jung

I had identified Crawford as being vulnerable outside. It is Agons I said would get pounded inside. As for being veterans...some of them have crossed leagues and ir really does not matter anyway. Teams work under the assumption that hitters make changes in the off season and build a new book each year on hitters. They may rely on past history to some extent but really use the stuff they have gathered in season to inform their decisions about hitters. By mid season the books on these guys are pretty extensive. As I have said many times, players change over time. I doubt AGons has ever been as vulnerable inside as he appears to be today and I seriously doubt Crawford has been as vulnerable outside as he was last year and appears to be today. In other words, there past year post and pre ASB numbers may not be at all relevant because they very likely did not have major vulnerabilities that were exposed early in he season that could be picked at late. Crawford has so quickly slipped into missing the low outside sliders from LH pitchers that they will likely catch up to him faster this year than they did last year. Do you honestly think pitchers would have fed Ross so many inside FB's if they already built a book telling them not to go in there? The last bunch of numbskulls that did that were the WS who tried to come inside to set him up better for the low and outside out pitch. Stupid...Ross can't really handle anything outside so you really are wasting your time setting him up for that pitch and risking catching to much plate going in there. WS continued to get burned time and again as their book on Ross was obviously faulty. I don't think you will see teams making that mistake again.

As if often the case, it takes till mid season or so for everybody to have a good book on everybody else. You think some of the Sox hitters have looked vulnerable up to now? Wait till you see what they look like facing pitchers that simply will not let them up off the canvas for a minute. Aviles numbers are likely to fall like a stone...they already have....Ross will be looking outside at pitch after outside pitch as well Crawford and Agons will be getting pounded inside. The most complete hitters the Sox have are Ortiz, Ells and Pedey. After that it is really a matter of the foolishness of the opposing pitcher.

You can trade anyone but I seriously doubt the way he is playing and facing TJ that anybody will offer the Sox anything that would give them some sort of player to look forward to and relieve them of Crawford's hefty salary obligations. Realistically, they are stuck with him. The Sox likely have no choice but to wait for Lackey to pitch and then decide what to do with him. In reality he should never have been brought over to the AL east and would do well almost anywhere else. Beckett is looking more and more like a piece that could be moved but he will likely only go to a Texas team.

Carl Crawford will never come within miles of justifying that contract and the Sox will be left with that albatross around the necks for the entire term. So it will be hard to stay "calm" every time we think what they could be doing with that $142M. They will be lucky to get $70M in player out of the $142M spent.

Must be vying for the worst signing in the history of baseball. Surely, TJ will occur during the contract period so of the seven year deal he will have eaten one year in total failure (last year), and at least 1.5 years (between what has been and what is coming) in rehab and another half year (this half year) playing poorly and being removed late in games. I truly believe that the Marlins were finally scared off not by the injuries issues but by those combined with actually watching Crawford play. Exhibit A in any argument regarding the shear folly of the baseball CBA will be the $142M we will end up paying Carl Crawford virtually for nothing. He would have done as well hitting the power ball lottery.

That is a great stat and very telling 700. As I have often commented here these "stats" that are quoted as if players play in a vacuum are not nearly as telling as comparative measures between players and especially between teams. Clearly we do poorly in close, tight pitchers duals....more importantly as 700 points out, not only do we do poorly against teams like Oakland, a team designed to win close, tight pitchers duals but we can't win them against teams that play ball more akin to Red Sox baseball. That was a decent showing for Beckett considering how poorly he has pitched of late but when the big moment came in the 7th inning, he failed.....again. The conclusion has been what some of us said it would be way back in spring training. We had a team that would win its share of slugfests but looked very vulnerable and incapable of winning close, tight pitchers duals. It would make some combination of mental mistakes, defensive errors, either scored as errors or simply giving the opponent more outs to work with in the form of missed DP opportunities or its pitching would simply not hold up leaving it to win some number of 10-8 slugfests and essentially that is exactly what has happened. For many of us, our best hope was in 1,2 and 3 in the rotation pitching well enough to gain us a few 6-4 victories....games played in the middle ground between the true slugfest and the tight pitchers dual but that has not happened. and.....Nobody totally slugs their way to the top. It simply can't be done, certainly not now and for most of baseball's history with the exception of the drug induced stupor of steroids. This team was doomed from the start and we have just been watching this slow motion train wreck play itself out.

