SoxFanForsyth

He's done nothing to justify that comment. In his 3 games as a #4 hitter, he's got a 1.021 OPS. Not saying that means we should hit him there every night, but when he's been in there, he's produced.

God I cannot wait to see this guy.. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=18963929&c_id=mlb And this guy... http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=19499697&c_id=mlb Especially hitting back to back in the order.

Didn't you know? There's a Top 2 Prospect surcharge on any deal that the Red Sox make according to Jackso. I've even come up with a formula for it. Jackso's Required Return on Trade for Player X = Actual Return + Bradley/Barnes* + Brentz/Lavarnway**. * Note: If Actual Return includes one of these two, the other is automatically included. **Note: If either of these two is already included in the deal, the Red Sox don't have the talent to get a deal done.

Really like our chances for a sweep here, and the chances for the Tigers to take 3/4.

You bring less than zero to this board.

Yeah. So much trouble that he won the Cy Young. Heaps of trouble last year with the Brewers who won the NL Central with Prince and Braun, but probably no pressure there. His anxiety would have more to do with the people he's surrounded by than the media. i.e. Bob McClure. Maybe you've heard of him. He's kind of our pitching coach. He kind of came from Kansas City.

It's ******** that Boston would affect it any more than anywhere else.

You're probably right. Wandy would be a good pick up. Marcum, I'm hesitant on just because I don't like soft throwers. If their location is off even a little, it's a mash fest. As for the blow it up idea - I think this all stems from the fact that the Red Sox have had basically zero impact young players come through the system and help out the big league team since, what, 2007 with Ellsbury?? I mean Lowrie came up in 08, but that was not exactly a big deal. This team has just been too veteran-filled. Good teams always have an infusion of youth with them. Guys that keep the energy up, but can also make a big impact. That's why I think this year may be something special for the Red Sox. They've got an almost perfect storm of veterans and youth. Doubront, Middlebrooks, Kalish, Nava. Ortiz, Gonzalez, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Crawford. This is the kind of team that you need. I think we're all really craving that infusion of significant, high quality young talent because we haven't had anyone like that in so long. But blowing it up isn't worth it. You still need those veterans on the club, just as much as you need the young guys.

The more I think about it, the more I think Grienke may be headed to Boston. It's a good fit, really. The Sox already have 2 LHP, they don't need 3 in the rotation, especially at Fenway. Grienke is a FB pitcher who would really solidify the top of the rotation. All this team is missing is 1 pitcher. That's it. If they can go out and get Grienke, Garza, or Hamels, they'll take the East. Hell, they may very well take it right now.

What it boils down to is that pitchers need to be looked at using a comprehensive, and not individualistic approach to stats. Yes ERA is very valuable. But it does not discount K's, BB's, HR's, FIP, BABIP, etc. What I'm saying is that Lester has actually thrown the ball much better than his ERA shows, and I base that on his K/9, his BB/9, etc. It's kind of like DiceK in 2008. He went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA. He also had a 5.0 BB/9 and a 8.3 K/9. He was not that good that year. He was really, really lucky that he didn't get blasted. Would you argue that DiceK, in 2008, was a better pitcher than, say Grienke last year, who had a 3.83 ERA but also had a 10.54 K/9 and a 2.39 BB/9?

From a different thread

Lets move this to the Trade Deadline thread, so that Jacko can pee his pants about it. I'll quote this over there but just letting you know I'm responding over there.

Kind of can't believe it's the ASB and this thread hasn't been started. Here's what we got for updates right now. 1. Ellsbury is supposed to start rehabbing in Ft Myers on Friday as a DH. 2. Crawford is in the Fort right now rehabbing. He had his 2nd game today, played LF, went 1-3 with a double. 3. Cherrington said, on XM Radio yesterday, that the club expects both Crawford and Ellsbury to be back by the All Star Break. I would assume this means they will both get at least in the Sunday Night game, but possibly also one of the Saturday games. 4. Andrew Bailey threw today. The next step is throwing (I assume pitching) from flat ground. After that, he should throw another bullpen session. He will likely need 9-10 innings, so he could be back right after the ASB.

:lol:

Orioles down 9-1 to the Angels with Weaver on the mound. If the score holds, the Sox will be 1.5 back from the O's, who are both in 2nd in the East and 2nd in the WC.

First off, go look up BABIP. Second off, Lester hasn't been giving up consistent hard contact to support what you're saying. There have been heaps and heaps of broken bat hits as well as bleeders, flares, etc that have landed. A normal BABIP is anywhere from .290-.310. A low BABIP is .280, a high BABIP is .320. Coming into this game, Lester's was at .392 over his past 5 starts, but he was somehow giving up 3-4 runs per start. He's been extremely unlucky. And like I was saying alll along. In order to score runs when a pitcher isn't walking guys, you have to STRING HITS TOGETHER. Without giving up free passes, and when you are striking out around 1 hitter per inning, teams have a very low liklihood of scoring runs. The fact that Lester is allowing as many runs as he is is purely a result of s*** luck.

Yes. And he has only allowed 3 HR over his last 6 starts. Pitchers get in trouble when they give up walks and then give up hard hit balls. Hard hit balls, by themselves, can't hurt you. That's why walks and K's are so important.

I fully expect the Sox to go 6-1, or, at the very worst, 5-2 on this road trip. Morales vs Felix, right now, I take Morales. He's been lights out and Felix has been very beatable. Trust me. He's on my fantasy team. Sweep the Mariners, take 2/3 from the A's and go into the Yankees series rolling. And just for good measure, get Ellsbury and Crawford back at or during the Yankees series.

Rays are 6-9 in their last 15. They now go home to face Detroit for 4 games, who is 10-5 in their last 15. Following that series, the Rays will host the Yankees for 3. Red Sox, meanwhile, go to Seattle for a 4 game set and then to Oakland for a 3 game set. It's time to turn on the jets.

Rays Lose. Sox/Rays tied for 3rd in East. Boom!!!

My favorite stat Also, Billy Butler just put the Royals back on top. 5-4, bottom 8.