The Baseball Beat

2007 Champs! 2008 Champs?

2007-10-29T02:05:00.000-04:00

The Red Sox have won the 2007 World Series! Thank goodness my preseason picks were so spectacularly wrong! My sincere congrats go out to the Beantown boys, but what kind of a Boston fan would I be if I wasn't already thinking about next year?

First things first: baseball is a fickle, fickle sport. Anything I write here can be nullified in heartbeat due to injuries, trades, or what-have-you. That said, I have to say that on paper the Red Sox are looking pretty damn good for next year. Considering that this year's roster (with some tweaks along the way) was good enough to bring the trophy back to Boston, and also the fact that almost all of those key pieces will be returning next year, 2008 looks to be just as special a year as was 2007. Compared to this past off-season, the Sox will have almost no holes to fill in the roster, but there will still be plenty of matters of discussion this winter.

1. Who will play third base?
This is the biggest question for next year, the answer of which could perhaps have the biggest affect on the 2008 roster of any move the front office makes this winter. Mike Lowell made a big name for himself on the big stage in his contract year, and as a result he looks to make some big money. Despite (or perhaps because of) the presence of of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in front of him in the lineup, it was Lowell who had the most production for Boston this season with his career-high 120 RBI. If it weren't for that other AL East third-baseman, Lowell would probably be named the AL MVP, but I'm pretty sure he'll take his World Series MVP award quite happily while A-Rod sits at home with his hardware. Theo Epstein has said that he can't see the Sox not re-signing Lowell, but that will really be up to big Mike himself as he stands to make himself a lot of cash on the market. And speaking of A-Rod, the Yankees third baseman and likely 2007 AL MVP has announced that he will indeed opt out of his ginormous contract with the Yankees (of which the Texas Rangers were still paying a sizable chunk of his contract), and he stands to break his own unbelievably high record contract this winter. The Yankees, meanwhile, have said that should Rodriguez opt out of his contract they will not pursue the free agent. Who else besides the Yankees could afford A-Rod? Mayyyyybe the Angels. Clearly the Red Sox. And, um, that's about it. So the way I see it, the third baseman for Boston next year is bound to be either Lowell or A-Rod. Or let me put it this way: if the Red Sox fail to sign either Lowell or A-Rod, it will be seen as a huge failure by the front office to fill that hole over at third base. That is unless they make some spectacular deal for a David Wright or a Miguel Cabrera. That's not to say that the Sox couldn't sign both Lowell and A-Rod either. I have my suspicions that the Sox may trade Manny Ramirez (more on that later) and I could definitely see A-Rod playing left field. It's not that far fetched. He's made a position change before, and plenty of infielders have successfully moved to the outfield (see Robin Yount, Pete Rose, Alfonso Soriano). The biggest obstacle to that scenario would probably be the money being put forth by the Red Sox rather than Rodriguez having to change positions. But a Boston boy can dream about a lineup that goes Ortiz-ARod-Lowell with names like Yooooooooouk, Pedroia, and Ellsbury sprinkled in for good measure.

2. Manny being Manny in...Anaheim? or New York? or Elsewhere?
How could I think that the Red Sox would trade the beloved Manny Ramirez away from his fans in Boston. The front office would never think of it! Oh wait...they've thought about it just about every off-season and trading deadline since Ramirez came to Boston. And Manny has requested a trade just as many times. Manny had a down-year, but was spectacular down the stretch and in the playoffs, which will add a lot to his trade value. There's also the fact that in the current market, the twenty million Manny will make next year is a lot, but not unreasonable for a player of his caliber. The Angels lacked a huge bat in their lineup to protect Vladimir Guerrero this season, and they have lots of talent to trade and a comparably large budget to work with. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Manny go to the Anaheim... or is it Los Angeles? Whatever. Other teams that the Sox could work with are New York (the Mets, not the Yankees silly!), Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, Texas, or Houston. This scenario bumps up about ten notches in likelihood if the Sox do indeed manage to sign Alex Rodriguez, as A-Rod will more than provide the ever-needed protection for Big Papi in the lineup. For years Ortiz and Manny have been known as the best 3-4 combination in baseball, but one would be hard pressed to argue that Ortiz and A-Rod wouldn't be even better.

