Exactly, even though Yankee/sox games tend to lean closer to the 4 hour mark. I love watching them, you never know what's going to happen. Prime example last night. Now go to a just under 3 hour orioles/sox game and even thats too long.
AL EAST 2009
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Exactly, even though Yankee/sox games tend to lean closer to the 4 hour mark. I love watching them, you never know what's going to happen. Prime example last night. Now go to a just under 3 hour orioles/sox game and even thats too long.
Discussion: The Boston Rotation
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 12 at 3:53pm CST]
Earlier today we took stock of the Red Sox rotation, which will soon be overflowing with quality arms. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Brad Penny are about to be joined by John Smoltz. Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden and Justin Masterson offer the Red Sox even more depth. But you can't adopt a nine-man rotation, so the Red Sox have to make some tough decisions. Here's what some are saying:
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 12 at 3:53pm CST]
Earlier today we took stock of the Red Sox rotation, which will soon be overflowing with quality arms. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Brad Penny are about to be joined by John Smoltz. Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden and Justin Masterson offer the Red Sox even more depth. But you can't adopt a nine-man rotation, so the Red Sox have to make some tough decisions. Here's what some are saying:
- Through his interpreter, Dice-K told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's not feeling 100%. Morosi says it's conceivable that Boston could put him on the DL when Smoltz returns.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the Mets, Phillies and Cardinals have interest in Penny. The Red Sox could simply deal him, as most have assumed they would.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer wonders whether the Red Sox would trade Smoltz instead. He wouldn't command as much as Penny, but it would allow the Red Sox to keep their rotation together.
- A six-man rotation sounds intriguing, but, as Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald notes, the team has two days off in the near future, making such an arangement less likely.
Tonight's Red Sox lineup against the Phillies:
Pedroia, 2B
Ellsbury, CF
Youkilis, 1B
Bay, LF
Lowell, 3B
Baldelli, RF
Varitek, C
Lugo, SS
Matsuzaka, P
I feel like I want to throw up in my mouth when I see Lugo's name in the lineup! :rant::rant:
Pedroia, 2B
Ellsbury, CF
Youkilis, 1B
Bay, LF
Lowell, 3B
Baldelli, RF
Varitek, C
Lugo, SS
Matsuzaka, P
I feel like I want to throw up in my mouth when I see Lugo's name in the lineup! :rant::rant:
Well, techincally that can be said about ANY ballgame as has been shown time and again. Perhaps the individual players involved may not be marquee names or as exciting to watch, but that 3 hour Sox/Orioles game could have something special occur in it that you've never seen before or will again.
If I were making the decision, I wouldn't jump too quickly into trades. The most logical option to me, for now anyway, is to place Dice-K on the DL. That's just my opinion though.
Absolutely 1000% agreed! :up
It's funny, but with all this talk about the Sox depth in their rotation, it's the BULLPEN IMO, that's loaded like I've never seen before.
They have 7 guys out there that can close games......that's just mind-boggling!
There was discussion on a few Red Sox sites, to put Smoltz in the bullpen. Where would they put him?
Papelbon, Okajima, Ramirez, Saito, Delcarmen, Masterson and Bard are ALL better than Smoltz at this point in his career.
Did you see Bard blow the Phillies away in the bottom of the 13th last night?
Absolutely 1000% agreed! :up
It's funny, but with all this talk about the Sox depth in their rotation, it's the BULLPEN IMO, that's loaded like I've never seen before.
They have 7 guys out there that can close games......that's just mind-boggling!
There was discussion on a few Red Sox sites, to put Smoltz in the bullpen. Where would they put him?
Papelbon, Okajima, Ramirez, Saito, Delcarmen, Masterson and Bard are ALL better than Smoltz at this point in his career.
Did you see Bard blow the Phillies away in the bottom of the 13th last night?
I totally agree. The bullpen is unreal. There is so much talent there, that I don't see any need or reason to try and stick Smoltz in there.
Yes, I did see Bard and I loved what I saw! :up
Four hits for Lugo last night. Looks like he's fired up to keep his playing time!!
Yeah, but I wonder how long it will last until we are back seeing the same Lugo we have all come to know and detest.
