SoxSport

What's Lester's pitch count? Time to pull the plug soon.

Tito will never be confused with Freud. The mad scientist? Don't know him.

Lester picks off the baserunner. Good to see that.

A problem the Sox have is they don't play small ball. It's hit away all the time. Result: 2 pitches, 2 outs. Scutaro finally takes a pitch. Scutaro takes a walk. King Carl is up. The ump was very nice to Carl, but he still struck out swinging at a bad pitch. Next inning: leadoff TB batter takes a walk. That's why I like Madden over Francona. The manager does make a difference.

The next election, I am definitely voting for Madden over Francona.

AdGon hitched his throw, or that guy is out at home.

Red Sox starters hold runners on as if it counts against their pitch count. It ain't the catcher.

Darnell shows all those millionaires how to hit.

I think Salty has done OK so far--for a kid without a lot of big league experience behind the plate. He had some trouble with Wake last night, but who doesn't. Give the kid an A for effort. I do think Tek needs to play more. It's possible pitch calling could be one of their problems. No doubt they should have signed Martin as insurance. Theo should have known Salty would need some time. This club needs a little more catching depth--instead of carrying Wakefield as ballast, for example.

The answer to your question is MUNEY. Scutaro makes more dough than Lowrie. Money talks. Besides, shuffling lineups is one of things Tito does well--except for letting Papi make an out vs lefthanders.

Not starting Ortiz against Price? Maybe Tito has learned his lesson matching poor Ortiz against CC. Did you notice Madden shifted the IF against Salty last night? You might see the shift against a lot of Red Sox left handed batters this year--since the media has targeted them as the team to beat. Ortiz still tries to hit into the shift instead of going to LF--which he can do well. Where's Tito on stuff like this? Fundamentals, Tito.

Beckett, as of the moment. But if you think Beckett's next start will be like his last one, I'll sell you the Brooklyn Bridge. Hope I'm wrong.

The Herald poll suggest replacing him with Wakefield. Yikes. Poor Wake doesn't have much left--even to mop up--which seems to be his current role. Looks like he's added about 20 lbs. The best way to get rid of Dice-Ks contract is to move him to some team in Japan. He's still marketable over there, and there should be some interest.The kid is underachieving here, and maybe pitching in Japan would be better for him. I can't believe Young told him to throw the ball down the middle. That's committing hari-kari in the big leagues. No pun intended. Has it occurred to anyone that he may have a communications problem? He should be pitching in Japan, Theo.

Love Pedro, but forget it. He's just trying to con some team into paying him a few mil. Ballplayers hang on these days as long as they possible can because of the big bucks. Schilling took the Sox for $8mil. He deserved it, too. LOL.

Their best bet is to sell him to a team in Japan. He still has some value over there.

I've been watching Tito since the Red Sox strong World Series performance in 07 against the Rockies, and it looks to me that the management has become too complacent. Sure, the front office has continued to make good player moves, but have they paid enough attention to the bench management--except to rubber stamp it? Three slow starts in three years. Last year, an unprecedented number of injuries, this year an expensive team of stars clearly unprepared to start the season. Seems as though they paid more attention in spring training to looking at minor leaguers than to getting their pitching and batting order--in order. That's complacency. The other night, I saw Varitek come to bat in his first start in 8 games. Still wearing the Captain C. ??? Pedroia is clearly the team leader now, and 39yo Tek is still the Captain??That's complacency. Then Ortiz comes up against CC. Clearly overmatched at this point in his career. And he came up again with MOB against CC. Overmatched again. Why no platoon? That's complacency. And then there's Wakefield. Nowadays, with players making millions, they play until they drop. Or until the management says no. The Red Sox management is unwilling to do that--to open up a roster spot for another legitimate reliever--especially another Lefthander. That's complacency. In other years, I've seen Timlin allowed to hang on--costing the team key playoff wins. And then there's that reliever they got from Texas for Murphy, who blew four saves in a row down the stretch. Why was he allowed to blow that many saves? That's complacency. I say nice guy Tito has become complacent. Won two championships. Been around too long. Time to kick him upstairs somewhere and get somebody more disciplined who can stress fundamentals and teach these leadoff batters how to get a walk. The only patient guys these days are AdGon and Youks--batting 3rd and 4th. What's the score tonite? 7-0 against the worst hitting team in baseball, TB? At home? That is just an embarrassment. Dice-K? That's complacency, too.

April can be a strange month when bad teams win and good teams lose. But if those good teams lose too much in April, they will have a tough time making it up in September.

Let's just say underachieving.

I just wanna know why these guys are not ready to play the season. I see the Globe is starting to point fingers at Francona. Tito will never be confused with Knute Rockne.

Ha. Tito should hang that in the locker room. Too bad he is too nice to do that. Too nice, period. ESPN has a NY bias. MLB.com is more balanced. They've got Millar on there now. Millar is a piece of work. He and Damon must have loosened up that locker room in 04.

The Sox looked just fine today. Nothing like home cooking. Pap looked good. They have to be concerned about Lackey. He had nothing. No heat. Just a curveball. #2 starter he is not. They have got to straighten out their pitching fast. Wake may be an early retiree. Can you believe that Colon? Fails for three teams, then smells like a rose in NY. What's he taking?

It should be clear by now that he was a steroid user. That will probably keep him out of the HOF. I see the problem of steroids not so much the enhancing of performance short term, but what it does physically to these guys in time. Their leg muscles go to pot. Steroids are a two edged sword. They help in some ways, hurt in other ways. You take steroids for your chronic bronchitis, for example, and you find your eye pressures go up, increasing the chances for glaucoma. You take prednisone for something, it helps, but you can't take much because of severe side effects. On a side note, Pap looks like he is sharp in the 9th against the Yankees. Good to see the team performing well for all those deserving fans at Fenway. Lackey is another story. That guy sucks. He can't throw heat anymore. They are stuck with him for 5 years at $16million? Good win at Fenway. Pedroia clearly is the straw that stirs the Red Sox. Kevin Millar on MLB.com says he is "shocked" that Manny took steroids. He just said he didn't think Manny would make the HOF.

Sometimes when a player changes positions, it can affect his hitting. The mental pressures adjusting on the field. Hope that isn't the case with Youks. Ever notice how closers get bombed when they get put into a non-closing situation? It happens frequently, and shows how mental the game can be.