jacksonianmarch

winning cures a lot of things

I love this matchup. No pure ace for Minnesota, no K pitchers.

Regardless, you are kinda agreeing with me by saying Burnett could match Verlander. Seeing as I would want Burnett starting game 2 vs the Tigers

There also exists the possibility that Gardner starts 1 or 2 games and having Guzman to pinch run late could be pretty sweet.

If it were the Twins with Mauer and Kubel and Span (and maybe Morneau depending), I would ensure that CC and Pettitte get 2 starts. Against the Tigers, though, with their only lefties being Granderson and Huff, I think I'd get AJ 2 starts.

JF Christ Dipre, you and I are on the same page a lot these days. The apocalypse is near!

The only difference I see for Sabathia is that he struggles a bit more than usual since he will be facing better, more patient lineups. Granted, if we get Detroit, that wont be the case. As with DiceK, who has struggled in the post season, I dont think it has anything to do with the lights and the festivities. It has more to do with the fact that they are facing better hitters who will wear you down

The Yankees #4 spot is a question mark and Burnett is a question mark. I am using the term "??" for Beckett who is hurt. For Lester, who was hurt, but looks to have answered that ??. For DiceK who looks like he is rounding into shape, but, as we all know, he has struggled in post season play and coming off a shoulder issue, we dont know how he will hold up under the rigors of facing good lineups. And then Buchholz, who has looked fantastic, but he also gets his first taste of October baseball. It is definitely the sox strength and I would say that the question marks will turn into good answers for the sox overall, but each has their own questions.

OMFG!!?!?!?!!! SAHBAWTHIA SUKKED LAST NITE! Sucks he couldnt get win #20, but he had been rolling and I guess it was time for a stinker

Please, go after Harden. He is gonna get a long term deal on the market since he's the 2nd best pitcher out there and is coming off his healthiest season to date. So please, sign him up. Not only do we hit him well, he makes JD Drew look like the Iron Horse in terms of durability

The Angels and the sox are a bit different from last few yrs anyway. The sox have seen a significant downturn in defense and a questionmark in the starting pitching category (one of them was answered positively last night in Lester). They have also seen a change from the 1-2 of Ortiz and Manny to a more spread out approach, which has proven less productive than years past. In short, I dont think the sox are as good as they were in 2008 and 2007. The Angels are completely different as well. Their rotation is essentially loaded with #2's and the addition of Kazmir gives them a sox killer, albeit one who struggled this season. Their lineup still has a ton of speed but they have significantly improved on their power and batting average, even with Vlad having an off yr. The big change for the Angels comes in the bullpen. Losing KRod was one thing, but losing their MVP in the pen in Shields leaves them ripe for the picking. That bullpen with Fuentes at the end should scare nobody. In terms of the series, it is always difficult since both teams have their pluses and minuses. But I have to think the sox take this in 5. I have a feeling that the sox O goes cold in a few games and the angels pen will blow a very important game in the series, something they were not used to doing over their impressive run since 2002.

Varitek has crawled into a hole since May. He shouldnt start any of these games

as long as Lester's leg doesnt snap in half, its a good start. Who cares if the sox lose every one of these games. These games are completely meaningless for Boston

there have been plenty of rookies who dominated in their debuts and plenty of veterans who got rattled. I have a general rule for you. If you are good, then you will pitch well. And if you are good and a power pitcher, you will generally do better.

Congratulations to the 2009 Red Sox on their wild card berth

Burnett's stuff makes him untouchable when his mind is right any time he takes the mound. The hope you need to have is that the good Burnett is on the hill. Cause when the good Burnett is on the hill, he beats anyone. When the bad Burnett on the hill, he torpedoes the game. There isnt much in the way of middle ground

If you follow PWNdroia's thinking, Beckett is just being a baby again. Then again, PWNdroia is a moron

Seth has a long way to go before you consider him a major leaguer. But I bet he gets some sort of viking or nordic monicker in the minors if he does make it.

You dont deal for Gonzalez this yr unless you move Lowell or another 1b type player. As it stands for 2010, the sox will have 4 guys for three spots and the 2 best choices for odd men out are the most difficult to move in Lowell and Ortiz. Adding Gonzalez to that mix makes things more complicated than they are worth when you consider the extension and the players needed to make it happen. Plus, the Padres are something like 32-21 in their last 53 games and think they can make a play for 2010 if they get one more piece.

