FredLynn

Maybe, but with the same doctors in different positions it does not engender a great deal of trust on my part. I am particularly concerned that the team doctor is now the head orthopedist. I think they should have cleaned house. There are so many great doctors in Boston; no need to settle for the guys that screwed up before with them. I hope it works out, but they are going to have to EARN my trust.

Here you go Forsythe. They did not clean house as they should have done: BOSTON -- After two seasons in which the Red Sox experienced health issues throughout the stretch run, there was a determination from the organization to make its medical staff run more efficiently. With that in mind, the Sox unveiled their realigned medical staff for 2012 on Thursday. The staff will no longer include a medical director, the position Dr. Tom Gill held for the last seven seasons. Instead, the Red Sox have installed a team of seasoned doctors. Larry Ronan will continue as the Sox's head team internist, a position he has held since 2005. Peter Asnis has been promoted to head team orthopedist after serving as a Red Sox team physician since 2005. Asnis is the head physician for the Boston Bruins and also works for the New England Patriots.

Its my understanding that the head of the medical staff was replaced, but not the other guys. Furthermore, they still use the same hospital, I believe. If that is true, I can say that within the same hospital most doctors practice a similar style of medicine. If you know that part of this is not true, let me know. I still won't trust them until they EARN my trust, but I am always ready to learn the truth about the facts.

I guess only time will tell. I will say this: I don't trust any information the Red Sox put out there, and I don't trust their medical staff. With their history you have to maintain a healthy level of skepticism.

In more relevant baseball news, here is today's Mazz column in which he agrees that this is a "rebuilding year, Red Sox style". He calls it a "bridge year". By Tony Massarotti, Boston.com Columnist In retrospect, going all the way back to the beginning of the offseason, maybe the Red Sox were just biding their time. Maybe the Red Sox had their eyes on 2013 far more than they ever did on 2012, and maybe the goal was to make them just interesting enough to draw your ire. If it looks like a bridge year and feels like a bridge year ... it's a bridge year. So here's question for you: given the way last year ended, would you be OK with that? Would you be OK with the highest average ticket prices in baseball and absurd parking rates to watch Will Middlebrooks and perhaps Ryan Kalish in lieu of Kevin Youkilis and Ryan Sweeney? The bet here is that you would. The bet is that Red Sox fans still angry over the conclusion of the 2011 would be tolerant of this season with the knowledge that there is a light at the end of the tunnel - in this case an infusion of youth and energy into a Red Sox clubhouse and core that feels stale and spoiled. One of the biggest problems with these Red Sox, after all, is that they have remained unlikeable. Youkilis is already on the disabled list again. Josh Beckett is missing a turn over the weekend. The Red Sox felt like a team that needed a major shakeup over the winter and team administrators did not provide it. Instead, Sox officials patched together an offseason with low-cost and stopgap alternatives, from the bullpen to the starting rotation to shortstop and the manager's office. Think about it: is Cody Ross here for the long term? Mike Aviles? Even Youkilis or Bobby Valentine? In some way, shape or form, all of them are keeping the seat warm for the next guy, just as Ryan Sweeney (who would be a good fourth outfielder) is keeping right field warm for Kalish, whenever he is ready. And then there is the matter of Daniel Bard, whose greatest value to the Red Sox, right now, is indisputably in the bullpen. If the Red Sox were hell-bent on winning a World Series this year as they have been in the past, they would have Bard setting up or closing. Instead, the Sox have resisted multiple urges to shift Bard in the relief corps, all with the idea of making him a more viable and reliable starter in future years. See a pattern here? Kevin Youkilis could be gone at season's end, the Sox holding a $13 million contract option on him for 2013. Daisuke Matsuzaka will be a free agent. David Ortiz will be up (again) and so will Ross and Kelly Shoppach. Additionally, the Sox will have decisions to make on players like Sweeney and Mike Aviles, arbitration-eligible players who may (or may not) price themselves out of backup jobs. More importantly, by the start of next season, Middlebrooks, Kalish, Iglesias and Ryan Lavarnway all could be on the big league roster with full-time jobs. (Middlebrooks at third base, Kalish in right field, Iglesias at shortstop and, perhaps, Lavarnway at any combination of catcher, designated hitter and first base.) If the Sox get lucky, maybe even Lars Anderson and Felix Doubront will thrust themselves into the mix. If all of this sounds premature with regard to 2012, it isn't. When the Red Sox made their decisions last fall, they did so with knowledge of the above. On some level, they expected Middlebrooks, Kalish, Iglesias and Lavarnway to make some transition to the major league level, so they traded lesser assets (Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, Kyle Weiland) to make whatever marginal deals they could. They weren't about to sacrifice 2013 for 2012, particularly after the way 2011 ended. As a fan, here's the one question that really matters: could they have started the process earlier and cut ties with someone like Beckett? How much would that have hurt their chances in 2012? The Red Sox don't look anything like a championship contender as things stand, and something suggests that the Boston fan base would be far more content with a relatively mediocre team of enthusiastic, energetic younger player than players than overpaid, underachieving veteran ones. The only real reason to keep some of the veteran pieces on this team is because, in theory, they are more established and have a better chance to win now, a belief that goes out the window so long as the Sox play .500 baseball. Obviously, there is still a great deal of baseball to be played this season. If things go right, given the relative absence of a middle class in the American League this year, the Red Sox could make the playoffs. If and when they get Andrew Bailey, Jacoby Ellsbury, Youkilis, Matsuzaka and others back, they could be a far better team in the second half than in the first. But if the Sox have more series like the one they just had, losing 2 of 3 to the Oakland A's of the world, they may find themselves in an interesting position approaching July 31. For the first time in a long time, at the July 31 trading deadline, the Sox could be sellers instead of buyers. As for Valentine, he is easily the most expendable of all "commodities," a 62-year-old manager on a two-year contract who had been out of the game for 10 years. Barring some sort of dramatic and unforeseen turnaround, is there any reason the Red Sox would bring him back next year? The Red Sox could have hired (potentially) a longer-term replacement in Dale Sveum, who at least would have fit the profile of what the organization was under the height of the Terry Francona era. Instead, they opted for a stopgap. Valentine subsequently feels like just another piece of rental furniture of a house full of them, which cannot help but make you wonder: Maybe the Sox have a far bigger renovation in mind in the very near future.

