SoxSport

I guess nobody around here cares that Victorino, one of their best players, was held down in Pawtucket in a couple of highly visible games against the Yankees, while some 2nd rate reliever Wilson, was brought up to sit in the bullpen a whole game without getting off his ass. He promptly used up his return bus ticket the next game so Victorino could finally get to earn some of his $13 million salary. Just to keep the record straight.

I never said anything about Nava in the quote. who's dumb?

Are you still drinking?

Criticize baseball, not posters.

ha. because it would take a lot more to get Stanton. a lot more.

Peavy is the anti-Buchholz.

that sucks. can they broadcast Patriots and Celtics games?

So now I get NESN national on cable, and I'm watching Dennis and Callahan morning show. Where's the Toronto game? These guys have X under the microscope--defense at SS. As if these kids should be instant all-stars. A bunch of blowhards.

Trouble with Buchholz, they couldn't get crap for him right now. Everybody else has eyes, too.

Trade him for Bautista. This guy would wreck the Monster.

Yanks getting bombed tonite. They suck. Just wait.

Everybody talks about Stanton. Why don't they trade Buchholz for Bautista? This guy would wreck the Monster.

I think it's too early to draw any conclusions. Sure they were lucky last year. You have to be lucky to go all the way. They started off last year losing two(!) closers. Not so lucky. But then they discovered one closer--their setup guy--who turned out to be one of the best in the business. Very lucky. Regardless of how they play this year, the odds are heavily against a team repeating. It doesn't happen. What does happen is another team gets anointed to play Cinderella. It isn't clear yet which team it will be. I keep thinking the Os are due to make a run.

You have to wonder if they did something wrong with this guy in his development. Did they baby him too much with pitch count limits and trips to Florida to pitch just a couple of innings? The guy seems to have a weak arm, and that's a signal maybe durability hasn't been built into it properly. Or maybe it's mental? They have guys paid to know much closer to the situation, so this is all pure speculation.

It's still early. Cream rises to the top eventually. The Cardinals are having troubles right now, too. Farrell is having bullpen shortage problems already. The root of it is a bullpen can't handle both fighting fires and controlling pitch counts for starters. One of these days managers will realize that and change things back to where they were in the past. Use relievers only when a starter gets into trouble. Don't waste them. And don't use a different guy every inning.

Manny has been caught with his pants down so many times, he's an embarrassment, even though he had a lot of great years in Boston.Pedro, Papi and Clemens will get in. Pedro obviously. 1st ballot HOFer. Clemens, too, since his years in Boston were clean--and successful.Papi has had so many big hits you can't count them--maybe more than any other Sox player. Though Yaz and Williams must have had a lot, Papi has been in many more playoff and WS situations.

In the old days, starters who were off form were shipped to the bullpen, to straighten out their act. Somebody out of the bullpen or from the minors would replace them in the rotation. Nowadays, the conventional wisdom is to "stretch out" guys in the minors to prepare them to start. And there is a sharp distinction between starting and relieving. Baseball needs to take a good look at how pitching is handled these days--in my view. How it has evolved. A lot of things are done without much foundation.For example, you have the Sox starving for a reliever the last couple games, and one of their best ones, Workman, is sitting in Pawtucket being "stretched out" to start. Why a reliever shortage? Because relievers are often used in games to keep pitch counts down for starters--instead of using them when starters are actually in trouble, as they were used in the past. Overused. They can't do both. With all the arm injuries occurring lately, the media should take a look at the new pitching orthodoxy, e.g., pitch counts, bullpen use,etc., and see what effect any of this has on durability and conditioning. There just didn't seem to be that many arm injuries in the old days. Raschi, Reynolds and Lopat pitched a lot of years in the Yankee starting rotation. So did Lemon, Garcia, Wynn and Feller for Cleveland.

The AL East has always been about pitching. I checked the pitching stats, and the Red Sox are ahead of the Yankees in pitching so far. Surprise. Team ERA 3.59 vs 4.11 (subject to change tonite). But they are behind in hitting. Yanks are hitting .270 while Sox are hitting .242. OPS numbers are bad all around for all teams. Nobody hitting yet. It's still very early to make any real assessments. Just a few games separating teams. I would say the biggest concern for the Sox is the inconsistency of their starters. Some of them are s***ing the bed early and taking them out of games. That accounts for a fair amount of their losses. We are seeing the same tonite. The 7 run rule seems to be alive and well.

Sounds like ESPN is trying to push the Lester price up to Yankee levels. Watch out for those NY-based networks. Chances are he'll extend in Boston for something short of $20 million for 5-6 years. Maybe an option in the 6th year.

They have some good pitching prospects, e.g., Owens, Rinauldo, etc. , and expect a few of these guys will be in the rotation in the next year or two. They have a pretty solid committment to younger players the next few years. I doubt any big FAs are on the horizon for them. Lester might get a big deal because he's home grown, and his arm is sound.

We don't really know what the numbers are. The media can throw out any numbers they want, depending on their agenda. They did not offer Ellsbury anything close to $20 million for more than 5 years--that's what was published locally. The guy isn't worth 7 years at 22 million, but that's what the Yankees had to do to get him. They will feel the bite in his 5th year--that's why they are in trouble and have to buy every year. As for Lester, 4 years is low ball--and they know it. He's worth 5 years in the 18 mil range. Maybe another option year. His arm is sound.

The Yankees and now the Dodgers are in a salary/income class by themselves. Even the Phillies are ahead of the Red Sox. Wish some of you guys would look this stuff up before you make judgements.

Tar Wars? Gotta like that.

The Sox are testing their fans in April as much as the weather. Hope both get better. I know the weather will.

It's a long season. Hopefully AJ still has a lot left.