jung

I did not think about this at the time you asked Pal but I suspect you were asking about the run count relative to how Lackey threw. After some initial nerves got worked out, he actually threw pretty freely which is really the only thing I would look for at this stage.

Just one....the other came courtesy of defensive genius Salty.

I see Salty has taken advantage of the off season to make massive improvements in his defense.....cough...cough

Constantly amazed at Ells lack of an arm. He looks like he thinks he is throwing it as hard as he can but seemingly nobody taught him how to throw. He lets it go and the ball comes out like it was shot out of a ....a.....toy pop gun.

If they are giving Lackey that pitch they are going to give Colome that pitch as well. Tough brake for Pedey.

At this rate, Lackey's one inning might be 3:30 long:D:D

Baseball...Baseball....Baseball....Baseball....

Don't ask me. I wasn't posting that he seemed like an intelligent kid etc etc. I remember seeing those posts though. At least he has a chance to pitch. If he does he does. I no longer have any expectations for him. I just hope that he finds a way to at least pitch to a level that keeps him employed. While some of this is his own doing, he deserves a better than he has gotten up till now.

If Bard does find his old form I think they would be best served if they avoided that stage where they lick their chops about what Bard could be. Be happy with what they have and leave it alone! I remember all those posts about how intelligent Bard seems and what he could become etc etc. The jury is in. Bard goes out there and at his best throws outs until somebody comes out from the dugout and takes him off the mound. That is it! Anything more complicated, like working through a lineup multiple times, even working through an inning with some sort of organized plan just does not fly with him. He does not do that and suffers some sort of overloaded circuitry when he tries. Now there are limitations to what a pitcher can do when he pitches the way Bard does but it is what it is. If he can throw again they should take what they can get and be happy with that.

But there is a chance for Bard I think. By the same token I still think they will have to keep it really simple for him if they are going to get anything out of him. I do suspect that regardless of the fact that he can throw hard when he is right, I believe that both he and the Sox are going to have to be satisfied with a diminished role. If not I feel pretty confident that he will be screwed up again and maybe this time for the last time.

Just about all third baseman do it charging the ball...there almost isn't a choice depending on the guy's angle on the ball as he charges and the base where he is aiming to throw it. WMB makes that sidearm throw with a bit of screwball action when he's not charging the ball and throwing it that way is something I think is pretty rare for a 3rd baseman. Why would you not just step and throw it over the top? He steps, but then he uncorks that sidearm/screwball thing and it is no wonder that the ball is moving and finishes something like a screwball. That is unless he opens up too early and ends up with his arm too far away from his body, still trying to throw it sidearm. He gets the overthrow out of that.

It looks like the Saturday game against the Rays will be televised on a delay basis by NESN. The game will be on radio at 1:35. Not sure what time they are going to show the game. Looks like the first live TV game will be Wednesday next week against Baltimore......FINALLY

Clearly, WMB has trouble throwing that way. It does not matter who was successful throwing that way...he is not. All you had to do was watch the games last year. As for why, from what I can see, it almost looks like he is throwing a bit of a sidearm screwball which is why I think the ball moves. It even dies at the end something like a screwball. While he rarely overthrows, more often coming up short, when he does overthrow his wrist and hand are a bit more behind and under the ball. While rare, his overthrow really looks awkward as he is releasing the ball. I suspect when he overthrows he has opened up to early and his arm ends up too far away from his body, almost pushing the ball toward 1st. But that throw is rare compared to the dying quail throw. His underthrow is a very difficult scoop for the 1st baseman cause' the ball is not likely to bounce true very often. Hitting the ground should slow it up more than a ball thrown over the top that is short, but it will rarely bounce true. So I would definitely agree that his overthrow is a matter of footwork. I can't really attribute the action he puts on his sidearm throw to footwork. Maybe his grip is doing it. I can't see his grip on that sidearm throw. I can't say that I notice anything about his grip when he does come over the top as the ball does seem to come out true when he throws that way. Myself I have rarely seen guys throw sidearm from 3rd...3/4's often, but not sidearm unless charging the ball with no alternative.

