SoxFanForsyth

One weakness this team has, that I've seen so far, is that we just need 1 more power arm in the bullpen. We have Taz, Uehara, Breslow, Miller, and Bailey. But the 7-8-9 combo can't go everyday, though Breslow has been able to slot in and be effective against RHP and LHP. I really think that right around the trade deadline, the Sox are going to give De La Rosa a call and put him in the bullpen. That will really, really bolster the pen and it keeps his innings down for the 2nd half of the season. His FB will be in the triple digits out of the pen, too. I disagree with a700 on the SP depth. I love our SP depth right now. With Aceves, Morales, Webster, Workman, and Hernandez, the Sox have the ability to take some bumps in the road to the SP staff. And with the offense we have, we can outscore a lot of teams.

I think, after the past 2-3 years, I have come to realize that about 95% of the time, major-injured (i.e. Tex, Grandy, ARod, Jeter, etc) players come back and perform well below their career norm for the majority of the season. I understand it's nice for the Yanks to get those names back in the lineup, but really, that's all they are, names. Not only that, but their replacements right now (Brignac/Nix, Youkilis, Wells, etc) are all starting to find their water level. And it's not like Grandy/ARod/Jeter are due back anytime soon. All the while, Tex is hitting .184/.245/.409 since he's come back, so he's hardly bolstered the lineup. Nix is hitting .250/.316/.302, Youk is hitting .235/.318/.367, and Wells has completely fallen off a cliff and has the exact same OPS as he did last year at this point (keep in mind his OPS on the morning of 5/1 was .911. He's down to .682. The Yankees offense has been nothing short of putrid, and even with the returning guys, Tex and Youk (.176/.263/.265 since returning from DL) have shown that you're not guaranteed to get much production from them either.

Coming into this season, very few people thought this was a playoff team. Even fewer thought this team would compete for a division title. We're 67 games into the year now, and the Sox are 15 games over .500. They've been playing a a 99-100 win pace now for over 41% of the season. Obviously everyone loves (or should love) this team right now, they're playing well, they're 8-3 in the most difficult month on the schedule, and they're up by 3 games in the division. So, how have your feelings and expectations changed from February to June? Have you gone from expecting them to be a .500 team to now expecting them to win a WC slot? Or would a WC slot be disappointing at this point, have you gotten greedy and now expect a division title? Or are you the Goldman Sachs of Sox fans and now expect a deep, deep playoff run well into October?

This series does not bode well for the Yankees if they've got to play the A's in a 1 game WC Playoff.

Here is the video of Archer being douchetastic. http://wapc.mlb.com/play/?content_id=27971615&c_id=mlb

I think Bailey is doing just fine, but I certainly think the Sox should kick the tires on Brian Wilson and see if he could be a late inning arm for them that wouldn't cost prospects

When he K'd Nava. It was on the Rays broadcast, I just saw it on the mlb highlights

Wow Archer, what a douche. Kissing the area where most men have a bicep and he has flesh on a bone? Really? What a tough guy...

Can I start at SS pls?

Sorry fellas. I wish I would have known earlier. I would say you could take the next one, but I just really don't think we're going to lose again this year.

Now 8-4 Angels. About that Orioles pitching.....

What's his vested interest in the fans? Support? So if he's getting support, he loves us. Just like our vested interest in him is for him to pitch well. If he doesn't, you don't like him.

Alright clowns. I gave you guys time to start the GT, nobody bit. Lineups are out, which means a new thread needs to be made. Archer vs Aceves. This is the start of a 6 game streak. Make sure you hit the tanning bed and go for an extra run because starting Friday night, everyone's pants will be off. We're goin streaking.

Don't worry, SBF - Ayabar just hit a bases clearing triple for the Angels, then an errant throw allowed him to score, so he hit a little league inside the ballpark Grand Slam! 6-4, Halos.

He very clearly has not visited Talksox.com.

Certainly, I mean Dellin Betances I believe was a Vandy commit, but he ended up going to the Yanks.

Sheffield is going to be a damn hard sign. He's committed to Vandy, which is probably the best college in the nation when it comes to arms, they do an outrageous job developing there. Tyler Beede (currently there, drafted 21st overall last year), David Price, Mike Minor, Sonny Gray, the list goes on. If Sheffield goes to Vandy he's got the potential to be a 1st round selection after his junior year.

Henry Owens id throwing the hell out of the ball in A+ right now. 61 IP, 2.95 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 3.7 BB/9. His control is developing (4.2 BB/9 last year), and will likely continue to develop. He's only 20, so if they take him slow (one level/year), he could potentially be in Boston by his age 23 season. Drake Britton has had a good bit of success in AA as well, posting a 3.25 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9. My guess is that by July or August, there will be some promotions for guys like Owens and Britton, which will likely be about the time that the Sox see RDLR getting close to his innings cap and move him up to the Sox pen.

Lester's cutter has still not regained that 2.5-3 inches of downward movement that it had in his heyday. The horizontal movement this year is consistent with that of last year. Which is bad news.

The Sox have enough depth right now, especially after signing the likes of Trey Ball and John Denney (or, drafting, and they'll sign) that they can afford to give up some prospects for a guy like Lee and be just fine. You give up one of your pitching prospects (likely Webster or Barnes) and then a guy like Cecchini (AA talent, top 25 prospect), and another piece for Lee and you probably get a small side piece from the Phillies too. You've left yourself with Webster/Barnes, RDLR, Workman, Ranaudo, Bogaerts, Bradley, Swihart, Vazquez, all still in the system.

Crazy, huh? CC ERA: 4.07 Lester ERA: 4.12 Except the Sox have Buchholz (1.71 ERA) and Lackey (3.14) to hold down the fort until Lester returns to form (if he ever does). Plus, Doubront has been throwing the ball well of late (3.10 ERA in his last 5 starts, starting right after the Twins nightmare). I mean even Dempster has thrown well, 3.60 ERA over his last 3 starts since that horrid TOR - MIN - CLE series.

Yup. I have very legitimate concerns. I think this may result in a DL stint where he can go fix his mechanics

Aw crap my bad.

We need a reliable number 2. Lester now has a 4.12 ERA. We need Cliff Lee, that's what we need, or we need Webster to step up. I think Lester may be hurt. He wasn't even close, and you don't just lose your mechanics like that. Usually when you're missing this badly (7 BB today), you're usually compensating for something that throws you off.

Napoli now has more K's than Hits and Walks combined