notin

My daughter actually has a pink Cubs hat...

Never worry about a slow spring training for a player under contract. After all, what do these games mean to JBJ? It's not like he is in danger of losing his starting job And especially NEVER worry about a slow spring training for a streaky hitter. ...

You know, there is more to pitching than velocity. 100mph fastballs do nothing if their not strikes...

Here's what bothers me. If Wright had been accused of using PED with no more evidence than rumors on an online article, people would be condemning him, supporting his suspension, accepting his release or DFA. And that behavior (PED usage) doesn't hurt anyone except Wright himself (maybe). why are we harsher on PED usage than domestic violence? This is not directed at any individual, but on us all as baseball fans as a whole. With DV, we want proof and knowledge of the incident. With PEDs, we're more than ok with rumors leading to suspensions and bans...

True. Wright's suspension is proportionally smaller than the controversial original two games received by Ray Rice. (Granted, Rice left far, far more proof behind him.)

Maybe he never laid a hand on her, but maybe not. But MLB can't ignore any accusation on a subject this serious.

That "story" barely says anything. Between the two of us, we covered all his points in 3 posts. Maybe two...

There was that story last year. I hadn't seen out this year. And I find it hard to believe. That means, for example, Jeremy Hellickson, who was available 10 days ago, looked at a potential Sox rotation already featuring Brian Johnson and Hector Velasquez, and somehow thought no way he could beat out those guys and he had a better shot in Washington. I admit I never spoke to Hellickson about this, but somehow I think the former ROY isn't so humble about his abilities. I get not signing Dickey. The guy is 43. He's won a Cy Young. He's made millions. I wouldn't be do surprised if he overly started he would not take a minor league deal. But his like Hellickson and numerous others have been put there for months. ..

I could see that being more applicable to Moreland and Swihart than the utility infielder and the backup catcher. ...

Maybe Holt 's option and the ability to denote him factored into the decision to keep him. ..

Didn't we get Leon from Washington? There's definitely a chance. But unless its for something useful, why?

Holt has the only option on the bench...

I get the addition of a big bat. They never really replaced Ortiz, and getting Martinez this year keeps them potentially or of the bidding wars for the big bats next year. Not to mention the Sox really lacked any thump last year. Not only were they dead last in the AL in home runs, they were dead last by as LOT. They trailed the White Sox by 18 home runs, and that gap was the largest gap between any two adjacent teams on the home run list. Martinez filled a need, and hopefully Price can fill a number two pitcher need. But I don't get not adding a single pitcher to the entire organization. No trades for minor leaguers. No minor league free agents. Not even a Rule 5 pick. Not a single arm was added above A ball. That's just weird to me. And to make it stranger, Ben Taylor was DFAd. He was only drafted two years ago! He had plenty of options left! And reportedly when he was claimed, Dombrowski said that he needed to add some pitching depth. (And the article made it sound like Dombrowski was surprised Taylor was claimed. Huh?) But hey, of he didn't DFA Taylor, the Sox would not have been able to get that cash from Arizona in the Marrero trade. ..

See? In a Subject about depth, I didn't even bring up the pitcher responsible for the most exciting start of the season. But, hey, maybe everyone else is right. Depth isn't important. If pitchers get hurt, you simply quit on the season. Thankfully the Sox don't have any injured pitchers (except Pomeranz, Rodriguez, and Wright) or any pitchers at risk (except Price and Thornburg). I know some of these guys are "due back soon, " which is important, because players always come back as scheduled and at 100% and "soon" NEVER drags into July. So depth is unnecessary. Except for some reason the third string catcher. There depth is vital and THAT guy should be considered untouchable. ...

The 2007 team has Jon Lester and Kason Gabbard waiting for their chances. Forget about Lester, right now the Sox don't even have the equal to Gabbard. ..

Now that Vazquez has been extended and is the starter for a while, unless Blake does become a Swiss army knife, it does make him more expendable. I wouldn't keep him as a backup catcher of he could be dealt for a decent reliever. Bullpen pitching does have some priority over backup catching. .. Like I said, the offers DD was getting might not be worth it. As he is fielding calls on Swihart per MLBTR, he's probably not getting offered much just yet. ...

Swihart can't go tp the minors without clearing waivers. If he is tradable (and he absolutely is), he won't clear waivers. I'd see what he was worth to other teams. Of course, they're is a good chance Dombrowski already has and maybe he just didn't like what was offered. ..

Absolutely. I'll start with the team that brought in Bronson Arroyo on a minor league deal. Maybe not the most recent, but certainly the most significant. You never know at the start of the season who are going to be the best depth options. WHich is why every off-season, Epstein's very first move was to sign half a dozen our do pitchers to minor league deals. Most of these pitchers never saw MLB, but every now and then, he'd get a difference maker like Arroyo or someone who who be dealt for a significant difference maker, like Brandon Lyon (packaged for Schilling). But, hey, why explore rarely successful depth tactics when you've already got a rotaruon depletef to the point of using Hector Velasquez and Brian Johnson in the rotation?

Its a very shallow rotation because the season hasn't even starred yet and we already have three injured starters. Velasquez is a nice story with the occasional good putting, but do you really want 180 innings from him? We all hope Rodriguez is bank mid-April, but he hasn't been very reliable so far. I actually don't mind Wright being out. Yes or depth is poor...

I'm all for giving Swihart a chance, but at some point, now that Vazquez has been extended, he is about as blocked as he can get. Corner outfield it's out. Third base too. And of course now catcher is blocked. If he can be dealt for a worthwhile player, there really is no reason to hold on to him. ...

No. I said every rotation is good when every pitcher is and pitching well. They are. The Sox 2015 rotation didn't accomplish the latter. May complaints were the"lack of an ace", but given that Porcello was one year away from a Cu Young, read that all that true? Compare the Sox 2015 top the Royals from that year. (Volsquez, Ventura, Duffy, Young, and Guthrie. Wad that rotation so much better? ("More potential" doesn't mean "better" at least not for 2015.) That KC rotation did won a World Series that year. ...

I'd rather have Marrero and the $2mill. Should have dumped Holt. Nunez makes Holt expendable, but Marrero is a better option at shortstop than Nunez. ...

Is that even close to what I said?

At least I finally get why Dombrowski ignores pitching depth. In his last 6 seasons in Detroit, he rarely had any pitching injuries. He only had one season where more than 6 starters started add many as 5 games. It looked like he put 3 or 4 starting pitchers on the DL in that stretch, which is a crazy low number for a team that has Drew Smyly... l

Every team has a good rotation if the pitchers are healthy and pitch well. But the issue is - what happens when everything doesn't go your way?