3. Starting rotation: talented youth or... old, fat, and full of douche-baggery?
Will Curt Schilling be a bloody Red Sox next season? For God's sake, let's hope not. Those one of you who actually read this blog know that I'm simply not a fan. Sure he's had a great career, best post-season blah, ultimate blah blah blah, but let's face facts and just admit that this guy's a gigantic douche. He seems to think the Sox owe him a contract for next season, but it appears as if Boston holds all the leverage in this case. They have the likely Cy Young award winner in Josh Beckett to fill the number one slot, a Daisuke Matsuzaka who is sure to improve on his drastically underrated 2007 season, a Tim Wakefield that always seems to win 14+, Jon Lester who is back from chemotherapy with a vengeance and just happened to win the clinching game of the World Series, and oh yea a kid that threw a no-hitter but didn't manage to make the post-season roster in Clay Buchholz. Guys like Julian Tavarez and Kyle Snyder can capably spot-start, and minor leaguers like Davern Hansack, David Pauley, and Abe Alvarez can fill in in the event of an injury. And I still wouldn't be surprised to see the Sox pick up another starter (probably a veteran free agent) this winter. Curt Schilling is fat and out of shape. He proved that with his injury plagued 2007. When he came off the DL he was suddenly this "changed" pitcher, which basically just meant that he threw his fastball at 89 instead of 94. He can't make it through a whole season in the pressure packed and fastball-smashing AL East with that kind of stuff. If he does pitch in 2008 it will probably be in the National League. Maybe a reunion with Randy Johnson in Arizona? Stranger things have happened.

4. Better years for the new guys?
Much of the reason I feel that the 2008 Red Sox are going to be as good or better than the 2007 World Champs is that I'm a firm believer in the idea that new guys to a team get better in their second year. We all saw it with Josh Beckett and even Mike Lowell. Most ball players with successful track records (like J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, and Daisuke Matsuzaka) don't simply become mediocre players while they're still in their prime. I see Drew's RBI numbers, Lugo's batting average, and Dice-K's ERA improving by leaps and bounds in their second years in Boston. It makes sense. The AL East is a pressure cooker, and Boston is right in the middle of the pan (does that analogy make sense?). It takes some getting used to. But now these guys know what to expect and what's expected of them, and they all showed some flashed of brilliance at some point in the season. We may even see some improvement from Coco Crisp, though that might be difficult with Johnny Damon II AKA Jacoby Ellsbury knocking on/down the door.

5. The Bullpen
There honestly isn't too much to discuss here, because it was the best bullpen in baseball in 2007 and there's no reason to think it won't be in 2008. One guy who isn't on a lot of people's radars and who I think is primed for a huge year is Manny Delcarmen. Shuttling back and forth from Pawtucket can make a player (especially a pitcher) uncomfortable, and I think Delcarmen is ready to turn heads in his first full year. He's throws some heat and has a mean curveball, and had an ERA under 3.00 this season. Another guy I think will have a huge impact on next year's bullpen is also gonna surprise some: Eric Gagne. Simply put, the Sox are NOT going to re-sign him. Addition by subtraction, hurrah! Face it: Boston won the World Series, so trading for Gagne was not such a disaster as a lot of people thought. Theo Epstein even said on the day of the trade that a big factor in making the deal with Texas was the compensation draft picks the Sox would gain by not signing Gagne at the end of the year. Again, they won the Series, so I can't argue with his logic.

6. Miscellany
Gabe Kaplar will try to make a comeback next year, and I'm sure the front office wouldn't mind signing him to perhaps fill the roster spot vacated by Bobby Kielty this winter. --- Terry Francona ought to have his contract extended, as he's now won two World Championships in his four years as manager. He stands to make a lot of money, and Luchino and company better not hesitate to give it to him. --- Doug Mirabelli's contract is up. Will the Sox re-sign him or let him go away and then panic and trade away half the bullpen to get him back when George Kottaras can't catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball? --- Josh Beckett is the man. So is Jonathan Papelbon. Together, they are the men.

Today in Baseball: 5/30/2007

2007-05-31T02:07:00.000-04:00

-Former Sox prospect Shoppach goes deep against his old team. The big story in this Indians-Red Sox game was no longer Trot Nixon's return to Fenway, it was former catching prospect Kelly Shoppach's. The backstop put together four hits, including a solo homerun off of lefty reliever J.C. Romero.

