jacksonianmarch

Mr. DFA with the single getting the runner to 3rd. I bet jsing liked that one.

KKKKoKKKKo didnt K? Fenway magic happening already?

what a novel idea!

No, he was going to be activated for tonights game, but he couldnt even play catch when he took the field. So they never made a move.

BTW, Foulke has his back flare up and likely will be out longer.

I think Lester's stock has dropped this season. He isnt the pitcher he was billed as. His heat is not what it was billed as and he seems to lack an out pitch. He was billed as a young Koufax type player, but he is more of a Ted Lilly type. Also, none of the guys you listed above were both young and sure things. Oswalt is young, healthy, and basically a sure thing. Beckett was too injury prone to throw Lester into a deal, RJ and Schilling too old and ARod too gay.

Or if the sox had Petey instead of Clement it would have gotten done. Just kidding man, it was just too easy.

Look at the reasoning though. To say you want to put it in the past is fine, because that is what it is, but to say that it didnt prevent the sox from making her deals, well you are wrong. If Wily Mo goes out and hits .280/30/100 next yr, that would be all well and good. But if by getting him, you gave up a shot at Oswalt, well then no matter what Wily Mo does, he wont be able to replace the ace that could have been. Consider the spare parts that Atl wanted from Boston. The only guy with true value would have been Lester, and replacing Lester for Oswalt is a huge upgrade. Arroyo vs Pena 1 on 1 is bad for this yr, but likely good for the future. The prevention of getting Oswalt is both bad for this yr and for the future. See what I mean?

that is what this thread is about am I right?

I expect a rousing cheer out of the gate, but if something goes wrong, the boo birds will come out and they will be strong.

I thought this was a bad trade from day 1. Why? Wily Mo has a lot of talent but he hasnt proven he can be an effective day to day player. This yr, once again, a small sample size, he may be showing signs of breaking out. His MO is loads of power but easy to figure out and over the long haul, that will translate into tons of K's, lots of HRs, and a low BA. His BA will fall as the league learns him a little bit. Either way, the deal of arroyo was one that should have irked a lot of sox fans. You deal away a guy who doesnt back down against anyone and he was the most consistent starter on the sox last yr. Take a look at his QS%. His was top 5 in the AL last yr and led the red sox team. He was never spectacular, but he'd go 6 and give up 3 like it was easy. Also, the guy LOVED Boston. He signed for well under market value to stay in the city he loved, and as it turns out, after he signs that deal, he never puts on the Boston uniform again. Now, for those of you who say that Wily Mo is better, think about the possibilities. Everyone knew that Oswalt was available for Andruw Jones. It was known, it was easy, it was there. The Braves wanted to get younger in both the pen and in the rotation. They wanted Crisp, Lester, and Hansen. Crisp has become a major bust and was readily expendable even if Wily Mo wasnt there (Kapler is better than Crisp these days). Hansen is closing in on bust status as his stuff is good, but it is flat and hitters love it, so he would have been easy to part with. The sox refused to part with Lester. It had nothing to do with Lester being projected as a fine MLB starter one day or anything, it had everything to do with the fact that it still didnt address the sox main need, and that was 2 more spots in the rotation. Assuming the sox never make the Wily Mo deal, then Arroyo is the 3, Lester the 4, and Wells the 5. If Arroyo was not dealt, I have no doubt in my mind that Oswalt is suiting up in the Boston locker room. In essence, this trade screwed the sox out of a back of the rotation starter who has proven he can play in Boston. It showed how disloyal the FO is and hence will make any other resigning nearly impossible unless the sox go market value or higher. And, it screwed the sox out of obtaining one of the best young PROVEN aces in the game. Tell me how having Wily Mo vs having a few more wins and having Schill, Oswalt, Beckett, Arroyo, Wells coming at you 1-5. That would have been a beast to overcome in a playoff series and in the chase for the east. Theo blew it, and this trade was the totality of it all.

If they are pissed off and boo, then you know they care. The worst would be if they showed up and did nothing or if they didnt show up at all.

Matsui should be able to pick it up rather quickly. Sheff, on the other hand, is a whole lot more violent with his swing and he had the worse damage (ligaments vs bone I believe I read somewhere). His comeback should be a little questionable.