Penny fires back at Girardi
By: Rob Bradford
PHILADELPHIA -- Speaking after the Red Sox' 11-6 win over Philadelphia, Red Sox starter Brad Penny addressed Yankees' manager Joe Girardi's assertion Friday that he threw at Alex Rodriguez on purpose in the Sox' win over New York, Thursday. "Why is he bringing it up a day later? Why not talk about it Thursday?" Penny said. "The game's over with. I think he's just frustrated that we have a good team and a good lineup. It's not like this (season's) over. It's far from over." Regarding the pitch that hit A-Rod, Penny responded, "I don't care what [Giardi] thinks. I didn't hit him intentionally. I'm just pitching. We don't go back and say they hit us intentionally. We've got games to worry about, not that (stuff). I don't give a (care) what he says. He needs to worry about managing and let the league and the umpires take care of their job and he an take care of his." The Sox starter said, unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox haven't filed complaints to the league when similar situations have come up involving their hitters. "And they called the commissioner's office. Come on. Let's play baseball. What's over's over. It wasn't intentional. Let's move forward."
By: Rob Bradford
PHILADELPHIA -- Speaking after the Red Sox' 11-6 win over Philadelphia, Red Sox starter Brad Penny addressed Yankees' manager Joe Girardi's assertion Friday that he threw at Alex Rodriguez on purpose in the Sox' win over New York, Thursday. "Why is he bringing it up a day later? Why not talk about it Thursday?" Penny said. "The game's over with. I think he's just frustrated that we have a good team and a good lineup. It's not like this (season's) over. It's far from over." Regarding the pitch that hit A-Rod, Penny responded, "I don't care what [Giardi] thinks. I didn't hit him intentionally. I'm just pitching. We don't go back and say they hit us intentionally. We've got games to worry about, not that (stuff). I don't give a (care) what he says. He needs to worry about managing and let the league and the umpires take care of their job and he an take care of his." The Sox starter said, unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox haven't filed complaints to the league when similar situations have come up involving their hitters. "And they called the commissioner's office. Come on. Let's play baseball. What's over's over. It wasn't intentional. Let's move forward."
Smoltz will pitch Thursday, either with Red Sox or PawSox
By: Rob Bradford
It has been determined that John Smoltz would still have to wait a little while longer to see exactly when his first start with the Red Sox would be, with the only certainty being that the 42-year-old will make his next start Thursday -- either for the Pawtucket Red Sox or Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox take on the Florida Marlins at Fenway Park Thursday, while the PawSox are home that day against Charlotte. Smoltz' 30-day minor league rehab stint runs out Friday.
The Red Sox did announce that Tim Wakefield will pitch Tuesday, with Brad Penny going Wednesday, both going against the Marlins at Fenway Park. Following that series against the Marlins, which ends Thursday, the Red Sox take on the Atlanta Braves for a weekend series. Smoltz has said he would prefer that his first start didn't come against his old team, the Braves.
"We're going to leave those options open for the next week and see what happens. There's a lot of off days. I'm tickled to death to be at this point versus struggling having to figure out when I was going to return. When I return is irrelevant to me because I know I'm on the cusp of throwing the way I felt like I could throw when I had surgery.
"Everybody is on the same page. I just met with Terry and John. Again, when I signed with Boston in the offseason the reality of me coming back was up in the air. Then the reality of five guys dealing, which makes this whole process a whole lot easier. I'm the type of guy who wants to contribute really bad, but I also know I want to be at the right time and the right place and the stretch drive is so important to me I can't do anything to mess that up for me personally. To get up here and throw a game is not good enough. The timing of it, when it happens is really irrelevant. That's how good I feel about the process. So you're looking at a stretch run now of a bunch of off days, a bunch options, some things yet to be determined. It could very well be another start in Pawtucket, or it could be another start here. Either way I'm preparing to start Thursday somewhere.".
For more Red Sox updates, check out our baseball blog, "Full Count."
By: Rob Bradford
It has been determined that John Smoltz would still have to wait a little while longer to see exactly when his first start with the Red Sox would be, with the only certainty being that the 42-year-old will make his next start Thursday -- either for the Pawtucket Red Sox or Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox take on the Florida Marlins at Fenway Park Thursday, while the PawSox are home that day against Charlotte. Smoltz' 30-day minor league rehab stint runs out Friday.
