2014 season

blondie wrote:

You should know by now that's its unpossible!

We're on precarious ground here. The bitch of it is that they actually don't look half bad as a team.  The pen is a little shakey but first games of the season can be like that for the younger guys. And the offense could also score more but they are getting the hits and getting on base.

as long as they keep getting on base the runs will come, that's how the sox do it, grind out at bats, get on base however you can and see what happens.

paps has lost it, he can't get any heat on his fastball, and if he doesn't have that, his other pitches aren't good enough on their own.


mariano doesn't have anything to worry about, he'll be the best closer ever for awhile still.

Ez wrote:

First series is a win!! Bogaerts had a great game, Home Opener today!!

5-9 with three walks to start the season, I know it's early, but that is promising.


All you need to do is win series   

ALso, First Place in the east!!

Ez wrote:

ALso, First Place in the east!!

  

Is peavey pitching the home opener or are they gonna have Buch??

i know they said he was going to be number 5 for now

Yea, Peavey is pitching today

iwantmycrayons wrote:

blondie wrote:

You should know by now that's its unpossible!

We're on precarious ground here. The bitch of it is that they actually don't look half bad as a team.  The pen is a little shakey but first games of the season can be like that for the younger guys. And the offense could also score more but they are getting the hits and getting on base.

as long as they keep getting on base the runs will come, that's how the sox do it, grind out at bats, get on base however you can and see what happens.

 paps has lost it, he can't get any heat on his fastball, and if he doesn't have that, his other pitches aren't good enough on their own.


 mariano doesn't have anything to worry about, he'll be the best closer ever for awhile still.

there is of course speculation that he's injured - apparently he was throwing more side arm during the blown save. And yeah, not enough heat - maxed at 91 or so. Most of the rest of the guys out there are 95+ so we have some options. I've always thought Bastardo could make a good closer some day. I think we'll find out this season if that's true.

Here's a beautiful snippet from our CSN site: The title of the article was "Jonathan Paplebon was a huge mistake"


Jonathan Papelbon is owed $13 million this season. He’s owed $13 million next season. That makes him the highest-paid closer in baseball. It also makes him untradeable. Tough to unload an overpaid, underproductive pitcher who can’t shut his mouth or shut down opposing hitters

Yea, that sucks, you could always release him

I think they're going to have to; he tried to blame the infielders for the loss. Calling out Utley isn't going to help his cause.

blondie wrote:

Here's a beautiful snippet from our CSN site:  The title of the article was "Jonathan Paplebon was a huge mistake"


Jonathan Papelbon is owed $13 million this season. He’s owed $13 million next season. That makes him the highest-paid closer in baseball. It also makes him untradeable. Tough to unload an overpaid, underproductive pitcher who can’t shut his mouth or shut down opposing hitters

release him, and he can get a minor league deal with the cubs, and him and Danial bard can play catch   

Bats finally come alive last night, wipes that nasty sweep taste from the mouth from this past weekend. This is a very winnable series, hope they don't blow it.

Ez wrote:

Bats finally come alive last night, wipes that nasty sweep taste from the mouth from this past weekend. This is a very winnable series, hope they don't blow it.

still haven't lost more than 3 in a row   

they needed that win, and lackey looked good again.

Lackey was straight dealing, Doubront has me worried about tonight, he is awful against Texas.

Ez wrote:

Lackey was straight dealing, Doubront has me worried about tonight, he is awful against Texas.

we'll see, actually the pitcher that has me a little worried is Bucholz, he had nothing the other day against milwaukee, 90 MPH and no movement at all on anything.

I was surprised to see him as the 5 starter, wonder if he is still having issues.

Ez wrote:

I was surprised to see him as the 5 starter, wonder if he is still having issues.

he sure looked like he was. they said he was going to be number five so they could rest him more often and have spot starts for him, but after the first go through the rotation, how does that matter, they could spot start for him anytime.

I think he still is having some kind of issue, he doesn't look like the same pitcher from last spring so far. maybe it was just the cold shitty weather, but that will be a huge problem if he is still having issues.


i don't like the thought of workman or webster having to make a long term commitment to the rotation right now, and the other arms aren't ready yet.

Need a win tonght to win the series, if the Rangers win I have to wear a Ranger Texiera jersey on the air Friday, and I really don't want to wear a Ranger Jersey!

doubront looked awful, the need peavey to step up and shut them down tonite

Yea, the Rangers have another young pitcher going tonight, they need to take advantage of it

How clutch is Papi? Saved my bacon and kept me out of a Rangers jersey! Great series!

