FredLynn

First, we don't need an ace. It would be nice, but what we need is a solid #2. Its not going to cost Betts/Bradley/Bogaerts to get that pitcher. We have the parts to obtain Fernandez (if the Marlins are willing to trade him, which I doubt as he still has another year after this year of team control) or another solid #2. Second, Owens-Elias-Johnson-Sullivan are useless appendages. Elias might have a little value; the others guys do not. But Benintendi and a few others could catch the eye of other GMs. Remember: no added pitching=no playoffs. Dombrowski knows this too.

If I am Rodriguez and I am aware I am tipping my pitches, why not kind of "reverse tip"? In other words, sometimes let the hitter see the thumb of his glove but instead of throwing a fastball, throw an offspeed pitch-especially when you really need a K. Eventually he will need to be less revealing. I don't think its much of a problem though. Remy said as much during his last start. Now that Remy is with O'Brien he is focusing on sharing his great knowledge of the game.

He is going to get more time. There is no one else better than him right now. What I am saying is that when (if) Swihart returns this year, he should be a catcher, not a LF. Just in case. Atom bombs or not, unless Vasquez produces with the bat he will eventually be sitting a lot more often.

Stephen Wright. Without him anchoring our top three SPs no amount of offense would have put us where we are right now.

Swihart needs to be a catcher again when he returns. It is looking more and more like Vasquez is going to remain insipid with a bat in his hands. I am not convinced that Vas is the answer at that position.

His velocity reached 95 during his last outing. Its not velocity. Its location. And that could be fixed with some changes in his delivery. Remy pointed out four things that are different this year than last year in his delivery, and they have been working with him to get him back to how he threw the ball last year. Furthermore, ERod is not equivocating when asked about how his knee feels: he says its not an issue. I am sure that if its not a physical issue (and I don't think it is), it could well be a mental issue. That will take time to get over. Its too early to judge him. We gave Buchholz 10 starts; ERod deserves the same.

I think the question is with so many bad pitchers on the team, is this season even salvageable? I posted this on the game thread too: Elias's ERA is now 15.88. Sean O' Sullivan is at 7.94. ERod is at 6.97. Kelly: 8.46. And Buchholz as a starter: 6.35. Those are your #4-5 SPs. They are more like #7 SPs. Should we empty the farm (and thats probably what it would take) to get TWO (not one) very good SPs and a bullpen arm. Mid-level SPs are not going to solve our problem. Its a difficult decision. This team's pitching is very full of holes.

Elias's ERA is now 15.88. Sean O' Sullivan is at 7.94. ERod is at 6.97. Kelly: 8.46. And Buchholz as a starter: 6.35. Those are your #4-5 starting pitchers. I personally do not expect much of an improvement in the current group. What this means is that in their starts in order to have much of a chance to win games we need to score about 8-9 runs. There are two choices in my opinion: either trade away a lot of our farm system prospects for pitching or understand that this is no better than a .500 team that is likely to finish 3rd or 4th this year (I think we might be better than the Rays) and miss the playoffs-again. I am pretty sure Dombrowski knows this. If he comes out with a statement something like "The current group of pitchers has to begin to perform" then we should all understand what choice he has made. When the game is essentially lost halfway through its really not very interesting to watch this team. That is evidenced by the fact that there are only three pages of posts on the game thread tonight.

It is not the uncertainty about that group of pitchers; rather, its the certainty that none of them are any good. And by "looking long and hard" that means sooner rather than later. Right now this team is the third best team in the AL East.

I agree with you that getting overly excited about drafting (not even signing, although I don't think that will be as tough to do as if say, Seattle had drafted him) a 17 year old child represents irrational exuberance. There have been way too many failures...draftees who just didn't work out. Lets see where he is in 3-4 years.

Owens has neither control of location nor even passable velocity. Without one or the other he is toast.

There was a recent article, I think on ESPN, where a SF Giants source (I think)was cited as saying that Sandoval didn't want to sign with the Giants because he knew he would be on a dietary restriction for five years if he did. Sandoval was quoted as saying that he didn't want to be in a place where he "couldn't be himself". I guess we all know what that means: eat til you can't even walk onto the field. Sandoval's lack of professionalism never ceases to amaze me.

He is 6-2 with an ERA of 4.62. And he can be ours for $3m for one year. Thats a huge improvement over Buchholz or Kelly. Grab him!

The Twins are awful. They are last in pitching and last in hitting in the league. So they will probably only win two of the three games against us.

Well, to be honest, the visual of him with a balloon nose, a clown's suit, and oversized shoes with that ludicrous hairdoo would be incredibly amusing should it ever become a reality.

