The New Sox

I'll believe that when...

2006-05-07T11:49:00.000+02:00

So after yesterday's victory over the O's, I made my rounds to best inform myself of the game. Several things hit me as funny/good/miraculous. The thing would be the offensive resurgence of the Sox yesterday. Of course, there was a time when 9 runs was not an explosion for the Sox, but rather a good day at the plate (remember when like 24 runs was an explosion?). But the Sox, led in part by AGon (what???) put up 5 in the first inning and 9 runs total. I like it when they do that. But one thing is for sure. Wakefield deserved it. After pitching very well almost every start. He finally got himself some run love.

The next issue is the resugence in suckiness from Seanez. The man is just plain bad and, unless he returns to at least a shadow of how he pitched last year (2.69 era in 60.1 innings), he needs to just get out of Boston. This year he has posted, in 11 earned runs in 11.1 innings, 14 hits, 4 homeruns and 6 walks. You are great.

Of course, no game that includes Julian "I wish I was as bad-ass as Seanez" Tavarez would be complete without a little drama. After hitting Luis Matos on the hit, Tavarez (whose stat line is pretty bad at 13 hits 6 earned runs, 3 homeruns, a HBP and 4 walks in 11 innings) exchanged some words with his 'buddy'. The benches cleared but nothing happened, fortunately. Said Tavarez, "I'm not here to start anything. I'm not here to embarrass the Red Sox organization. I'm a better person than that." I guess he forgot who he was.

Also, for next week's Yankees we will see Beckett followed by Schilling and Wake. Pretty good.

Ha!! Stud!!!

2006-05-03T14:21:00.000+02:00

Ok...all of the people who were not sure about Mirabelli trade deux. I am pretty sure that this is worth Cla Boy (By the way, if he stuck with the Sox, I believe Cla Boy would be a good nickname for him. I don't know why. It's a terrible nickname)

Beckett is up tomorrow against Doc Halliday. Depending on which Beckett strolls out there, it should be a great pitching match up.

Have I Told You Lately, That I Love You?

2006-05-02T16:08:00.000+02:00

So, After the three day depressing as hell weekend (France's labor day). I walk into work, depressed bc it is the first working day of the week and my desk is taken. So I have no internet. 2 hours later, I connect my lab top and switch over to the Sox sight. Read my last post to get an idea of how I thought Monday's game would go. But then Whammy!!! GREAT NEWS!!! 1) the Sox won; 2) Dougie is Back!!!

I only have a few things to say about the game because I am sure you have heard it all already. But first, Wake is fricking amazing. To the game, Loretta might be breaking out of his slump which would be great for both the Sox and my fantasy team, while Papi is just plain Papi. Now a big part of this game was Damon's return. I, being in France, did not see how the fans reacted, but I saw that Judas went ahead and tipped his helmet before hitting. Question. What the F'ing dahahfdbkibec????? Who do you think you are???? What a arrogent bastard. Damon, You are a bad bad man, but you went 0-4 so way to go douchbag.

The other thing that I have to talk about is Superman's return. Or as some might call him, Dougie. Flying in to Logan, changing into his uniform in his police escort only to barely beat the opening pitch and catch the knuckler perfectly after nearly 7 months away from Wake.

Have I told you lately, that I love you? Have I told you, there's no one else above you??

You have to feel for Bard though. The man tried. Hopefully he is remembered for his 93 days here in Boston. So we sent Bard, Cla Meredith and some cash over to the Padres. See ya Bard and $100,000 dollars. Meredith huh? Well its a tough loss to our system. Number 11 prospect who is tough on righties. However, he was being groomed as a closer and is much more effective against righties than lefties. So he is a talented young pitcher, who was eventually going to be our closer? No way. Hansen has that wrapped up in the future.

So really we traded $100,000 and Meredith, a closer with no future here for Dougie 'Im the only man alive who can catch Wakefield' Mirabelli (or for Loretta, depending on how you look at it). Done and Done. Great Trade.

Now let's hope that Stella can help Beckett get his groove back

Sorry about that one.