Shelby Miller has me worried already. Lynn is fine as long as he gets his run support. Waino is fine but never gets the run support. And, Wacha, I don't worry about that kid. Joe Kelly is neat to watch too.

I'm still not used to NOT having Carlos Beltran, it makes me sad.   

Ez wrote:

How clutch is Papi? Saved my bacon and kept me out of a Rangers jersey! Great series!

THAT is why he deserves the contract extension he got. the wind at fenway made it almost impossible to hit a homerun, yet he does when they needed it the most.  

I was listing yesterday and turned it off when miller gave up the run in the 8th, peavey pitched well, and the sox should have scored alot yesterday, the rangers pitcher had walked 6 through 5 innings and they need to start getting a hit with guys on base.

But another series win, and they can go on a long road trip now with a little confidence.


Hopefully Bucholz has some movement on his pitches or he's gonna get rocked in the Bronx.

They need to put the yankees where they belong, behind the Sox

Our pitching and defense is killing us. Bullpen has fallen completely apart already. There is one guy you can almost trust out there.

Good news? Hamels should be back in 2 weeks.

Utley should also be back to playing today (had flu)

iwantmycrayons wrote:

Ez wrote:

How clutch is Papi? Saved my bacon and kept me out of a Rangers jersey! Great series!

THAT is why he deserves the contract extension he got.  the wind at fenway made it almost impossible to hit a homerun, yet he does when they needed it the most.  

 I was listing yesterday and turned it off when miller gave up the run in the  8th, peavey pitched well, and the sox should have scored alot yesterday, the rangers pitcher had walked 6 through 5 innings and they need to start getting a hit with guys on base.

 But another series win, and they can go on a long road trip now with a little confidence.


Hopefully Bucholz has some movement on his pitches or he's gonna get rocked in the Bronx.

 They need to put the yankees where they belong, behind the Sox

Yes they do!

frustrating game yesterday, I don't buy into the whole pineda was cheating thing, he was doing waht every pitcher does, put some crap on his hands to get a better grip on a cold night.

Bucholz was better last night, not overpowering, but better.

We've secretly replaced the normal Phillies lineup with the Bad News Bears - lets see if anyone notices.

blondie wrote:

We've secretly replaced the normal Phillies lineup with the Bad News Bears - lets see if anyone notices.

wwe have a different line up every night of the week, it's like baseball yahtzee, farrel just throws the names on the table and whomever lands with name facing up is in the lineup.



I'm impressed with bogaerts, and for the last few games JBJ, but they need Victorino back so they can have some semblance of order ..in the order, and also in the outfield.

i want sizemore in left, JBJ in center and victorino in right, with victorino hitting lead off.

iwantmycrayons wrote:

frustrating game yesterday, I don't buy into the whole pineda was cheating thing, he was doing waht every pitcher does, put some crap on his hands to get a better grip on a cold night.

Bucholz was better last night, not overpowering, but better.

I agree, I don't think he was cheating, Lester was accused of the same thing last year in the World Series.

Ez wrote:

iwantmycrayons wrote:

frustrating game yesterday, I don't buy into the whole pineda was cheating thing, he was doing waht every pitcher does, put some crap on his hands to get a better grip on a cold night.

Bucholz was better last night, not overpowering, but better.

I agree, I don't think he was cheating, Lester was accused of the same thing last year in the World Series.

every pitcher does something, to me if you can't hit the guy it ain't because he wiped some goo on his hand

rough weekend, and losing Pedey will not help. Doubriont pitched well yesterday and we can't score any runs.


maybe we need to re-sign drew??

Very Rough, what is the timetable for Pedroia?

Ez wrote:

Very Rough, what is the timetable for Pedroia?

he's in boston today for an MRI, they don't even know what it is yet, but for him to ask to be scratched, it has to be pretty bad, he played the entire year last season with torn ligaments in his thumb.   


very disconcerting to have him, middlebrooks and uehara and victorino all out within 2 weeks of the start of the season.



all they have to do now is go 13-0 to match last season's start   

what do you think about the reported offer they gave lester?/

if it's true they pretty much insulted him IMHO

I haven't seen anything on it, what did they offer him?

So we swept the Fish but have Atlanta coming in for 4 - that's going to be tough. We're 6-6 and if we're 8-8 after this series I will consider it a success.

