jacksonianmarch

Facing Bedard is no simple task. This guy has been dynamite this yr.

because those stats all seem extremely similar to last season when he was an ace. You are comparing him to conventional power pitchers, which he is not. It is pretty obvious that his sinker is so good and so unique that he isnt really comparable to anyone but himself. So, I compare him to last season. And prior to this ONE BAD START WHICH YOU SAID WASNT YOUR REASONING FOR SOURING ON HIM, HE WAS DOING BETTER THAN LAST YR!

We own Paul Byrd and Jake Westbrook. I dont know if we ever faced Carmona, so the edge goes to him because this team never hits a pitcher the first time around.

There are plenty areas that you can attack on this team if you want to whine. Mussina being mediocre at best, Pettitte faltering down the stretch, the lefties taking the first 3 months off, etc. But to complain about the most consistent pitching force on the team who is putting up nearly the exact same #s as he did last yr in a 19 win, 2nd in the CY voting season, then something is wrong on your end, not mine.

prior to that last start, he was inbetween Sabathia and Verlander in ERA. So with that ONE start, he is no longer in their range in ERA, hence you say it isnt even close. I thought you said you werent souring on him because of this ONE poor start. Cause it seems like you are.

I'd say that Wang is on their level. He may not have their propensity for utter dominance, but he does dominate in his own way and on a regular basis.

he has no lack of leg strength or they wouldnt have put him out there. The question is if he reinjures himself. I dont think he will because that isnt his MO.

Pena is gonna go to another team and suck for a season. Then he will rip the cover off the ball and be coveted again. He needs consistent playing time and the sox just wont offer him that. For the better of him and the team, they should part ways.

that is the worry. We'll see how he holds up. If he can shake off the rust and get going back to his control level, he will be something special.

the season doesnt end in July. Cano has been the best hitter in baseball over the past few weeks. The kid turns it on as the season gets going. This is not a bad thing.

Hughes has come through the minors slowly and is ready. This has been quite a big leap for Buchholz and I am not sure he can handle the load this season. Hughes, OTOH, has a fresh arm since he was hurt earlier in the yr.

I believe it was you who said both Wang and Cano would be mediocre this season. I think you will have some crow to eat by the end of the yr.

Clemens will appeal and they will likely reduce it by one game. Hence, I dont think this screws us up at all.

The Tigers are getting assraped again by the DRays. We are gonna be tied with them in 2nd place.

per roto I dont like seeing guys get hurt, but the timing couldnt have been any better if it had to happen.

hence why he wont come to the majors. If he comes to the bigs and contributes right away, as I would expect him to do, there will be no innings garnishing. He'll pitch until Francona wants to take him out. And with the way he rides his starters (which i really like actually), Buchholz would be pencilled in for 6-7 innings a night for the last 9 turns of the rotation plus the playoffs if he outpitches Wake. That is at least another 50-60IP plus october, which could see him approaching 170 or 180IP depending on how deep they go. And someone above made a very good point as well. At the time of the deal, the sox were 9 games up. At that point a 5th starter isnt as necessary as a lights out reliever. Your 5th starter becomes a long man in the playoffs anyway. But by getting Gagne, you got a guy who could go an important inning in every single playoff game. I doubt the sox make that move if the division race was tied.

Lester is also 4 yrs younger and has the better arsenal. I think the sox may have dealt away a guy that could have helped them in Gabbard, but they didnt make the wrong move. If you want to criticize, you can be critical of Theo's plan of bringing Lester up well before he was ready. Lester should be winding down in AAA and preparing for a grueling off season of endurance training. Not gearing up in a playoff race when it is obvious he is running on fumes.

He is averaging 6.7IP per start. He is allowing a tad under 4 runs per 9IP. He has the exact same WHIP as he had last yr. He is K'ing 1.2 more per 9 than he did last yr. His OPS against is nearly identical to last season. And this is coming off one of his worst starts of the season. Prior to this one start, his ERA was below what it was last yr, his WHIP was well below what it was last yr, and his OPS against was better than it was last yr. Stop comparing him to others by conventional means. I think he has shown that he is really a unique pitcher and can only be compared to himself. Am I worried about his sinker, yes. It has started to come up later in games and in the last game it didnt get down at all. Am I thinking that he is ready for a huge downfall and I should run in panic? Hell no. This post shows that you truly dont know much about your own pitcher, who finished last season with 19 wins and second in the CY voting. What do you want from the guy? I didnt see any Clemens sucks posts from you after he shat the bed last week, why get on our best pitchers case for a rare flub?

per rotoworld. interesting. Ortiz sits out and the sox score a shiteload of runs.

I dont think Buchholz makes it to the big this yr as a starter. If he comes up, it should be pen. Also, Lester looked awful, but people have those days. I missed his previous 2 lackluster starts so I cannot say anything about how s***** his stuff has been, but last night's stuff was awful. s***** location, couldnt throw strikes consistently and when he threw a strike it was belt high. BUT, this was a big win for the sox. They battled and beat a good team on their turf by taking it to their biggest strength, their pen. They avoided the sweep and go into the off day with momentum and with their big 2 set for the next series.

ORS is right on. The kid was a reliever in college, and this is the end pretty much of his first half season as a pro. He isnt stretched out and stretching him out right now is useless. So keep him on the 2IP schedule and build his endurance next season. Also, not sure if this is how the sox do it, but the yankees typically leave their drafted pitchers on the exact same schedule and do not touch their mechanics for 30 days after they sign. After that they will tinker with the mechanics yet keep them on a similar pitch count that they were on in college/HS. It seems like a solid approach and may be how the sox do it since Hagadone has started a bit slow and has come on recently.