Shoppachhomersagainstsox
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-Jays don't like A-Rod's bush-league tactics. Rodriguez allegedly shouted "mine" into the ear of Toronto third baseman Howie Clark (which the rookie took to mean one of his teammates had a better bead on a Jorge Posada pop-up). Clark gave up on the ball, which fell in for an infield single.

-Johnson defeats Moyer in battle of the lefties. In the oldest lefty matchup in baseball history, Johnson (43) threw six innings with six strikeouts and didn't allow a run. Moyer (44) went 7.2 strong but allowed four runs to score and took the loss.

-'Roid-busted Mota returns to Mets after serving 50 days. The reliever was generally supported in the clubhouse and received a mixed reaction from the crowd at Shea Stadium. "I feel terrible and I promise this is the first and last time that this will happen," he said. "I am determined to prove to you that this was one mistake."

Photo and Video Source: MLB.com

Okajima more of a stopper than Rivera?

2007-05-30T03:36:00.000-04:00

An interesting stat from Rotoworld.com: "Does anything sum up the 2007 edition of the rivalry better than this? Neither Papelbon nor Mariano Rivera have missed any time due to injury this season, yet the Red Sox's backup closer now has more saves (four) than the Yankees' future Hall of Famer (three)." Meanwhile, Papelbon boasts of 13 saves, good for fifth in the American League, though he has the lowest ERA (1.86) of anyone else in the top five.

Today in Baseball: 5/29/2007

2007-05-30T01:02:00.000-04:00

-Benitez balks off, Delgado walks off. With Jose Reyes on and the Mets down a run in the bottom of the twelfth inning, Giants' closer Armando Benitez balked twice, bringing Reyes home and tying the game. Carlos Delgado then handed Benitez a loss to go along with his blown save with his walk-off homer.

-Hill steals home against struggling Yanks. "We mentioned that if a situation came up, a guy on third, obviously [Pettitte] has his back to us," Hill said. "It was just the right place at the right time, I guess." The Blue Jays went on to win the game 3-2.

-Wayne Drehs wonders if Bonds is a target. The ESPN.com columnist wrote this story about the possible danger Barry Bonds faces as he approaches the hallowed home run record held by Hank Aaron. "This is our national pastime," said Calvin Wardlaw, one of Aaron's bodygaurds during the seventies. "It's not like Hank or Barry is at war with something or someone. This is just a game. But when you have a stadium full of people and emotions are running high, you never know. And in my line of work, you fear the unknown."

-Beckett back, Youk still here. The Red Sox extended their winning streak to five games and moved to 11.5 games above the Orioles behind a dominant performance by newly-returned Josh Beckett (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 7 SO) and the continued hitting of Kevin Youkilis, who has made himself a shoe-in for Player of the Month with his 21-game hitting streak and nine consecutive multi-hit games. The Sox defeated the Indians 4-2.
Photo and video sources: MLB.com and ESPN.com

Today in Baseball: 5/28/2007

2007-05-28T00:31:00.000-04:00

So as you can tell, I've been slacking on Today in Baseball for the last couple of days. Part of that is the nice weather otherwise employing my time, and another part of that is the fact that my rather lengthy entries for T.I.B. make it somewhat of a chore that I was quick to hate doing every day. That's why I've decided to shorten the length of the posts for T.I.B., while at the same time including more content and possibly introducing a weekly column that will go into further analytic detail on all the most interesting stories of the week. As you might be able to tell, I'm still working out some kinks in balancing being a blogger and a mildly productive member of the real world; if anyone has any tips to make it easier for me, I'd be happy to hear them.

-Clemens improves upon his last minor-league appearance. Pitching against the Toledo Mud-Hens, the Rocket went six innings deep, striking out six batters while walking just two and allowing no runs.

-Sox defeat Tribe in Trot's return to Fenway. Curt Schilling (5-2, 3.68 ERA) was at a season best, striking out ten Indians and allowing just one run. Nixon was 1-3 with an RBI, while rising star Kevin Youkilis had two hits, including an inside-the-park homerun.

