Elktonnick

While strength and conditioning may play some role, I suspect the Sox think it is more about his delivery and mechanics, The Herald article alluded to it as well as Farrell himself made some reference to delivery issues. These are issues that they always worry about with Buchholtz (besides his mental state) When Buchholtz's mechanics get a bit out of sorts one see the effect. I suspect the same is true with Masterson. They aren't happy with Masterson's delivery and Nieves among other things was either unwilling or unable to get him to change. This is my take from everything I've read or heard over the last couple of days.

9 million for one year would get a lot more in the pen than Masterson. I agreed with the signing at the time. After seeing his delivery, overall mechanics, lack of command and velocity, however, I can see why Nieves got fired if he had any input into the Masterson evaluation. BTW that in no way lets Farrell and Cherrington off the hook. I agree with the Herald article which says Masterson has to go somewhere to "reinvent" himself if he wishes to play in the big leagues.

One certainly has to wonder. His delivery looks terrible. A guy that big and that young (he is only 30 )should have a fastball in the low 90's to be a starter,IMHO

I do think there is more to the firing than the above. Henry is obviously not happy. The question is who else will be gone if things don't turn around.

Palmer is still a headcase. He is the main analyst on the O's broadcast and a bit tough to take. Unlike Remy, Palmer never shuts up. The other O's TV broadcasters will privately tell you that Palmer thinks the broadcasts are all about him. He does know pitching though and if you can tolerate the other stuff, you can learn a lot.

While I was not a big fan of Nieves as pitching coach his sudden departure surprises me. I suspect it has more to do than the current sorry state of sox pitching. I am guessing that there were underlying philosophical differences between Nieves and some of the pitchers or with Farrelland/or Cherrington. I should know this but did Farrell choose Nieves himself or was he hired by above and imposed on Farrell. If he was a Farrell hire than the manager is on shaky ground.

Yes! While they did beat the Phillies soundly that day, I thought overall they played a better game tonight against a better ball club than Philly.

This was their best played game so far this year. Real treat to see Porcello look so good.

Hamels by himself won't be the savior but his addition wouldn't hurt either. It all depends on the price they would have to pay to get him. He won't come cheap that's for sure. There are too many teams that need to pitching so the Phillies are in the cat bird seat. I agree the season isn't lost. The ALE is still up for grabs. All the teams have their weaknesses. No team is poised to run away with it. The way things are going 85-87 wins may be enough to win this division. No one should be surprised with how the season is going; it is pretty much living up to expectations. The Sox need to DFA Mujica and Craig, however. I can't find anyone who could reasonably argue against both such moves. I think Craig's presence in the clubhouse begging playing time isn't helpful. I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone before Victorino's return.

The catch wasn't the issue. It was misplaying a single into a triple. Regardless there was no excuse for not having a defensive substitute for Ramirez

Koji may have blown the save but no competent manager would have left either Craig or Ramirez in the outfield in that situation. Nava and Holt should have been on the field after the Sox took the lead.

This rotation has lived up to most knowledgeable observers expectations. I believe that Red Sox management itself is also under no illusions as to what they've got but is counting on the mediocrity of the ALE to allow them to be competitive and remain in contention to make the playoffs until they can pick up additional pitching at what they consider a reasonable cost. What I've seen from the Orioles, however, tells me that they are a better ball club than I thought they were going to be. Their relative lack of off season moves hasn't hurt them as much as I thought. Yes, it is still early but I believe and hope the Sox make a move to get additional arms. As much as they need starting pitching, I remain convinced that they need help in the bull pen more, especially if the rotation continues to preform the way it has to date.

After today's game, I think it is pretty clear that the Sox starting pitching isn't going to cut the mustard. The O's appear better than I expected not missing either Crux or Markaikas. The question remains who are the Sox willing to trade to get the pitching they need.

My point was the Braves left Richmond for the same reason the Red Sox are leaving Pawtucket, a new stadium. Richmond was unwilling to accommodate the Braves so after fifty years Richmond lost its International League team. After the Braves left, the city made significant upgrades to the ballpark putting in 3000 new seats but the site is still not a desirable one. So now Richmond has the Giants Double A team. I see the same series of events in Pawtucket. "The new owners said they decided to move the team to Providence because making improvements to McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket would be expensive. The stadium was built in 1942 and renovated in the late 90s. “The problem is the infrastructure isn’t there anymore,” Skeffington said. “Times have changed, ballparks have changed.” The only difference the new ownership wants to keep them in Rhode Island choosing Providence. Minor leagues fans should be happy that Rhode Island will still have a Red Spx minor league team. BTW Richmond last year led the Eastern league in attendance.

