SoxSport

Beckett down today. Sprained ankle on a pitch? Bedard skipping a start because of knee. Why the hell can't Lackey and Wakefield get hurt? Why the good starters? You can replace crap with crap. But you can't replace cream.

First Wakefield, now Lackey. The Sox continue to be burdened by dead horses they can't get rid of. And now they may even have another in Jenks. You can't improve your pitching unless you create spots for new blood with some upside.

The Mets haven't gotten their moneys worth with Santana, except maybe the first year. Aren't they paying him $25 mil per? That was pretty astronomical at the time. Wilpon was tossing around a lot of that Madoff money. The Yankees are getting better bang for the buck with CC. But the question is how long he can hold up with that barrel body.

yeah--Aceves and Bedard should be starting after Lester and Beckett right now. The pitching priorities are screwed up.

well, I guess that's right.

The Sox don't have a prayer in the playoffs unless Buchholz comes back, or Bedard turns into Cliff Lee.

The Globe headline says "DouBront" got battered today. LOL Make that 3 quality starts of the last 10 for Lackey. ERA now above 6. Theo did not pay for this. I wouldn't blame him. He thought he was buying apples, and got oranges.

Cripes. Look at the team stats. The Yankees are ahead because of PITCHING. The Yankees have overachieved in pitching this season; the Red Sox have underachieved. You can bet that won't show up in the pitching coach's performance report for the year. Larry Rothschild has done a job on Young.

Well, Millwood was too.

I wish the Globe would pronounce Conor Jackson the #3 starter.

Or you could say he has been mishandled. In the old days, you started a guy off in the bullpen. Pitching in blow-outs. Then in tighter games. Build his confidence. If he shows something, he gets his chance to start. In Miller's case, he got thrown into the frying pan from the start. A lot of pressure on the kid. Overall, he's done fairly well, but clearly has a ways to go. I wouldn't give up on him. He needs bullpen work. Playing a sport is about 50% ability, 50% confidence. Miller needs to build up his confidence.

Just want to set the record straight on Lackey: From Yahoo stats, Lackey's season record is 12 wins, 10 losses. ERA 5.94, WHIP 1.55 Total starts: 23 Quality starts (6 in/3 ER or less): 11 Cheap wins (no QS): 5 Tough Losses (QS): 4 Last 9 starts: 6 wins, 2 losses, 1ND Quality starts: 3 Cheap wins: 3 Tough losses: 1 Lackey has a quality start a bit less than every other start. Overall his cheap wins balance out his tough losses. His ERA is 2 runs per game above the league average. In his last 9 starts, where he has been a subject of focus in the media and chat groups, his won-loss record is good, but half his wins have been cheap wins and his quality starts have been fewer--about 1 in 3. So his won-loss record lately is deceiving. Is he a total suck? Well, I wouldn't say so. He is just a bad signing by Theo, who thought he was getting a different pitcher. At this point in his career, he just isn't very good. Not a #3 starter on a contender. But athletes have a way of bouncing back. Look at Beckett. It can happen, though usually the problems are physical and Lackey appears to be healthy. In which case, it might be conditioning.

Bedard should have gone another inning. 101 pitches? When they need him for more in the playoffs--that's all he'll have ---101 ***king pitches. Their middle relief sucks. Billion dollar lineup and mediocre middle relief. They need their starters to go 7 innings.

Looked like Hamilton was safe at 1B. Gonzo appeared to miss the first tag. But we'll take it. That called third strike against Salty--low and inside--was one of the worst blown third strike calls I've ever seen an umpire make. Nothing against the ump. Everybody makes mistakes. But then only umps get away with them.

None of this really matters unless they can get Buchholz back in September. They never replaced the guy in the rotation. Anyone notice Millwood threw a shutout last night for Colorado? He is pitching better than any of their starters not named Lester and Beckett-- and they cut the guy in Pawtucket. It just shows how team politics can be roadblocks to improvement. Roadblocks named Wakefield, Lackey, Miller and Bedard. Drew? He has run hot and cold in Boston, but he should be a reminder to stay away from Boras, who will steal your mother's earrings if you deal with him.

Good first post. I've seen much worse--from trolls with agendas. Miller doesn't have the command right now to be starting in a pennant race. Maybe in Baltimore or KC, yes. But not on a team in contention. Part of this is contract. They are trying to hold onto him. Maybe a part is ego, too. After Salty, Theo thinks he can strike lightening twice. Looks like this lightening will be a lot slower.

Dick Williams and Ralph Houk are the best managers I've seen in Boston.

#3 starter?

A couple of things. First, you can't expect bullpen guys to be as sharp pitching back-to-back games on successive days. It happens, but they are usually less sharp--enough to make a difference. That's the fallacy of the one pitcher per inning approach. The heatup in the bullpen counts, too. Second, why does it seem that every close umpire call in a Red Sox/Yankee game--especially balls and strikes--goes to the Yankees? Now we know that the NY teams get special media attention being from the biggest TV market --they get on network TV the most. And they're always called by their nicknames. But the umpires, too?

no. genf20plus. over the counter. the stuff works. using it for 6 months. no miracles. just improvements. No implications meant for Ells and the other players, by the way. I have no doubt ballplayers take supplements--probably expensive ones not widely available. They have to, playing almost every day. I've come around to thinking everything should be allowed as long as it doesn't harm you with side effects. That would exclude steroids. If records get broken, so what. Players are bigger and stronger these days--it's inevitable.

Ellsbury is having an unusual season. So is Papi and Granderson. Any connection? Maybe HGH?, since it's not tested for in MLB (only the minors). HGH is great stuff. Non-steroid. Made naturally by the body. You make less of it as you get older, and a lot of very rich people have traditionally used it to slow the aging process. The natural stuff is expensive. I take supplements to increase my HGH, with a positive effect--builds up your upper body and makes you look a bit younger (less wrinkles, gray hair). No negative long term effects I'm aware of. MLB should legalize the stuff. All players should use it. It's like instant replay. Use the technology when it becomes available to improve the product.

Santana was a bit better than the usual Mets big ticket pickups. Better than Bay. maybe better than Beltran, though the Mets managed to rob the Giants for Beltran (beware of big media buildups for players in NY). He did have one or two good years before his arm gave out. But the Mets gave up nothing for him except a big contract--and did the Red Sox and Yankees a big favor at the same time. That's pretty tough to do.

Radatz and Kinder were good, too. Kinder even won 23 games as a starter one year.