Utley is HOT HOT HOT and is carrying the team. JRoll isn't bad either right now.

Bullpen is settling down after a rough start, Mike Adams should be back today - we'll see what he has in the tank.

Howard is a defensive nightmare and is being pulled late in the game with Mayberry. He did hit a HR yesterday so if his bat can pick up that should help.

Hamels should be back next week.

Too early to tell if they are good or bad. Although since Milwaukee is killing everyone, I don't feel so bad that they got swept by them.

Ez wrote:

I haven't seen anything on it, what did they offer him?

Red Sox Offered Lester Deal Worth $70MM

By Charlie Wilmoth [April 12, 2014 at 3:56pm CST]

3:56pm: Lester says that he isn't ruling out the possibility that he will remain with the Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston tweets. "Why does it mean I'm out of Boston?" Lester says. "Things can definitely change.''

11:59am: The Red Sox' most recent extension offer to starting pitcher Jon Lester was for four years and between $70MM, Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan tweets, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially reported that the Red Sox had offered between $70MM and $80MM.

Lester is eligible for free agency after the season, and Rosenthal writes that sources tell him that Lester will not negotiate an extension again until the season is over. (The two sides ceased extension talks in late March, but it appeared then that they could continue talking during the season.)

Even an offer of $80MM would appear to be significantly below market for Lester -- Homer Bailey received six years and $105MM for the Reds, and Lester, who has a longer track record of success, would figure to make more on the open market. Rosenthal points out that the Red Sox' offer was below the $82.5MM John Lackey received from the team in 2009. The Red Sox have a "willingness to go higher" than their recent offer, Rosenthal writes, and they'll likely need to in order to sign Lester.

Yea, that does seem cheap, pay the man Boston!

Ez wrote:

I haven't seen anything on it, what did they offer him?

the offer according to sources was 4 years and 70 million   

No way that's even close, it will need to be 5 and 100 if they are even serious about keeping him, and the closer he gets to free agency, the higher that number will go.

Ez wrote:

Yea, that does seem cheap, pay the man Boston!

I bet he would sign for 5 and 100-110, hell they paid Beckett more than that 4 years ago, and Lackey more than that 5 years ago, what makes them think he isn't worth 20 million a year when the going rate for pitchers not as good as him is well over the 20 mil threshold

We did lose last night with a blown save by a first time closer since pap was unavailable due to pitching three games in a row.  The good news is that the offence came back late from a four run deficit and didn't give up.  If our pen can settle down they may have a fighting chance.  Looks like we need pap after all.  He's stopped trying to blow pitches by guys and has looked ok the last couple times he was out there.  He also hit 93 at one point.  Mostly 91 though; not great but not as bad as he was.

Something has to be done about not scoring runs! Starting Pitching has been great for the most part, just no runs to back them up, if they keep this up it is going to be a very long season!

Ez wrote:

Something has to be done about not scoring runs! Starting Pitching has been great for the most part, just no runs to back them up, if they keep this up it is going to be a very long season!

first off, noone should be playing baseball when it's friggin 30 degrees out, that being said, yes the pitching, with a maybe 2 exceptions has been more than adequate, even really good at times.

they just can't hit.

Hopefully getting pedey, victorino and Middlebrooks back, and some semblance of a regular line up will help, but it has been very frustrating watching the pitchers go out and do their job then losing cuz they can't get a hit with a guy on base

Very frustrating!  

Ez wrote:

Very frustrating!  

they looked like they were frozen last night, in more ways than one.

On the plus side, that is two exceptional starts from peavey, if he can keep that up, the pitching will be fine, and I really think they will start hitting ....if it ever warms up at all.

it's supposed to be in the 20's her for the next few nights.

they need to try and schedul;e games so the teams are playing in warmer places to start the season. the warmest day so far for a red sox game was like 55 degrees

I think the Sox will be fine once you get your guys back. At least your pitching is keeping you in games. And aren't the losses mostly by 1 run or so?

You have recent success on your side - its still April. No one likes to hit in the cold.

I am ready for warm weather!

blondie wrote:

I think the Sox will be fine once you get your guys back.  At least your pitching is keeping you in games.  And aren't the losses mostly by 1 run or so?  

You have recent success on your side - its still April.  No one likes to hit in the cold.

yeah for the most part they are losing games 3-2 or 4-2, they have been in games and had chances to score runs in every one of them, no hits with RISP is killing them

they will start hitting right about the time the one or more of the pitchers gets hurt   

that's how its usually done