From about five pages ago. It is a great surprise the way JBJ has come into his own as a hitter. He isn't likely to remain a .961 OPS hitter, but its looking like he will be more than passable, and that he will be a GG caliber CF for years to come. He and Bogaerts are the kind of players you can build a team around. Just look at the improvement that Bogaerts has made defensively...pretty amazing. And Papi should be in the lineup in the ASG as well, not just for nostalgic reasons, but because he is having a monster year. I would also nominate Buchholz as well.....just for comic relief.

Our offense is absurdly efficient right now, but our SP is four deep. When (not if) one of those four gets injured its three deep. Buchholz and Kelly don't even register as ML starting pitchers any more. As of this morning our SP ERA is tied for 11th in the league. That is the obvious need on this team. We NEED another very good SP so that we are likely to remain four deep well into the season. To obtain such a player its going to be painful, no doubt. We will likely need to sacrifice some of that offense to repair the pitching. Unfortunately, while Cherington left the franchise with many good position player prospects, there seems to be no one anywhere near ready to step up and help the Red Sox pitching situation. In a word, Cherington left the minor league pitching in shambles. Dustin Pedroia as of this morning has an OPS that is 55 points higher than his career average; he will soon be 33; and he tends to be injury prone. I love Pedroia as a player, but this is a business. If trading him with some prospects can deliver us a very good starting pitcher, then I am all for it. Its either Pedroia or some other good player on the current 25 man roster.... or Moncada plus Benintendi....or more. Its not going to be a painless process. I just hope our GM is up to the task.

It would also speed up the game somewhat. No more arguing balls and strikes or sulking by stepping out of the box.

Thats not exactly true either. Remy actually breast fed him for the first 14 years.

That statement is incorrect. Studies actually show that if he didn't bond for a minimum of three days his child would likely not be able to hit .250 in the majors. Its important.

Tell you what else: if I am Hembree, while I am keeping my mouth shut about it, I am wondering what else I have to do to make the club and where is the fairness in what just happened. And if I am Kimbrel (or Layne or Ross or anyone else out there), I am looking at someone being sent down that I know helped make the pen what it is today: fourth rated in the league-and I see someone who certainly didn't earn it enter the brotherhood out there. I know all about the possible need for a spot start at some time down the road, and yes, thats a risk we are taking. And as I wrote earlier, there is some chance that Buchholz turns it around in the pen; its not likely. If Dombrowski can secure one more good SP then Kelly can return to the pen, which I believe is where he is best suited, and HE can spot start if need be. This is a risky move. I hope it doesn't upset the cart out in the pen.

As of this morning, the Red Sox bullpen ranks fourth in ERA in the league-with Clay Buchholz pitching a total of one inning for them out of the pen. And as of this morning Clay Buchholz's ERA is 6.24 with a WHIP of 1.46 and a K/BB ratiio of 1.58. This is not the kind of pitcher who is likely going to help an already pretty good bullpen, and his presence and attitude ("They moved me to the #$*& bullpen. Write it down") could very well prove disruptive. There is a chance he might turn it around out there, but there is also a chance that he will be a negative factor in a bullpen that is humming along pretty well. Clay had his chance; he didn't perform. He should have been put on waivers and given a chance to perform elsewhere as Dombrowski addresses our real need: a quality SP.

Just to simplify it, since its Hembree who is likely to be the one demoted, lets focus on him. I agree that ERA should not be the sole determinant of who is better suited for the pen, Buchholz or Hembree, based on performance. Lets look at WHIP, which is also important: Hembree: 1.381, Buchholz: 1.457. I see no reason to just use statistics for May; a larger sample size is needed-the whole season. Another important stat for a RP: K/BB ratio. Buchholz: 1.5; Hembree: 3.6. And you just cannot ignore the fact that Buchholz has an ERA that is about three times that of Hembree. I do not think Buchholz is better than any of our current RP. He will likely weaken the pen.

After watching some of the calls made the game before last I think its time for automation for balls and strikes. These bad calls are influencing the outcomes of games. The human element can be preserved by limiting such automation to balls and strikes and a the few challenges available to the managers. The most important thing is to get the calls right. Just my opinion.

I agree; ideally Clay would have owned what his performance is to date and agreed to go to Pawtucket (can he even do that without waivers?). Instead, his terse comment to a reporter when asked about this was "I got sent to the #%&* pen. Write that down". His presence in the bullpen is going to hurt the chances that this club has to win games, and in my book, winning games is the bottom line. Someone who has performed better than him is going to get sent down, probably Hembree. Other guys in the pen are going to look at that and wonder if their group is being treated fairly; they may resent Clay's presence in the pen. As tough a decision as it would have been, if Buchholz didn't agree to go to Pawtucket, I would have put him on waivers to preserve team chemistry.