Pitchers develop endurance over time. It isnt a one season thing and it rarely is something you are drafted with. If that was the case, then people wouldnt be freaking out about pitch counts and innings counts. Joba has a good pitchers frame. He might not be that tall, but he is wide as the day is long, which should give him good torque without killing his shoulder. But I honestly think the yankees took the right approach with him and dialed him back a little bit from the getgo. We saw last yr that he has the capability to throw mid to high 90s as a starter, but he doesnt have the endurance at this time to do it full time. He showed in game 1 of the sox series that he could reach that point if he needs it, but he doesnt always need it. That being said, people keep forgetting that Joba is truly new to the whole starting pitching full time thing. He was at a Juco, then went to Nebraska where injury woes limited his innings totals. Then he went to Tampa where a hamstring injury sidelined him for the first few weeks, then he throws something like 100 innings as a starter before being converted to the pen. Last yr, he starts in the pen, gets moved to the rotation, gets hurt and then gets converted back to the pen. This has really been the only yr that he has been healthy and starting the whole time. And is had been a really good yr for him until the end of July when the wheels started coming off. Long term, he has a good amount of work to do, but this has been a positive yr for him. He still needs kid gloves, but they can get a little looser for 2010. If the kid gloves work and he stays healthy, he is gonna be one of the best pitchers in the game within the next 3 yrs. If he doesnt, then this starting thing was a waste and the pen is where he belongs. Now, the reason why I think this can work is tied into Hughes and the kids in the bullpen. Hughes this yr made the burden on the pen minimal. But when Hughes comes back to the rotation, there will be a hole to fill. It will start with Melancon and Robertson. Aceves slots into the Mendoza role, Coke into the lefty role and Marte hopefully into a quasi-setup role if his arm holds up. But either Melancon or Robertson need to take the next step and become setup quality arms. If they do, then nobody will be clamoring for Hughes or Joba to come back to the pen. If they dont, then expect the cries to be deafening. In terms of Buchholz, I agree with the fastball command issue. But if you dont have a pitch behind that fastball that you can count on regularly, then you wont be much of a starter. When he was up in 2008, he was really a 2 pitch pitcher with the fastball and the curve. And if the curve wasnt on, he was easy to figure out. Sit dead red, take the off speed crap and lay into him. But now with that changeup, you cant do that. That makes the hitter respect the heater and allows him to throw it more often. It must look exactly like a heater out of the hand, cause the hitters look lost when he throws it.

Why not? Every team that makes the playoffs should have the chance to enjoy their playoff bids.

Bowden can throw mid 90s heat. He usually sits low 90s though. I actually was a bit disappointed that he didnt light up the radar gun a bit better in his relief appearance, but it has been a long season and one could assume he's a bit fatigued. That being said, I would unload Bowden ASAP. His mechanics look terrible from a long term health perspective and the last thing you need is a hot commodity like him going down with shoulder woes before you have the chance to capitalize on his worth.

Really? Are you sure about that? Buchholz mastered the changeup first. Buchholz has better control. And Buchholz has finally become more receptive to the suggestions by the sox pitching staff. Buchholz has the stuff to be a top of the rotation pitcher. That being said, raw talent wise, I dont think you can make a case that Buchholz has twice the talent that Joba does. Cause having the capability to throw 99mph and have one of the best sliders I have ever seen is not something to scoff at. Buchholz is more refined as a pitcher right now. But Joba has a 1-2 punch that very few pitchers have had. If you give Joba some time and some endurance, I have a feeling both will be very important to their respective teams. I do, however, think that Buchholz has surpassed Joba in the short term based upon his mastery of the changeup.

Clay Buchholz has really looked good and a lot of it has to do with his mastery of the changeup. When he came up 2 yrs ago, he had success with the knee buckling curve and the heater, but he was inconsistent with that curveball. Now, that changeup is his best off speed weapon that he locates with near pinpoint accuracy. It makes him more consistent. And when the curve is on, he's damn near unhittable. A good move by Theo retaining him. If he can continue to have the feel for that changeup, he's gonna be a serious pain in the ass

Montero had a good yr. Hell, they still might deal him for Montero. VMart is running out of time behind the dish and we all know how bad Tek has been.