Spitball

Clarified? No, you countered without ever admitting you were wrong. In fact, Detwiler was the fifth starter. Your statement, "Last year Detwiler was a depth option. Wang was in the rotation" was misleading. Wang was in the rotation for five games. Detwiler was in the rotation for 27 games. Detwiler was the fifth starter, and the statistical evidence is there. He was far more than a depth option.

I said Detwiler was the fifth starter because he had 27 starts and was very effective. You said, "Last year Detwiler was a depth option. Wang was in the rotation." You did not say "at the start of the year" or "after an injury." You said, "Last year." The context of you statement was incorrect and designed to counter my statement. You can spin this however you want.

But you said, "Last year Detwiler was a depth option. Wang was in the rotation." At best, it was misleading. At worst, it was plain wrong.

But why a contender with 5 solid starters? The Nationals' number five (Detwiler) had one of the best ERAs in their rotation. Why not Toronto who have a number 5 with an ERA of 5.77?

This is closer to what happened, but you said, "Last year Detwiler was a depth option. Wang was in the rotation." With 27 starts and his success, Detwiler was definitely in the rotation and was beyond being labeled a mere a depth option.

I believe you, but it would be wiser to sign with Miami or another team with openings in the rotation.

Huh? Detwiler was one of the better number 5 starters in baseball last season. He started 27 games last year, and Chien-Ming Wang started only 5 and relieved in 5.

I hear they are scouting him, but where does he fit in? They already have Gonzalez, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Haren, and a pretty good number five starter in Ross Detwiler.

Getting back to Napoli, I feel pretty confident he will sign with the Red Sox for a deal similar to the one Adam LaRoche signed. I believe he will sign for two years worth $26 million and include a mutual option for a third year. The Red Sox have little choice but to work with Napoli. There are virtually no other options that won't cost prospects. And Napoli has no comparable options. The Rangers may be interested but doubt they will match the Red Sox offer since they have A. J. Pierzynski, Mike Olt, and Mitch Moreland to fill spots Napoli would play.

I believe the Red Sox will definitely sign Napoli for two years with a mutual option for the third. Reports are that he is not in negotiations with other clubs, so I suspect there will be some posturing, negotiations, and compromises before the signing takes place. It will be similar to the LaRoche deal with Washington. There simply are too few options for either side. Napoli might get offers but definitely not for three years. The Red Sox might look at other options, but there are no options (including Morse) that are appealing...and won't take away from the current team depth.

There will be several teams competing for Morse, including the Yankees, Rangers, Mariners, and probably a few more. I would hate to see the Sox get into a bidding frenzy and have to give up too much for a guy who walked only 16 times and struck out 97 times last year.

I just googled "Mike Napoli arthritic hip" and didn't see anything.

I know certain posters will jump on this suggestion, but Javier Vazquez is talking about coming back. I know he sucked in New York, but the guys WAR is top 5 among pitchers in the 2000s. I'd give him a chance (but figure he will sign with the Marlins). Still, some pitchers do not do well in New York, but Vazquez was a definite number two or three guy for his career.

I agree. He would have been a better gamble than Dempster. This. Cincinnati surely would have preferred a true centerfielder, Ellsbury, playing centerfield next year. Guthrie signed with KC pretty quickly. I don't think he was interested in shopping his services. After watching Marcum in the 2011 division playoffs, I am leery of his talent level. I agree.

The Guardians received former first-round pick Trevor Bauer plus relievers Matt Albers and Bryan Shaw.

http://nesn.com/2012/10/john-farrell-has-already-identified-jon-lester-daniel-bards-issues-with-hopes-to-bring-them-back-to/ One of the major functions of a pitching coach is to correct mechanical flaws. Hopefully, Nievas and Farrell can correct the delivery problem that developed, perhaps, because the Sox have employed two different pitching coaches in the last two years.