The "utility/retread" is the other shoe dropping from the exorbitant spending on star players that really have not been proven worthy of their lofty sums. Crawford is the best example but there are others.

It will take time cause there is so much that needs to change and pitching being one of them is difficult to pull together since it is valued so highly. But you can see it just watching the games. It does not matter whether the Sox are playing one of the lower ranking teams or one of the better teams unless they are facing the real dregs, the opponent has an approach to the game that you can recognize. You can see what it is the opponent is trying to accomplish to beat you. The Sox are so dysfunctional and so poorly constructed as a team that they just end up looking like a slow motion train wreck in comparison.

We never get a base runner when we need one. Then when we do he could just as well be on a deserted tropical island, shipwrecked and left to rot. Remy saying it is either the long ball or nothing for Boston. No s*** Sherlock.

Ya' you could have knocked me over with a feather when V announced that Crawford was taken out that first time for defensive purposes to protect his arm. Everybody was shocked at that one. Even the NESN guys were wondering what Crawford's injury was when he came out that first time, not even giving the notion that he was coming out for defense a thought. What a joke! But if there is one noticeable flaw in V's in game management, he does tend to outthink himself a good deal....and doesn't that sound like a V kinda' thing.

Don't you just love how often an opponent seems capable of adding that last "nail in coffin" insurance run on a regular and continual basis. Lately Albers just seems to live to give them up. He actually seems quite content with himself after he gives up his nightly dinger....almost like he is not ready until he gives it up.

Damn...I can see we are going to need another dinger to win this game.

Ya' mean we are going to be treated to Salty standing there is a negligee while rich Arab oil sheiks bid to add him to their harem? Ya that sounds about like what should happen to Salty.:D

Of late Felix seems to be the K guy of the rotation but it does not even seem like any of them pitch like power pitchers any longer. Beckett does not. Lester is so fouled up I am not sure what he is at this point. That is one funky lookin' motion Lester has got these days.

Crawford appears to be jealous of Salty's lofty K numbers...desperately trying to catch up in half a season.

A team like Texas will have the Sox a bit over a barrel as Josh will have approval over a trade and will likely only approve a trade to a Texas team. The Sox will be lucky to come out of it without having to pay a chuck of Beckett salary or the trade off might be paying salary and getting a better prospect.

Pedey gets one out finally. He has got to be happy about that.

Of 1,2 and 3 in the rotation, Buch has been far better pitching to Shop than to Salty. Lester has been far better pitching to Shop than to Salty but has pitched many more games to Salty as well. Beckett has been terrible to both. Felix has been about as good pitching to both. Not sure if we are interested but Bard was just about as bad pitching to both.

I'm beginning to believe Beckett has become a specialist in selective focus. Tonight he has his little hook and line in the water trying to real in Nolan.

Nice play Pedey....or is that some other clean shavin' lad out there at 2nd base?

Man the Red Sox have cream puff outfield arms

Beckett with two in the books without giving up a run. Maybe trying to impress Ryan?

I think that Padilla was mad at himself for having made a truly stupid play in that throw over to 1st that got past Agons. However I don't think he took it out on Beltre so much as he simply lost concentration and made a very bad pitch.

I would be surprised if a NL team had as much tolerance for Salty's defense as an AL team would have, even one looking foe an offensive catcher. I would think a NL team's context on an offensive catcher would suggest a catcher that was still not such a fail defensively but that could provide a bit of offense....maybe in the form of about 50% to 75% of Salty's homers for example. Teams are going to look at those splits for Sox pitchers and some of the other available data including what they can see with their own eyes and not be all that thrilled. Salty is in all likelihood another guy that he Sox won't get much for but they would be sure to get more from an AL team that could also DH Salty.

Yea I don't understand that one either UN. The original idea behind Crawford for Hanram was not really a "we want Hanram" deal so much as it was a you get our problem child and we get yours possibly as pieces in a multiplayer deal. I don't see how or why the Sox would have just committed to another big chunk of money for Hanram without also letting go of some of the money the Sox are already committed to pay. The Sox real problem is pitching and while Crawford for Hanram makes some sense especially if it is a piece of a larger deal, just bringing in more offense in the form of Hanram when you really need to spend money on pitching would be criminal at this point.