FredLynn

There is lots of talk about our #5 SP coming from recent acquisitions and some of us have pointed out just how bad they really are. I thought it would be useful to present some statistics the outline just how aweful these guys really are. Here are the facts: Carlos Silva: Career ERA: 4.68. Last AL team was the Mariners (08, 09); had ERA there of 6.81 John Maine: Career ERA: 4.35. Last AL team (Orioles) had ERA of 6.60. ERA last year: 6.13 Justin Germano: Career ERA: 5.02. Last year in Cleveland had ERA of 5.68 Aaron Cooke: Career ERA: 4.53. Last year had an ERA of 6.03 (Rockies). No AL experience Vicente Padilla: Career ERA: 4.31. Last AL team (Rangers, 4 years) ERA: 4.90. Is a nut case. Folks, this is not a group of pitchers that should inspire confidence. If they have to pitch with any regularity, we could be clamoring for Matsusaka or Miller or even Wakefield. They are really really bad, even for #5 or 6 SP.

Strange how the entire outlook would change so much if we had a competent #4 SP. Oswalt comes in and we don't have to use our first "depth option" as a SP. I think we could withstand an injury if the basic rotation was solid to start with.

You thought I was going to let this go? First off, Bard, even if he has an ERA of 4.00, isn't going to pitch 180 innings+. How many innings could he pitch? Maybe 120 max? So we are getting about .6 of the year from him (a year I am counting as 200 IP from a SP). Furthermore, remember that we didn't add Bard to the team; he was already here. So adding him to the rotation will most likely improve it, but it also detracts from the quality of the bullpen. Remember: for the vast majority of the season he was the most effective relief pitcher we had in the pen, until he tired out at the end. Second, have you looked at our #5 SP recently? They all STINK. Right now, I would be thrilled if they could have an ERA of 5. I don't see that happening in the ALE. Furthermore, assuming that Lester/Beckett/Buchholtz will all remain healthy all year, or even most of it, is a mistake. We are, most likely, going to be seeing a lot of Padilla, Cooke, Germano, and the like in the 5th and 6th positions this year. Looking at it objectively, all we have done is replaced Papelbon with Melancon and Bailey. Thats really not much of a change. And we also have Jenks to look forward to, and its also likely that Albers will return to his career norms that include a career ERA of over 5. We also have Doubront and Bowden, two guys who have shown us nothing so far. I agree that the offense will continue to be effective, but they were never the problem. Our offense was #1 in OPS and runs scored last year, and we didn't make the playoffs. Its about the PITCHING, and I don't see them as an improved staff right now. I see us as a 90 win team this year..give or take a game or two.

More specifically, the Cards have Wainwright, Carpenter, Garcia, Lohse, and Westbrook as their starting five. Wainwright and Carpenter are aces; Garcia is pretty good too (career ERA 3.27), and the last two are in the final year of their contract. They do not NEED Oswalt at all, so why pay him $7M or so to wait for an injury. The best FIT is with the Red Sox, if he will pitch here.

Its also MATURE not to label the individual you are disagree with as "an idiot".

I guess what I am saying is that if part of the reason that thread was shut down was a lack of respect on the part of one poster for another and the resulting insults, why should that not be OK there, but its OK here? Wouldn't it make more sense to complain about a POST and not a POSTER? Just a thought. Probably wishful thinking.

Here is how it applies: while you can make valid judgements about how a poster writes here, you cannot make valid judgements about what kind of person he or she is outside of here, nor can you accurately assess the level of his or her intelligence. Therefore, it makes a lot more sense to me to complain about his posts rather than calling him an "idiot". He isn't.

Here is the quote (from Feb 2): WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Red Sox are "unlikely" to add another starting pitcher before Spring Training, general manager Ben Cherington said Wednesday night. Roy Oswalt, perhaps the biggest name left on the free-agent market, met with Rangers brass on Monday. He and Edwin Jackson had been repeatedly tied to the Sox. Jackson agreed to a one-year contract with Washington on Thursday.

Do you think it had anything to do with the tenor of the complaints of poster vs poster? I wasn't here then. It seems to me that at times that sort of post IS out of hand here. Maybe there should be a home for it, one that posters who do not want to read that kind of stuff can just avoid, but one where complaints about posters can be registered without restriction. People who like it can go there; those who do not can stay out.

Thats not my recollection. In fact, I remember Cherington saying that they do not anticipate adding another pitcher before ST starts. And I recall multiple statements about how much they like the current team. I agree that winning is much more important than telling the truth. All I am saying is that the truth would be refreshing sometimes.

Just asking you what your perceptions are about the reasons it was shut down.

Umm...have you or Bellhorn actually MET Muggah? I have. He has quite a life story to tell. And he is as fervent a fan as there is on this board. He wants wins as much as anyone here. Like everyone else, he has a particular way that he posts-and he is free to continue doing that. Isn't he?

Well, if it had to be closed down, what do you think were the reasons it had to be terminated?

I would appreciate the truth more than a stream of nonbelievable lies. How about this: "While we think we have a reasonably good team without additional players being added, we are always in the market for a good starting pitcher to bolster our rotation if one can be obtained at the right price" That way they are admitting, sort of, that there is still a weakness on the team without truly lying to the fans.

Maybe we should have a separate thread where posters who would like to attack or otherwise complain about other posters can go to express their concerns free of criticism about the personal nature of their missives. Those of us who would like to just discuss the issues, either positively or negatively, can stay on other threads if we choose to do so and avoid those attacks. What do you think?

Here you go. Taking a Photoshop class and YOU are the guinea pig: http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/ww58/barrydkusumah/revised_dos_equis_man.jpg