Well, I have seen plenty of evidence: http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=3&id=3285 From Wilber Wood - “He helped me on my mechanics, because if you have good mechanics, especially on a breaking ball or an off speed pitch you’re going to have that movement. He also stressed defense by a pitcher, that you have to be in position to field a ball. You look at a lot of guys today, they aren’t in any position to field anything hit back up the middle because they aren’t in a good position. Johnny stressed the fundamentals of pitching.” And there are a lot more out there, but I don't see the point.

Well said.

As someone else said, pitching coaches are great, good, all right, and bad. Managers, GMs, and other components can also be measured as such...but you cannot declare without proof (in otherwords simply expressing an opinion) without some proof. I can point to Johnny Sain (a friend of mine) who turned numerous journeymen and good pitchers into team aces. Look them up yourself, but Jim Bouton, Ralph Terry, Mudcat Grant, Dave Boswell, Jim Perry, Jim Kaat, Earl Wilson (a personal favorite), Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Wilber Wood, and Stan Bahnsen all became 20 game winners with Sain. Orel Hershiser credits Dave Wallace with his turn around from a good to great pitcher. Nolan Ryan credits Billy Muffett with his teaching him to control his fastball, and Tom House for prolonging his career. Steve Carlton has credited Ray Ripplemeyer for his slider. Historians credit Norm Sherry with controlling Sandy Koufax incredible stuff. Larry Rothchild developed average major leaguer starters Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, and Robb Nen into star pitchers. Roger craig taught Jack Morris and others the split finger. Art Fowler turned fifth starter Ron Guidry into a 25 game winner. Dave Duncan turned several pitchers' careers around. And there are lots of others..what proof have you got???

I agree. Back in the mid-80s to the mid-90s, I coached and help run baseball clinics for youth baseball. You learn a lot.

No offense, Jung, but you are expressing your opinion here as though it is fact. I do respect your posts and hope I can disagree here without offending you. You mention "the money at stake" and should realize that has made the pitching coach's job all that much more important. Not only are proper and excellent mechanics needed to maximize production but also to prevent injury to multi-million dollar arms. There may be some established stars and cocky rookies who are hard to coach, but most baseball pitchers need to please the establishment. For one thing, you won't find any drop and drive pitchers around in the big leagues in this era. Those mechanics have pretty much been eliminated by pitching coaches. They know more scientific approaches today. You are right about there being a variety of pitchers and styles, but the basic principles are almost always present. Today, pitchers lead with their front hip which creates a fulcrum for a long stride necessary to create energy in an effective and safe way. You are a knowledgeable poster, but I believe you have some basic misconceptions about the business and science of performing on the baseball field.

You are right. Major league pitching coaches do make a difference. A pitching staff may have 11 or 12 individuals with individual mechanics and abilities, but the pitching coach has to keep the staff opporating efficiently. Each individual pitcher has mechanical processes that starts with toeing the rubber and ends with the follow through. In between there are a series of necessary actions including leg lift, hand seperation, forward thrust, elbow alignment, release point, and foot landing. A pitcher's ability to repeat the all the complexities of his pitching motion are the result of thousands of repetitions of that motion which results in rote muscle memory. A pitching coach must be able to detect when a flaw surfaces in the chain of events that lead to an effective pitch. Also, a pitching coach establishes a pitching philosophy. Dave Duncan was famous for his "pitch to contact" approach to pitching, and he turned around a lot of careers. Matsuzaka was an excellent example of an uncoachable pitcher. This is an era in which there is a need to maximize a pitcher's velocity and effectiveness. The process doesn't come by way of a bunch of guys doing their own thing on the mound.

The Sox will come north with Ellsbury, Victorino, and Gomes for certain. It will be important that the number four (and possibly five) guy can play more than one spot because Gomes is only a left fielder or dh. Kalish can play all three spots in my opinion...at least on a temporary basis.

Ross actually hasn't started more than 47 games since 2007. He caught a five year high of 421.2 innings last year because of injuries to McCann. He will be 37 years-old when the 2013 season starts. I believe he was signed for his clubhouse/dugout leadership presence as much as his catching abilities. The same can be said for Gomes.

Interesting. I assume Napoli or DeRosa will take #25 since both wore that number last year. I wonder if Drew will take his brother's #7. Gomes has always worn a number in the 30s.