By no means is it over, not by a long shot. That being said, some things in your post are a bit optimistic in my opinion. Varitek, on the short end of the scale, was to be out until at least September 1. That is the short end. If you consider that he just had significant knee surgery and he is a catcher who lives on his knee, you have to consider that he'll be out for the full 6. That brings him back for mid september. I totally agree on Schilling. If the sox had any semblance of a bridge to Papelbon, Schilling doesnt sniff the 8th and the sox win by 2. He should be a force down the stretch. The only thing I am worried about with him is that he has now had 2 of his last 3 starts where he was hit well. 10XBH in one night is not very good, especially for the ace of the staff. Josh Beckett may have the "stuff" to do it, but does he have the brains. He seems to really like to show off that fastball and good fastball hitting teams or very patient teams can wait him out. Also, his curve has been far too inconsistent, and when it is not working he gets destroyed. I think he's too dumb to let this get to him, but he also may be too dumb to pitch up to his stuff. Wells pitched okay in his last game, but it still is David Wells at 43 with a lead leg that is totally screwed up. Anything the sox get out of him is a bonus. As for Wake, I heard about him throwing from 90 feet long toss yesterday. It sounds like, barring any setbacks, he could be back in 2-3 weeks. That being said, he is such a finesse guy with that knuckler that nobody really knows how he will fare. Overall, good initial rosey post. The sox are not out of it, but they are certainly reeling. A home series vs the pushovers in Baltimore should do the trick while the CWS are in DET and the Yankee play 4 against their nemesis from LA. This is the stretch to gain, and if they don't, then they are in even more trouble.

Let's not delude ourselves here. The Yankee offense is built with a lot of early thirty something hitters. They will be mashing for the next 3-4 yrs on just these guys alone.

I really disagree with you there. There are a ton of left handed arms available, and there are two righty power arms that teams will be fighting over. Here are the guys to target. 1. Daisuke Matsuzaka- the MVP of the WBC. This guy is absolutely nasty. Take a look at this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsptUfnhVcc He throws 95mph consisently and has 3 plus off speed pitches. He ha a sharp slider, a great change and a gyroball. In the above link, he K's a guy with a gyroball. It seems to defy physics. He will be posted in the offseason and will likely draw a 20+ mil posting fee, then he will have to be signed. I know George has targeted him for awhile now, but at 26 yrs old, he should be a target for any team looking for pitching. Prediction on amounts- 24mil posting fee and a 5 yr 55mil contract. 2. Barry Zito- For those who want to say he "isnt the pitcher he was before" you are wrong. Barry had one career season in 2002 where he had an era of 2.75 and had 23 wins. Cancel that out with his career worst in 2004 where his era ballooned up to 4.48 and you have a very consistent pitcher. His ERA has been between 3 and 4 for of his 6 full seasons with it being below 3 once and above 4 once. He has allowed many less hits than IP and he will K batters to a tune of 7 per 9IP. He does walk a lot of batters, but his career WHIP is acceptable (1.24) for the upper class of pitching and his innings eating ability and the fact that he is left handed will draw him a lot of attention. 3. Jason Schmidt- A power pitcher who will be 34 by the start of spring training next yr. That seems to be a dicey pick here, but when he is healthy, he can bring it. He can throw upper 90s and has two plus off speed pitches. Ever since coming to the Giants in 2001, he has had a 3.38ERA with around 9K/9IP. He will walk his fare share, but not like Zito, but will also give up many fewer hits. This season has been one of his better personal years, but as usual, this guy is in the low 3's in ERA like clockwork. He should be high on any teams's list if they are looking for a power starter. Prediction: 4yrs 50mil 4. Mark Mulder- Consistency is one word you can use for Mulder. He, like Zito has kept his ERA under 4 for his entire career save one season. But this year has been different. He has battled through shoulder injuries and without a solid finish he may end up with a short term deal with incentives. Left handed, proven winner, innings eater, and proven AL arm for hire. Prediction- Incentive laden 1 yr deal or for the gambling type, an AJ Burnett deal 5yrs 55mil. 5. Andy Pettitte- no need to break him down, all on here are familiar with him. Essentially, he had some shoulder issues earlier this yr and was awful. He has battled back and is again an elite in the status of most. He will turn 35 next yr in June and will likely be headed back to an AL team when the time comes. If anyone wants to see ace #s, look to last yr. Prediction- 3yrs 39mil. Those are 5, top of the rotation arms that will hit the market this yr. The Yankees will grab one, likely the Japanese player. The sox will have the pick of the rest and man are there some good ones. There are many others in the lower tier as well.

I feel another ARod choke job, wahoo.

you should change your sn to Alexander the chokester.

If you like to worry about things that shouldn't be worried about, then go ahead and worry.

Well ARod can only spoil so many rallies.

Have a feeling the yankees are putting up a lot of runs tonight.

He is so predictable. K up and in.

After all the years of being that overweight and putting that much stress on his leg, do you think there is any functionality left in that knee? He may be at a point where that knee is about as good as scrap.

April-May - start June-July - Middle August-September- Stretch