jung

You don't ever know until you see it but if WMB has been able to lay off that pitch at AAA I would be willing to believe he has a very good chance to lay off it in the ML's. If that were the case, I would bet on that before I would bet on XB.

The difference in a practical sense is that ML pitchers can take a hitter's weakness and turn it into an 0-30 in the blink of an eye. You just do not see the steady stream of good to excellent pitching at the AA level that you do in the ML's. You see more polished pitchers in AAA but they are not up to a ML standard either and that is the problem, particularly in a year when you are trying to make a run. Look at what has just happened to the Sox themselves, a team full of ML class everyday players. Stick a few pitchers in a row that are all in the upper half of the league's pitchers and what do ya' get....what 4 runs in 29 innings up till last night. That is my general comment about hitting in AA vs the ML's. As for the specifics regarding XB; What the Sox need out of a 3rd baseman is standard league average defense attached to a bat with some real pop and with the lack of HR pop in their lineup that means HR power. XB has got 6 HR in 219 AB's in Portland this year. He has got a nice collection of doubles and some triples. So his slugging %'s are pretty good in spite of the lack of HR pop. However I don't see how that makes him the equivalent at this stage of WMB if WMB comes back right. WMB has 6 HR's in 81 AB's at Pawtucket while struggling to regain his confidence and changing his approach at the plate. The longer WMB goes at Pawtucket the more I think what we really see is him back in a Sox uni after the ASB. If WMB still cannot lay off that low and outside slider, the one that is usually heading lower and farther outside, then there is no sense in seeing him back here. Others suggest that WMB must learn to take that pitch the other way. Good luck with that one. I think WMB is past saving in that regard and even if I am wrong, that is a shift that would likely take an offseason to realize at least relative to ML pitching. Before WMB was sent down even the balls he was hitting to RF and RCF were not efforts to go that way and if you would look at slow-mo of his swing at that time, you would easily see why. WMB "says" he is doing better now cause he is getting ahead in counts and getting more FB's to hit. Well in fact the only way to do that would be to lay off that s*** that he refused to lay off of. So, maybe I have the answer to my own question. Finally, if we were to bring XB here, where do you think he would bat....8th, maybe 9th??? Do we really need another 8 or 9 hitter up here?

Suggesting the Sox "know" or even could guess that XB is ready to hit ML pitching today would suggest they have a hard working, properly calibrated crystal ball. That is about the only thing that could help them make such a judgement at this stage of events.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph ....can you imagine if each game since the start of the season was like the games we have had on this west coast swing...I would be f***in' suicidal by now.

Lester is officially totally lost especially given his post game presser. Has no idea what is going on. Hence likely has no idea how to work his way out of this. Very common in baseball for Management to allow established major league players to resolve their own problems. Jon is going to need way more help than that especially from Nieves since he is the pitching coach and also from Farrell based on their past relationship. Lester did a much better job attacking the strike zone for two games. He enjoyed some success doing it but inexplicably falls right back into the same familiar hole in the very next game and now appears to not even understand what that hole looks like. Last night he pecked and poked at little midget Mariner hitters and then left the ball out over the plate to Ibanez, about the only threat the M's have. Hell of a time for him to sink even deeper into one of his blue funks but he surely has.

I think the best anybody likely thought was that we could possibly have what everybody in baseball wants for starting pitching...two studs at the top of the rotation....maybe not two Aces, certainly not two #1's but two guys that are really going to haul the water for you. Lester and Buch started as that I think. Then Buch clearly distinguished himself and then got hurt or something...who the hell knows. Lester then went into the annual "lack of confidence" funk and here we are. But the news is starting to sound better on Buch and Lester has at least had a couple of good starts before the Seattle start. Buch can't flounder around now though as there is just about no time left. So he has to continue to improve and get back on the mound.

Yea I know....Ellsbury's poor widdo wrist hurts. Maybe Boras will fly up to Seattle to kiss it and make it all better or....is he zipping over to home to have mommy give him a big hug. He wouldn't be taking advantage of the proximity to home now would he? You just never can tell with Ells if it is one of those things that he should just play with or if he will risk further injury that would sideline him indefinitely. The difference being, I would never ask that question about Pedey. It does have me wondering this close to the ASB. Ells is going to get a bunch of days off in a row at the break. Taking a night off for a sore wrist this close to such a long break seems sort of odd. Is this a case of "won't play unless feeling perfect". Who knows. Lets see if he plays tonight. If I had my druthers I would sit Vic till he stopped walking around like he has a load in his pants. Not sure if that is the back or the hammy cause either could sort of have the effect. If he does not get his back right, dealing with it will wear him out over time and he might end up with a lotta' inflammation back there which might put him on the shelf for weeks. So, I actually would like to see the Sox build enough time around the ASB to allow him to get as right as he is going to get for a stretch run. Not what I want going into that dungeon in Oakland where his speed in RF is a real asset. Vic is in a lousy part of the country this time of year to be battling a tender back. Seattle can be rainy and rotten. For some people, the worst winter they ever had was summer in San Francisco. I would love for Vic to be able to give us two games in Oakland even if it meant sitting more in Seattle. Take the last game off in Oakland. Then get the ASB and hope it is enough for the back to really free up and maybe the hammy as well.

