Dojji

Still love to know what happened to that plus-fastball we shelled out all that money for.

Watching Daisuke in the WBC. Is it just me or has Daisuke Matsuzaka lost about 4 MPH off his fastball? His first few games in the big leagues he was sitting 93-94 and touching 96, now he's sitting 89-91 and lucky to touch 93.

Well, when I said pressure I was thinking of the weight of the grind of the season. But with that said I don't want to take the concept of Jones pitching close and late off the table entirely either. He's a talented pitcher.

Bard maybe, but I doubt Tazawa. At least I don't think you can count on the guy yet. THing with Jones is that he's ready now. Tazawa isn't ready, Bard may or may not be. And if you want a guy who you can call up to take a lot of pressure off the pen... well... I refer you to Jones' inning totals again. Guy's used to a heavy workload.

Pitchers do.

The best of it is, he probably would. He's a great line drive hitter.

I think he is. THe Dbacks are right not to ask for less than Bowden and Theo is right not to give them Bowden. This negotiation will go nowhere. Boston isn't desperate enough for a catcher to convince me otherwise.

So are all three of Posada, Molina and Cash at this stage of their respective careers, Posada for health reasons the others for performance.. At least Piazza knew when to come out from behind the plate.

Because the Yankees' backup catcher is such an offensive dynamo. You do realize right now that pending Posada regaining, with medical assistance, the ability to throw to second base without his arm falling off his shoulderl, your catching tandem is Jose Molina and Kevin Cash? I don't know why I'm bothering trying to explain this to you but here goes: Bad defensive catchers can improve. After all, Posada was a butcher behind the plate at one point wasn't he? Kottaras defensively is much like Posada was then. His issues are mechanical, not athletic. He's got a strong, but not particularly accurate arm, and he's had to relearn how to position himself and how to use his feet. According to Sox brass he's made some progress and is worth a look. So he got one. Also, Kottaras has some stiff competition in order to keep that job. If he falters, Dusty Brown is almost certainly ready to be a backup catcher and Wagner's close, besides the myriad defense-only backstops you can usually find on the waiver wire.

Im sure the Nats are thrilled to hear that.

Don't forget Dusty Brown, for that matter. Having a guy like Brown around was the big reason why I was surprised they bothered with Bard. Hopefully this means Varitek bats lefthanded rather infrequently this year . Maybe that'll help his numbers.

No, not much of a loss there. Even without Littleton have as many as 9 major league caliber relief pitchers right now if you count Masterson and Jones (10 if you count Bard) Looks like our April bullpen is going to be: Pap Oki Saito RamRam MDC Lopez Masterson If Masterson stays in AAA as rotation depth I don't know who takes that spot, but I doubt they'd let Littleton go if they didn't think they had an answer. Would like to see Jones edge out Javier Lopez as I prefer an innings burner to a LOOGY but I don't consider it likely.

I'd say that once we have a baseline for what Tazawa brings at the AA level we'll know a lot better. Right now it's hard to say what Tazawa really is and how much of his good Spring performance is just a Spring Training illusion combined with the league not being familiar with him. I've heard a lot of good things about Tazawa but I don't think we are in a position where we need to jump the gun -- we can afford to go softly. Statistically speaking, Jones is the guy who's least likely to crap the bed right now if we're basing it off previous season numbers rather than spring figures, If we have an injury after Spring cuts and before Bard proves himself I think we see Jones.

Wouldn't necessarily call 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA "struggling." Certainly vintage Pedro was gone at that point however.

Yeah, I didn't think you'd grasp that one. There is no copout here, dude. There is just you sounding like a Marxist scholar and me trying to take a step back and look at the WHOLE picture.

