Maxbialystock

Love how the pitching staff picks each other up. Houck had a bad start yesterday, so Crawford is out there today doing his best to take the heat off his teammate.

Good to see the dingers, less good to see Crawford give up 4 in 3 innings.

I volunteer to be the misguided contributor because I often am. Season starts Thursday at Fenway vs. the Orioles, Kluber vs. Gibson. Looks like the weather will be sunny and cold (high of 41). I believe this year the Sox are expected to finish 5th in the AL East, which I have to admit is reasonable.

I cannot imagine a successful starter with just 2 pitches--except of course for knuckleballers.

A lot of good commentary on here--way above my pay grade. On the other hand and just because it's near the end of spring training, I would like to say I never thought Houck was starter material. He keeps saying he's better than an ERA of 8, and he probably is. But 7, 6, or 5 won't help much either. He has neither good stuff nor good command.

Apropos of nothing, for which I do apologize, I feel compelled to note how much bus trips in spring training affect the lineups. Today is a a great example with Kluber, our opening game starter, facing the Rays in the Trop, which I believe is a 2 hour bus trip from Fort Myers. The Sox have Hamilton leading off at SS, Rafaela in CF, Valdez at 2b/3b, Abreu in RF, Hernandez catching, Fitzgerald in LF, Crook DH, Kavadas at 1b, and Sogard at 2b/3b. Last night (start time 6 pm) at Fort Myers it was Verdugo/Refsnyder, Devers, Turner, Yoshida/Duran, Duval, Casas, Arroyo, and McGuire. Quite a difference.

A lot of truth in that. I spoke too soon.

Very good point. I just noticed he's actually pitching with his right arm, so a little off the fastball, now at 46 mph.

Meanwhile, Chris Sale is in a train wreck vs. the Orioles: 2 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits (2 HR's), 1 K.

Agree on all.

Apropos of nothing, Sunday I discovered mlb.com had stopped sending me live TV feeds of Sox games. I called and got the run around. Yesterday I called again and discovered they stopped showing me games because they used a cancelled credit card number, so I had to re-apply. In so doing, I discovered vets get a pretty nice discount, so I'm a happy camper even though I still can't get games vs. the Braves, Orioles, and Nationals. Plus, like everyone else, I am fascinated by the effect of the pitching (and batter) clocks in the spring training games. I'm all for speeding things up, but also wonder whether there will be adverse effects. The flatter and bigger bases--but not by much--are also a good idea.

I no longer know what a "great #4" means, but agree Yoshida should help the Sox lineup.

I lived in Saudi Arabia for 4 1/2 years and absolutely despise their government and the dominance of the Wahabi sect. The Muslim call to prayer is hauntingly beautiful, but Shariah Law is a travesty. So of course I'm delighted with the failure of LIV golf. I don't much like Greg Norman either. Pickle ball is silly, but harmless--so have at it, players. As for the new rules, I think they are going to change the game of MLB, hopefully for the better. I have personally raged endlessly on talksox about the delays caused by both pitchers and hitters, and I see only good in the new base sizes.

It's great baseball. Last night's Mexico-Japan game was better than most MLB games I've watched because those other countries--but especially Mexico and Japan, who have sizable populations and have been playing baseball for 150 years--love the WBC. I don't discount the injury aspect, which is real and potentially costly (as it was again this year when that player was injured in the post-game celebration). But it's still great fun to watch with games that are well played and enthusiastically supported by fans. Miami games have been sold out, which they aren't during the regular MLB season. I've been a Sox fan since 1949, but have routinely apologized for my baseball fandom because I have no family or friends who share that passion. Why? Because MLB games last forever--3+ hours with maybe 10 minutes of real action--and are definitely an acquired taste. So, when I see fanatics from other countries--to say nothing of the players--I'm delighted. Last night I rooted for Japan, especially after seeing what an unbelievable hotdog Arozarena is. When the game ended and Mexico had lost, he had a big smile on his face because for him it's all about the show. Nevertheless, I thought both teams played a high brand of baseball--definitely MLB caliber.

Agree it's bad. But it's also a done deal, so to me it makes sense to hope that this year, finally, Sale can redeem some of the significant cost of that contract. When he was healthy--before the tommy john surgery--I thought Chris Sale was the most professional Sox pitcher I'd ever seen. Clemens and Pedro--and no doubt others--were better, but I liked that Sale also played great defense.

The service obligation of 5 years of active service in the Navy is real and completely justified because the USNA education--and commission in the US Navy--is at no cost to the graduates. David Robinson could have served 5 years in the active Navy, but in his case letting him go to the NBA early was in fact "for the good of the service." Why? Because he was well known, greatly admired, and a terrific help to the US Navy's recruiting efforts. Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis, both West Point grads (1947), were awarded the Heisman Trophy in consecutive years (Blanchard in 1945, Davis in 1946). Both wanted to play in the NFL, but couldn't right away because of the service requirement. Blanchard became a fighter pilot in the USAF and served 24 years, 1947-71. Davis served just 3 years in the Army, followed by a short NFL career (1950-52) and assorted jobs. In the 1947 NFL draft, Davis was ranked 2d and Blanchard 3d.

Curt Gowdy by himself (1953-54). It's been downhill since then.

Very sensible, as always. But you have omitted one central consideration. Grady Little wasn't much of a MLB manager: he lasted 2 seasons with the Sox and 2 more with the Dodgers. Grady's decision to leave Pedro in was a godsend for John Henry and his senior management team.

Thanks for the discussion and updates everyone.

Absolutely stunning post--ever the realist. That said, I hope 2019 Sale is not our third best starter this season.

Nailed it!

Could someone please enlighten me on the most likely lineup and rotation this season? I know only about the departure of Bogey, the big contract for Raffy, and the acquisition of the Japanese outfielder.

What a lotta. The 2018 team disintegrated in 2019. Then came the covid season, basically a nonseason, followed by a very nice comeback engineered by Bloom and Cora in 2021--the Sox got to the ALCS before going down to the Astros 4 games to 2.

DD seems to have the Midas touch, both ways. He spends a lot of money, but makes teams competitive and revived an absolutely moribund Phillies franchise. Signing Schwarber was just smart baseball, and the Sox letting him go wasn't so smart.

Interesting. In MLB in 2022, the Cleveland Guardians finished dead last out of 30 teams in striking out. Everybody struck out more than they did. Next to the "bottom" (assuming not striking out is actually a good thing) would be the Houston Astros. And next year those bold shifts are going to be tempered somewhat, requiring two infielders in each side of 2b. So I'm not sure sure I want guys at the plate who feel that striking out is actually a good thing provided they get an xbh every so often. The Yankees led MLB in dingers with 254 and the Guardians were 29th with 127. They meet tonight in game 5 to decide who gets to play the Astros in the ALCS. The Guardians beat the Rays twice, 2-1 and 1-0 (in 15 innings), to get to the ALDS, where Gerrit Cole has now beaten them twice. But the Guardians won the other two games.