Fried Neckbones

Let's just put it this way: my wife, who hates watching baseball on tv, actually went to example1's place with me to watch most of the ALCS as a "nice social night out". In '04, she didn't want to talk to me for weeks. When Pap almost got Clement-ed by that liner last night, my first reaction wasn't "oh s***, here we go again", it was "eh - it's one hit. He'll be fine". Night and day. :thumbsup:

Now if only they put Ellsbury in for Crisp. :thumbsup:

Just a random question, but why does everyone have such a hard-on to hit Youk #2 if Ellsbury is hitting leadoff? Pedroia is a natural #2 hitter (good contact, doubles power, good eye) and while Youk has similar abilities, Pedroia is faster and Youk would be a better option hitting lower down. Ellsbury Pedroia Ortiz Manny Lowell Drew Youk Dougie Lugo

Why not use him the way that they used Donneley at the beginning of the season - a two-headed, ambidexterous monster for the 8th? It wasn't like Oki/Brendan had the traditional "specialist" roles in late innings. They both served as weird, hybrid set-up guys. I know that Oki can pitch to righties, what do MDC's numbers look like against lefties?

He was a starter for a while in A ball. http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=19266 Not too bad, especially 2002. However, with the number of bona fide starters they have right now (Bucholtz, Lester, and Masterson waiting in the wings) I wouldn't throw him in there unless it was ABSOLUTLY necessary. There is nothing wrong with having a lights-out set-up man (witness K-Rod setting up for Percival, Zumaya setting up for Jones) if the set-up man is willing to accept that role.

Still a hell of a game by Curt, though. Exactly what was needed - someone nutting up and putting a stop to this little losing skid.

No doubt, no doubt. I've just seen too many fast starts for this team followed by a massive swoon. Am I a pessimist? Oh, yeah. I hate seeing Sox blood in the water, and the other AL East teams are better than the sub-.500 ball they have been playing so far. The gap is going to narrow before the end. I'm not hitting the panic button yet, I mean 9 games up is a fine place to be going into June, but the dog days are coming and, like you said, it would be nice to go into them on a high note.

It's not so much Schill that bother me today - it's the sorry state of the offense. 2 runs in the past 2 games. That's just sad. It shouldn't be a matter of guys being tired, either. They just had an off day on the 31st, and another one a week before that. Yes, there was a tough homestand against the Yanks and then a flight to the West coast, but come on. Schill will give his all and step up (as much as he is able - that game against Cleveland not withstanding I'm still not totally convinced he can bring it like he used to), but the O needs to start hitting again to get this crap turned around.

There was an article in the paper copy of SI a few weeks ago (the Matsuzaka article in the baseball preview issue) that talked a lot about pitch counts and how it's getting to the point that having a firm pitch count is detrimental to a young pitcher's career. The focus should be more on proper conditioning, flexibility, and those sorts of things rather than on limiting the amount that these guys throw. Players today are too concerned with adding pure muscle and velocity that they do more damage to their arms (and joints) in less time. If conditioning programs looked more like the Japanese model (said the article) you woudn't see so many firm pitch counts and throwing complete games or 300 innings wouldn't be so odd. Makes sense to me. Ichiro has hardly missed any games, and before last season neither had Hideki. Not pitchers, I know, but there has to be something there.

I have a couple of quick things to say. First, the Nomar deal was designed to get the team over the hump. Attitude aside, his performance (when he was actually on the field) was suffering. You upgrade the defense, and you upgrade the pitching. It's not a coincidence that they went on a huge tear to close out the '04 season - the staff had more confidence to attack the zone with Cabrerra and Doug (I'm not even going to try) playing behind them. Second, a lot of the non-signings had as much to do with picking up compensatory draft picks as they did with letting people walk. They most likely would not have re-signed most of that crew anyway, but the draft picks made it that much easier. That was the mode they were in at the time - a Theo-driven, plan for the future mode. Also, most of the young'uns were traded away when Lucchino was in charge after Theo snuck out in his gorilla suit, for whatever that's worth. Some people have touched on it and it's got some truth to it - everything that I've seen and read about this organization points to Theo being a plan ahead and for the future minded GM, and Lucchino more of a win now executive. Yes you need both in the case of the Red Sox - look at the furor that was created by finishing 3rd. But when they are at odds with each other then you get a team that is trying to move in two different directions at once, two plans that are interfering with each other, and neither one gets pulled off right. OK, so maybe not so quick points.

I totally agree with you HHM. The way that teams are going now, in bullpens that is, seems to be looking for that "bullpen ace" rather than a traditional closer. The Joel Zumayas of the world. Let that guy come in when the pressure is highest, be it the 6th, 7th, 8th, whatever. The key to that, though, is that you still need a guy who can come in and get those final three outs. Todd Jones was perfect at that. He would give up a couple of hits, didn't strike anybody out, but he got through the 9th. It's a hybrid, sort of, of bullpen by committee and the traditional model.

The plus probably wouldn't be Pena. Murphy, maybe? As for building a pen, Crespo, the pen is already stocked with middle relief guys. It's the back that needs addressing.

