jacksonianmarch

As much as we rag on the O's, I think they did one of the best jobs of the entire offseason in the AL. They dealt a player who isnt as good as Santana plus and old offensive minded SS for a package of 10 players. Of the 10, I like Patton and Jones the most. If they deal Roberts, then they will have done exactly what they should have done yrs ago. Rebuild and then fill with veterans when the team is close. They added vets when the team had another 2-3 yrs to go on the rebuild. I'd take the 5 yr plan in Baltimore, build around Markakis, Rowell, Jones, Wieters, Erbe and see where things go.

MRI's are pretty good at picking up cuff damage. They are horrible at picking up labrum tears. But nothing beats looking at it directly in the OR. BUT, if you can see it on the MRI, it is pretty significant. In a pitcher's case, a frayed cuff or tendon is typically rehabbed if there is enough bulk to the remaining, uninjured portion of the tendon. The fact that the tendon is in multiple stands means that there isnt enough bulk to handle an extensive rehab and hence the tendon needs to be replaced. Now, I dont truly believe either guy. If what they say is true, Schilling does need surgery. But this kind of surgery for a pitcher puts him out a yr or more. So while I think Morgan sounds correct when he describes the anatomy, I dont think his optimistic view of "by the AS break post surgery" is entirely likely either. Regardless, if I were the sox, I'd talk Schilling into a 1 yr extension with like 2 mil next season, have him undergo surgery and see if he comes back. Because this 8 mil for this yr is sunk cost and wont give anything to the team.

Looks like I may have been right. In terms of who I support, unsure at this point. Just trying to live the dream. No time to vote. I leave in 10 mins for work and dont get to come home until noon tomorrow. 29 hours of pain.

The sox will be leaning on the kids a whole lot more now. I bet Theo hoped to have Buchholz curtail his innings in AAA to start the yr then have the luxury of moving Wake to the pen or Buch fill in when there was a need. Now, though, they are stretched. Unfortunately, the other options arent all that awesome. Tavarez has asked repeatedly to be dealt this offseason. And while it will behoove the sox to keep him around, a pissed off Tavarez may not be the best thing to keep in the clubhouse. Add to that the fact that he was a pretty horrible starter and you have a pretty good reason to jettison him for anything of value. Kyle Snyder is not the answer. He was putrid post AS break and has shown that his stuff typically is best once through the order. Devern Hansack isnt the answer. Now, regardless, if Lester is serviceable, Wake stays healthy and Buchholz tows the line, then they are fine. But if one of them flames out, gets injured, etc, then that will force Masterson and Bowden to grow up mighty quickly. Hence, losing Schill doesnt matter too much if the sox pitching stays as healthy as it has been over the past few yrs. But, have a a yr like we did last yr, where 14 pitchers started at least one game, and we got 38 starts from these guys (Karstens, Rasner, Pavano, Wright, Igawa, Clippard, DeSalvo, Henn) and you are in trouble.

Colon was topping out at 85-88 when he was pitching in winter ball. Fat toad is done

Joe Blanton will need to net something a bit more than Coco plus 1 or 2 guys. He is under control for 3 more seasons. Plus, take a look at these numbers in the AL no less. 42-34 4.10ERA 633IP 1.31WHIP in 3 seasons. And aside from a poor 06, he has had 2 seasons where his WHIP was 1.22. To say this kid is a horse is underestimating. Plus, he just turned 27. I dont think Beane will pawn him off for nothing. What Beane underestimated was the Mets willingness to empty the closet for Santana and the Yankees and Sox unwillingness to do the same. In Beane's perfect world, the Yankees would have gotten Santana and the Mets would have gone for Blanton out of desperation. Now, the Yankees and Sox dont have a dire need even with Schilling down for the count. So both teams could theoretically sit back and see when Beane bites. My guess is, Beane is looking for what the sox were offering for Santana. Coco, Masterson, Lowrie, Lester. The Sox wont give that up. But someone will and my guess is that the team will be in the NL. Those who wish to cite the Santana deal as optimism for getting Blanton at a cut rate need to remember that Santana was in his last yr. Blanton is under for 3 more. Beane needs not rush. To be honest with you, I think the A's deal Harden first. I think the A's will showcase Harden in the first 2 months of the yr and when he is dominating, ship him out. Leaving Blanton to head a young rotation. Then after this yr, he will be dealt off.