FYI: Mariano Rivera, who has hinted this will be his last season as New York Yankees closer, was carted off the field before Thursday night's game after suffering a right knee injury during batting practice in Kansas City. Rivera was going back on a fly ball during batting practice when his right knee buckled on the Kauffman Stadium warning track. He was helped to his feet by manager Joe Girardi, who sprinted to the outfield, and bullpen coach Mike Harkey. Rivera, 42, was taken by cart off the field. Rivera's 608 saves are the most in baseball history. This spring, he intimated that he had made up his mind on whether 2012 would be his last season, but was not prepared to reveal his decision. Rivera was last on the disabled list in 2003, when he began the year on the DL with a groin strain. He has been remarkably durable, relying largely on his cut fastball to make at least 60 appearances in 14 seasons, also a major league record.

He is probably going on the DL. Heard it from the A's announcers last night. Also, as much as I hate the Yankmees, I cannot wish for anything but good luck to Mo. He is a class act.

Just read this Ortiz. Thanks. And don't worry: you will get my opinion until you are tired of getting my opinion.

I understand that completely and realize that we are just 24 games into the season. Unfortunately, a "small sample size" is all we have to work with that is relevant right now. Last year's statistics are much less relevant than what the players are doing right now. The alternative to using the only sample size we have is to guess, and I prefer to use the stats that ARE available.

All of that would be smart moves by the FO. So none of it will get done. And yes, its much easier as a couch GM. Since there is less pressure the thinking and decisions are much clearer. :harhar:

He did fine. I don't care if he throws at 50mph if he gets guys out. I saw him keeping the ball down and not throwing meatballs in the center of the plate. I would not send him to Pawtucket right now, not until he fails. They already sent Tazawa down again and in six innings pitched so far his ERA is..............ZERO! Smart move by our FO...again.

Not necessarily true. If you can keep the ball down and have good movement you can be successful throwing that kind of stuff. Okajima had success with it along with many other pitchers. Admittedly there is less room for error that way, but it can work.

So tell me, how exactly are we in such bad shape as some of you are claiming? Sure. For starters, the Rays are in first place at 17-9 and we are in LAST place at 11-13. Thats LAST PLACE. After a brief flash in the pan winning streak we have reverted to our old form of beating the snot out of lousy pitching and being shut down by good pitching so that our runs per game looks great, but our W-L is worthy of being in last place. More importantly, there are only three teams in all of baseball with a team ERA over 5; the Twins, Milwaukee, and............US! The Twins are the worst team in all of baseball, and the Brewers are not much better. We are in the same class pitching-wise as those two teams: lower 10% in all of MLB. We have a bullpen that stinks, we have Clay Buchholtz, who has shown us nothing in nearly a year, and we have two inconsistent SP that are young and will be making mistakes that cost us games this year. And what's our record when we don't score at least 4 runs? Its 1-11. Thats because our pitching cannot compete with other ML teams. I don't see any reason to be overly optimistic about this team right now. We will probably hover around .500 for most of the season. We just don't have the talent to do it this year. I wish it were different, but wishing for it does not make it so.

In a year such as this one, where our chances of making a good run into the postseason are not good, it makes sense to trade Youkilis for whatever we can get for him and give Middlebrooks his ABs in the major league. I realize that our FO is not going to do this, but then again, they do a lot of stupid things.

That horrible Orioles pitching staff just shut out the Yankees tonite, 5-0. They allowed them one run last night and two runs the night before-in Yankee stadium. But I am content with our "lower tier" pitching staff because....well...because they are lovable and they are ours.

HAHAHA Reddick thinks he still plays for the Red Sox. Shoulda had that ball.

Mortenson is looking pretty good out there.