Kimmi

I think he will be able to hold his ERA under 4. Cabrera and Fielder are two of the worst defenders in the league. When Detroit traded Fielder and moved Miggy to first, Porcello's ERA went down. xFIP is a better predictor of future ERA than ERA is.

Porcello is also durable and is likely to give the team close to 200 innings each year. That in itself has some value.

The Sox spent a lot this year because they were willing to go over the luxury tax limit for one year. The penalty for exceeding the limit is not very costly as long as the Sox get back under it next year. In the majority of years, their budget limit will be $189 million. They have shown that they are willing to pay more for younger players, but not willing to do so for older players.

I don't know how much it will help our rotation, but knowing that they have an offense that can score some runs for them certainly must help. They don't have to fear giving up 2 or 3 runs on most occasions, and they don't have to feel like they have to be perfect. I think last year's rotation must have felt that pressure, and it seemed rare that the offense gave them an early lead to work with.

I think he should have had the surgery last season when the injury was first discovered. However, 3 doctors supposedly recommended that he try rehabbing it, and they certainly know a lot more than I do. If Tanaka is going to be pitching tentatively for fear of injury though, he might as well go ahead and have the surgery. I thought he looked pretty good in ST though, so it will be interesting to see how he does in his next few starts.

Of course they have a budget CP. They have always been willing to spend, despite some people calling them tight, but they do operate within a budget.

Yes, probably too much money. However, this is sticking with the FO's philosophy of higher AAV for fewer years. Porcello is young, and if he pitches well this season, you can almost bet that he would have received a contract for longer than 4 years if he hit FA.

I had read yesterday morning, before this deal was announced, that the Sox and Porcello had agreed to hold off on extension talks until the end of the season. I am guessing that the rush was that Porcello stated that he would not discuss contracts during the season. So, if the deal was not done now, it would not be discussed again until the end of the season. At that time, Porcello's stock might be a lot higher than it is now. If Porcello pitches well, you can almost bet he would be getting more than 4 years. This is something that the FO wants to avoid, if possible. Yes, it's a risk, but IMO, a good risk to take. I'm guessing that Porcello will pitch well enough to be worth the contract. This is also one less thing Ben has to worry about next offseason.

I am shocked, absolutely shocked by this! You mean to tell me the FO knows more than the posters on this board? Get out!

Yeah, it's only been one game, but it was a darn good game! Playoffs, here we come!

It's only been one game Jacko. Far be it for me to defend the Yankees, but this is the exact type of overreaction from some Red Sox fans that drives me crazy. Maybe he just had a bad outing, or maybe his holding back on the 4 seamer is going to be a real problem, but he at least deserves a couple of starts before everyone starts writing him off.

Oh come on Ogden, I have lucky Red Sox socks. And I won't even begin to tell you the "rituals" that I will repeat if the Sox are doing well. LOL Rationally, I know it doesn't work. But try convincing the irrational side of me that it doesn't. LOL

I know whose side to be on. Keep it going!

I know it's only one game, but dang, that felt good! Pedroia definitely looks like he's back, and what more could we have asked for from Buchholz. Let's hope he can carry his good mojo all season long.

Clay did.

John Tomase 4m Cole Hamels inner monologue as Mookie homer left park: "I wouldn't have traded him for me, either. LOL

The Phillies are bad, but Clay has looked sharp. His stuff is and has always been nasty. It's just a matter of staying healthy and mentally tough.

There you go. They'll have it in their genes.

LOL You don't have to worry about me letting Theo slide. I can admit when he and I are wrong.

I think it's coming soon. I prefer the DH, but honestly, I wouldn't care which way they go, I just think both leagues need to be on the same page.

Spot on Pal.

The praise for Varitek is well known, and apparently very much substantiated, to the tune of 57 extra runs that he earned his team in 4 years.

There's no reason why your grandkids couldn't be just as excited about sabermetrics as they are in all of your cool stories. It's all in the approach. I've already said I would hold Theo accountable if his team isn't a serious playoff contender by next year. By the same token, if the Cubbies are serious contenders this year or next, then you should admit that he is a baseball god.

I don't agree with you that pitchers are not strong believers in catchers' game calling skills. Of course, I don't have a stat to prove that, so you may be right. But I still disagree, based on everything that I've seen and heard. I know that the pitcher ultimately makes the decision on what pitch to throw. But one of the jobs of the catcher is to get to know his pitchers well enough to know what they want to throw in certain situations, and to know what is working for them in specific instances. It's not about being able to follow the game plan, but being able to make the correct in game adjustments. You need your catcher to be in sync with the pitcher. You want to the pitcher to have enough trust in the catcher to just take the sign and pitch. Having a pitcher doing too much thinking on the mound or too much shaking off is usually detrimental to the pitcher. That said, when it comes to the "intangibles", IMO, a pitcher who has his A+ stuff working on a given day could pitch to me and do well. A pitcher who just doesn't have anything working on a given day could pitch to the greatest defensive catcher there is, and it probably wouldn't help. It's for all of those times in between, which is the majority of the time, that a good "game caller" is going to have the most positive effect on his pitchers.

I enjoy interleague play, but here's the main problem with it - Napoli sits today and likely Wednesday so Papi can play, then Thursday Papi has to sit. That's just messed up.