Pollywackas

2006-04-30T14:07:00.000+02:00

Ok. Last post was a rather optimistic view of the future of the sox. The ones before that were generally optimistic views of the present. This one, I am sorry everyone, is exclusively pessimistic. Go ahead and tell me the sox are in first place and Schilling and Foulke look like their 2004 selves and Paps is holding down the bullpen raking in saves in record fashion. But, in doing my daily tour of sox blogs, I came across three, normally well written insightful blogs saying that we sucked on this road trip against two very good teams, but that is ok bc we are heading into a 3 game set against the devil rays who we will sweep like normal and have momentum going into the yankees series.

We lost the first game in Florida.

More blogs about the second game. We won in great fashion bc the sox were able to come back. THREE TIMES. Ok yes that is good that we swung the bat some. But we let up 6 runs to the devil rays. That hurts my pride that a come back win against the D-rays is the best news the sox had this week.

Dear coco. Get better

Dear Roger. Save me.

Dear Foulke. Take over the closer role

Dear Paps. Become a dominating Starter

Dear Mikey. Stop throwing the ball away

Dear Mark. You dont need coco to be good

Dear Gonzo. Sigh

Dear Manny. Hit more HRs

Dear center field. tear

Dear craig. Help us

Dear Jon. Help us

Dear Red Sox organization, have you seen my pride lately. Crying a lot lately,

Love chris

Salary Games

2006-04-25T15:58:00.000+02:00

So we are going to play a few compare and contrast games. Compare and contrast the following: Yankees, Red Sox and the Marlins

Payroll at last World Series Win: Marlins at $49 million in 2003; Red Sox $127.3 million in 2004; and the Yankees $114 million in 2000. Although the old chinese proverb, "the Yankees Buy Their Championships" forever will hole true. It doesn't. The Sox, as the evidence shows, spent much more on their championship team than the Yankees (not to mention the fish). Of course, since 2000, the New York payroll has nearly exploded, The Sox payroll has dipped slightly, and the Marlins, well, let's put it this way, I am a poor college student who eats pasta everyday and I think I make more than the Marlins. This year, the Marlins team payroll ($14mill) is less than Manny's $18mill annual check. Schilling at $13mill is close and Tek at $9is right there too. Shame on you Red Sox. With a total payroll of around $120mill for the year, we could buy several Marlins teams. But look. The Yanks (team payroll at over $198mill) have the following players and salaries which out-do or approach the the Marlins team (which has 13 of 23 players making MLB minimum wage) payroll: A-rod ($25.68mill), Jeter ($20.6mill), Giambi ($20.428mill), Mussina ($19mill), Randy Johnson ($15.66mill), Damon ($13mill), Matsui ($13mill), Posada ($12mill), Sheffield ($10.75mill), and Rivara ($10.5mill). Wow.

But why am I so unfairly comparing two top market high-roller teams to the floundering fish, who just traded everyone away for financial reasons? To look at the future (the Marlins was more just for perspective). After this season, the contracts of Nixon, Gonzalez, Foulke, and Wells are up. If Nixon goes to free-agency and Pena shows us a reason to take him over Trot, the Sox shed nearly $23million. After 2007, Schilling, Clement, Lowell and Tavarez are gone: shed another $35.35 million. After 2008, its Manny and Tek: say goodbye to another $30 million. Naturally, this is hypothetical, but in my humble opinion by 2008, Gonzales, Foulke, Wells, Schilling, Clement, Lowell, Tavarez and Manny are off the payroll. Question marks linger with Trot and Tek. If Pena starts playing good ball than Trot is gone, and if we re-sign Tek, it won't be to a long deal given his age. So, basically, by 2008, if Tek and Trot leave, 8 of the 10 top paid Red Sox are gone giving the sox $81 million dollars that they are paying to those 8 players today that will not be spent on them in 2008.

Ortiz will be here in 2008, Beckett will probably sign a big deal (if he can stay healthy) and be here. Wake could retire by then ($4 mill), but maybe not. Tavarez (his $3.35 mill not being included in the $81 mill) will be gone. Loretta could be gone after this year ($3.25 million) as could Timlin and his $3.5 million dollars. Crisp is here for a while, Gonzales will be gone, Snow ($2 mill) will be gone after this year (probably), Seanez and his $1.9 could be gone. So here is what I think our payroll will be reduced by each year.

