jacksonianmarch

that is what I have been saying. No rotation has that kind of potential.

I dont see the cubs giving him what he will get on the market. He'll easily command close to 20 mil a season for 8 yrs. Come to papa Carlos, big daddy george will pay you.

ruth had nothing left when he went to the braves. bernie has nothing left right now. Mo still has a lot to give.

you might be onto something.

potentially. He is a long way out, but he has some serious tools.

See, that is what I wanted to see. I didnt know that about them and the complete lack of diehard's analysis on this has kept me in the dark. Fair point.

if he goes to Boston, I might die.

he will not hit the FA market next yr. This happens every time a new contract comes up. Speculation about where he will end up gets squashed by a 2-4 yr deal every time.

might not be, you are right. But he was lights out last yr. Thing is, Farnsworth was lights out 3/4 of the time too. Just when he was bad, he wasnt just 1 or 2 run bad. He was batting practice bad and gave up a lot of multirun innings. But it isnt just those guys I am a bit excited about. Myers had a solid yr, and will likely have another. Vizcaino is an innings eating power arm who could share MR duties with Proctor. And then the kids will get a shot. Rasner at long relief, Henn potentially, Britton who had a great yr last yr in Baltimore and Bruney who was lights out. Lots of options with guys coming off good seasons in that pen. One thing is for sure, aside from Myers, that pen will be throwing hard.

matsui over manny? I wont go that far. No way. Farnsworth has his dominant days and his bad days. Proctor was nasty last season, one of the best middle relievers in baseball and the only one who pitched over 100 innings.

BTW, I hate the bosox, but those pictures really get me going for the season. Good find kid.

bosox, I pitched many days in florida a long time ago and never had that problem. There are tons of pitchers who throw in florida every single yr and dont have that problem. If that was the case, every single Marlin would have serious blister problems. There arent many guys who have recurrent DL stints for blister problems. One of them is Beckett. It isnt because he has weak skin or a predisposition to it, it must be the way he grips the ball. And friction is what causes it, not humidity.

I can agree with that. Also, Paps looks to be incorporating the curveball into his arsenal. If he gets that thing to plus or even an average MLB pitch, then he will increase his effectiveness by a long shot. http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=182655

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-trachsel0212,0,2761804.story?coll=bal-sports-headlines Trachsel and Ohka in the AL East? BP times 2!!!

I dont think he will.

1. How well will J.D. Drew fit in? Fine, when he plays. His career injuries are more than just bad luck. 2. Can David Ortiz take it to yet another level? There arent too many levels beyond what he did last yr. Last yr was a career power yr, he will put up 40+ but over 54? Time will tell. 3. Is Manny Ramirez happy? Who gives a crap, when he's pissed off he still hits .310 40 and 120. 4. Who will close? Pineiro, then MDC, then Timlin, then Papelbon assuming no deals are done. 5. Does Craig Hansen need more time in the Minors? Does a bear s*** in the woods? 6. Will the real Coco Crisp step forward? He looked pretty good out of the gate. He was billed as healthy and stunk. He then was shut down. He showed speed but had a complete lack of power last yr while getting less patient. Chances are he shows some improvement over last yr, but betting on him being the 2005 version may be tough. 7. Can Josh Beckett make the adjustment? It isnt the adjustment, can he keep his curveball from cutting his fingers. Can he develop that changeup. Can he get over his fear of contact? His fastball is better than most. His curve, when he isnt afraid to throw it is devastating. If he trusts his fastball and curve and he could be a 4 something ERA guy. If the change comes along, he could be an ace. 8. Will the Captain regain his groove? Unless he learns how to counter the effects of aging, then no. His swing looked terrible last yr and his injury history makes things even worse. I wouldnt hold out hope. 9. How good will Papelbon be in the rotation? high potential, but I think it will take a couple yrs before he reaches his full potential. Better to take it easier on his arm. Listened to Dibble on the radio today and he said that the stress on the shoulder from upping workload from 70-80IP to 200IP is serious and some players cannot handle it. I think Paps can handle it, but he should be handled slowly.

I cannot wait for the season.

see, I disagree here. The yankees dont have a ton of potential for greatness or for failure (assuming a lack of injuries). They will likely be consistent and eat quality innings. The sox rotation has the potential to be dominant 1-4. The yankees dont have that potential. But I do feel the sox rotation has the highest potential for failure too. They will be the high risk, high reward stock while the yankees would be a safe, low interest stock.

here is what I say. The sox have NO depth to their rotation. Depth to me infers that you could lose a guy or two for an extended period of time and be able to get by. After the sox top 5, you have some pretty poor options in Gabbard, Pauley, and a recovering Lester. Your team may end up with the best top 4 pitchers in any rotation in baseball, but you dont have rotation depth.

you have a few DSL signees from last yr on that list. I know for the yankees lists, the only DSL signee is Montero on the top 50. Is the back end of the top 50 that weak that a bunch of DSL signees who have never hit in the DSL make it, or are those guys that good that they make the list squarely off talent?

if everything breaks right, the sox do have the best rotation. Old news. Lots has to go right though, but that is the same for everyone.