I know Schilling's career has been nearing the end for a while now, but with his injury in play it's funny how quickly we have gone from talking about an embarrassment of riches and the possibility of a 6-man rotation to realizing that the 5 guys we have left over are just a blister away from getting knocked out of contention.
I'm concerned about Buchholz and Lester too and I don't really expect more than 12 wins from either one of them. You never know what you'll get from Wakefield because he's still throwing that knuckleball. I imagine he'll only record somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 wins himself. So, yeah, the bulk of the responsibility is resting on Beckett and Dice-K. I think we need Beckett to be close to 20 wins again and anything less than 16 wins from Dice-K will be a failure, in my opinion.
What I'm happy about is the depth in our bullpen right now. But I feel like knocking on wood just for saying that.
I'm thinking Wakefield is good for 15-18 wins, oddly optimistic for me. Delcarmen is the key to the bullpen. If he has the breakout year many expect, he's going to provide the bridge to Okajima and Papelbon that was sorely missed last year.
I know Schilling's career has been nearing the end for a while now, but with his injury in play it's funny how quickly we have gone from talking about an embarrassment of riches and the possibility of a 6-man rotation to realizing that the 5 guys we have left over are just a blister away from getting knocked out of contention. >>
Well said and what you just explained is what being a die hard is all about. Entire season outlooks can change in a second depending on how us lunatics are feeling that second.
<< <i>I'm thinking Wakefield is good for 15-18 wins, oddly optimistic for me. Delcarmen is the key to the bullpen. If he has the breakout year many expect, he's going to provide the bridge to Okajima and Papelbon that was sorely missed last year. >>
Good point. Dice-K is usually good for 5 or 6, and you don't want to have Beckett throw 8 innings each game. Lester usually lasts 5 or 6 too on a good night. Wakefield could throw a twi-night if we needed him to.
<< <i>Were you watching the Sox when we had Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley ? I wonder how you would have felt about them. >>
Those bass-tards are burned in my memory. The series was THEIR fault, not Buckner's -- the game was already tied when Buckner missed the grounder. And what about Rocket? Why didn't he shoot Lidocaine in that blister and finish off the Mets? I guess he only shoots it in his ass.
Fricken Schiraldi. Up 0-2 on Knight and throws him a strike right down the pipe. Idiot.
anyone else think Buchholz will spend time in AAA soon?
from boston.com:
Buchholz threw 70 pitches over three-plus innings, allowing five runs -- four earned -- and five hits with five strikeouts. The right-hander, who last season became the first rookie in franchise history to pitch a no-hitter, was 1-3 with a 10.03 ERA in four appearances this spring -- including three starts.
Ok the Sox finally open up ( for the real time ) but we got to wait until 10pm in my area!!!!!!!!!!!
Still...........................LETS GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<< <i>but in all seriousness...if the Sox don't have a healthy Beckett, I don't think they stand a chance at the playoffs. I could be wrong if Buchholz blossoms more than I expect, Lester can find the edges of the strike zone, and Matsuzaka takes it up a level. >>
I agree. I think Beckett is the key to our success. Without him, I don't think our pitching staff can get us over the hump, and especially in the playoffs. The guy is automatic in the postseason.
Lets not forget about Schilling. Without Beckett we would have major problems but we need a healthy Schilling as well, at this point Im not sure I have enough faith in Buccholz and Lester anchoring the end of our rotation all year. We know what we get from Wakefield-honest production and a few games where he is just plain awful, Dice should be settling comfortably in his own.
All in all I say it will be key to get Schilling back healthy at the break, if not we really better hope at least one of the youngsters can step up big this year.
How about Coco Crisp and a prospect for Joe Blanton? The A's have been trying to unload him for a while now.
Also, it's too soon to place much hope in this, but I have been keeping my fingers crossed for Bartolo Colon. If he could get things under control again he could be huge (no pun intended).
<< <i>How about Coco Crisp and a prospect for Joe Blanton? The A's have been trying to unload him for a while now.
Also, it's too soon to place much hope in this, but I have been keeping my fingers crossed for Bartolo Colon. If he could get things under control again he could be huge (no pun intended). >>
The 2nd inning has sucked so far. We squandered a chance to get Manny home from scoring position (V-tek pops out and Crisp K's) and then Cust blasts one off Dice-K. It's game 3 of the season and I'm already frustrated.