After 2006: Nixon, Gonzales, Foulke, Wells, Loretta, Snow, Seanez, Riske leave. Total? Around $30.93 million
After 2007: Schilling, Clement, Lowell, Timlin amd Tavarez are gone. Total? Around $38.35 million
After 2008: Manny and Varitek go. Total? Around $30 million

Note: This assumes that Pena replaces Nixon next year - something not at all assured, the 2007 option for Foulke is not picked up and he signs elsewhere, Gonzales signs elsewhere, Wells retires, Snow retires, Seanez and Riske sign elsewhere. Schilling and Timlin retire after 2007, Clement, Lowell and Tavarez go elsewhere, Manny and Tek want too much money/longer contract and hit free agency and command a pretty penny. Other option is Tek signs a short extension,

That is almost $100 million dollars that we won't be paying in 3 years. We'll sign paps, youk, pena? cora, wake and beckett to contracts of various lengths, but will still have plenty on cash to shell out. By the time 2008 is in the books the sox will need a left fielder, 3rd baseman, shortstop, 2nd baseman, catcher, a couple of pitchers and bullpen help. Fill in some of them with some touted prospects (Lester, Hansen, Pedroia and Delcarmen) and we have a relatively small payroll with some big holes, but with money to spend.

Pap, Lester, and Beckett are starters. Choi or an free agent pick-up at first, Pedroia at short or second and a free agent at the other, Youk at 3rd, Coco in center, Pena or free-agent in right, with Hansen closing, and Delcarmen in the pen with possibly Edgar Martinez and some pick-ups. Point is. Expect the Sox to be active (and much younger) in the coming years. We will have money to spend on free agents, and, following the strategy of the Indians, we will lock up our young talent early.

With a strong minor league system (8th in baseball) we have the young depth to ocme up and help, or the trade bait and the money to bring in some big names. However, don't look for another Manny sized contract (amount and duration) because it aint happening.

(PS Willis rumors floating around about him becoming available around mid-year. Schilling, Wake, Beckett, Clemens (I dream) and Willis. Wow. We would have to give up Lester and another, but Willis is 24, you pull that string if you can. Lester Delcarmen and Moss for Willis. I could see it. But then again, this is based on dreams and rumors)

Quickly

2006-04-24T14:49:00.001+02:00

Ok...so we won last night. Ortiz did his bunting impression while clement did his pitching impression. I was happy about Foulke. He seems to be in a good spot right now. Hopefully he can keep that going but let us not get over excited here. Paps is promoting a 17 year old movie (http://www.sawxblog.com/) and now, after an off-day we have Schilling. Going against a very very good Indians club. 12-8 is better than 11-9...well guys, 13-8 is better than 12-9. So...lets win this next one huh?

2006-04-24T14:49:00.000+02:00

Sox-D-rays Tues 4-18

2006-04-19T13:16:00.000+02:00

Just last year Kevin YoukYouk was a role player who, as an understudy to the Rock Meuller, knew the quickest way to Pawtucket better than than the back of his hand. Just last year is over and bring on the new year. Youk, now over at first has become a great little spark plug for this Sox team - this sox team without the likes of Coco. His hard work over the off-season has clearly paid pff as the man is just a plain old gamer. Once Billy Bean's poster child, Youk is hitting at a .318 clip with an on-base percentage of .426. Not bad for a replacement lead-off hitter. Not only did Youk win the game last night with a rocket double off the center field wall scoring two, he was pissed about it. A defensive miscue at 1st on a tough hop (which was in fact ruled a hit) and a base-running bouffe that turned a Loretta base-hit into a fielders choice was all tthat Youk wanted to talk about after the game. PLAYER! Other news, Stern flashing some leather at the end to save the soon to be president Jonathon Papadap and the end game with the bases loaded, while Papadap himself got his 7th save in 7 chances, recording 2 more Ks in the 9th. Matt Clement, the man I goaded just yesterday as being the wild card of out pitching staff went 7 very strong innings. One bad note of the game, if you could call it that, was TImlin letting in his first runs of the young season - though he did niftily escape a one out man on third situation.