-Jones reaches milestone in Braves win. Breaking out of a season-long slump, Andruw Jones powered Atlanta to a 2-1 victory over Milwaukee with his 350th career homerun.

-Former A's pitcher Saarloos can't get it done in Cincinnati. After not retiring a single batter for the Reds in his last outing, Saarloos was sent down to the Triple-A Bats to get some more work out of the bullpen in the minor leagues.

-Just cut by Atlanta, Redman signs with Texas. Mark Redman (0-4, 11.63 ERA) was a 2006 MLB All-Star, but will begin pitching for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma this week.

-Beckett to return tomorrow. Josh Beckett (7-0, 2.66 ERA) will make his first start for the Red Sox since he went on the DL after the avulsion on his middle finger which accounted for his first non-win of the season on May 13th.

-It's Cash, not Torre who should be worried. "He's on a big hook," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner told the Associated Press of General Manager Brian Cashman. "He wanted sole authority. He got it. Now he's got to deliver." After tonight's loss to the Jays, the Yankees sit at 12 games back of the Sox in the AL East.

->Youk was ecstatic after his inside- the-park homerun, the first by a Red Sox since Trot Nixon's in 2005. Photo courtesy of MLB.com.

Today in Baseball: 5/25/2007

2007-05-26T03:22:00.000-04:00

Clemens headed to triple-A, Daisuke overcomes stomach ailment to nail seventh win, Late bats battle in Dodgers victory

As expected, a decision has been made regarding Roger Clemens' next appearance after his bullpen session today, but it's not the decision that many Yankee fans were hoping for. The Rocket will make his next start not for the big club, but as another tuneup start in the minors, this time with the triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Clemens' scheduled start after the triple-A appearance would put him against the Red Sox in Fenway, but the five day schedule would run him into Mike Mussina's start against Boston. Therefore manager Joe Torre has not debunked the idea of pushing the Rocket back to make his first major league start this season against the White Sox in the following series. Poor Dice-K. He's definitely a great pitcher, but apparently American food is proving too much for his stomach. In his start today against the Rangers Matsuzaka had to repeatedly return to the clubhouse to...well, we won't discuss what he was doing here, but you can use your imagination. The guy had a belly-ache, but he gutted it out against a powerful Rangers offense that scored five runs off of him in the fourth inning, but couldn't hold on to a one run lead for very long, as the Sox came back to score two runs in the fifth inning and eventually won the game 10-6. When the box score reads of two blown saves and one successful save, you know that there was a crazy game to be seen in the late innings. Such was the case in Los Angeles, as the Cubs scored seven runs in the seventh inning against the Dodgers to ruin Derek Lowe's chances for a win, but L.A. came back with four runs of their own in the eighth and Takashi Saito recorded the save as the Dodgers clawed to a 9-8 victory.

Photo Source: MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/24/2007

2007-05-25T02:18:00.000-04:00

Smoltzy takes win number 200 and holds Glavine to 295

Keeping it short and sweet today; I got in pretty late tonight and have to work pretty early tomorrow. Still though, I can't ignore John Smoltz making history today by becoming the first pitcher ever with 200 wins and 150 saves. Smoltz did the deed against his friend and former teammate Tom Glavine of the Mets, who is working on his own milestone of 300 wins. Smoltz went seven strong and didn't allow a run, holding the destructive Mets offense to just seven hits. "It's pretty neat," Smoltz said after the game. "It's just a number. But it's a nice number and I think everybody contributed in an incredible way." Other notables: Lester goes five strong in Pawtucket, Ichiro goes 3-6 in 1000th game.

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Video Source: ESPN.com

Today in Baseball: 5/23/2007

2007-05-23T23:01:00.000-04:00

Jeter passes DiMaggio in Yanks win, Clemens faces Futures of Fenway, Giambi tests positive