Well, now that the story is percolating, we should talk about it. How does this effect the sox rotation now? This thrusts Buchholz right into the rotation, forces Lester to take the 4 slot and requires Wakefield to stay in the rotation too. Not too much leeway. Schilling as the 3 man gave the sox a postseason tested pitcher who when healthy could give close to 200IP. Now that he is out of the way, the rest of the rotation is a bit more of a ??. Regardless, with Beckett as the 1, you have a solid ace. But 2-5 now are a questionmark. While on our side, our ace isnt as good as Beckett, we do have a reliable 2, then 3 question marks. Should be a good yr.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/index.php/2008/02/07/schilling-issue-serious/ Yikes. Quite a blow prior to the season. It is unclear whether Schilling will try to pitch through it, but it sounds like either labrum or rotator cuff.

The NY Times is reporting that the final offer from the Twins was Kennedy, Cabrera, Wang and Marquez. Nothing like taking 2SP's out of our rotation and our starting CFer. Wang was a dealbreaker IMO.

cell phones do not cause cancer like the myth says. But they do pose immediate health problems if you text or speak while driving.

I like the signing. This essentially assists us greatly vs lefties since Ensberg has historically mashed them. Last yr, even though he barely OPS'd .700 last yr overall, he OPS'd .830 vs lefties and in 06 when he OPS'd only .859 (well down from prior) he still OPS'd over 1.000 vs lefties. Put that with Duncan who crushed lefties last yr and historically through the minors, and you have two right handed power weapons that we didnt have for the full yr last yr. This is a good thing since we struggled vs lefties. Our OPS vs Righties last yr was the best in the majors, but our OPS vs lefties was 60 points lower, good for 11th. Most of this was due to players like Abreu (.678 vs .857), Damon (.705 vs .762), and Matsui (.814 to .872). Also, Jason Giambi (even though he was dead on in splits last yr) has been historically terrible vs lefties (.843 to .970 for the past 3 yrs). This essentially guarantees that 2 of the above players sit against lefties, offering us a greater offensive capability. How will they both fit in? Well... Ensberg plays 1b as does Duncan, but Duncan can also DH or play LF. Also a possibility is Ensberg playing 3b and ARod playing DH on occasion. Regardless, it offers another right handed bat coming off the bench late in games to face tough pen lefties too. I think this helps a lot. And, it is low risk, so if he continues to spiral out of control, then he is easily cut.

.268 11HR 68RBI

Gom, if the report is accurate, then I am a bit disappointed.

oh, and this isnt a deal to be evaluated after 2008. This is a deal best evaluated halfway through his 7-8 yr deal. If Johan gives 4 yrs of top production without injury, then this hurts us.

I read that too. Melky, Kennedy and a lower level prospect (potentially Betances) for Santana. The one saving grace for Cashman in this one is that Hal was against this from the beginning as well strictly from a money standpoint. And as the yankees have seen, dealing away the farm for Johan is not necessarily in our best interests. Regardless, the fact that Hughes and Joba were out of it, makes this a bit more dicey. But, putting all your eggs in Johan's basket is a tough call, since he is a young pitcher with a lot of tread on the tires. And one injury could make him the highest paid bust in the game. In the end, we have to take a wait and see on this one.

Coco is getting dealt IMO. Ells is the better player, is younger, cheaper and is ready.

This is a win for all involved IMO. The Mets' window is closing, so they needed to get a now player. The Yankees and Sox have good young talent and a mix of young and old that didnt necessarily need a high priced ace while draining the farm of high level young talent.

Tis true. Farrell isnt a miracle worker. And considering that the Cubs and White Sox passed on him (two teams desperately in need of bullpen) there is likely something seriously wrong (attitude, athleticism, ability) that will need a major overhaul to work. The best thing for him would be to be DFA'd, accept a MiLB deal and rebuild from the bottom.

Tis true. Farrell isnt a miracle worker. And considering that the Cubs and White Sox passed on him (two teams desperately in need of bullpen) there is likely something seriously wrong (attitude, athleticism, ability) that will need a major overhaul to work. The best thing for him would be to be DFA'd, accept a MiLB deal and rebuild from the bottom.

Tis true. Farrell isnt a miracle worker. And considering that the Cubs and White Sox passed on him (two teams desperately in need of bullpen) there is likely something seriously wrong (attitude, athleticism, ability) that will need a major overhaul to work. The best thing for him would be to be DFA'd, accept a MiLB deal and rebuild from the bottom.

I have always liked Aardsma's ability. He sounds like the Mantei signing. High upside, low risk and cut him if he cant locate.

Carlos Silva, Miguel Batista, and Jarrod Washburn is a nice back end as well. This also keeps Morrow in the pen setting up Putz which makes the M's probably the strongest and deepest staff in the AL West, even with the Angels out there. Lackey and Escobar are solid, but the potential of a Bedard/Hernandez 1-2 punch for the next 6 or 7 yrs is scary.

SFOC rocks