Look we all have eyes. All I am saying is that if WMB continues to throw from 3rd the way he threw last year, he will continue to have problems throwing across the diamond and he will no longer have Agons or Loney to bail him out like they did all last year. Frankly if it were that easy to stop throwing that way, it seems to me he would have already done it. Throwing that way from 3rd does not make sense for a high school ballplayer, let alone a MLer. So the fact that he was a rookie just does not wash. On occasion last year, he would make a more traditional 3rd baseman's throw but that only made his usual throw more frustrating to watch. He would blow the easiest of plays from 3rd unless AGons or Loney either dug out or climbed the ladder for one of his errant throws. That does not mean he won't or can't change but it does make you wonder why he just does not throw from 3rd the way a 3rd baseman should most of the time as opposed to rarely.

Whose to say that Bard simply suffers the largest swings in performance of any pitcher we have ever seen. No pitcher is the same pitcher all season long. Surely the really good pitchers are more consistently good and the very best pitchers are more consistently excellent and are mostly very good the rest of the time. Their periods of drop off are relatively short. However their drop offs can be pretty deep. Verlander can totally suck.....for a game or two and then he is back to being your basic animal. Seems to me that most of the things coaches have tried with Bard have been efforts to try to make things simpler for him, making it harder for him to lose it. Bard actually enjoyed marginal success as a starter last year right up till the point when he started to really make an effort to transition from his reliever mind set of just going out there and getting outs until somebody comes to get you off the mound to more of a starters mind set of working his way through lineups and innings. The minute he started to talk about things like letting down with two outs in an inning and not preparing himself well enough for the second time through lineups he just fell totally to pieces. The season ended before he ever got Humpty Dumpty back together again. Bard can probably have some sort of a career if the team he pitches for keeps it simple for him all the time. Starting is obviously a complication he simply has no way to handle. I suspect closing would create a similar problem, maybe not as severe. Keeping it simple may not be the only key to getting something out of Bard but I suspect that if you don't start with that, chances are you really don't get anything out of him for any length of time that is meaningful.

Shaughnessy and Felger are constantly vying with each other for most outrageous Boston Media guy. They are probably neck and neck.

Whatever WMB's reputation is, if he has continually used that same throwing motion from 3rd which is more like a 2nd baseman's motion, I doubt he has ever thrown any better than he is throwing now. I have no idea where he learned that but he needs to lose that sooner rather than later. Throwing that way from as far away as 3rd, even if making an accurate throw, the ball is going to move all over the place. So far WMB has had outstanding defensive 1st baseman over there to bail him out. Napoli will be wearing his catchers shin guards over there taking WMB throws.

Both Sweeney and Nava have one option left in each case. I think Gomez has two.

I meant early than that...before Carp was even a question. Thought they moved Kakish to the DL around when they finally finished with Napoli. So I thought he was already there.

Interesting comment from BC regarding Napoli and Ortiz today. Napoli is "a bit ahead of Ortiz" at the moment. Ortiz was just on the air saying he is ready to go. So how is he behind Napoli in progress and ready to go at the same time? Would be good to see Ortiz actually running but I suspect he is not ready for that yet regardless of what he is saying.

Thought they had taken him off already...Kalish surely won't be able to play early regardless of Sox comments to the contrary.

Well if WMB is always going to be as iffy defensively as he has been so far at 3rd, I am not sure how much of a future he has there anyway. His throws are literally rolls of the dice even on fairly mundane plays. His glove hand has been a bit suspect as well but has not been nearly as unreliable as his throwing arm.

I wish these college/Sox squad games were on NESN today. A bunch of the pitchers are going to get an inning each.....probably just indicative of severe Sox baseball starvation on my part. Almost broke down and watched Australian Baseball on some damned channel a few days ago but realized it was not going to do anything to stop the "shakes".

It probably depends on who gets boosted from the roster for this guy. If it is somebody "we" (the royal we) like or have expectations for and Carp turns out to be a dud (Highly likely) then it will get ugly around here, especially if the team is losing at the rate that might be likely for this year.

If the Sox had not put Aceves on a short leash I would probably be more troubled about him. However they have already put him on notice which actually puts a burden on them as well. Ya' can't tell the player he has no rope left and that the next mistake will be his last and then back away from that. So, Alfredo will either be a good citizen or he will be gone. Frankly I don't think he has a snowballs chance in hell. He will be over the line at some point before he even knows he has crossed it and that will be that.