For the first time in "Today in Baseball" history, one team (the New York Yankees) have taken the trifecta of notable headlines. I'm on the fence as to whether that's a good or a bad thing. You woulda thunk that the first team to garner this great honor would have been the Red Sox, but the Evil Empire is just so damn newsworthy. Oh well, on with the show. In compiling a list of the top ten baseball players of all time, any knowledgeable writer would be remiss to forget Joe DiMaggio, the Yankees legend who in his thirteen seasons in New York had a monstrous 2214 hits, which was until today good for fifth on the Yankees' all-time hits list. With his third hit in today's win against the Red Sox, Derek Jeter logged career hit number 2216, sliding past DiMaggio into fifth on the all-time list. Next comes the fourth slot, which is currently owned by Jeter's former teammate Bernie Williams at 2336. The all-time Yankees' hit leader is Lou Gherig with his 2721. At just 31 years old, however, Jeter is well on his way to passing that record and perhaps become the first ball-player to log 3000 hits in Yankee pinstripes. It may be a few years before Roger Clemens sees the batters he faced today in any kind of Major League action (that is, if he makes it that long in his already extended Hall-of-Fame career), but it still amounted to an interesting match-up as the Rocket threw 102 pitches against Red Sox double-A affiliate the Portland SeaDogs. Facing one of the top Sox prospects in Clay Buchholz, Clemens got the win by a slim margin by going 5.1 innings while giving up six hits and three runs. Buchholz actually had a better outing than did Clemens, going six strong innings and allowing just two runs on seven hits. He struck out eight batters to Clemens' five. The Trenton Thunder won the game 4-3 after a blown save by SeaDog Michael James. Said Yankees manager after Clemens' performance: "Throwing 102 pitches, I guess his legs must be under him. That's really what he was waiting for. If he feels he's ready to come with us and start pitching for us, we're ready to have him." Clemens said that he won't be sure if he'll be ready to start against the Blue Jays next week until after his bullpen session on Friday. The connections between Jason Giambi and performance-enhancing drugs just never end. After he opened his mouth about his steroid-abusing past, leading to an investigation by the MLB commissioner's office, now the New York Daily News is reporting that the Giambino has recently failed a rest for amphetamines, which just became part of MLB's drug testing policy last season. A first failed test for amphetamines bears no suspensions or fines and is supposed to be kept private (though he will be subject to up to six additional tests throughout the season), but it's possible that the information was leaked by the commissioner's office in response to Giambi's recent comments about his previous steroid use. A player who fails the amphetamine test for a second time is subject to a 25-game suspension.

Photo Sources: MLB.com and NYDailyNews.com

It's just Manny being... well... weird.

2007-05-23T02:13:00.000-04:00

Awe, isn't this cute? The homo-erotic saga between Julian Tavarez and Manny Ramirez continues. First Tavarez was passing notes from Ramirez to the media during spring training, and now Manny is having some fun giving Tavarez a nice little head-rub in the dugout.

Source: Towleroad

Today in Baseball: 5/22/2007

2007-05-23T01:09:00.000-04:00

Tavarez pitches himself a birthday "W", Griffey and Sosa inch closer to 600, Davies does it all in Atlanta win

It was the big 3-4 for Red Sox pitcher Julian Tavarez, and what better way to celebrate than to put up a big 3-4 (three hits and four walks, that is) in a victory for Boston over the ailing Yankees? On a day when Boston pitchers walked eight Yankees, New York was unable to capitalize and managed to push across just three runs, while the Sox stung Mike Mussina for ten hits and seven runs. Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell each homered, while Boston's surprise relief phenom Hideki Okajima walked two and allowed his first run since he threw his first pitch in the major leagues (which was a homerun for Kansas City catcher John Buck). While Barry Bonds chases the most elusive record in all of sports, two other sluggers are approaching a milestone currently achieved by just four hitters in major league history. Both Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa inched closer to the 600 home-run club today, but neither player could help his team to a victory. Griffey knocked in number 573 and moved to eighth on the all-time list, tied with Harmon Killebrew, but Reds reliever Jon Coutlangus cinched the loss by serving up a eighth inning grand slam to Washington's Felipe Lopez. In Texas, the Rangers have been hot at the plate for the last couple of days, but there's nothing that will put a stop to a hitting streak quite like the best pitcher in the league. Sammy Sosa accounted for the only run against Twins southpaw Johan Santana with his 598th career long-ball, a solo shot in the second inning. The Rangers went on to strike out 18 times in the game (13 against Santana) and allow the Twins to score seven runs, good for a loss in Arlington. It's not everyday that a pitcher bats in more runs than he allows, but that's just what Braves right-hander Kyle Davies did in today's 8-1 win over the Mets. Davies not only pitched a gem, giving up just one run on six hits in an eight inning effort, he also blasted a three run homer off of Mets reliever Aaron Sele in the sixth inning.

