SoxFanForsyth

Apparently, putting a guy who consistently scores 95-100 runs per season in the top 3 of an order, and combine him with 2 other guys who score 95-100 runs per season, and stick those 3 in front of the MLB RBI leader, your offense doesnt get better

He had a .360 OBP in his 1,330 plate appearances (covering 2009-2010) prior to coming to Boston. How is that "not accurate to portray him as someone that does that consistently". The year before that, he was hurt so his numbers all over the board were down. In 2007, he had a .355 OBP. Are we really going to argue whether the accuracy of depicting him as a .360 OBP guy because he had a .358 OBP over his past 3 healthy seasons?? Come on man. Be real. If anyone is trying to manipulate the data and being inaccurate, it's you. What the hell is "consistently" if over 1,900 AB isn't?? And why does Gonzo HAVE TO hit 3rd? Sure, in a typical line up, you'd have him 3rd. But when you have Ellsbury, Crawford, and Pedroia on a team, hitting him 4th just gives him more opportunities to drive in runs. Again, this is all assuming he has a 2007 or 2009-2010 type season.

Prove that the lineup wouldn't be better by adding a .305/.360/.473 hitter with 50+ SB, 15+ HR, and 100+ runs to the top of the order. I have a feeling you're going to have a much harder time than I am.

Crawford was hurt in 2008. In 2009-2010, he had a combined .360 OBP.

Why not?? Why does Pedroia HAVE TO hit 2nd? Why not hit him 3rd and Gonzo 4th? You'll have 3 high OBP guys (.360+) in front of him, all with speed to get into scoring position, and all with speed to stay out of the DP ball, which Gonzo rolls into a lot of.

I'm not saying the Sox should just automatically insert him into the 2 hole. But if he starts smoking the ball for a couple weeks and goes on a tear, and he's looking like the player we spent all this money on, then put him in the 2 hole and let him do some big time damage.

Really interesting - thinking back to how bad our catching was offensively at the beginning of the year, we've all seen them turn it around, but I was surprised at this - The Red Sox catchers are OPS'ing a combined .766. That is 2nd in the AL behind Detroit (.781). Everyone was loving Russell Martin at the beginning of the year, but the Yankees are OPS'ing .666 from their catchers. Russell Martin and Francisco Cervelli are apparently the devil.

If Crawford hits as well as he did in Tampa, I think the lineup adjustments would result in more runs than it does as currently constructed. Now, if that means Ortiz gets 25-30 less AB over the next half of the season, but our Runs per Game goes up from 5.36 to about 5.5 or 5.6, then by all means, do it. This line up is better with the 2010 version of Crawford in the 2 slot, Pedey in the 3 slot, and everyone bumped down a notch.

I'm not real sure why Ortiz asked Gonzo to be in the derby. He's not really a huge homerun guy. He's got plenty of power, but he's a complete hitter. 35 HR, 130-150 RBI, .330-.350 hitter. Not solely reliant on HR like Granderson. Grandy would have been better in the derby than Gonzo. Now that I said that, Gonzo will win the derby, so I'm choosing him.

For the record, would it really be a bad line up of: Ellsbury Crawford Pedroia Gonzo Youk Ortiz Salty Reddick Scutaro Couple of things here. 1. This is ALL under the assumption that Crawford kind of "restarts" and plays like he did in Tampa Bay. I think he's itching to get back, and I think he will start out pretty hot. 2. Since coming back from seeing the Dr about his knee, in 111 AB (28 games), Pedroia is hitting .360 with a 1.120 OPS, 7 HR, 10 Doubles, 22 RBI. That's incredible production for your 3 hole hitter. 3. Gonzo would be an outstanding 4 hole hitter. As good as he is in the 3 hole, you can slide Crawford in there and extend the line up, make it harder on the pitchers. Rather than limiting his RBI opportunities to just Ellsbury and Pedroia, why not add a guy who can easily get on base at a .355-.360 clip. Like I said, this is all under the assumption that Crawford gets back to his TB days. If he gets back to his old self, we'll have 3 guys in front of Gonzo who can run their way out of a DP situation (Gonzo has grounded into a league leading 20 DP), get into scoring position, and give Gonzalez a table to feast on in a ton of AB's. 4. Instead of having to face a beastly 1-5, then a solid 6 hold hitter, and then a few guys you can kind of catch your breath on, you've got a 1-6 where the #6 man (Ortiz) can clear the bases with any mistake. Crawford's best asset is his speed, which allows for extra base hits and an ability to swipe a bag. You want people behind him that thrive in RBI situations.

I have heard his defense is getting better. With a bat like that, you may want to save the knees and throw him in the OF, though. I'm fine with keeping him at catcher, but if Salty continues to play well like he has been (.850 OPS since 4/30), would he become a trade chip for a big name RF or SS, or even a SP? Speaking of SP, I heard the Sox are kicking the tires on Garza. Dear Lord, please no. I would rather watch DiceK nibble than Garza spit.

Someone needs to tell Lavarnway that AAA is supposed to be difficult. 26 games and 100 AB after his promotion to Pawtucket, here's his line. .343/.414/.646/1.061, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 16 Runs. Overall this season (through 55 games at Portland, 26 at Pawtucket, totaling 81 games) .303/.377/.554/.931, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 14 Doubles, 51 Runs. That's a HALF of a season!! Is this kid going to be a complete monster??

Wow Beckett has thrown 23 pitches and 19 strikes

Remember when Britton locked us up for like 7 innings earlier this year? Ahh revenge.

I was joking - He's not a "rookie" until Sunday.

You guys do realize I'm not friends with Weiland, or know him personally. I won't be able to forward these well wishes to him. This feels more like a facebook status than a talksox thread.

Did you buy it tomorrow?

His fielding is improving a lot. He's a 6.2 UZR/150 player right now. Ethier has proven he can do it in the MLB. He's under club control through 2012. You can extend him to around 5/60 or something like that, and make him a cost efficient player. You take out Drew, Cam, and Scut from next years payroll (27mm) and you can afford the increase in Gonzo's contract (15mm) as well as a $12mm, 5 year deal with Ethier. Not to mention Ortiz is going to take a paycut, Navarro could be the 2012 utility man/SS if Lowrie can't stay healthy and Iglesias isn't ready. I like the move.

Yup he is in the last year. But he's arbitration eligible in 2012, so he would still be under club control. It'd be a lot easier to give up a couple good players for Ethier since you'll have him for 2+ years. Go ahead and trade for him, and then lock him up. By the way - This isn't the first I've heard of Ethier's desire to play for the Red Sox. This seems to be an ongoing thing. What luck. Who knew that when we drafted Pedroia, we also got Ethier! :thumbsup:

If the Sox got Ethier, we would have a historic offense. Where the heck do you hit that guy?? What a problem to have. This is a guy that I would give up some solid prospects for, including Kalish.

Confirmed by multiple tweets from beat writers, Tony Lee, Alex Speier, and SoxProspects Mike Andrews. From SoxProspects: Weiland has thrown 93 IP in AAA, going 8-6 while posting a 3.00 ERA, 9.6 K/9, and a 3.6 BB/9.

That's what I heard, namely from Peter Gammons - Also, here's another place where they claim he pumps about 97.