jacksonianmarch

Abraham shot it down

Maybe a little. Cmon now, genuine interest here. I dont think everyone is happy when it is all said and done, just want to see where people stand

not trying to be smarmy. I just want to see where the board stands. After reading the threads from tonight alone, I have seen anything from upgrade the rotation, to 3b, to SS, to an impact bat. I have a feeling Theo has one trade in him. What do you think that trade is?

So, the sox are playing like s***. Their rotation has taken a second hit with Wake being out, joining DiceK. And with Buchholz coming off a shaky start and Smoltz sucking donkeyballs, the starting pitching need is pretty important. But then there is the offensive void. You have two big spots on the diamond that need upgrading. You have 3b with Lowell and Youkilis. Lowell being the incumbent 3b with zero range and diminishing skills and then Youkilis who truly is a 1b temporizing the disaster at 3b. The addition of LaRoche helps the void by temporizing a disaster at 1b when Youk moves across the diamond. Then there is SS. Julio Lugo is gone. Nick Green has regressed to his mean. And then Jed Lowrie comes to the team after being out with an injury, and he is sucking again. So, you have one mega trade chip in your hand capable of making one deal. Do you, go out and improve the rotation knowing that there is a possibility that Wake and DiceK come back to the fold? Do you upgrade at 3b and turn Lowell into an expensive bench bat? Or, do you acquire a shortstop capable of being at least average with the stick while providing better D?

and that is something you want pitching in a meaningful game in August and September down the stretch? A guy who had trouble repeating his delivery?

I meant with the pitching that we currently have and the expected improvements over first half performances. With CC, Burnett and Pettitte all being guys with historically better second halves, I think we are in a good spot from a starting pitching perspective. I didnt mean to imply that we had a hot shot rookie pitching coming up. Cause we dont.

it did absolutely. But they did get swept by Texas, a team who looks like they are gonna stay in this thing for awhile.

You are right, the sox are up by 2.5 games in the wild card. But they were 5.5 games up on a playoff spot when the ASB struck, so it isnt just the yankees who are gaining on them.

The sox O will play into things as well. If the sox offense continues this drought for another week or two, then it might be over before it even starts. The sox pitching, as currently constructed, needs significant offense 60% of the starts and some offense in the other 40%. If they have another 10 game stretch where they lose 6-8 games, then they are done.

Buchholz has better stuff now than Lester had as a rookie. But Lester always had a better approach to pitching. His approach has always been not to give in. And now that he is fully back from chemo, his stuff has improved significantly and his advanced approach makes him a top pitcher in the league. While Buchholz has the stuff, I dont know if he has the head to be an elite pitcher. I still bet he settles in as a good big league pitcher, but those who think he becomes the next Lester may be a bit disappointed.

Dojji, he breaks camp with Boston if he is still in the sox org next yr. That is both given and necessary due to option status. But I sincerely doubt the sox will continue to throw him out there in a playoff race that they are currently losing if he isnt throwing gems. It hurts his confidence and stock and also hurts the team performance which is critical at a time like this. Maybe they keep him in Boston and use him as a long reliever. Maybe he is their spot starter. But I doubt the sox keep him out there if he isnt going 5+ innings and giving their suddenly anemic offense a chance to win.

I doubt the sox let Buchholz feel his way along. If he doesnt light it up through the next few starts, I bet he goes down

and what I like about Mitre is that he isnt prone to the long ball. He'll give up a ton of hits due to the sinker, but I doubt he starts giving up the big hits that knock him out with regularity. I truly expect an ERA in the 5 range, but I actually think he could be useful. Joba has looked like a man with a mission since the break and Pettitte is starting to mix that cutter back in. As long as those three can put up quality starts (or thereabouts, 6IP 4ER, 5IP 3ER types of games) 50-60% of the time, we'll be golden.

I think this becomes even more relevant now. You have Buchholz in your rotation feeling his way along and you have Smoltz sucking ass. Penny is now your #3 starter behind your two studs in Beckett and Lester. If the sox are not 100% sure that DiceK can come back and be vintage, they need to go out and acquire a starter

Montero hit a homer yesterday and another one today. He is up to 9 in AA and 17 on the yr with 6 weeks left to go in the season. He is a beast

broken thumb? Ooh boy, he could be out awhile

Hernandez is pretty good, at least he was vs us. He throws a lot of pitches though, so you could get him out of the game early.

One guy I could see us using is Corban Joseph. He was an early round high school pick last yr who is raking in Charleston. Started the yr off poorly, but he's at a line of .452/.516/.622 over his last 20 games and has pushed his AVG to .300 and his OPS over .800 as a 20 yr old in the SAL. He'll be in our top 10 next yr and he is a guy who could become a hell of a middle infielder for us for a long time. That being said, he is the kind of guy that teams who are in full out rebuild will want. He's a ways away, but when you take on the rebuild with both hands, you have to be willing to get talent at all levels aside from now talent. We'll see.

Last yr they wanted Hughes. That is an easy end of phone call

you gotta pay for it, but MLB.com is pretty good. Ortiz goes deep, f***

had a good chance there in the 9th, with 2 on and no outs. But Posada hit into the DP and Jeter didnt get enough to right. Oh well, 8 in a row is nice and its good to see we didnt just roll over at the end there. Sucks that Aceves couldnt be typical Aceves, but those days happen.

Cano just misses the game tying two run homer