Bellhorn04

It's kind of difficult to put a value on the durability factor. But Papelbon has turned in 6 straight seasons of 58 or more innings, and all traces of any shoulder issues seem to be gone. Bailey's durability is very much in question. I was just looking at Bailey's stats-I didn't realize he pitched 83 innings in his first season. That seems like way too many. It might have contributed to his subsequent problems.

Don't trust your memory on things like that. Here are some very recent August records to make you feel better: 2004 21-7 2005 18-9 2008 18-9 2009 16-12 2011 17-12

Aceves must be excited about this. In his dreams tonight he will hear those beautiful words whispered by the baseball angels: 'Closer money'

I think Aceves could be a closer if they give him a shot. He knows how to get hitters out and he doesn't seem bothered by pressure. Plus he would be motivated because this could be his chance to make some big money down the road.

Bedard turned out to be somewhat of a clown too.

What about Lester's deal-that one is working out pretty well.

Relatively speaking, Fred is very calm right now. Wait till the games start.

They can tell Aceves is that if he pitches well enough he might get a shot at closer sometime this year.

As you know we generally disapprove of MRI's. Jed Lowrie must have been shocked when the Astros immediately MRI'd his sprained thumb. Seriously the Red Sox medical people's reluctance to do MRI's the last few years is one of the nuttiest things I've ever seen. It probably cost Ellsbury and Buchholz a ton of games in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

It's just the way I am, I guess. It interests me. It's the same thing with managerial moves. I've participated in a lot of lengthy discussions about why Francona or other managers made such-and-such a move. The results are self-evident, but whether the rationale behind it made sense is often open to debate.

Still cautiously optimistic about Bard as a starter. Keeping in mind that these spring games are his only starts at the major league level, he seems to be progressing okay.

For me it's not so much about seeking excuses for the Crawford deal as it is trying to understand what motivated it.

One of the things that makes the Crawford signing look so bad now is the breakout year Ellsbury had. I don't think anybody can honestly say they saw Ellsbury suddenly becoming an MVP candidate.

From WEEI Beckett: Is Schilling one of our pitchers? By: Paul Flannery Responding to Curt Schilling's criticism that things aren't going well in Red Sox camp under manager Bobby Valentine, Sox pitcher Josh Beckett said in an interview with The Big Show, "I haven't seen him around this year. Is he one of our pitchers?" "I haven't seen him around," Beckett continued. "I'd think if someone knew that much they'd probably be a little closer to it. Game's a lot easier from over there [as a media petrson], I think. As far as him speaking about how things are being run, I haven't seen him around here to where he would know that much." Beckett said that things have been "great" with Valentine and he's particular liked some of the changes he's made for the pitchers. "My legs have never felt this good coming out of spring training," Beckett said. "We don't shag during spring training. [Valentine] actually said that, 'We run a shag-free spring training.' Some of that, not being on my feet during spring training has been helped. I definitely think some of the stretching and workouts have paid off well for me." The pitcher acknowledged that the Sox have to get off to a better start this season. "We definitely have to do better than we did last April, especially at the beginning," he said. "I know we started to kind of play a bit better toward the end of April, but we definitely have to do better than we did last April. You can't put yourself in that hole and expect to dig yourselves out of it again. I think everybody here knows that and we're going to go out and play our tails off."

Yeah, I'm disappointed with Schilling about this. It's the exact same type of s*** that was used to smear Francona on the way out, featuring the ever-popular unnamed inside sources. In addition to the undercutting of Valentine, it creates a lot of talk about who the snitches are.

I think it's a little unfair to jump to the conclusion that Beckett is one of the players complaining to Schilling.

This thread has been a challenger from the get-go.