This is indeed a whole new team. More pitching and more defense. But there is still that flare of the old sox. Meanwhile, Manny hit his first extra-base hit last night, which is a good thing and is showing strong signs of breaking out of his early season slump. A little more bang in our line-up is always nice to see.

What I have been most impressed with thusfar in the season has been our starters. I know yesterday I said I was worried about it. But they have been red-hot. Everyone knows of the Schilling/Becket show so far, but take away a bad outing by Wake in Texas and one by Clement and we have had tremendous starts in nearly every game (of course, take out Wells in this equation. We should pay him to fall down the stairs and end his season). In 14 games this season, our starters (Schill, Beckett, Wake, Clement, Wells and DiNardo) have pitched 88.2 out of 126 possible innings. And if you take away the game started by Wells (bc he shouldn't have started) you have the starters going 84.2 of 117 innings or 71.9%. For the record, thee yanks are sitting at (with Johnson, Mussina, Wang, Chacon and Wright at 78/111 or 70% - plus a lower era, less walks, less wild pitches - despite wakefield/bard its 8wp for the yanks and 5 for the sox, lower whip, lower oba, less hits per 9 innings and less walks per 9 innings)

Tonight, we have Schilling on the mound looking to stay perfect. I like his chances. Let's keep thee trend going.

Gosh Batman!! I'm Back

2006-04-18T18:04:00.000+02:00

Ok, Slight little break from the Blog. Sorry about that folks. I guess that is what a trip around Europe without a computer will do do your internet life. But I am back and back at it. Below is the rest of my around the horn previews, but in a much more condensed form. Enjoy and Play Ball!!!!

Ok also, It is killing me being in Europe with no NESN...I don't know what to do here.

Wily Mo, Mohr and Stern

2006-04-18T18:03:00.000+02:00

Wily Mo: Below average defensively, potential offensively. We have not really gotten a taste of the power (one monster shot...many monster Ks). You've heard it all. Could be terrible could be great. I dont know yet. Mohr: I love this guy. I have never seen him play, but I followed him a bit when he was with the Rockies and I love what he brings to the table. I am glad he decided to stay, a move that really surprised me. Some speed, some pop, and average defensively. A good 4th outfielder. Stern: Again, love this guy. I think, despite his success, he could profit form a year at AAA and become a force in years to come.

Grade B- right now
B+/A- (when Manny starts hitting/Coco comes back/ Wily Mo shows his potential)

Coco and Trot

2006-04-18T18:02:00.000+02:00

Coco; will be a great lead off hitter. Better speed than Damon, better arm, still hard to say who is better. Personality to boot though. PLus we are paying him a lot less than Damon. And his name is Coco. Will score tons of runs, steal some bags and be great tempo setter when he returns. Defensively, will be better than average, particularly after learrning the crazy turns of Fenway. Trot: as much as I love Trot, I just have this feeling in me that he is going to go down this year, He already hurt himself, though not for very long, but I don't know how if he can hold up. But seeing as it is his free agent year, he could prove me wrong. He is an average fielder and ok offensively. Look for him to be gone next year (prove me wrong Trot).

2006-04-18T18:01:00.000+02:00

Outfield - Manny, Coco, Trot, Wily Mo, Mohr and Stern

Ok so I am clearly doing this after Coco's injury, which will hurt the outfields grade. But quickly. Manny: Despite the terrible beginning of the season offensively, rf will once again be the offensive powerhouse that it has been for the sox. i have no doubts, particularly after last seasons start, that pretty soon the American league pitchers will feel the wrath of Manny's bat. Defensively he is better than people might think. He led the league (majors?) in outfield assists last year (mostly bc he plays so shallow and has the advantage of that wall behind him, but who cares about that) and he has already made some great plays so far this season.

