Kimmi

Ah, well that makes sense. Farrell has hinted that he wants 2 lefties in the pen for the lefty stacked Philly and Yankee line ups that we'll be facing in our first 2 series. I am pretty sure Breslow and Layne will both be on the Opening Day roster.

I don't think they will trade Betts either. I absolutely agree with the idea of signing a free agent pitcher over having to give up prospects and money to acquire a pitcher through trade.

Agreed, twinsie.

I don't know who Bobby Layne is, but I would have to agree with the two of you. As of now, I think he would serve the team better as starting pitching depth than he would as a reliever.

Thank you for posting this. I was going to post the same thing. And thanks for being another voice of reason.

I have seen touches of optimism in your posts Fred. You're starting to scare me. ;-) As far as who our starting 9 are, I think that will have more to do with who has options rather than with favoritism. FTR, Hamels has not been that impressive this spring.

The encouraging sign there is that Masterson's GB/FB ratio was more in line with what he typically induces over his last outing. To steal a post from a good poster on another site, Buccholz, Porcello, Miley, and Masterson have combined for a 3.34 ERA so far this spring. That's not too shabby. Cheer up! It's not the end of the world!

Heaven forbid we should start off 0-3...

I know you're not worried Pruneface. As you said, if the starting 5 falter, we have some young talent who could get the job done, or we have certainly have the pieces and money to trade for a pitcher if need be. As far as the flabby drunken streaker goes, I guess it's a good thing that the stations will no longer show these guys on air. LOL

Jacko, you have made some very good posts in this thread regarding your organization, and I agree with most of what you've said. I have always felt that Cashman could be a very good GM if he were given more autonomy. I think that he is too often overruled by Levine and the Steinbrenners. Also, while his offseason moves are often questionable, he seems to have the knack for making some very good inseason moves. That really kind of ticks me off, actually.

I agree Fred. If the Sox win a WS this year or next, the Yankees will throw caution to the wind and go on a spending spree the following offseason. Who knows, they might even hit panic mode as early as this trade deadline.

LOL The Yankees don't need to try very hard to make asinine signings. They have that task pretty well mastered. ;-)

I know he's young and doesn't have much MLB experience, but I'm on board with Farrell on that one.

I know some people were against that trade, but Beckett and Lowell helped bring us a championship. In my eyes, that makes the trade worth it. Who knows if we would have won a title with Hanley and Sanchez. As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

At this point, it's also wise to wait and see what our real strengths and weaknesses are going to be. Maybe our starting pitching is pleasantly surprising and we don't need to add a top pitcher. Maybe someone gets injured (heaven forbid) and we need the depth at a position more than we need pitching.

I think the FO pretty much views Betts and Swihart as untouchables right now. That said, things could change depending on what the team shows us the first few months of the season. If Castillo or Vazquez prove themselves as the real deal, and pitching proves to be a real need, then Betts or Swihart would become more expendable. I would hate to see it, but I would understand it.

I read that the Yankees plan to be under the luxury tax limit in two years. Ha! That plan lasted for one offseason last time, then panic set in, and the Yanks reverted back to what they know best.

What you don't want the FO doing is making a panic move. That will undoubtedly come back to bite them in the rear over the long run. Ben does not strike me as the panicking type, thank goodness. Patience people, patience.

Vavaro, I think, is a virtual lock for a BP spot. I've read that he could end up being the steal of the offseason. I believe the Sox are already discussing the possibility of Barnes in the pen. I would guess that Escobar might see some time in the pen also, if needed. I would not expect to see the others in there.

Here's the thing about acquiring Hamels. If the Sox rotation is as big a mess as some people are saying, Hamels, or any other single pitcher, is not going to be the difference maker. At this point, it would make sense to wait and see where we are in a couple of months. If the rotation has kept the team in the playoff hunt, then the FO needs to get us that top pitcher. If the team is out of it (which I don't foresee happening), then revamp for 2016.

Don't go all Fred on me Fred. And don't bail on that AL East title prediction. I'm counting on you to be my positive reinforcement this year! Playoffs, here we come!

A voice of reason. Thank you.

There is always some positive to be found. "While the end results haven't been glamorous, there are encouraging peripherals with the starters and they have combined for 66 GO / 31 FO" Even with Masterson's velocity down, he improved his groundball rate over his previous outing.

I'm not sure how the sky is falling already, when it's only spring training. Geez, these posts are depressing.

Fangraphs projections: IP K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP LOB% ERA FIP WAR Rick Porcello 196.0 6.3 2.1 0.8 .307 71.1 % 3.79 3.70 3.2 Clay Buchholz 180.0 6.9 2.9 1.0 .304 70.5 % 4.13 4.08 2.1 Wade Miley 173.0 7.2 3.0 0.9 .308 71.5 % 4.03 3.93 2.1 Justin Masterson 167.0 7.3 4.0 0.8 .307 69.6 % 4.26 4.15 1.8 Joe Kelly 140.0 6.1 3.5 0.9 .303 70.1 % 4.35 4.37 1.1 Davenport Projections: G GS IP H R HR BB SO W L SV ERA WHIP WARP Rick Porcello 29 29 190.3 193 82 18 40 136 12 9 0 3.56 1.224 4.0 Wade Miley 31 31 192.3 192 96 20 75 155 11 11 0 4.14 1.388 2.4 Clay Buchholz 26 26 162.3 161 81 16 49 130 9 9 0 4.11 1.294 2.1 Justin Masterson 28 28 169.0 163 90 15 77 147 9 10 0 4.38 1.420 1.5 Joe Kelly 24 24 149.3 158 79 15 57 100 8 9 0 4.37 1.440 1.3 I don't think any of the projections are outrageously optimistic. We are projected to do well because of our offense. Sorry, that is hard to read. The columns are not lining up as intended.