Video Source: MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/21/2001

2007-05-21T22:54:00.000-04:00

Damn Yankees take game one, Texas plates another 14 runs, and Giambi's mouth may cost him his job

The New York Yankees began the day 10.5 games behind the BoSox, but with Boston visiting the Bombers in Yankee stadium, this series is an important opportunity for New York to begin chipping away at that ginormous deficit. It was the Yanks' ace Chien-Ming Wang against Boston's elder statesman Tim Wakefield, and Wang showed the Sox bats exactly why he finished second in the Cy Young Award voting last season. Though he didn't have his best stuff, Wang tossed six and a third gritty innings, hold the Sox to two runs on seven hits. Alex Rodriguez extended his lead in the major league homerun column with his 18th blast, and Jason Giambi also had a dinger to power the Yankees to a 6-2 victory. The Yanks moved to 9.5 games back of the Sox and 2-5 in the season series between the two clubs. The Texas Rangers are a team that, with their mediocre pitching staff, depend on a powerful offense to score a lot of runs in order to win games. Well, for the past two games, the Rangers offense has responded in kind. After Sunday's 14-1 blowout of the Houston Astros, Texas went back home to host the Minnesota Twins and, highlighted by an eight run fifth-inning (and catcher Gerald Laird's first career grand slam), managed to score 14 runs yet again. Frank Catalanotto, fresh off the DL, reached base three times and hit a homerun. In Bud Selig's new steroid-tough MLB, even beating around the bush about your former doping habits may land you in some serious trouble. In response to Jason's recent apology for "doing that stuff," The New York Times reports today that Selig is planning to orchestrate an interview between Giambi and one of Bud's chief labor executives. According to the article: "When The [San Francisco] Chronicle reported Giambi’s leaked grand jury testimony two and a half years ago, the Yankees investigated trying to void the $82 million left on his contract or buying out part of his deal. But the team did not have proof of Giambi’s steroid use because the testimony would not have been recognized. Now the Yankees will wait and see what Giambi, whose own remarks pushed him into a sensitive position, eventually tells the commissioner’s office." Giambi currently has one season left on his seven year, $120 million contract, plus an option for 2009 which New York was quite unlikely to pick up regardless of Giambi's off-field issues.

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Today in Baseball: 5/20/2007

2007-05-20T22:14:00.000-04:00

AL East rookies quiet NL East bats, Tigers get revenge in Cards sweep, and new pitch count established in Little Leagues

When taking a look at the pitching probables for today's series finales in New York and Boston, your first instinct would probably be to think that the Yankees and Red Sox were simply giving these games away. In Fenway, the Sox decided to push knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's next start back until Monday's game at Yankee Stadium, instead calling on triple-A hurler Kason Gabbard for a spot start against the Braves. The southpaw responded by going five strong, striking out seven and holding the Braves to just two runs. Against Braves veteran Tim Hudson, the Sox gathered six runs on eight hits, chasing Hudson after 4.2 innings. Atlanta managed three hits and a run off of closer Jonathan Papelbon, but Boston held on to take the victory 6-3. Gabbard was sent back down to the PawSox after the game, replaced on the roster by reliever Manny Delcarmen. Boston became the first team to win 30 games this season, and maintain the best record in the bigs. Meanwhile in Queens, the Yankees started their own rookie (the seventh rookie to start a game for New York this season) and were rewarded with an even better performance, as Tyler Clippard held the Mets to just one run on three hits in his six inning major league debut, while Mets phenom John Maine allowed five runs in his five inning performance. Super-closer Mariano Rivera allowed a ninth inning homerun to second-baseman Damion Easley, but managed to close the game and seal a Yanks victory at 6-2. If the Detroit Tigers were still feeling any sting from losing the 2006 World Series to the Cardinals, their performance against St. Louis this weekend may have helped ease the pain just a little bit. The Tigers took the game 6-3 behind Justin Verlander's eight inning, two run gem. Said third baseman Brandon Inge (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) after the game " I feel pretty good, but it's kind of a year late, isn't it?" If you're one of 2.3 million pitchers between ages seven and eighteen, listen up: no matter how well you're pitching in a game from now on, after a limited number of pitches, you're out. So says Little League International (which governs 7500 leagues across the globe), after orthopedic surgeons reported a marked increase in pitching-related injuries among youths, many of which require complicated surgical procedures to mend. Depending on age, youngsters may be held to between 75-and-105 pitches, and also will face stricter rest requirements between outings. The new regulation looks to save a bunch of young arms from wear and tear injuries, but it will also add a whole new element of strategy to the ever-popular Little League World Series, in which coaches who previously relied on one or two star pitchers will be forced to depend on a deep pitching staff among their kids.