Starters

2006-04-18T17:59:00.000+02:00

Starters

Schilling looks like Schilling of old; Beckett seems to be everything they expected; Wake is himself and will be good for 15 wins and around 4 era; I never liked the Clement signing and I still don't. He could be great (so much potential just waiting to emerge they said.) Well I don't think it will emerge and if it wasn't for his over-generous contract he'd be gone. Wells should retire right now and save everyone the trouble. 100% this is his last season. How about 100% you already threw your last pitch? People talked before the season about the pitching depth we have. I'm worried, but Im a sox fan and thats what I do. We need more than a dominant Schill/Beckett combo...If Foulke regains control and goes 2004 style, Paps will come into the starting rotation for an ineffective Wells who will complain about how he should be the number one guy while on the DL and we will be fine. Wild Card on Clement.

B to B+ (probably more but I'm serious pessimist here)

Pen

2006-04-18T17:57:00.000+02:00

Pen - DiNardo, Foulke, Papelbon, Seanez, Tavarez, Timlin, Van Buren

Ok, Here is the tricky part. We have Riske on the DL, and I'm hoping he can provide anything when he gets back. Foulke seems like he he maybe could might possibly turn into Foulkey of 2004, or not. Seanez is only impressing me in the fact that he is a beast. Van Buren will head to AAA soon. The Sox will regret they signed Tavarez due to one of the following possibilities : A) many suspensions; B) Injury due to punching a phone, water cooler, wall, somebody...; C) He kind of sucks; D) a little bit of everything. I like Dinardo, but I am not sure if he will be up in the bigs for much longer, unless everyone sucks. Timlin is a rock like always, off to a great start. Papelbon is the 2 week favorite for rookie of the year. Kids gots it going. But...BUT...I would hate to see him stuck out in the bullpen all season bc everyone else sucks when he could be starting. Fortunately, we have Delcarmen and Hansen waiting partiently to be called up when the others turn out to be complete busts. Expect some bullpen turn over throughout the year.

C- unless the game is 7 innings by the starter than Timlin and Pbomb...than it would be an A

A Different Approach

2006-04-18T17:52:00.000+02:00

2nd Base - Mark Loretta

I loved this transaction when Theo pulled it off. Obviously I am going to miss Mirabelli, I thought the bare handed batting was awesome, not to mention his ability to catch the butterfly. But Loretta was coming kinda cheap. A backup catcher for an everyday player? Gotta do it. Coming off a bad year full of injuries, I think Loretta is prone to pick it up this year and have a great season. Particularly hitting in front of the mashers. Serious runs coming from this man. If he can stay healthy, I think he can, of course with the help of manny and papi, throw up a monster, possibly all star year.

B+

1st Base - Kevin YoukyYouk and Snowballer

Another transaction I liked was snow. Not much of a risk and a great defensive player. I think Youk will be much better than Millar, even though i loved that dude. Youk has already showed us so far this season that he is taking the position seriously, with some stellar defensive plays. While an on-base machine, Youk really is not your typical corner infielding power hitter. I am expecting, offensively a great on base percentage, which will help with his run total; a decent average and not much power. Snow I am not expecting much of as far as offense goes, but he will be a great late inning replacement with the occasional start at first.

B

grrr

2006-04-18T17:50:00.000+02:00

This is not Working!!!

Around the Horn - SS

2006-03-27T20:31:00.000+02:00

Well another day and we are closer and closer to spring training. Some quick notes: Dustin Mohr will be heading out of Boston pretty soon and the Sox will be getting nothing for him. Mohr's great spring did not go unnoticed by other clubs and there are plenty of teams who are interested. Unfortunately, his out clause in his contract makes him a free agent on the 30th, meaning clubs are in no rush to give up something when they don't need to. Poor Tony Graf was put on waivers the other day, securing his exit. The sox are still looking for a suitor, but will cut him by wednesday if they dont find anyone in order to not pay him they full years worth.