Minor league franchises move frequently. The PawSox owner died so the team was going to be sold in any case. A new owner could have packed the team up and moved to any number of cities. Richmond lost its triple A team and its park looked very similar to MCoy and may have been a bit newer. The people of Rhode Island are lucky some one is willing to keep the team in that dysfunctional state.The team could have ended up in a number of towns outside of Rhode Island. BTW Minor league agreements with clubs also change frequently so it isn't written in stone that the Pawtucket franchise if sold to another buyer who moved it out of state would still be the Red Sox triple A affiliate. That's why it is a good thing they want to move to Providence and not Hartford Conn, just to pick a city out of a hat. Rhode Islanders should count their blessings, they don't have that many.

Triple-A International League 7,021,590 tickets sold by 14 teams for 966 games (7,269 average) Team Total Dates Average Ballpark (Capacity) Charlotte Knights 687,715 71 9,686 BB&T Ballpark (10,200) Indianapolis Guardians 660,289 70 9,433 Victory Field (14,230) Lehigh Valley IronPigs 614,888 68 9,042 Coca-Cola Park (10,000) Columbus Clippers 628,980 70 8,985 Huntington Park (10,100) Buffalo Bisons 535,275 66 8,110 Coca-Cola Field (18,175) Louisville Bats 567,256 71 7,990 Louisville Slugger Field (13,131) Toledo Mud Hens 545,265 71 7,680 Fifth Third Field (8,943) Durham Bulls 533,033 70 7,615 Durham Bulls Athletic Park (10,000) Pawtucket Red Sox 515,665 70 7,367 McCoy Stadium (10,031) Rochester Red Wings 422,454 66 6,401 Frontier Field (10,840) Scranton/WB RailRiders 401,618 68 5,906 PNC Field (10,000) Norfolk Tides 358,147 68 5,267 Harbor Park (11,856) Gwinnett Braves 303,959 71 4,281 Coolray Field (10,427) Syracuse Chiefs 247,046 66 3,743 NBT Bank Stadium (11,117)

Pensacola Fl built a new ball park and was a depressed city ten years ago. The new team in their new park led their league in attendance and is part of a revitalized down town. Minor league clubs aren't strapped by the high salaries and depending on their agreement with the parent clubs can be quite profitable. Their goal is fannies in the seats. Because they don't have the high personnel costs that Major league teams have they can keep their tickrt prices reasonable. I think this can be a real winner for Providence and Rhode Island fans. I think McCoy was the oldest park in the Internat'l league and I am sure the Sox wanted to have a triple A facility as good if not better then the other teams in the league.

I think they could draw a million with a new venue. I know the RI economy sucks that's why I think a new park will help the local economy.

I don't know about Rhode Island but over the last 30 years I ve been to a lot of minor league games and I haven't paid more than a dollar to park my car yet. Most were free.

There is money to be made in minor league baseball both for the city and the club. McCoy is an outdated facility. A new minor league park on or near the waterfront can be a huge draw for the city. I ve been to or seen about a dozen minor league parks. With a state of the art park like those new ones around and located just off I-95, there is no doubt in my mind that a Rhode Island Red Sox triple A team could be setting minor league attendance records.

Yogi Berra is alleged to have said that "ninety per cent of this game is half mental" It may be tortured syntax but it does express a fundamental truth about this game. Attitude that immeasurable quality for which there is no established metric accounts for much of the difference between success and failure.

The reason that I think the Sox are slight favorites to win the division isn't because they are that good but rather because the division is that weak. Toronto and Boston are the two teams that improved substantially their clubs over last year. Toronto for some reason always fades as the season wears on, so that leaves Boston. BTW I do believe that the FO will improve its rotation by the trade deadline if they are still in it. This pitching staff is unlikely to take them far if they do reach the playoffs.

Yanks are too old and slow. The Jays traditionally look and start better than they finish. The Rays have lost too much. The O's have done virtually nothing to improve their club. I am going out on a limb and say the Sox O's Jays Yanks and Rays in that order. In truth any one of the top four could take the ALE. depending on what deals they make before the trade deadline. The AL central is also going to be tight, I am picking the White Sox to surprise. The West I pick the Angels but either the A's or Seattle could sneak in. All in all, I think the American league is going top be a lot closer then most think. I don't see any one running away with it in any division.

There is some talk that Shields may realistically expect to receive under 75m for at best 4 years. Some other analysts are wondering if Shields may be willing to sign a one year "pillow" deal.and test the market next year. Clearly he and his agent misread the market. Many think the so called 5 year 110 offer was bogus. If Shields is available for one or two years one has to wonder why the Sox wouldn't be interested.

Doing some quick research of a number of sites, I found one that proves your point. While Owens may be ranked CURRENTLY higher than Rodriquez the upside is in Rodriquez's favor. Most sites say Owens will be probably a nbr 3 but Rodriquez could project higher to a possible 2. Any one interested can do a google search and actually read the reportage themselves rather than rely solely on rankings which ultimately don't give the whole story.