SoxSport

Gomez has some real eye opening stats in Pawtucket, he's a RHd batter, and deserves a look. The kid has 20 HR for half a season. RHd power hitters can be real mashers at Fenway. Look at Ross right now. I'll take back what I said about Lav after checking the stats shown in one of the previous posts. Gomez could be the next DH after Papi.

You have to like Garza because he was very effective with TB in the AL east division. More so than with the Cubs.

First of all, let's eliminate the clubhouse factor. Nobody outside the team really knows what goes on in the clubhouse and between the players. Fans get impressions from the media, but the media doesn't know either. Clubhouse is overblown--it's the chemistry on the field that matters--the meshing of roles. Not much to do with personality. There are a couple of reasons I can think of for wanting to deal CC. First, it was a bad fit for the team's needs. They got a guy whose prime attribute, speed, hasn't been used properly in the lineup or defensively in tiny LF at Fenway. Second, he was way overpriced, and his contract runs too long. Combined with Gonzo' long term deal, it limits them down the road--to the point where they probably wouldn't be able to sign Ells. Maybe it really boils down to trading Carl or Ells in the next couple of weeks. As for HRam and Bell, they should have a pretty good fix on those guys (a call to Hoyer about Bell has probably been made). The good thing about a deal like this is it breaks the money up, and shortens the contract terms to just a couple more years. Whether HRam can play SS or can rejuvenate as a hitter in Fenway (look at what Ross is doing) is open to question. But I applaud the Marlins for the offer.

Those W-L stats with Salty vs Shop and Tek are eye-catching. A good reason to get Lav into the mix as soon as possible. The kid is tearing up AAA and would be a perfect substitute for Papi at DH for a few games. But once again, the FO is sitting on their heels, as they did with Iglesias.

Putting him in the bullpen for awhile to work out his problems would seem like the logical thing to do, but logic doesn't seem to be a strong suit for the front office. They are probably still trying to digest the Marlins' surprise offer for CC. That one may be too big for them to handle.

The Red Sox pitching is a-changin': Doubront is now the ace--the only 10 game winner. Cook is looking sharp, Morales too -except when he gets intimidated by the Yankees; while Lester and Dice-K suck, Beckett is so-so, and Buchholz is as fragile as a raw Easter egg. Seems logical that Morales should go back to the bullpen. I mean Red Sox management logical.

There is absolutely no reason to bring up Lav to DH, except he currently is probably the best RHd power hitter in an organization with very little RHd power. It just ain't logical.

Ells and CC have scored 8 runs the first two games back.

Saw that one. Pap was victimized by fluke seeing eye infield hits. It happens. But he was only throwing 93. They still didn't hit him. Kemp hit a walkoff in the 12th off some other pitcher.

I agree I would start Cook, Doubront and Morales. Put Dice-K and Lester on a diet in the bullpen, and try to trade one or both. Especially Dice-K. They should have packed him in Youks travel bag to Chicago.

I have to laugh about Nightengale and Olney: Olney "struck down" Nightengale's rumor 10 minutes after Nightengale's twitter. Sounds to me as though Olney called the Red Sox, they said no, and Olney twittered no deal. With the Marlins VP in Boston scouting Crawford, it would appear that Olney may have overstepped. Besides, he's from NY, and none of those NY guys ever say anything good about the Red Sox--or any Boston team. What are the facts? The Red Sox apparently are testing the market for CC (the Globe reported that yesterday), and they got a bite from the Marlins (reported today). The "bite" involving Bell and HR was probably leaked by Miami.

Reading the boards, seems there is some smoke about a CC for HR and Heath Bell deal out there from more than one twitter source. Apparently initiated by Miami. Gammons said the Sox didn't initiate anything. A Marlins VP is supposed to be in Boston right now scouting CC. At this point, I would expect the Red Sox to deny everything, as they did initially with Youkilis. It's too early to see any fire, but there is smoke. P.S. Maybe a good reason why CC is playing LF, and not DHing.

If the Sox have no place on their team for a prospect, they should trade him for a need. It's difficult for young kids to get promoted in the Sox organization. Somebody has to get hurt. Garza would be a good addition, but they are stuck with some bad starters right now, like Dice-K and Lester. It's like the Youks situation--almost.

At least they finally have the balls to give Carl the green light on the bases. This organization has become so backward in some ways. There are good reasons why they haven't made the playoffs lately. Hanley may be getting hot again, but he has been running hot-cold all year. He would probably like to go back to SS, but he may have grown out of the position. I would trust Rosenthal over Gammons at this point. Gammons is too close to the Red Sox to be frank--working for NESN.

These old pitchers are critical of the current system, especially pitch counts. I've talked to a few of them over the years, and they resent being taken out of games prematurely because of pitch count machines. Pitch counting is a bunch of BS, and has no medical or scientific basis. It is true, however, that once a guy hits 120 pitches, he has to be watched carefully, because that's usually when his stuff starts to decline from fatigue. The trouble with pitch counts is if you condition a guy to throw 100 pitches, that's all he'll be able to throw--on a good day. Then you go to the bullpen, and use 3 or 4 other pitchers for the rest of the game. That's a lot of heatups. You have to carry 12 pitchers, and the next year you have to turn over a lot of your bullpen. A lot of people don't realize a reliever throws 2-3 times as many pitches in the bullpen as he does in the game--pitching the usual one inning. That takes its toll if a guy makes 60 appearances.

Papi just told the Red Sox that he is very fragile, and probably not worth another contract. Certainly not a multi- year contract.

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2012/07/start_to_finish_1.html Wilbur questions that 3-2 pitch by Lester to his old pal Youks, and wonders why Morales is going to the bullpen. Not to mention pinch hitting Punto for Ciriaco--a better hitter. Are the good ole' boys from the 07 team rebelling against V? That might explain why the top 3 starters have sucked this year. Seems that all those millions isn't enough to motivate these guys.

Exactly. just saw your post after I replied to Jung.

I see this morning Morales goes to the bullpen and Lester stays in the rotation. Morales has been the better starter lately, and Lester needs to work out his problems in the bullpen. But that's not the way the Red Sox management works. They don't always do things logically. It's personalities first--not the team.

The big question is why they can't get through the first and second inning without being hit. Teams are scoring a lot of their runs early. That's a flag something is wrong with preparation.

1. Ruth 2. Pedro 3. Williams In 1919-20 Ruth was one of the best pitchers in baseball for the Red Sox, and also one of the best hitters--leading the majors in HRs. He played RF when he wasn't pitching. He did it all.