Wow. Dice-K goes 6 and 2/3rds, strikes out 9 and doesn't walk anyone. Only gives up 2 hits. Let's just say that I am pleasantly suprised. A 2-1 Sox win in Oakland puts us at 2-1. Dice-K wasn't no joke last night !
Nice win today, especially considering Manny's futility with the bases loaded. Lester and Harden had quite a duel going. I'm actually shocked that Harden isn't on the DL yet.
Contract year or not, Manny never gets out of the gate quick. Nice effort by Lester. If Lester, Wake, and Buchholz can pitch .500+ ball, then the team will easily make the playoffs.
<< <i>Contract year or not, Manny never gets out of the gate quick. Nice effort by Lester. If Lester, Wake, and Buchholz can pitch .500+ ball, then the team will easily make the playoffs. >>
the Sox have two option years after 2008...I believe it is $20 million per year for 09 and 10. Almost seems like a bargain given salaries of top tier players these days.
I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny! >>
low expectations! 50 and 150 would be nicer.
I know, I should wake up. >>
How about We meet in the middle? 45 and 125 sound OK?
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny! >>
low expectations! 50 and 150 would be nicer.
I know, I should wake up. >>
How about We meet in the middle? 45 and 125 sound OK? >>
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him ) >>
You're just hatin' on the contract, not the playah'. It's all good in my book.
Thank You Von. You know, funny thing your kinda right? Im 50/50 on the reasons I have bashed Drew, I know I said I would try to take it easy on him but the fact remains the same- I WANT SOME EMOTION from the guy! Oh and how about showing some HEART?
I do hate the contract more than I "Dislike" JD, I dont hold the contract against him but I do hold his lack of emotion/heart against him though..............
Tough game in Toronto tonight. I guess it was just Toronto's night. Anyone else notice Geddy Lee sitting behind home plate ? It will be interesting to see Buchholz throw. 3-2 ain't a bad start for all that traveling they're doing. They're still playing +.500 ball away from home. That's a good start.
I never get too down when Wakefield starts and they lose the game. The occassional blow up innings just seem to come with the territory. Things that did concern me tonight though included Kevin Cash seeming to have a hard time catching the knuckler, really poor defense in general (minus some exceptional plays from Youkilis), and JD Drew's first two at bats.
Comments
I know Schilling's career has been nearing the end for a while now, but with his injury in play it's funny how quickly we have gone from talking about an embarrassment of riches and the possibility of a 6-man rotation to realizing that the 5 guys we have left over are just a blister away from getting knocked out of contention.
I'm concerned about Buchholz and Lester too and I don't really expect more than 12 wins from either one of them. You never know what you'll get from Wakefield because he's still throwing that knuckleball. I imagine he'll only record somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 wins himself. So, yeah, the bulk of the responsibility is resting on Beckett and Dice-K. I think we need Beckett to be close to 20 wins again and anything less than 16 wins from Dice-K will be a failure, in my opinion.
What I'm happy about is the depth in our bullpen right now. But I feel like knocking on wood just for saying that.
<< <i>
I know Schilling's career has been nearing the end for a while now, but with his injury in play it's funny how quickly we have gone from talking about an embarrassment of riches and the possibility of a 6-man rotation to realizing that the 5 guys we have left over are just a blister away from getting knocked out of contention.
>>
Well said and what you just explained is what being a die hard is all about. Entire season outlooks can change in a second depending on how us lunatics are feeling that second.
Enjoy the season fellas ...
COPPER is gutter !
<< <i>I'm thinking Wakefield is good for 15-18 wins, oddly optimistic for me. Delcarmen is the key to the bullpen. If he has the breakout year many expect, he's going to provide the bridge to Okajima and Papelbon that was sorely missed last year. >>
Good point. Dice-K is usually good for 5 or 6, and you don't want to have Beckett throw 8 innings each game.
Lester usually lasts 5 or 6 too on a good night. Wakefield could throw a twi-night if we needed him to.
<< <i>Were you watching the Sox when we had Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley ? I wonder how you would have felt about them. >>
Those bass-tards are burned in my memory. The series was THEIR fault, not Buckner's -- the game was already tied when Buckner missed the grounder. And what about Rocket? Why didn't he shoot Lidocaine in that blister and finish off the Mets? I guess he only shoots it in his ass.
Fricken Schiraldi. Up 0-2 on Knight and throws him a strike right down the pipe. Idiot.
from boston.com:
Buchholz threw 70 pitches over three-plus innings, allowing five runs -- four earned -- and five hits with five strikeouts. The right-hander, who last season became the first rookie in franchise history to pitch a no-hitter, was 1-3 with a 10.03 ERA in four appearances this spring -- including three starts.
