FredLynn

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.

Yes. One good inning. While I certainly hope that he has a lot more good innings, what I can't figure out is this: if he stays in the pen, who goes when ERod returns? Who is Buchholz better than in the pen? I can't think of a single RHRP who he deserves to take the place of. If you are thinking Hembree, think again. His ERA is a paltry 2.14. Not Taz, Koji, Kimbrel, or Barnes (ERA: 2.62 with electric stuff). CB might be better than Layne, but we do need two LHRP. So who goes? Clay in the pen makes the pen worse. As difficult a decision as it was, he should have been either traded or waived.

First, they are called umpires in baseball. Second, they were horrible yesterday. I don't expect them to get every borderline pitch right, but the obvious ones: they should be able to handle that. Yesterday during the Jays' three run inning v Porcello, Porcello threw a pitch that was right down the middle that was called a ball. I can't remember who it was to, but I remember if it had been called properly it would have been strike three and the Jays likely would not have scored three runs. On another call, Pedroia's foot was ruled off the bag when replays clearly showed it was on the bag, and a force play out should have been called. The umpires played too large a role in the outcome of yesterday's game. I counted five extra outs they awarded the Blue Jays; there may have been more. They umpires were HORRIBLE yesterday. They are not always that bad, but they were yesterday.

Actually, our pen ranked 5th in the league in ERA coming into this game. Yeah, they blew it today-with a lot of help from the umpires. It happens. Its our SP that stinks. They are ranked 11th in the AL. Dombrowski is going to have to obtain another very good SP for us to be contenders for a ring. We have the prospects to get one.

I counted five extra outs the umpires gave the Blue Jays; there may have been more. It was without a doubt one of the worst officiated games in any sport that I have ever seen.

Replacing .....who?

At least the Yankees streak is intact. Two losses in a row; still under .500. There is solace for Red Sox fans there.

Its possible, but unlikely in my opinion. Not that I wouldn't love to see him back, but before he comes back he needs to be at 93-94. The worst thing to do is to bring him back too early. The team is winning and in first place; we can wait until he is really ready.

I don't think ERod will be back any time soon. While he pitched decently last night, allowing just one run, his velocity topped out at 92-in the first inning-and ranged from 87-92. I don't think he will be effective at the ML level at that velocity. Last year he was closer to 94. For now we are stuck with Buchholz.

I agree its a no brainer, but probably not in the same manner that you think of it. His ERA is now nearly 6 after almost 10 starts.