he fell apart. Gotta give him one more shot. The added benefit is.... If Joba shows he can be a 180IP starter and be solid, then we could go for the big strike. Let Pettitte and Vazquez go, offer arbitration, get the two picks, then sign Cliff Lee. Joba would slide into the #4 hole and we could try and stretch out Hughes. If Joba cannot get it going or is as inconsistent as he was last yr, then I think the Joba project shifts to the pen. Regardless, Hughes will be in the rotation in 2011, IMO. Whether Joba is there or not is yet to be determined

they are looking at Dotel for now

but you also run the risk of him dropping in OPS on the road next yr too.

Rumor has it that NY is looking at Reed Johnson to round out the OF. That would be an interesting choice. He's an injury risk, but he mashes left handed pitching and he plays balls out defense. He'd be a good platoon partner for Granderson or Gardner, IMO. He would make Hoffman expendable.

Meh, I think it has its utility, but it is a bit skewed IMO. Especially in Gonzalez' case. It over-values players playing in major pitching parks and undershoots for players playing in hitters parks IMO. Plus, its all relative to the park you'd move him to.

He's had 1 .900+ OPS season. Those are truly great seasons. He's had a bunch of very good ones, but 2009 was his first great season

agreed

I do agree that Wakefield is unconventional, but when you are trying to compare him to a more durable strikeout pitcher, it is difficult. But trying to fit a square peg into a round hole isnt a good way to make a comparison either.

ERA is not the best way to evaluate a pitcher. How many times need we say this?

he's done it two yrs in a row. And without a hint of injury. I honestly think that his elbow was his biggest downfall, and now that the scar tissue is broken up, it isnt an issue