I had a sneaking suspicion that is what some of you guys were doing. Only way all the iphone posts during game time made any sense...good idea too.

Well when things are going as badly as they are for the pen...injury etc. ya' gotta' try stuff like DLR. But I really still feel like these younger guys are not going to be an answer this year and so far I think they continue to prove it. We will likely need to get some help for the pen from outside the organization. I obviously cannot tell you who it will be. But honestly I really don't think BC will sit on his hands in this regard. He will get somebody in here and maybe multiple somebodies I think.

Ya' gotta' get guys out! Poor Jon has to pitch with guys on base. So does every other ML pitcher. Who put them on base....some evil elf that zips in from time to time and gives up a bunch of hits and BB's to chumps? Jon gets both too fine and too predictable and when he does he stops getting guys out. He threw a curve tonight that almost made Remy fall off his chair.

Boy I sure as heck hope we have Ells and Vic in the lineup by the time we hit Oakland. i don't want to see this outfield trying to run around in all that acreage. As bad as these west coast swings can sometimes be, usually Oakland turns out to be a whole nother' level of hell for us.

All things considered, I think that we will find that across his performance tonight Lester was NOT attacking the strike zone to the degree that he was the previous two starts in which I think he earned and deserved a better rate of success and that was my point. Are you trying to tell me that Jon does not try to get too fine on occasion. Heck his own Manager admits it!

Boy did this game get out of hand in a hurry. I guess I am forever going to hate these west coast swings from hell.

By the way wyo I am sure the g chipset in the PS3 is not one of the top of the line g chipsets from one of the top brands making radio chipsets. Sony is just not going to do that and honestly I don't blame them. I am sure Sony looks at what most users are going to try to run over the PS3's and cuts it a little fine on the cost side of the equation. Streaming video is far and way, at least today, the most difficult wireless application. You would fall prey to the fact that you would see every single error without error correction. Error correction is working full time to reshuffle the deck so that you don't actually see those errors on the screen. There is no such thing as a 0 bit error rate in wireless so the errors are there. The system is usually just working its tail off to keep you from seeing them or from being irritated by them. It is hard to catch everything real time though. With streaming video unless the chipset is really good and the system functioning optimally, hopefully with one of the better platforms in play (G being pretty darned good and N being real good) no matter how hard it works either you will notice or see the errors or be irritated by the buffering. I usually recommend to my friends that they try to keep from positioning their routers so that they are on one side of the house with devices on the other side and the kitchen right in the signal path. Why the kitchen? Cause if you look at all the BS you have in your kitchen there is tons of metal crap everywhere, all of it causing your signal to be reflected all over the place. Wireless systems no longer need be line of sight but the state of the art in wireless technology, MIMO actually uses (in a sense combining them...easiest way for me to try to explain it) the reflections. Trust me.....it ain't in your house just yet. Certainly if it is there at all it is not there like it will be some day.

Well one of them absolutely...positively was a strike. I know that. But I still don't get pitching as carefully as he was to Saunders. He did it the Saunders AB before that and in fact (although worth checking pitchfx for this one also) it looked like he got a break on a pitch in that AB.

If somebody asked me, I really could not even guess what the hell is going on in Lester's head. He picks and pocks with Sauders twice in a row, walking him with the bases loaded one time and goes after Ibanez twice in a row eventually getting tagged. I just don't have a clue any longer. Give me a hint Jon...anything....maybe a road map......

I just looked it up and the PS3 runs 802.11g. G should be plenty good for most purposes. Wi-Fi platforms are a little like processor speeds though. We keep pushing the edge of the envelope with the positioning of our routers vs wireless devices and how much we are trying to push across our networks. If I had my druthers and was relying on my PS3 I would prefer it to run 802.11N at this point for any streaming video which is as power hungry an application as there is.

I don't have mlbtv but what wireless format does a PS3 run?

I don't get it with Lester. He has a couple of decent games....why...cause he attacks the strike zone better. Then he comes out and once again treats nothing hitters like every batter that ever kicked his ass is coming to the plate. Blue funks-ville.

Obviously Saunders is having a triple crown year. Why else would you pitch so carefully to him?

Cutters cutters cutters

I think Lester got lucky there with Saunders. Not sure why Jon feels compelled to cut it so fine with guys like him.

Iggy's range is ridiculous. Had no business even getting a glove on that

Of course Miller is out for the season. Baseball gods doing whatever they can to make sure we remember that Saturday night game in Anaheim.

I agree completely with regard to the pen. Most specifically IMO the Sox need a guy that can go more than one inning that can take over control of two innings either 5th and 6th or 6th and 7th to get the ball to the back end of the rotation. Is Ace that guy? He has been that guy before. He is back now and I was hoping that was how they would work him in. If not, they need somebody that Farrell is willing to hand the ball to that can take the middle innings, two at a time. That is about the only way he is going to be able to make his propensity to use everybody else for one inning or less, work for him. Farrell simply burns through too many arms in too short a time period eventually leaving himself where he found himself on Saturday night in Anaheim.