SoxSport

The pitch count machine just hit him on the head. Hope it didn't Wake him up.

Maybe a sign they are more complacent against bad teams.

In the old days, the cops kept stuff like this quiet. Now it's media fodder.

Wake's knuckler is like guessing what Bill Belichick will do with the next draft pick, which he might trade for another pick which gets traded next year for another pick which....

They aren't a smallball team--which is part of the problem. Tito plays for big innings. They are swinging away one run down in the eighth inning.

What's their record against LHP? They are seeing a lot of LHP. If a team can neutralize AdGon and Papi's power, and put Crawford on the bench, you will see them throwing any left hander at them. They haven't had nearly enough RHd punch with Youks slow start, and the loss of Vmart, Beltre and Bay the past few years.

I agree with this, and I have a whole thread on it somewhere here. It was also suggested by Mazz at the Globe that the team had become complacent. Complacent manager, complacent team--Mazz. But that was before they swept the Angels, and all seemed OK. Now, everyone is not so sure. To me, Tito's priorities seem more to stroking the players than winning games. Over the past few years since winning the last championship. I'm also not a big fan of his coaches. I thought Farrell was overrated--and may have been eased out--kicked upstairs somewhere else. Stealing is done mainly on the pitcher--not the catcher. But the catchers catch the blame on the Red Sox. I also think they miss their bench coach--who is now managing Houston. They aren't getting enough out of spring training, and one questions their regimen down there. Not enough emphasis on fundamentals. Tito's main strength's are people strengths. That's why he's the manager. Organizations value that type of manager over all else. But if this team doesn't get out of the rut soon, there will be some pressure on the organization to provide answers. Changes are usually made from the bottom up--not the top down. That means the field management.

Dice-K and the other starters have to show some consistency. A quality every-other-start won't do it. Watching Beckett blow up because some guy hits a HR off him is not consistency. Beckett was just showing up his problem.

You know they ain't gonna pay Crawford $20 mil to hit 7th. Sooner better than later he gets back to the 2-hole where he belongs. Ells-Crawford batting 1-2 is where they will live or die. Belichick draft prediction: Jabaal Sheard, DE, Pitt. #33. The guy he probably wanted all along.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to invest in two stars at $40 million, and then leave the important catching position so vulnerable. Carrying Wake on the roster is a lot more expensive than his salary.

Martin is another one of those free agents overachieving in NY right now. Colon and Garcia are among the others. The Yankees scraped the bottom of the barrel for free agent pitchers, and have come up roses--so far. Colon looks great. As long as he's on 2 meals a day. Millwood is liable to win 20 there if they bring him up. I agree Epstein made a mistake handing Salty the catching job. Giving him all that pressure. He had an opportunity to sign Martin with some assurance of PT--but passed. Martin figured he would play more in NY. Theo does good things and bad things.

What's incredible is the Rays continue to field a competitive team. In my view, the really good organizations are those which field competitive teams for low dollars. The Marlins, Pirates, Royals and Rays come to mind. It takes excellent management--field and front office. It's interesting that 30 years ago, before salaryinflation, the Pirates and Royals were dominant teams.

I think it's a valid comparison, in terms of major changes and time needed to regenerate chemistry. Chemistry is something that GMs happen on when they have success, and then too often get rid of it. For example, Danny Ainge happened on great chemistry with his starting five and won a championship. He then let his key bench player, Posey, go to free agency. He now has traded his defensive center, Perkins, one of his original starters. The Celtics haven't repeated their championship. And if they fail this year, it will likely be due to the center position more than anything else. Epstein made two good signings last year in Beltre and VMart. The Sox did surprisingly well last year until injuries to Youkilis and Pedroia. But Theo loves AdGon and made a good trade for him. He let Vmart and Beltre go--two main RHd power hitters against lefties. Replaced by Crawford and AdGon, two left handed hitters. Upsetting the lineup balance. The result is teams are throwing left handed pitchers at them any time they can. This is bound to affect their hitting, because the platoon RHd hitters they have aren't as good as VMart and Beltre. And Crawford and AdGon aren't going to hit LHders as well. Epstein has messed with the chemistry--the balance of hitters in the lineup. And the Sox are taking some time to adjust.

Has to be one of the reasons they signed him.

Throwing real dollar bills on the field? I guess it takes that type of fan to pay $10 for a beer. We've come a long way since those 75 cent bleacher seats.

Salty is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He needs to be catching for the Pirates or the Royals. Not an expensive pennant contender full of stars. The Red Sox need experience and defense behind the plate. The team is bulit to win now. Salty is one of Epstein's annual ego trips.

Thought Tek and Heidi were tight. He's found another.

Salty got a big boost today catching Lackey's shutout.

Salty caught Lackey today, and that should be a big boost for him.

Now why didn't they start the season in Anaheim? Next year they should be playing 162 games against the Angels. No more second guessing. No more bitching and moaning. This club is back.

I'm from the school that says baserunners steal on the pitcher, not the catcher. Seems Red Sox pitchers have been "taught" not to hold runners on. That might change with Young. It's another one of those subjects that doesn't get discussed in the media.