cp176

yah - not bad for a guy who's arm is still healing!

very fair article. They really don't know what they have so they seem to be going with the better defensive option. We all just hope that it isn't too early for Vazquez. Good article.

I think that Marrero had a big day at the plate yesterday. I kind of think that bringing Hernandez up is more of a feel good reward for hard work as opposed to anything else. be surprised if he is there very long.

If the team continues to hit as they are, if he hits at all it will be good enough. Assuming that he is as good behind the plate as advertised. Like everybody else, I like Swihart's athleticism, his focus, his attitude etc. etc. etc. He is just not ready to field the position (as well as do all the other things you need to be able to do) that of the 8 is clearly the most important position on the field. I'm sure that he can improve but putting somebody behind the plate who can't get it done and try to convince everybody just to be patient is particularly ridiculous if you have someone who is better than average ready to go.

this might very well happen. it is a logical move and logic is playing a role in some of the current moves. Owens will get another opportunity for sure and I agree with you about both Kelly and Ross.

Although it is the right move, i still feel sorry for Swihart. I'm glad that we still have him.

Doesn't really make me happy but it seems like the logical move. In his case, they need to find out if he will ever actually be able to catch in the bigs before they just stick him out there again. I am very happy to see Hernandez get a cup of coffee with the big club though. He is young, he has worked hard, and he is a lot better than people think he is.

Yup we can hope. Maybe. I'm still hoping for Porcello to morph into that #2 some thought that he would become. He is still young as well. Probably not happening but it's good to have hope. I'm still voting for an eventual trade to get us the real deal though.

I have not read that it would be Swihart number one with Vazquez backing him up. Really doesn't seem to make any sense if Vazquez is as good as advertised. If he is - my prediction - if Hanigan stays, Swihart goes back to AAA or gets traded at some point. if Hannigan get trade, Swihart backs him up. It is the one position out there that you don't dick around with. If you have a great catcher who can hit just a little, he has to play. I haven't scoped it out seriously but I would imagine that Swihart's actual catching skills are probably matched by others not named Hanigan or Leon, in our system right now. He just isn't the one for the job presently. Maybe some day - not now.

oh baby lol

I don't blame anyone for what is going on. Im just thankful that someone or some group of people is/are trying to approach things differently. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. they can't be any worse so you just keep playing them in hopes that they get better. Patience once again is very important but being sensible and not being afraid to change and do things a little differently is equally as important. I think that we are seeing some change.

It will take Dombrowski a little while to straighten out the mess he was left with. He is being aggressive and I expect he will continue to be. Patience is of course a good thing but repetively finishing last does require possibly a different way of looking at things. It would be ridiculous if he wasn't trying to make some changes.

I'm sure he will get another shot. The fact that he is only 23 might make him an attractive trade prospect if packaged up the right way to enable us to get what we need - quality young pitching.

Another nice outing for Owens. he is pitching like a guy who wants another shot.

true - but it's still fun though isn't it. Personally , I never really grew up and I still don't want to.

Hopefully everybody realizes that it is a long season. I don't see this as being as much about panic as it is about just being stupid and believing that the same old refrain is going to produce different results. I am guilty of expecting more out of Buchholz and Kelly than they can give. To all of sudden think that buchholz would morph into a durable starter as well as being able to pitch like he has on rare occasions in his career and to believe all the crap about Kelly and his wonderful potential. When E-rod went down we lost our #2 and Kelly should be in the bullpen. Ultimately Dombrowski can and probably will do what needs to be done to get us the pieces needed to make this a very good starting rotation. The but is that there will be plenty of screaming when everybody's bright young star (pick one or two) gets traded. In his case it would be stupid to not make the necessary trades based on the fact that there are only so many positions on a baseball field.

I agree with you here. A little bit of a conundrum though. If you decide to keep Swihart, there is a risk involved. If he does not show marked improvement behind the plate, his trade value really becomes next to nothing. Does he hit well enough to justify a change in position? right now I say no. With Vazquez, there is also risk involved. Can he hit well enough to just be adequate offensively? Although Swihart would make a great backup, I just don't see how that makes any sense at all going forward. i like Hannigan. You don't need an All-Star backup catcher. Just ask Bob Montgomery. I would love to see a package of Swihart and whatever else it takes to bring in one more dependable (emphasize dependable) arm. Team has needed, needs, and will need in the future starting pitching. Clogging up - backing up - call it what you like - this system is a menu for failure if you don't have the arms. Does anybody out there really think that if tomorrow we didn't have Bradley, Castillo, Shaw, Swihart, Young, Holt, Sandoval, or any number of others, this team wouldn't be able to replace them adequately. They aren't chopped lived but seriously we aren't talking guys who are apt to bull ass their way into the HOF.

I do think that they are going the cautious route with Johnson. Plus the fact that he might not be the answer anyway. Reality with Swihart is that he might not be a better or even as good a hitter ultimately than any number of the young guys we have knocking on the door right now. I'm changing my vote - if Vazquez comes up, you send him back to Pawtucket (or you trade him while he has the potential tag shining brightly). Eventually he at worst becomes a solid backup to a very good catcher with a light bat. Within a year or two, they will have all the bats they need at first, third, and in the outfield. He is a great athlete but he is in a tough situation right now. Keep Hannigan.

I can live with Porcello. Price is a great arm. but, even though they are ours, I am just so sick of Buchholz and Kelly. Potential, potential, ********. I would much prefer to watch Wright, Owens, Johnson, and anybody else. I get it - it's only April - give em a chance - it's all going to be alright - don't panic- yada,yada,yada. bottom line- they are ours and we are stuck with them. It is about the pitching and we don't have it yet. We have a ton of very good looking position players. there will not be enough places to play them all. It will take some nuts and guts but eventually the trades will come. Pitching rotation upgrade needed - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Good pitching? All things are relative I guess.

There is so much preaching here about showing patience. patience and more patience. How many times do we hear give them all until Memorial Day or the trade dead-line. Got to give Shaw a real chance. He is the best that we have at this point in time. For that matter what message is he getting when the current trend is to pinch hit for him so often?

Oh, by the way, Vaz took the ofers today - nuts.

Vazquez will not need to hit much in order to be called up. If he is healthy, he will be coming up. He is just too good as an overall catcher to leave in Pawtucket. It creates a problem. Some would say a good problem - I don't know about that. Swihart is proving that he can hit big league pitching. You going to send him back? why? Is he going to be our catcher of the future? They don't get much better than Hanigan as a backup. Everybody understands the logic with Swihart going down to work on his catching skills. Does it really make much sense? Is that the best move to make with respect to his future? I think it is going to be an issue and I think that there are going to be numerous others similar to this one in the very near future. Glad here that I just get to sit back and watch these stories develop.

I don't think that it is possible to in all reality place a knuckleballer in any "ranking" order. Very much game to game - sort of like Bucholz and Kelly. Maybe they should start throwing knuckleballs.

Trying to break it down and make it sound better than it is is just ridiculous. On any given day, will he better, for sure. On any given day, will he be worse, probably. On the more positive side, he is fairly durable and will pitch quite a few innings for us. A solid number 4/5 starter. Every team needs players like him. Projecting him to be better than he has ever been is as bad as saying that he is worthless.