For the FOURTH time now, who says there IS a primary reason? The quest for one central reason behind an action that makes sense at a lot of levels strikes me as an effort to oversimplify. Again, before I say that the WBC is primarily a business move I want to see what happens if the tournament runs a consistent deficit. You haven't even addressed the possibility of what happens to your argument if the tournament costs more than it grosses and still happens anyway. With the number of different venues to rent and the transitory nature of the tournament itself -- and the fact that some of our highest-profile baseball names were stuck on a team that wound up going nowhere -- that's a distinct possibility.

http://spankeesyuck.com/redsox2008/images/2008-Hunter_Jones.jpg Age: 25 Bats: L Throws: L Scouting report: Jones is a HORSE. In his last 3 years he has thrown 94, 102, and 82 innings -- and maintained a K rating of 8+ each year with that workload and averaging (obviously) well over an inning pitched in very regular appearances. If he could do this in the big leagues he could become that holy grail of pitchers, the dynamic multiple inning middle reliever that can take pressure off the setup corps and hold a lead when a starter goes 5 and out and stop us from having to use valuable relievers in junktime innings as well.. He's having a nice spring too. 5 strikeouts and 2 runs allowed in 6 innings of work. This guy isn't as flashy as Dan Bard, but he's an undarafted free agent who's earned the right to be on the depth chart through a lot of hard work and we will almost definitely see him in Boston this year.

Noce to have some quality depth isn't it? A lot of teams would probably be in no position to quibble about it if a guy that threw 100 looked close to ready. In half the teams in baseball Bard would probably finish his training on the job.

Bard will not break camp with Boston no matter what. I have to think that they'd try to keep hold of Littleton if a spot opens, or failing that promote Hunter Jones, who's due a chance to prove himself..

There is indeed such a thing as a generic 100 MPH fastball. Just ask Kyle Farnsworth who used to throw one before he tried to refine his style and sacrificed a bit of velocity for movement. Throwing hard should not be considered a tool in its own right. You an be a power pitcher and "only" throw 93 or 94. 100 only helps you depending on what you do with it. Am I contradicting myself by praising Masterson despite his walks total at the big league level? Maybe I am, but three points. First: Masterson has demonstrated very good command in the minors, so it's easier to dismiss his 4 bb/9 in the big leagues as a blip related to him adjusting to the league. Second: a ground ball pitcher can tolerate more walks than a power pitcher because of the potential for double plays. We saw that at work more than a few times especially when Masterson started. Finally: Masterson got most of his walks when he was pitching to lefthanders, and he got them because he didn't give in and give the lefthanded pitcher something to kill him with. Once again, that's just a matter of Masterson adjusting to the league and mastering the ability to pitch to lefthanded hitters. It doesn't affect my perception of the tool called "control" as much as a guy who's dominating AA hitters with a 100 MPH fastball and an elite slide piece and still can't avoid the walks. (if there was ever a time to fear NO one...) Yeah but it's hard to deny that the sinkerballers have an edge there.

Masterson >>>>> Bard. It. Is. Not. Close. Masterson is a starter, or has the ability to be one. Bard does not. To my view, an above average starter > a great reliever unless that reliever is currently an elite closer. If Masterson has the ceiling of a #2 starter, I consider that a higher ceiling than an elite setup man, which is the most you cn ask of Bard right now. So I say that as far as ceilings go, Bard's is flashier, but Masterson's is more useful to the team -- and anway, Masterson is closer to his ceiling at a younger age. Masterson is the same age as Bard. He has been an effective starter. He has been an effective setup man. SOmeday, 2-3 years from now, Bard MIGHT be doing what Masterson did LAST YEAR. I don't think you can just say that Bard has more potential than Masterson just because he throws 100 and was higher on the draft slot. What they've done in the meantime is a huge advantage for Masterson, ERA in 8 Portland starts notwithstanding. Besides that, Bard's ceiling has dropped since the draft thanks to his headcase fiasco in 2007, and Justin Masterson's has only gone up. since he was seen as a reliever on draft day and sbubsequently proved that he could start too. Bard might have a plus-plus fastball because of velocity. Masterson's sinker is plus-plus too, because of its movement and his ability to command it. If you had to ask me point black which was a better main offering for a relief pitcher, I take Masterson's power sinker every day of the week and twice on Sunday's over a generic 100. Think of it this way: Bard's job is to make sure you don't hit the ball. If you hit it, he's already failed in his primary objective as a pitcher. Masterson's job as a power sinkerballer is to make sure that even if you do hit it, it's on his terms. Even if you make contact you haven't necessarily beaten him. That's a more complete strategy.

Oh DipreG... don't EVER ask for a sound explanation from Gom. All you get is a lot of sound and a lot of explanation.