Spudboy

I read a while back that Shields preferred to pitch in southern California because he was from that area or that he had family there. If so, his target has been San Diego all along and he was ignoring whatever offers came his way from teams elsewhere. Maybe he just decided that he wanted to pitch where he wanted to pitch regardless of the money. Everything is speculation.

Maybe Ortiz. I suspect that money is still in the equation.

Yeah I went inside the old ball park and it was an oasis in that area of town. Ft Myers beach was much nicer as I recall.

It does sound strange. But we both know what she means. I believe, ultimately, Lester craves Italian Beef Sandwiches. Done deal.

Chillax dude.

I'm with you Sister woman! I need a fix badly! By the way, Ted can tell you much more I assume. But when I visited Fort Myers in the mid to late '90s I found it to be a dump. Of course it may have morphed into a world class city by now. I don't know. In any case, I'd love to be there now because I am sick of shoveling snow and shivering in 0 degree temps.

Not to many teams out pitch the best pitchers in baseball. I am resolved to my team not having the best or even adequate rotation since they have not signed a true #1 and #2. I'm not sitting here wringing my hands. 2015 could be a disaster for my team even with an offense that has been bolstered by the addition of the two best available hitters and hopefully good if not full health from three guys who have been central to keeping the line moving in the past. I am curious to see how it all plays out and I am sort of tired of hearing all of the premature kvetching about it. We have no say in how the team is built so no one who can change the construction of the team is listening. It is what it is! I have my doubts about the Sox being able to add a top tier pitcher at the deadline. Teams that have those guys may still believe that they are in the hunt and there should be other suitors for those guys as well. I doubt that the addition of one arm will put this team into serious WS contention, anyway. Adding two quality arms in the 2015 off season is something that I see happening.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion as we all are. I am encouraged by his recent performance. Although an ERA of 3.50 or less is probably optimistic it could happen if he is a better pitcher with more experience. Somebody on this staff better throw somewhere near 200 innings because I don't think there are any true long men in the pen at this point. As always, just my opinions.

I'm just hoping for league average performance from this rotation as a unit. I don't understand the Porcello skepticism at all. Maybe the AL East offensive numbers are down from previous years. I have not looked. Regardless, it is still a tough division to compete in. I can see any one of the five teams scoring a wild card birth. Tampa is lacking in total swat and who knows how they will perform under new management? Their pitching is good, though, I am told. I'm still concerned about the Sox rotation depth 6-7. I just don't see an internal candidate that can make a bunch of quality starts if called upon. 200 innings and ERA are nice to speculate upon. The lack of depth is real. Maybe Owens will be "ready enough" at some point near mid-season. I doubt it, though.

May God hold us confessed???? That how it translates in Google Translate.

This is wrong. When players retire they are fully capable of becoming employed in real jobs where they can make realistic salaries. Just because a player does not play anymore does not mean that he has no capacity to earn.

Seems reasonable. Especially if he does not suck. And I do not believe that he will suck. That job belongs to laptop.

Yeah Ortiz is in great shape based on the recent photos I have seen of him. I don't like his choice of cars, though. High priced junk.

Truth.

Both will bother me.

Shields would definitely give the Yankee their best chance of getting 200+ IP from a starter. I hope that he does not sign there. Can everyone hear the bitching about the Sox FO if that happens while the Sox rotation flounders? Oye.

Well in that case most big market teams will be going balls to the walls for this kid. Even all the other teams have a crack at him. I guess I have not read as much about him as I should. Overall, I'm not a proponent of chasing every new beaner-de jour. The fact that he is from Cuba has me suspecting two things about him. One, I bet no team has seen anywhere near enough of him playing the game to make an accurate assessment. The Sox, as an example, had not seen Castillo play much over the 2 years prior to his signing. Two, he is probably very raw in skill development. He comes from a desperately poor country where facilities are few. At 19 he probably has not played much high level ball. I bet he is over rated.

Unless he is seen as some kind of generational talent, why waste the effort and money chasing this kid? I'd rather that the Sox went after some kids from high school or college. Less risk all around. We are talking about kids. How accurate can a scout's assessment be of someone this young? Why chase exotic off-shore talent when there are plenty of kids in this country that will have the same chance of being a special MLB player 5 years from now?

One thing that is commonly ignored when I pitcher comes to another league is the batter's lack of familiarity with that pitcher. Of course a book will available to hitters and eventually they will recognize the arm slot, speed, etc.

Why do you believe Ortiz will see such a sizable bump in BA? Is it the increased "protection"? I think if he's healthy he hits 30 HR like braking sticks. Looks like Betts will be ROTY.

I hope that the Sox avoid even thinking about Barry Zitto.

As I said I would like Shields on the Sox. Even with the stove coming to an end, I think that it's still possible that he gets 4 years somewhere. Also, as you have pointed out, Porcello, Masterson, and Buch are free agents after this coming season. Who knows what can happen. This just supports my belief that the 2016 rotation will likely look different.

While I'd like to see Shields with the Sox, I just don't see the Sox investing in a 33-34 year old arm at this point. My guess, and my hope, is that the Sox are emphasizing going with younger, controllable arms. My bet is that the 2016 rotation will look quite different.

Exactly. But some will continue to cling to this as a defining issue and continue to moan about how the FO failed because it suits their narrative. To me it's just a bore.

I have suggested this as well. Most likely we will not know for sure. Whatever. It's done.