Will617

If only the Sox wouldn't clog the bases with all these walks and singles, they wouldn't have this problem. Jk, but Scutaro just messed up his attempt too. Then nearly hit a home run.

Who else? MDC and Okajima are pitching poorly, Bard is overworked, Papelbon isn't paid to get 6 outs, Wake is the long guy and I don't think he pitched well out of the pen. Atchison had been pretty reliable up until that shot.

Ortiz and Bill Hall have got a little secret handshake routine going. He's looking like the guy you hand out IBBs to again.

Buch got pretty lucky stranding Kendrick - deflecting a certain hit right to Lowrie. Still a pretty good outing having just coming off the DL not too long ago.

Alright, I wasn't aware of how long the recovery is from surgery like that. I heard he had been hitting off a tee, but I guess I projected that too optimistically.

The Angels made a pretty good trade for Kazmir last year, and it just didn't pan out. Now they make a great trade for Haren, and he immediately gets injured. Pretty unlucky there. Buchholz is looking pretty good at the moment - that changeup is filthy.

I think it's too early to throw Okajima under the bus. His BABIP is at .400, and looking at his contact rates batters are swinging more at pitches outside the strike zone (which is good) but also making far more contact with pitches outside the strike zone (unlucky).

Saunders' ERA this year is 4.6, last year was 4.6, the previous year 3.4 (that year backed up by low BABIP). His 3.4 year was the only year where he's had an ERA under 4.44. The Dbacks got fleeced - they have a very good team brought down by a triple A bullpen. They went from "very close to contending" to "rebuilding around Brandon Webb". The press conference was all about how Saunders was a winner and the number of games he won for the Angels the past two seasons. I'm starting to think that firing Josh Byrnes was actually the worst move of the year for the Dbacks.

I think I heard the Yankees basically assumed they could get Lee when he becomes a free agent, and didn't want 4 years of Haren creating a glut in the rotation. Basically, Cashman still wants Burnett and Vazquez to be vindicated as good moves.

Yeah, I forgot that part. I'm trying to forget a lot of things from last year's season.

Thanks =) I do feel like Reddick and Westmoreland would have more value at next year's trade deadline; I'm hoping that Reddick's suffering from bad luck and Westmoreland makes a full recovery. I agree the OF depth isn't perfect, but it's quite good. Regardless, the pitching depth is phenomenal IMO, even with Buch/Bard out of the picture. I feel like it's enough to get a slugger somewhere along the lines of Jason Bay (or what I think of him) - not named Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder, but has been productive elsewhere and will be really good in Fenway. Werth comes to mind, though I've heard the Phillies want a lot for him (and he's been struggling lately). I don't think a deal needs to get done now, but if the Sox are still in contention next year at the deadline minus both Beltre and Ortiz (without replacements for either), they have the pieces to make a pretty good package.

If anything, advanced metrics are more relevant to Dice-K. He had a mediocre first season, had that incredible MVP-like season (propped up by a ridiculous BABIP and HR/FB ratio, as well as his career-high LOB mark), and then had a poor season last year (where he suffered from a high BABIP). It seems to me that Dice-K will, in fact, defy sabermetrics and strand a high number of batters. But, I think, this will at best turn him from a 4.5 ERA pitcher to a 4.0 ERA pitcher. Until something changes with his approach, he won't be much more than a lucky fly ball pitcher that has a sexy K rate, marred by inefficiency. Maybe good enough for the #3 spot on some teams, but definitely not better than a healthy Beckett, a performing Lackey, and a developing Buchholz.

There's a lot of depth at both OF and pitching in the minor leagues. I feel like that could be used to get a good return either this year, or next. Nava looks major-league ready, and it seems Kalish/Reddick/Westmoreland (if he's able to return to baseball) are all highly rated, though Reddick has not impressed this year. Similarly, Doubront is close to ML ready, and Bowden has the chance to impress, but I'm not too optimistic there. That, however, seems like a lot of pieces for positions where the Sox are respectively decently off (Ellsbury looks good, Nava is IMO ready to compete for a starting job, and Drew's spot will be opening up right as the Kalish/Reddick/Westmoreland trio mature), and getting suffocated by depth (Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Lackey, Dice-K). I feel like that's a lot of tradeable assets (more if you include Buchholz and Bard, but I think they're untradeable now), and giving up a package of 2-3 of those players along with potentially a player further out for a power hitter is both viable and necessary, given the glut of starting talent.

I wonder what would happen if Dice-K just pitched from the stretch all game long. But on Dice-K - his numbers do not look good, compared to his career numbers. Strikeouts are down, walks are still high, his FB/GB ratio has spiked, and he is benefitting from a ridiculously low HR/FB ratio (4.5%! His career HR/FB ratio is around 8%, and that includes the ridiculous 6% ratio he posted in 2008). There are a few positive signs - he is getting a higher amount of swings on pitches outside the strike zone, and his strand rate is (ironically) below his career average. But going forward, it looks like he's essentially an 8 K/9, 5 BB/9, fly ball pitcher with an ERA north of 4.