Beckett full of steam against philly....good thing....i like it

Foulke looks impressive....I like it

Schilling has not hit anyone in the head lately.....I like it

Coco is a cool guy his is speedy (2 stolen bases the other day)....i like it

Varitek is struggling at the plate, hitting a monster .125...ouch

I dont know about you but I am so ready for this season to start

BUT

Around the Horn - SS

Alex Gonzales, Alex Cora

We saw my thoughts on Cora under the 3rd base section so I'll concentrate on our newbie. I will say however, that I like Cora much better at second base than I do at 3rd. Alex Gonzales...our star free agent pick up of the off season. And he wasnt even our first choice, but with the stellar defensive skills I'll take that flashy leather anyday. All accounts point to Gonzo whipping out a great year defensively. He was sold as a defensive guy and, if what we have seen in Florida so far is any sort of preview, than any Fenway ticket holder should keep the camera out to get that killer shot of Gonzo doing his catch the ball throw the guy out thing. One thing to think about is his past. The man has been in sunny Florida his entire career. Is a switch to Boston in April going to hurt him. I hope not. Offensively he is not as stellar. Hitting .118 this spring there is definetely something to be desired there. But then again it is only spring training...than again am I making excuses because I love defensive baseball. Gonzo will be the starting SS, but the question is can he pick it up defensively?

Alex Gonzalez is the story of 2 men here : First guy does everything defensively except turn triple plays on the first pitch of the game. Man is solid. Second fellow struggles at the plate and worries me a ton. He will hit 9th, which is a good spot for him. But if Lowell struggles as well it could be a quick bottom of the order. Another wait and see.

For a grade, Im giving him 2 because I run this show and I am biased for the guys defense.

Offense : D (D+ says the bias guy in me)
Defense : A

I guess you cant get it all!

Around the horn - 3rd Base

2006-03-25T18:37:00.000+01:00

Quick hits here...Sox yankees played the other day and threw balls at each other. Unfortunately Shilling wasn't there to practice his inside fastball on someone's head. Wily Mo hit the ball far; Adam Stern is making a case for himself with yet another great game; Damon looks like a douchbag; there are rumblings of a Mohr for Rheal Cormier trade with the Phillies; Schilling 'felt good' while giving up 5 runs to minor leaguers; and Foulke looked good in his minor leagur outing. All and all, not too shabby for 9 days until opening day. Also, Rocket will be at the Texas opener game, invited by Rangers owner Tom Hicks so hopefully the Sox can put on a show.

But here it is

Around the Horn - 3rd Base

Mike Lowell, Alex Cora, Kevin Youkilis

Ok, first Lowell. The overpaid veteran has been stellar defensively and rather unimpressive offensively thus far this spring and last year. Acquired in the Beckett trade, Lowell brings another veteren (and completely new) face to the Sox. Last year Lowell won his first gold glove of his career, but struggled something might at the plate hitting .236 and sluggng .360. So far this spring is hitting .270 and slugging .405 with no HR and 1 RBI in 14 games. With luck, we will get around a .270 - .275 average out of Lowell with some great defense from the right hander. While he has put up some good numbers in the past, he has never hit better than .293 and has a career average of .272. His high in homeruns was in a breakout 2003 where he had 32 HRs and 105 RBIs, but last year was a huge drop for Lowell in nearly every offensive catagory. Despite last years woes, we can expect good defense from the hot corner and we can hope that the inviting wall in Left brings a resugence of Lowell circa 2003. Expect Mikey to hit at the bottom of the order, making a decent 7 8 hitter.

Alex Cora. Cora is our utility everywhere player; he is second on the depth chart on 2nd, SS and 3rd. This spring, he is hitting .214 while slugging .500. Cora is not a bopper, nor a massive offensive threat. However standing at 6'0 and weighing a nifty 200, the utility man is ideal for his role of back up everywhere. Slick defensively, Cora is pretty much everything you want out of your backup. His weaknesses as a utility player are his speed (not terribly fast but is able to pick his moments going 7 for 9 last year as a backup in Boston) and his bat. While there are, in my opinion, better utility players (Chone Figgins of the Angels) Cora is up there in terms of fielding and versatility. Career fielding percentages are as follows : 2nd in 385 games at .982, SS in 373 games at .970 and 3rd in 5 games at .750. His inexperience could hurt him at 3rd, but there is always Youk who could switch over from first in a pinch. Expectations for Cora at 3rd? Adequate replacement for Lowell who will definetly need his days off. Overall his versatiltity adds much to his value. He also has minor (one game) in the outfield.

