jacksonianmarch

even if the rockies pay the entire contract, as ORS poignantly corrected me on, the cap is based on AAV. Hence why ARod counts for 25 mil n our cap even though the rangers are paying 12 a yr on it. So Helton's contract will hit the cap with full brunt force. The cap is what the sox wish to stay under.

Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling? Right now? Combined they are a 4.5ERA pitcher with a high BAA.

but how did they "look". Was Dice K throwing cheese? How was Beckett's curve? Was Schilling hitting mid 90s?

Tgov, thick skin my friend. Thick skin. Bellowing out like that only makes it worse.

future closer? Maybe the closing shift at a local dairy queen, but not in fenway.

I agree with Crespo. The bullpen will keep the sox from even having a shot at the east. The yankees are built for regular season dominance. It is the postseason where they have the most trouble.

Prediction: Jacoby Ellsbury will be the starting CF for the red sox by the time the roster expands to 40.

Today's newsday is reporting that Abreu is ahead of schedule and will likely take some swings this week. This likely means a return date for Bobby by opening day assuming no setbacks.

it has gone the way of his testicles. Into extinction.

I will just predict the winners, even though I may have done so in the past, who cares. Here goes, my predictions for today are... ALE NYY ALC CWS ALW ANA WC BOS NLE ATL NLC STL NLW SD NLWC PHI

Hansen's knock has never been his stuff. He just folds when the pressure is on. Something you dont want in a closer. There isnt much explaining to be done. The kid is lights out untouchable in AAA and pretty damn good in mop up duty. Give him the ball with the game on the line and he starts s***ing bricks.

97 mph fastball with as much as 8 inches of movement while being pinpoint accurate. He could have thrown that fastball every pitch and still been better than average.

ORS, I watched him launch a bunch against the yankees and mets last season. His homers are big boy homers. He hit one off Mussina into the 3rd deck down the right field line. It was 480+ feet down the line!

few things. Pedro's FB when he was in his prime was the toughest fastball to hit. Not only was it high 90s, but it moved all over the entire plate. I'd also be remiss to not mention Pedro's changeup. You have to put mound presence and Bob Gibson would top that list. As for screwball, you want the best, go back to the turn of the century. I believe Christy Mathewson had the best. And for knucklers, Hoyt Wilhelm was the best in that department. You want a nasty pitch? Eefus by none other than Rip Sewell.

or he is a more durable JD Drew

Amen. Dodgers suck.

add Napoli to the bunch and that is a damn good IF.

Foulke didnt blow a save last yr to start the season. The sox used Paps from day 1.

Welker gives them the troy brown type of receiver. The guy with the burst to break free if he needs to but with good ball possession skills. They lost their rookie who is their burner. They need a vertical guy right now. Nothing out of this world, but someone to stretch the field. That guy is Sidney Rice. I think the Pats nab him late in the 1st round and put together a receiving corps which on its own sucks, but with Brady throwing the ball will be fantasic.

again, I did not expect to see Bard or Cox on there.

I heard this and am intrigued. Eczema, the itch that rashes. Edema flows into the fingers prior to pitching from the excoriation. The shearing forces of the ball cause the layers of the skin to separate and fluid accumulates in that separation in the form of a blister. One thing about eczema. It is controllable. Not necessarily preventable 100%. If he has an outbreak, they should be smart and shut him down until the outbreak is taken care of and his fingers are less red and scaly. It is good to figure out the reasoning. Now they just have to be very careful with him.

We are in the 2nd week of ST. I dont think anything should be cemented in stone. The only thing I look at this early is velocity and location. You see if it improves from here to the end. Right now a lot of guys dont look very amazing. Hughes velocity was low and his control was off. Igawa, who walked only 50 in 200IP last yr walked 3 of the first 5 he faced. Clippard, who is a control king, drilled a dude in the head. And you dont see me worried. It is way too early for that. That is the thing with this closer competition. As much as you want to determine things in ST, you really cannot unless there is something blatantly obvious (pineiro sitting in the 80s, timlin walking the park, etc). The front runner can be determined by ST, but eventually, the winner will win this thing in season. So ST does little if anything in that regard. You guys just better hope the first guy who gets the ball in the 9th is the guy to win this thing. A long battle for "Who will be the red sox closer" means blown saves. And the yankees are going to win a lot of games this yr, blown saves will cost them a shot at the ALE.

Hmmm, I wonder why? You follow a member over here from your shitbag forum. You berate him and start fights. And you wonder why we assume the worst. I hope you dodger fags catch your balls in a meat grinder.