SoxSport

On the contrary. I'm a big critic of the Globe. But an even bigger critic of the Red Sox front office--those guys get paid more. You should try reading more of my posts. Besides, Cafardo makes more sense than most.

Those are pretty heavy words for Mazz. I think it's clear Bard hasn't shown anything special as a starter, and his Ks per inning are down. He's a different pitcher setting up for 1 or so innings throwing 100 heat. Plus the biggest factor--he is currently needed in the bullpen, and the failure of the FO to recognize that when Bailey went down makes them arguably more "stupid" than Mazz.

We're not talking about the athlete here. We're talking about the management. The current management takes forever to bring a guy back from injury. The difference is policy.

Mazz' well thought out blog on why Bard is out of place as starter and should be closing. That was evident last night against KC. The FO erred in not moving Bard to closer as soon as Bailey was injured. I suspect it wasn't V's decision--which is one of the Red Sox problems. It's time for Lucchino/Henry to stop the trainwreck. http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2012/05/bard_playing_out_of_position.html

Cafardo says tonite he just came back from Pawtucket. Iggy is hitting and playing great defense. Lav has looked good defensively and hitting. He says it's time to bring them both up--the Sox need more "youthful energy" that Middlebrooks is providing. He also says Youks could be a Michael Young the rest of the year, playing several positions where needed. He didn't say anything about the pitching. The bandaids aren't working, Ben.

You can see how the lack of a Bard-Pap duo for the 8th and 9th is really killing this team.

True. A lot of managers are caught in the same 1-2 inning syndrome. I don't know if Maddon is one of them. He's too smart to deplete a bullpen. Besides, TB has much better pitching than the Sox. Some managers are changing their tune. Leyland has had to learn the hard way this year--losing a couple of wins for Verlander. More emphasis on the starters is needed, especially finishing quality starts.

Lester and Beckett are OK. Buchholz needs some bullpen duty--or a visit to the hospital. Lav should be in the mix at catcher--right now. Iggy is hitting in Pawtucket and should be playing SS. The pitching could use the defense. Aviles is a nice backup, but his value is inflated right now. I'd like to see a mix of the stars--CC,Ells, Pedey, Papi and AdGon--with the kids--Middlebrooks, Iggy and Lav. Youks is tough to figure at this point. Ross/Sweeney platoon in RF until Kalish is ready.

My biggest concern about Salty right now is team ERA. He may be part of the problem. That's why I'd like to see Lav in the mix--not just for his bat.

That's good, because I think he's a better pitcher than what he has shown in Boston. I think he pitched hurt for a couple of years.

The Ellsbury injury has really hurt. With all the bitching and moaning going on in the media, nobody stops to consider they lost their closer and their top two outfielders before the season has hardly started. Plus Youkilis now.Sure, the front office hasn't done the best job with capable replacements, but when you pay 5 or 6 guys most of the team salary, you sacrifice depth. This isn't the Yankees. Not that NY doesn't have its own problems.

Youks' injury forced the issue with Middlebrooks. They had to bring him up. Either that or play Aviles at 3B and bring up Iggy. The way this front office works, they are looking for an excuse to send Middlebrooks down when Youks comes off the DL. So he is going to have to hit like hell for a couple of weeks--like he is doing now, and force the issue. It's tough because Youks has little trade value now. He's injury fragile and nobody wants him to play 3B. His value is at DH/1B if he's healthy. But he needs at bats to shown he is healthy. So it's a dilemma. I think there's a good chance he's still a helluva player, but I think they wrecked him in Boston changing positions again on him.

Yeah. Youks is definitely a problem when he comes back. Too bad 1b is closed. The answer is to trade him--for 50 cents on the dollar.

Some guys are rationalizing about Aviles. Why play hamburger at SS when you have steak at AAA?

Iggy is tearing up AAA right now. Hitting close to .300. He wasn't a bad hitter when I saw him in spring training. I honestly think the Sox would have a better record right now if Middlebrooks, Iggy and Lav had been in the lineup from the start. Plenty of room in the OF for Aviles. The FO is too slow too change--they wait for injuries.

On Lackey, I have a hunch he will come back strong post Tommy John--just in time to be a free agent his 2nd year. That this guy pitched for two years with a bad elbow may tell you something about the way the Red Sox handle (or mishandle) pitchers.

Most informed fans think the main problem is pitching. Heck, they've been near the bottom the last few years in pitching, while being near the top in hitting. Anybody can read the stats. Right now, they are missing some key hitters, so that makes the pitching even more vulnerable. So the question is how to fix the pitching? I've said that I'm suspect of the way the Red Sox management handles pitching. I don't think it's the pitching coach--they keep changing them with no effect. So here's what I think: First, they have not developed enough pitching in their farm syatem. That tells me the management does not give sufficient priority to pitching--they aren't drafting enough pitchers. Second, they tend to baby their starters--misusing pitch counting. 100 pitches and out winning or losing. That often means 5-6 innings in a quality start--which puts ridiculous pressure on the bullpen. Last year, Tito used 4 bullpen guys to finish an 8-2 blowout! Third, the bullpen is grossly overused. By that I mean, too many appearances and too few innings per appearance. Relievers almost never pitch more than 1-2 innings. That means using 3-4 relievers almost every game. Since bullpen heatup is half the effort for a reliever, that puts tremendous strain on them. It's no wonder a guy is sharp for a couple of outings, and then goes sour on the 3rd one. They aren't machines. Fourth, There is too sharp a distinction between starters and relievers. When a starter comes back from injury, he should spend some time in the bullpen to sharpen up, before he's thrown out there to start. Buchholz is a classic example--the kid clearly wasn't ready to start this year. He belonged in the bullpen--and does right now until he shows he is sharp enough to start again. (This assumes he is healthy, for which there is some doubt.)Conversely, when a reliever looks sharp a couple of times (like Tazawa did when he came up), he ought to be given a start. That's the way it was done for 100 years in baseball before the bean counters --I mean pitch counters-- took over. What I'm saying is, aside from not drafting enough pitching and signing free agent pitchers poorly, the management has a problem with the way pitchers are handled. I thought maybe Valentine would change things some vs Tito, but he really hasn't. Which tells me the problem goes higher.

My understanding is the Home run derby uses corked bats and balls--so everything they hit goes out. It's a pure PR piece of BS. I heard the ESPN guys laughing about it a couple of years ago during a derby. It's more than one player in the derby who has suddenly lost his power the 2nd half. I can't figure why, except for timing. Gonzales is an excellent player, and if the Globe stays off his back (they are going after him today), he'll be OK. Actually, he'll be OK even if they stay on his back. From his comments in the past, he hates them anyways. LOL. It's a wonder the writers there get any cooperation from the players. Their blamegame seems totally on the players--not the management. Maybe it's time to even the playing field.

They made a mistake promoting an Epstein clone from within to replace him, and hiring a manager from the outside with independent clout--to try to work with him. I don't think it's working out. You have to wonder if Valentine has any input in the personnel moves being made. I just don't see any real change from last year.

I said somewhat satisfied. I think he's a very good player, but I don't think they needed him. They pretty much wrecked Youkilis moving him to 3B. And they gave up several prospects they could use right now. Rizzo is hitting about .380 in AAA, and Kasey Kelly is pitching in SD. I think he and Crawford were both mistakes. They upset their chemistry.

And that's without fixing the pitching--which is the main problem. I suspect part of that is the way pitchers are handled in Boston-- baby the starters, kill the bullpen.