Dojji

Sit DOWN Hunter!

Another crucial playoff homer.

And Papelbon in the ninth. Sounds like a plan to me.

Filthy, filthy slider there. even if Figgins hit it I think he the most he can do with it is foul it off.

BARD = AWESOME.

Yeah, Bard's got the good stuff.

Gottim. Nice pitch.

Please don't walk Erick Eybar.

Didn't have a chance on that one.

And I have to say in his first ever playoff start, 2 ER in 5 IP by Buchholz is quite acceptable. You always want more, but this is good enough from a young unfinished pitcher. Kinda reminiscent of Lester's world series start.

Great pitching by the rook!

I'll take that!!!

If Izturis plugs the gap, it's tied. I'd rather see the veteran in this situation.

I'd be happier to see Billy Wagner myself.

STOP SUCKING.

At least that kept Hunter at third.

Get your head back on straight, kid.

Well you're right about one thing. There's a long season of hockey ahead of us. I'll look forward to Thomas getting back on form towards the middle of the season and getting my lolwut moments quoting some of the panic posts in this thread.

Don't be so sure. Felix has better velocity, but Buchholz has a better arsenal. I think if Clay reaches his potential it will be very close. It'll come down to who has better command and refinement over a career. We all know Felix's is already very good, if Clay can match it all bets are off.

You're entitled to your opinion, ORS, but your rights end where my virtual nose begins. If you can't argue my posts without blatant ad homenim, then you can't argue my posts at all.

This. He's within about half a step of really getting it, and we've already got an idea of what he's gonna be when he tops out. His fastball has vastly improved from the instrument I was worried about a couple years ago, and is now a plus pitch in its own right. All he needs is some reps and a bit of refinement and this guy is going to be incredible Within another 2 years the question of whether you trade Felix Hernandez for Clay Buchholz may well be a very open one. I was a doubter at first, but he's totally won me over

Becanse no one's seen a post like this in the last 5 econds. What exactly is the point of posts like this? Beyond the obvious rules violation everyone looks the other way on I mean.

What kind of "exciting youngsters" can we offer? Will we be able to take Buchholz and Bard off the table and still get Gonzo? Because otherwise, I'm really not sure we need to rob our pitching to supplement the lineup. BOTH have been issues both in this season and in the postseason. The recent history of that kind of trade from the perspective of the team giving up the veteran has been pretty spotty. The speculative gain has often been much sexier than the reality. On the one hand, Adam Jones definitely recompenced the Orioles for the loss of Erik Bedard Oh the other hand, there's the Twins debacular handling of the Santana deal. Generally it winds up somewhere in the middle, kind of like the Martinez deal. The pieces you get back can be more accurately descrubed as "interesting and useful" than "exciting." In the end I don't think it's a slam dunk that Gonzalez will be traded. Even if he is, there's nothing forcing the Padres to do it this offseason. I think that people who say it's the only way for that franchise to move forward are engaging in wishful thinking.