We kinda got cheated with that Japan trip!
Tomorrow is the real opening day, then!
Still...........................LETS GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
<< <i>but in all seriousness...if the Sox don't have a healthy Beckett, I don't think they stand a chance at the playoffs. I could be wrong if Buchholz blossoms more than I expect, Lester can find the edges of the strike zone, and Matsuzaka takes it up a level. >>
I agree. I think Beckett is the key to our success. Without him, I don't think our pitching staff can get us over the hump, and
especially in the playoffs. The guy is automatic in the postseason.
All in all I say it will be key to get Schilling back healthy at the break, if not we really better hope at least one of the youngsters can step up big this year.
<< <i>Coco Crisp may end up being a solution to the potential pitching problem, say around the end of July...if he lasts that long. >>
Nah, I would rather see Mirabelli get a State Police escort into Fenway Park for a emergency start.
<< <i>
<< <i>Coco Crisp may end up being a solution to the potential pitching problem, say around the end of July...if he lasts that long. >>
Nah, I would rather see Mirabelli get a State Police escort into Fenway Park for a emergency start. >>
I'm hoping that the Sox work something out with Texas to get Saltamacchia (sp?) now that he has been relegated to backup catcher.
Bosox1976
<< <i>Maybe we can trade Crisp for Gabbard... >>
Also, it's too soon to place much hope in this, but I have been keeping my fingers crossed for Bartolo Colon. If he could get things under control again he could be huge (no pun intended).
<< <i>How about Coco Crisp and a prospect for Joe Blanton? The A's have been trying to unload him for a while now.
Also, it's too soon to place much hope in this, but I have been keeping my fingers crossed for Bartolo Colon. If he could get things under control again he could be huge (no pun intended). >>
hey, that's really funny!
(the huge comment)
say that I am pleasantly suprised. A 2-1 Sox win in Oakland puts us at 2-1. Dice-K wasn't no joke last night !
V-Tek totally got screwed out of a home run too. I think that might have been a make-up call for when they didn't call Youkilis out at the plate . . .
<< <i>Papelbon Stiking out the ENTIRE 9th innning wasnt too shabby either, especially for 775k per year >>
Im all about Papelbon this year, the scary thing is he might finally be coming into his own more this year.
Thats right, I drafted him with my 5th round pick this year!!!!!!!!
BTW-Nice work Jon Lester!
<< <i>I will resist the urge to get excited and have any expectations about Varitek at bat...but damn he has looked good the last two days! >>
Agree on both points!
Nice effort by Lester. If Lester, Wake, and Buchholz can pitch .500+ ball, then the team will easily make the playoffs.
<< <i>Contract year or not, Manny never gets out of the gate quick.
Nice effort by Lester. If Lester, Wake, and Buchholz can pitch .500+ ball, then the team will easily make the playoffs. >>
the Sox have two option years after 2008...I believe it is $20 million per year for 09 and 10. Almost seems like a bargain given salaries of top tier players these days.
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny!
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny! >>
low expectations! 50 and 150 would be nicer.
I know, I should wake up.
<< <i>
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny! >>
low expectations! 50 and 150 would be nicer.
I know, I should wake up. >>
How about We meet in the middle? 45 and 125 sound OK?
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him )
Seriously Red Sox nation owes Manny! >>
low expectations! 50 and 150 would be nicer.
I know, I should wake up. >>
How about We meet in the middle? 45 and 125 sound OK? >>
mmm, make it 130 and we got a deal!
<< <i>I hope Manny puts up the 35hr's and 110 rbi this year and stays in Boston. I know its a bussiness and we need to think about our future but whatever deal to keep Manny in town will be a better deal than the JD Drew one! ( I know ive said I would layoff him ) >>
You're just hatin' on the contract, not the playah'. It's all good in my book.
I do hate the contract more than I "Dislike" JD, I dont hold the contract against him but I do hold his lack of emotion/heart against him though..............
But your right, Im Hatin' on the contract
home plate ? It will be interesting to see Buchholz throw. 3-2 ain't a bad start for all that traveling they're doing. They're still playing
+.500 ball away from home. That's a good start.
<< <i>Ok lets blame these losses on Jet Lag? I dont know but at least the Yanks are losing right?
hmmm, if jet lag equals lack of hitting and pitching it where the other guy can hit it, yes...and booting a couple.