Kimmi

Nice outing from Porcello. Not that it means much this year, but the Sox are going to need him to be the pitcher they thought they were getting for next year. The offense, OTOH, is making Verlander look like the ace of old.

Pitcher's duel to this point. Who'da thunk it?

We sure have a knack for hitting into DPs.

I know Peavy's numbers were not great, but we needed the pitching help. Acquiring Peavy as a starter also allowed us to strengthen our BP. I was a big Iggy fan, so I am not trying to knock him, but I really don't think the FO saw him in the team's future plans. While Iggy has a high BA (somewhat helped by his high BABIP), his power is nonexistent.

That's the thing. Iggy was expendable. I don't think the FO ever really saw him as a fulltime player of the future, and at the time of the trade, there was a lot of future depth on the left side of the infield.

Napoli is on fire! He is trying to hit his way out of Boston. LOL

Ouch. That is incredible. I'm happy for Iglesias, but I in no way regret trading him. He was expendable, and we needed the pitching help.

Way to go Holt!

When you say deals need to be made, are you talking about both pitching and offense, or just pitching?

Some offense would be nice, boys.

Solid post Pal.

I concur. We saw first hand this year how important depth at that position is.

At this point, giving up prospects for Hamels doesn't make much sense. As you said, wait until the offseason where they can get better pitching without having to give up any prospects. That said, to get one of the top line starters, the Sox will have to be willing to commit to more years than what they would have to with Hamels.

Never give up, no matter how ugly it looks. Go Sox!!!

Like him all you want. He's not the man though. Now Pedro OTOH. He's the man.

Speier wants to call what the Sox have experienced in the last 4 years "rebuilding". Yes, it has been in a sense, but not entirely. It's been a period where the team has been trying to build a core of young players like Mookie, Xander, Swihart, Vazquez, JBJ, and even Middlebrooks, and now possibly some young pitching. In the interim, they have signed players to shorter term contracts to help the team win each year. The idea behind this is that you can be competitive in the short term while not hurting the team's future in terms of either prospects or money. It worked for the short term in 2013. It didn't work short term the other 3 years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that philosophy. Sox fans have become impatient. Hence, the FO tries to keep the team competitive while letting the kids develop. In a perfect world, it would not have gone so wrong in those 3 years. The question now is, has the FO reached its goal of setting this team up for a good run with its core of young players? The last part of Speier's article sums it up nicely: If he’s bringing the team closer to its long-term aspiration of “the next great Red Sox team,” then despite the miserable performances of recent years, he’s the right man for the job. If not, then the Sox’ focus should be on their front office rather than their roster.

I am not getting all the talk about clubhouse cancers or bad character, be it Miley, Hanley, or Sandoval. When a team is losing, the atmosphere in the clubhouse obviously is going to be less jovial than when a team is winning. For as badly as this team is playing, reports of clubhouse cancers have been mostly nonexistent. The players have handled themselves rather well, if you ask me.

It is Ben's responsibility to acknowledge that his strategy didn't work, which he has, and to figure out a way to fix it. I fully expect pitching to be his top priority.

I would say yes, despite the known risks.

I'm reading that the Sox are trying to work out a prospect package to get Hamels. Depending on the prospect package, I don't really get this move at this point.

I don't see a long road back to being good. I think the Sox can be competitive next year, with a few good pitching acquisitions and the offense performing up to expectations as a whole. I would keep all the position players who are under contract for next year, unless they get an offer for one that they can't refuse. The offense is set with a good core of young players mixed in with some veteran experience. The only hole would be 1B. There's no sense in disassembling the offense and creating more holes to fill. The focus this offseason should be 100% on pitching. Pick up Buchholz' option. Sign 2 starting pitchers, one #1 type and one #2 or #3 type, to go along with Buchholz, Porcello, and Miley. Kelly could be a #6 guy or he can be put in the pen. Rodriguez, Johnson, Owens can be called up when someone inevitably gets injured or falters. Alternatively, sign only a #1 guy, or pass on Clay's option, and let Rodriguez start off in the rotation. That doesn't give us as much depth though. As much as I would hate to lose Koji, he is our best trade piece among those on the current roster, outside of those I deem untouchable. Perhaps Kelly could fill the roll of closer next season. Add as many inexpensive, yet solid, BP arms as you can, and see what sticks.

How deflating.

LOL Thanks for the laugh. I needed it.

Geez...

We need to score this 1/2 inning.