I don't want Julio, but I would take Lidge for Hansen+. Lidge has about a 3:1 k:bb ratio, Julio is about 2:1. Also, Lidge had some bad d playing behind him last year, and still managed, as a700 pointed out, 30+ saves in an "off" year. Hell yeah, I would trade a guy who projects to be about as good as Lidge (but hasn't shown it yet) for Lidge.

Why the hell did they draft Ellsbury in the 1st round of the '05 draft then?

As nice as Calvin Johnson would be, it would take too much to get him. Trade the first round pick they got from Seattle to Oakland for Moss. Draft defense. Stay the hell away from Darrell Jackson - he's a headcase (I know, I know, so is Moss, but Moss is just an *******. Bill and Brady can whip him into shape, and winning will help. Jackson has played on a good team (although I hate the Seahawks and think they are increadibly overrated) but he's still a headcase). If they can pick up Moss, then their defensive secondary is their biggest weakness - outside of Samuel they really don't have anyone. Harrison is getting too banged up - it seems like he misses significant chunks of time every year now. Ellis Hobbs? Please. Trade for a deep threat wideout, and draft d.

Good points, crunchy. Surpise, surprise, not all trades and signings work out. About the only thing that I can counter with is that the two top free agent pitchers (Zito and Schmidt) put up similar numbers to Schilling in '06, yes. However, Schilling is at least 6 years older than these two, and will have one more season of wear on his arm before the new contract comes to bear. I definitly want him resigned if he can prove to be effective, and $13 million would be a bargin. A bit higher if he shows that he is worth it wouldn't be out of the question either. I just want the front office to be cautious, that's all.

Hopes and prayers ... and good scouting and projections. Beckett threw next to nothing but fastballs last year - that's a coaching staff decision. He'll start mixing in the change and curve and rebound. Kato (I assume you mean Matsuzaka) - don't think they just threw $52 million at Siebu on a whim. They have been scouting this guy for YEARS. He'll be just fine. Pedroia and Youk - they've put up good numbers all through their careers at every level. Numbers that PROJECT well to big leauge success. As for Crisp and Drew going without injury, Crisp broke his finger sliding and Drew was hit on the wrist with a pitch. Those could happen to anybody. They're not like an aging power pitcher who pushes off a totally surgically reconstructed ankle. I'm not even going to touch the bullpen issue, though. This front office still has no clue how to build one. In their defense it's probably one of the hardest things to project in baseball, but still ...

Not to harp on this, but I just remembered something else. Schilling's original contract with the Sox included an extention and pay increases if the Sox won the WS with him. So, in a sense, they already rewarded him for '04, and his gut-wrenching, heart-warming performance was, at least in part, motivated by the prospect of financial gain. It wan't just that Curt would do anything to bring a title to Boston and went above and beyond the call of duty. I am a bit bothered by the way he announced right before spring training that he wants an extention (after the free agent signings gave an indication of market value) after saying that 2007 would be his last year. Make an offer during the break, if he accepts, great, if not come back after the season.

Exactly, BoSox. Baseball front office work is a game of speculation and projection. Looking to the past is NOT the way that it works. The question in the Sox FO right now isn't "What did Curt do for us in 2004?" but rather "What will Curt be able to do for us in 2008?". What Curt did in 2004 is worth way more than $13 million. I think we can all agree on that. He will never buy a drink, or anything else, in the city of Boston and wherever else Red Sox fans live ever again. But he's 40, had a crappy second half (and don't bring out 15 wins - that is the worst stat to measure a pitcher buy and you all know it), and could be the third best pitcher on the staff by the end of this season. Is all that worth $13 million? That's the question that the front office has to answer. By the way seabeachfred, I'm not anti-Schilling. I love what Schilling did for this team in 2004. I remember the moment exactly, I still have every edition of the Globe from the World Series and parades and always will. But shelling out contracts for things that have happened in the past, especially things that are not performance based (in the sense of pure numbers that can be projected), is not the road that I want to see this front office start to go down.

In the case of both the Braves and A's each of the three (pretty much) had a year where they would qualify as a traditional "ace" - leading or near leading the team in ERA, wins, starts, innings, etc. I think the Sox could be heading down a similar road with the young talent in the starting rotation they have, and will have, for a long time to come (knock wood).

Why does there have to be a bona fide ace? All this talk of "Beckett is no ace" or " will Matsuzaka become an ace and prove that he's worth $100 million+"? Who was the ace in Oakland with Zito, Hudson, and Mulder? Who was the ace in Atlanta with Smoltz, Glavine, and Maddox? Screw all that. We have four starting pitchers who are all - if the breaks go right - going to be freakishly good. Three of them are 26 or under. If Lester comes back and only one of the B's makes it as projected, that's a hellaciously good rotation for YEARS to come. So what if there is no "ace"? God I want the season to start.

I agree. Wallace f***ed up Hanson's motion, took him away from that nasty slider, and the poor kid looked lost. I wouldn't be suprised - as example1 and others have alluded to - if Wallace was under instruction to get 200 innings out of Josh last year, and results be damned. If he brings back the change and can throw the curve without blistering up, he's going to get back into very good form. Hell, even if he brings back the change and can't quite get a handle on the curve, he'll be better - and better than 16 wins and a 5 ERA is pretty good in my book.