Image Source: MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/19/2007

2007-05-20T00:44:00.000-04:00

Sox and Braves split double-header, Glavine clocks win 295 against the Yankees, Lee's slam in eighth powers Cubs comeback

The two games of today's inter-league double-header in Fenway Park mirrored each other in many ways. In game one, Daisuke Matsuzaka spun his third straight quality start, holding the Braves to just three runs over his eight innings and bumping his record to 6-2. Meanwhile, the Sox offense exploded, gathering 13 runs on 18 hits, including four homeruns (Lugo, Youkilis, Lowell, and Pena). Lowell's dinger was a grand slam off of reliever Mark Redman, and Pena's seventh inning bash was a monster shot, landing over everything in left field, somewhere out by the Mass Pike. In game two, the lines were similar (no runs on three hits against 14 runs on 18 hits), but this gem was twirled by John Smoltz, as the Red Sox were beaten down in their worst shutout since 1990. Smoltz, who earlier in the week both dislocated his right pinky and turned 40 years old (two damaging events for any pitcher) brought his ERA down to 2.85 and added seven strikeouts to his hall-of-fame stat line. In this milestone intensive season, Tom Glavine's run to 300 wins is losing page space every day to Barry Bonds' campaign for homerun king. Yet logging 300 victories remains one of the most difficult tasks in baseball (growing only harder by the year), and is a sure-fire ticket to Cooperstown. Glavine inched closer to the finish line tonight by notching his 295th victory against the Mets' cross-town rival Yankees, going six deep while allowing three runs on 9 hits. The Yanks made it interesting against Billy Wagner in the ninth, but behind David Wright's two homers and three intentional walks, the Mets offense was able to hold on to the lead and further entrench the Bronx Bombers at 10.5 games behind Boston. In Chicago, Cubs first-baseman Derrek Lee has missed the past five games with neck spasms, and though manager Lou Piniella opted not to put him on the DL, he was not expected to make an appearance in this weekend's series against the White Sox. Listed as day-to-day, Lee told Piniella early Saturday that he could possibly pinch hit if needed, and with the score tied and the bases loaded in the eighth inning, Piniella took the National League's batting average leader at his word. Lee responded by putting Sox reliever Boone Logan's 3-1 pitch over the fence and giving the Cubs the lead for good. "He came out and said he was ready to go." Piniella said after the game. "If you have a guy like that, you'd be foolish not to utilize him if he's available. He delivered big time."

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Source: MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/18/2007

2007-05-19T00:51:00.000-04:00

Interleague play begins with Rivalry Weekend, Giambi kind of apologizes for something, and the Rocket makes his Yankees debut... the Tampa Yankees, that is.