Officially, Tony Graf. is 3rd on the depth chart, but I am going to assume he is outta here soon, probably to the Mets considering their woes with Matsui and the retirement of Boone. So I put Youk as the emergency option at third, but I'll look at him when I get to the 1st basemen.

Overall at 3rd base : C+

offensively C-
defensively B-

Around the Horn - Catcher

2006-03-23T16:17:00.000+01:00

So, with the regular season starting just so darn close, I'm gunna pull a redsox.com on you and go a little position by position. Keep in mind the trades that will/must happen soon : Dustin Mohr (although he has an opt out clause that he can take the 30th making him a free agent, which means that the sox will get little to nothing for him) and Tony Graf. (Mets?). Keep your eyes open for that, but in the mean time lets start with the Catcher.

Jason Varitek and back-up back stop Josh Bard

Bard was part of the Cleveland deal that brought Coco into town. He won out the back up/Wake's catcher duties after John Flarety retired and Ken Huckaby went down for a while with a tweaked knee and was not able to do much for the spring. In 2005 with the Indians, Bard played in only 34 games, collecting 16 hits in 83 ABs for an average of .193. This is not stellar, however, the backstop was not brought in for his offensive skills fortunately. All reports from Fort Myers say that Bard and Wakefield are meshing quite nicely and Bard is taking well to the dancing butterfly. It will be interesting to see how he compares to Mirabelli during the season. This spring the switch hitter out of Texas has put up decent numbers (.278 BA, .333 SLG, .742 OBS) n 9 games this Spring. Traded away were Kelly Shoppach to the Indians (.148, .185, .509 in 12 games) and Doug Mirabelli tothe Padres (.478, .957, 1.512, ouch in 9 games). While Mirabelli's spring numbers are off the charts and really make Bard look foolish, remember that Mirabelli in his career (.241, .425, .753) was the perfect back up to Tek and that in Beantown, the back-up back stop deals with Wake. And that offensive numbers, while important, do not take into account the rapport with the knuckler. That being said, Mirabelli was great with Wake, and I was sad to see him go, but we got something for him. Bard, more importantly is turning out to be a adequate defensive replacement for Mirabelli and a good tandem with Wake.

Jason Varitek
With the Captain, the Sox have one of, if not the, best catchers in all of baseball. Another switch hitter, Tek has very few holes in his swing; particularly batting right handed where he absolutely crushes left handed pitching. So far this spring, Jason has seen limited action because of his involvement in the WBC, where the catcher showed why he was so valuable (.375, .714, 1.089) in 7 ABs. Varitek is also very well respected around the league for his ability to call pitches, to work with different pitchers and his scholarly approach to the game. While his only weakness as a catcher may be his arm, at merely average, Tek represents as close to the full package as you can get. With many young arms either in Boston or waiting in the wings, look for Tek have yet another huge year at the plate as well as behind it, juggling the old goats with the new kiddies

Catcher grade : A-

Fantasy Time

2006-03-23T12:10:00.000+01:00

Alright folks, Fantasy Time. Whats my team? Who are my players, sleepers, great draft choices?

Around the Horn
1st base : David Ortiz, Mark Texeira
2nd base : Mark Loretta
3rd Base : Eric Chavez, Mike Lowell
SS : Carlos Guillen
Catcher : Victor Martinez
OF : Coco Crisp, Maglio Ordonez, Tori Hunter
Bench : Clint Barnes, Shawn Green, Jacques Jones

Starters : Dontrelle Willis, Kerry Wood, Danny Haren, Brad Radke
Relievers : Mariano Rivera, Danny Turnbow, Tom Gordon, Justin Duchscherer

Problems to be addressed : Outfield; i like Crisp, he is going to have a huge season, other than that I don't have any boppers. Anybody know of some sleepers.
Starters : Kerry Wood is unrelieable at best, and might even be in the bullpen this year, leaving me with Willis and Haren with Radke as a 3,4 guy in my book. My wins are going to get me in trouble. Suggestions?
Utility : Right now, I have Lowell slotted in there, and while I think he could have a resugence in Boston, his spring numbers are killing me. Ill give him a chance during the year, but my string is pretty short here.