The Red Sox did announce that Tim Wakefield will pitch Tuesday, with Brad Penny going Wednesday, both going against the Marlins at Fenway Park. Following that series against the Marlins, which ends Thursday, the Red Sox take on the Atlanta Braves for a weekend series. Smoltz has said he would prefer that his first start didn't come against his old team, the Braves.
"We're going to leave those options open for the next week and see what happens. There's a lot of off days. I'm tickled to death to be at this point versus struggling having to figure out when I was going to return. When I return is irrelevant to me because I know I'm on the cusp of throwing the way I felt like I could throw when I had surgery.
"Everybody is on the same page. I just met with Terry and John. Again, when I signed with Boston in the offseason the reality of me coming back was up in the air. Then the reality of five guys dealing, which makes this whole process a whole lot easier. I'm the type of guy who wants to contribute really bad, but I also know I want to be at the right time and the right place and the stretch drive is so important to me I can't do anything to mess that up for me personally. To get up here and throw a game is not good enough. The timing of it, when it happens is really irrelevant. That's how good I feel about the process. So you're looking at a stretch run now of a bunch of off days, a bunch options, some things yet to be determined. It could very well be another start in Pawtucket, or it could be another start here. Either way I'm preparing to start Thursday somewhere.".
For more Red Sox updates, check out our baseball blog, "Full Count."
The problem the Red Sox face is internal, conflict of interest. Management agreed to pay about $16 million a year for Dice-K. But the Red Sox can now field a starting rotation of five pitchers that are better than he is, and pay less than Dice-K's annual salary for the services of the four not named Beckett. To move him out of the rotation, someone has to get blamed for advocating overpaying him.
As I've mentioned previously, last year Dice-K became the first pitcher in over a hundred years to end a season at fifteen games over .500 while giving up at least five walks a game. He might not be pitching any worse this year than he did last year. More likely, the probabilities are just catching up with a guy who has more killer pitches than Luis Tiant but can't consistently throw any of them for strikes.
As I've mentioned previously, last year Dice-K became the first pitcher in over a hundred years to end a season at fifteen games over .500 while giving up at least five walks a game. He might not be pitching any worse this year than he did last year. More likely, the probabilities are just catching up with a guy who has more killer pitches than Luis Tiant but can't consistently throw any of them for strikes.
Buchholz And Bowden On Boston Rotation
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 15 at 10:55am CST]
Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden both believe their impressive starts at Triple A Pawtucket would translate into big-league success. Buchholz told Mike Giardi of NECN.com that he's ready to help Boston, but said "if not that team, I want to be in the big leagues and I do want to go somewhere where I'll be able to play and pitch every fifth day." Buchholz did not suggest that he's hoping for a trade, but he's clearly eager to return to the majors. Check out Joe Haggerty's transcript on Hacks with Haggs.
Bowden says he would "hate to leave" the Red Sox organization in this clip on the Boston Globe's site. He says it would be worth spending extra time in the minors if it allows him to pitch for the Red Sox in the future.
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [June 15 at 10:55am CST]
Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden both believe their impressive starts at Triple A Pawtucket would translate into big-league success. Buchholz told Mike Giardi of NECN.com that he's ready to help Boston, but said "if not that team, I want to be in the big leagues and I do want to go somewhere where I'll be able to play and pitch every fifth day." Buchholz did not suggest that he's hoping for a trade, but he's clearly eager to return to the majors. Check out Joe Haggerty's transcript on Hacks with Haggs.
Bowden says he would "hate to leave" the Red Sox organization in this clip on the Boston Globe's site. He says it would be worth spending extra time in the minors if it allows him to pitch for the Red Sox in the future.
I really respect Bowden alot for his attitude about the situation. It's a tough time to be a pitcher in the Boston organization. There is so much talent and only so many slots available.
I was just listening to local sports radio, and they were saying the Sox should disable Dice-K (which I agree with), send down Bard (I can see that) OR release Saito (I'm NOT down with that) AND activate Smoltz and call up Buchholz.
One of the talking heads was Sox beat writer Sean McAdam whom I respect a lot, but in this case I don't agree with doing ALL that.
Simply DL Dice-K and activate Smoltz. Unfortunately for Buchholz, he'll have to wait.
