jacksonianmarch

overall, I think the sox are 2 good bullpen arms away. They need a primary closer and a primary setup man. That would move Timlin and Okajima to 7th inning work which is something more tolerable, moves Tavares back to long man, and moves Hansen and DelCarmen into the filler role where they can grow rather than be crushed by pressure.

Oh I see it. Hansen has some very good stuff as does DelCarmen.

or maybe it is due to his maturing. You see any kid in their teens in the minors and they hack away at almost anything. My point is that this kid is now 21 and showed a ton of patience. Its not like that usually goes away, but typically improves as you age.

No, I am looking at what he did in the major leagues at 21. The guy was okay as a minor leaguer until last season in AAA when he was absolutely on fire. He hit .385 before his callup. Then he comes in and posts an OBP of .360 in almost a full season. I'll take that to the bank over minor league numbers any day of the week.

Otsuka in this market could nab Crisp + a pitching prospect (one of the B's). Plus, I think Hicks will hang onto both until Gagne proves he is healthy anyway.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12092006/sports/yankees/yankees_seeking_glove_at_first_yankees_george_king.htm interesting take on things. Andy Pettitte and Chein-Ming Wang are big time groundball guys. Currently their defense is average overall combinging 2b, SS, and 3b but their 1b has been a huge issue, so getting the best defensive 1b in the game is enticing. They go on to say that Mientkiewicz handles lefties rather well as do Giambi and Matsui so that would make it easier to swallow his presence in the lineup. His .359 career OBP is something the yankees like as well. As for Hermanson, he had a great yr in 2005 as a closer, but back problems limited his usefulness last season. The yankees are pouring over his medicals to see if he should be offered a contract. He says that he feels fine and back to normal after rest and rehab. If he is healthy, then he could be a big addition to an already good bullpen.

can you expound on this statement? If you are talking stuff then I will agree with you. If you are saying they are good overall relievers right now, I wouldnt.

only 2 players who qualified as OFs last yr had an OBP of .400 or higher, abreu and manny. That is where I see Melky after a few yrs of seasoning. I have never seen a rookie come up and have such great plate discipline plus ability to fight off pitches. He is a future 100 walk player if he can stay healthy and improve.

not really. Most righty relievers are in the 90+ range. The typical lefty reliever sits in the 80s. A 90+ lefty is either a closer or in the rotation.

but he is 21. He will develop some power over time. I dont see 30HR in his future, but if a 21 yr old can show me that type of plate discipline, then the direction can only be up for his growth. A .400OBP cannot be that out of reach for his future, and I'd take a .400OBP from a home grown kid from anywhere on the field. Plus he has some speed and he is a switch hitter. I think the kid is going to be good, but sadly, I think it will be with another team.

I should actually say that you had very good relievers in 2003, not just good arms. Embree was the man in SD before the sox got him. Timlin had a fine yr. Williamson was good. Kim ended up closing rather well down the stretch.

Again, you go overboard. Play along now. The red sox will be a good team missing a critical piece. Now if you want to harken back to 2003, go ahead. You had an offense of the ages back then, this time, the offense will have dead spots. That team had ZERO. Plus, you had a pen filled with good bullpen arms, just nobody deemed "closer". Right now the sox have zero good bullpen arms at this point.

also, a trollish post is what those dodgers guys did. This is a fact. 4 months to go, and the best FA options are off the table. Their best trading partner wants nothing to do with them. Their rookies are obviously not ready to take on any pressure thus far. Their bullpen ace got hurt and moved to the rotation. Their setup man from a yr ago exploded down the stretch. Their long man proved he was much better as a starter than as a reliever and he is going back to being a long man. They paraded a ton of guys into that pen and nobody was overly effective over a long period of time except for Paps. That bullpen is in absolute shambles and theo has ignored it all offseason. Now, the last gasp of a FA signing has been passed and this team has no shot at winning this season as it stands right now. You have Schilling who is no longer the horse he was. Consider him to be a 5-7IP pitcher from here on out. Beckett is a potential horse, but he walks too many and has been completely ineffective. Matsuzaka and Papelbon will be handled with great care, so expect the pen to have to work 3 innings a night on average in their starts. Wake is a 6 inning pitcher because that knuckler gets figured out the third time through. Your pen is due to geta ton of work this season. 2-3 innings a night if everything bounces absolutely perfectly in the rotation. Most likely after potential injuries and ineffectiveness that number will push to 3 maybe more. So what happens when Paps fights through 6 innings and hands the pen a 3-2 lead and Delcarmen hands it back? How about when Schilling goes ole blood and guts and hands the ball over to Hansen in the 8th against the yankees with a 2-1 lead and he gives up the ghost? It demoralizes a whole staff and puts a ton of strain on a rotation that right now does not have the capacity to handle strain. A solid bullpen is an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY in today's game. This isnt 1970. 37 yrs ago you needed one bullpen arm and the rest of the staff could give you 300 innings a piece. Times have changed. Unfortunately for you guys, Theo hasnt. He still cannot build a bullpen and now he will have to get creative. for those of you who do not think a pen is important, take a look at last yrs Guardians. Their rotation is solid. Their offense damn good. That pen made them a .500 team.

no, he doesnt at this moment. A lefty who cannot break a pane of glass is not a solid setup man. Sounds like a matchup lefty in the majors. Maybe like a Scot Eyre or Rheal Cormier type player.

again, how can you even say that Melky is a "filler". Garbage on your end. A 21 yr old rookie comes up and hits .280 with some pop. At 21. Yeah, sounds like a filler to me. You guys would kill someone if Pedroia could put up what Melky did during 06. .280 7HR 50RBI .360OBP .391SLG

reputation or tons of bank. Hmmm. So he should accept the red sox ******** offers because of his pride. I dont think so. The sox will have to pony up.

no closer, no setup man, no bullpen, = no playoffs.

wang's shoulder is not an issue. RJ's back, which flared up last yr, and Mussina's arm (which flared up last yr) and Pavano's clitoris and labia majora (which flared up every year) are always concerns. The yankees have depth in the rotation. 6 deep in veteran starters with Karstens and Rasner at the MLB level and Clippard, Hughes, and Sanchez in AAA. Their depth is a strength for the first time in a long time.

I am fully agreeing with you. I am just laughing at those who would rather hang onto those two if they were enough to get cordero.

so if you have the above situation, knowing that Clement is out, and you add Papelbon and Matsuzaka to the mix, how in the hell does that bullpen get figured out and how the hell can you say that the injury bug isnt making its way back for the suddenly human Schilling, the shoulder of Paps, or the elbow of Matsuzaka who has been overworked a whole lot in Japan. If healthy, the sox rotation will be very solid, but their injury concerns are worse than the yankees are right now and that includes sandly clit Pavano.

the guy could ops over .750. HE SUCKS.