Sleeper of the day : Clint Barnes. This ked was having a stellar year and running away with rookie of the year honors before he fell down the stairs and broke his collarbone. Grab him if you can and look out for some bi numbers, assuming he is completely healthy as he says he is. Low risk cheap pickup.

Bye Bye Bronson

2006-03-23T10:40:00.000+01:00

In an act that really tweaked my nerves, the Sox, as everyone is aware of right now, sent versatile right hander Bronson Arroyo to the Cincinatti Reds along with cash considerations for the big man with high expectations and a low (LOW!!!) on-base percentage: Wiley Mo Pena.

First, Bronson: Bronson was one of my favorite sox. He had loyalty, and not just loyalty, I'm talking serious, I only want to play for the sox Loyalty, with a capital L. At 29, Broyo was not exactly young, but hey, he was not old either. With a high leg kick that almost hits third base, the rocker led the team in quality starts last year. With an ERA around around 4 and potential to win around 12-14 games every year, the kid was great insurance against an injury to one of our dinosaurs. Sure he would have started the season in the bullpen and would have pitched incredibly well there in long relief spot start. Bronson, in January signed a major home team discount in order to stay with the Sox. The GMin charge at the time, Hoyer (Wesleyan grad.), had told the pitcher that there were no plans for him to be traded and, even against the advice of his agent, who said the discounted contract would make Bronson vulnerable to trades with low-market teams (agent Cleo), Arroyo signed. Ok, did the Sox wrong my man? No, they did not. It is a business and a tough one ("pieces on a freakin chess board man! - Bronson), but there was no trade clause in the contract. It is painful and tough news. And I am disappointed, but hey, thats the game. Bronson, we will miss you and wish you the best of luck and a great season. Prove us wrong.

Second: The new Mo! Honestly, I was initially extremely upset by this move. I had kind of tracked Wily Mo the last couple of years and was not impressed. He has power and a little speed and supposively a good arm, but did THEO WATCH THE REDS RED SOX GAME LAST YEAR???? He was horrible. But he is young, and raw. This is a very unTheo move and after doing a little more research I have changed my stance from horribly disppointed to merely disappointed and intrigued. I think we will miss Bronson and Mo is a wait and see on my part. TO me, this trade is a risk, give up versatile pitching for a high potential, possibly low production guy. Again, Wily Mo, prove me wrong. Take a pitch or two and please get to know the right field corner. As I see it. It is a wait and see.

Third THing: Did the trade hurt the Red Sox rep? Are players going to be less encouraged to sign with the sox because of the all business mentality shown through this trade? Maybe, but doubtful. People hurt here, Bronson, obviously, and a little less under the radar, but none the less important: non-roster invitee Dustin Mohr, who has been having a monster spring. The arrival of Wily Mo means goodbye Bronson and goodbye Mohr (as well as Juan-Gone but really who cared?). Both instances are painful for the respective players, and I was encouraged by Mohr and his abilities to be our 4th or 5th outfielder, but everything was done to 'better the team' or so we will see. Will players not play here because of the business of the Sox? Yes they will play here, but it is a risk. As it is everywhere. Should the Sox think about offering players no-trade clauses? No, I like that policy and too many teams have gotten screwed by selfish players with massive contracts. Are players going to continue wanting and demanding no-trade clauses, particularly now? Yes. Job Security. Sorry guys.

Point Being: Bronson, we will miss you something wicked and we hope you freakin tear it up in Cinnci; Wily Mo, welcome to the sox, I hope youare as good of a person as Bronson and I hope your production levels rise. Red Sox,I know it is a business, and I forgive you because you did nothing wrong, but thats a tough call there boys.

Also read Bronson's letter on the Phoenix Red Sox Blog : http://www.thephoenix.com/soxblog or on the links to the right.

Welcome to the New SOX

2006-03-23T10:16:00.000+01:00

Alright everyone, I want to welcome you to the rantings and ravings of a dedicated sox fan trying desparetely to follow his team while in Paris. It is tough but, het someone needs to do it right?