SoxFanForsyth

I think he touched 93 once from the pen. Joking. He actually looked really good today, especially out of the stretch.

He really is. Made some solid defensive plays too. Can't believe he was a SS when he was drafted. Looks like the kid can hit too.

It was a joke, that's all. That's why I put the after it. It was hardly meant to be arrogant. As for the stupidity, I guess I can't help that.

Wow. Andrew Miller pumping 97 out of the gate. It's a shame his control is so inconsistent.

Beckett did not look sharp today. Couldn't find the zone at all. Ball was up a lot, too.

Buch has posted a combined 3.10 ERA over his past 348 IP. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of FIP. When a guy has a substantial amount of work (i.e. 350 innings), I think that his ERA should be considered rather than looking exclusively at FIP. I'm not a fan (at all) of putting stock standard numbers and then projecting ERA "if his BABIP was .300 and his strand rate was 72%", etc. It's like the Hitler of baseball. Some guys are better at situational pitching, some guys induce weaker contact because of better secondary pitches. Best example: 2011 Stats John Lackey: 4.71 FIP, 4.70 xFIP Jeremy Hellickson: 4.44 FIP, 4.72 xFIP Jeremy Hellickson was a much, much better pitcher than John Lackey last year, but FIP would make you believe that they are very similar. Lets not forget, either, that before Buchholz got hurt last season, he was rolling. In his final 9 starts, he had a 2.59 ERA over 56 IP. That's averaging 7 IP per game.

Wow I couldn't disagree more. He was an 8-8, 4.30 ERA guy 2 years ago. 2 years of development, especially coming from ages 22 to 24, and he could easily be a 14 win, 3.7 ERA guy. You have to remember, he's on a team with the best offense in all of baseball. Hell, Lackey won 12 games with a 6.41 ERA last year. So a 13-15 win season from Doubront, even if his ERA slides into the 3.85 area, is still very reasonable to expect. I think you are looking too heavily on last year's numbers because he was injured and out of shape last year. The Sox put him on an entirely new nutrition program, new training program, and have changed his mechanics a little bit, and I think it's going to pay dividends.

That's a nice little pitching rotation for today's game. I'm anxious to see Beckett obviously, Miller after McClure has changed his delivery a little to promote better control, and Melancon because he's our 8th inning guy. A couple notable things about the lineup. 1. This is the 2nd consecutive day that Ellsbury has hit 2nd. If Ellsbury is going to be in the top 2 of the order, be it Ells - Pedey or Ells - Crawford, it needs to be just that, Ellsbury leading off. I do not like him in the 2 hole, mainly because he is an elite leadoff hitter. Best in the MLB, and I'm not sure we can even get similar production from anyone else. 2. This is also the 2nd consecutive day that Gonzo is hitting in the 4 slot. I love this idea. Hitting him 4 where he has a few more RBI opportunities, getting some more run scorers ahead of him, especially now that his shoulder is powered up. I love that move. 3. Going back to last night, I thought Doubront threw really well. Great location, and that's in large part due to him landing on his toe rather than his heel (another McClure-ism). He came out after the game and said his delivery "felt awesome", which is great to hear. He was hitting his spots well and he's got a devastating curve. If Doubront is our 5th man, I honestly see an Ivan Nova like year from him this year. Around 170-180 IP, 3.65-.375 ERA, and around 13-15 wins.

Last year, the Sox only put up 13 runs (on 6 hits, no less) on the Huskies, and they were shut out for the first 3 innings (while all the starters were in). It's a great start, like everyone has been saying. After seeing how piss poor this team came out of the game last season, and how it ultimately cost them a run at a WS, I'm definitely happy to see the starters getting good swings.

Are you on your period??

Nice contribution

Fair enough. Again - not saying Crawford is a better hitter than Pedroia, just saying the increase in his production moving from 7 to 2 is much greater than the decrease in Pedroias production moving from 2 to 3. And I really think that having Ellsbury and Crawford as a 1-2 punch will take a lot of the pitchers focus off of the 3-4-5 guys when they're on base. Gets those guys a ton of fastballs, which they all hammer.

Agree 100%.

Just to back the stats, Pedey OPS vs RHP is .800, vs LHP is 1.010.

Pedroia's OPS vs LHP is 210 points higher than his OPS vs RHP. But I digress. What it boils down to is this. Right handed hitters who can't hit RHP are non existent because they can't make it in the bigs because of the prominence of RHP vs LHP. LHH who struggle vs LHP are often times very successful in the MLB because of the prominence of RHP. I'm fine with agreeing to disagree here. I think Pedroia would be just as successful in the 3 slot as he is in the 2 slot, so I have no problem moving him if it means that a guy who hit .255/.289/.405 last year turns into a .305/.355/.450 hitter next year. My whole purpose is the get the most out of every player that you can, so hitting Crawford 2nd and turning him back into the elite player he was in TB is achieving that goal while losing practically nothing by moving the previous 2 hole hitter down to 3. Especially when the only downfall is facing LHP in just 30% of the AB. I can see your reasoning, you can see my reasoning, we just value different ideas. No problem, it's not like I don't respect your opinion, I just disagree.

X3. A line up of Ells - Crawford - Pedey - Gonzo is the most dangerous lineup that we can put out there.

And by the way, he's a career .262 hitter vs LHP with a .310 OBP. It's not great, but by no means is it a reason to move him down in the order just because of 1 potential AB. Especially when 70% of his at bats come against RHP. Moving him down purely based on 30% of his at bats is just ridiculous. It really is.

So what's the difference between the LOOGY facing him at 2nd and the LOOGY facing him at 7th? By this logic, he's a free out anywhere in the lineup with a LOOGY. And regardless of whether Ells hits better vs LHP or RHP, you can't just say that he's at a disadvantage against LOOGY's just because he has elite stats vs RHP. By that logic, Pedroia is at a disadvantage against all RHP. And the leg to stand on is 2,500 AB of .303/.346/.460 in the 2 hole. Plain and simple - You don't move a guy away from somewhere that he has had career success just because of a stupid LOOGY. That's ridiculous. Otherwise Ortiz wouldn't be a good hitter, Gonzo shouldn't have hit in the top of the order in 2009, etc.