Here we are again, as the controversial Interleague season began today with some marquis AL meets NL match-ups in the cards. Speaking of Cards, St. Louis met up with Detroit in a World Series rematch that would see the Tigers get a bit of retribution for their loss to the Cardinals last year. Tigers rookie (2006 sixth round draft pick) Andrew Miller made his debut start in place of ailing Jeremy Bonderman (blister) and owned the Cardinals offense, hurling six scoreless innings and allowing just four hits in Detroit's 14-4 victory. In New York, the Subway Series was renewed as the Mets beat the Yankees in a close game (3-2) behind a 7 2/3 inning gem by Oliver Perez. The Freeway Series began with a 9-1 Angels rout over cross-town rivals the Dodgers. Struggling Ervin Santana out-dueled Dodgers ace Brad Penny, allowing just the one run and six hits over six innings. New San Francisco ace Barry Zito crumbled against his old team, the Oakland Athletics. The Giants' $126 Million Man allowed gave up seven runs and matched his career high of seven walks over four innings, while his ERA increased nearly a run from 4.29 to 5.13. There's little doubt in most minds that Jason Giambi was one of many ball players guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs around the turn of the century, and now those die-hard fans who just couldn't drop their "say it ain't so" mentalities have met the final straw. Said Giambi to USA Today: "I was wrong for doing that stuff. What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said: 'We made a mistake.'" He went on to say "That stuff didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball." Right... I suppose that's an apology, of sorts. That is, if you don't believe that increased muscle mass, vision, and recovery rate don't allow you to hit more balls further. Thumbs up Giambino, we just might be hearing more from you here in The Baseball Beat a little later in the week. Roger Clemens made his much anticipated debut for the Yankees today, only it was the single-A Tampa Yankees. A league-record 10,257 fans packed into Legends Stadium to see the Rocket face off against... well I venture to guess that most of those fans didn't give a lick who he was facing. In case you do care, it was the Fort Myers Miracle (of the Minnesota Twins organization), and Clemens held them to one run on three hits over his four innings of work. Showing great command for a pitcher who hadn't competed since October, Roger threw 42 of his 58 pitches for strikes. The one run came off a solo homer in the first by the Miracle's Erik Lis, giving the 2005 ninth round draft pick something to call home about tonight.

Hinske's Big Night

2007-05-18T02:52:00.001-04:00

Source: MLB.com

David Ortiz and D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches finally meet on the air

2007-05-18T00:34:00.000-04:00

The three most important aspects of my life right now are 1. my family, 2. baseball, and 3. my job (D'Angelo Grilled Sandwiches Shift Leader). Well Big Papi has managed to meld numbers two and three on the list in his new tv spot for D'Angelo. Not the best commercial Ortiz is in right now (I love this Vitamin Water spot in particular), but still, I can't ignore its significance in my life. Enjoy.

Source: Boston.com

Curt Schilling Biggest DB of the Week Award: 10/17/2007

2007-05-17T22:19:00.001-04:00

This week, Tigers manager Jim Leyland garners his first Curt Schilling Biggest DB of the Week Award because of his inane comments about Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Leyland mistakenly downplayed Dice-K's effectiveness and even mocked the Japanese phenom, referring to him as "Matsuzuki" and saying "I don't give a (expletive) about him. I'm not getting into all that. I could give a (expletive) less. It's another pitcher." Well apparently Leyland should have given a few more (expletives) about Dice-K, as the 26-year old lit up the Tigers' offense on Monday in a 7-1 complete game victory. Leyland was speaking a different tune after the game, when he said "He's a very good Major League pitcher and I was very impressed with him. He had composure and he had good stuff. He knows what to do with it. He's the real deal." AKA: The next time we play Boston I should really care a bit more about what pitcher we're facing. Way to back up your trash talk, douche. It should be noted that the Sox went on to take three of four games against the Tigers in the series.

Sources: Freep.com and MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/17/2007

2007-05-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

BoSox take double-header, Carmona bests Santana in Tribe sweep, Farnsworth gripes about Rocket contract before Yanks loss, Mets talk 'roids and walk-offs

The Boston Red Sox faced off against the Detroit Tigers today in a day-night double-header that saw the Red Sox get fantastic performances out of two rather unlikely players. It all started in game one, when Julian Tavarez twirled a gem against the Tigers, allowing just one run on four hits over his seven innings. Tavarez has thus far been the weak link in an outstanding Red Sox rotation, and even after today's stellar performance he saw his record move to just 2-4 and his ERA drop to a shaky 5.59. Then in game two, Eric Hinske proved the hero (starting in right field in place of the sore-backed J.D. Drew) by making a spectacular (if somewhat reckless) catch that saw him face-plant in the warning track down right field foul line. The play saved two runs from scoring as the Tigers had runners on second and third with two outs. Later in the game, Hinske hit a two-run homer that put the Red Sox on top of the Tigers and eventually won the game. Curt Schilling was somewhat of a mess on the mound, giving up eight extra-base hits and four walks, yet he managed to hold the Tigers to two runs, which helped Boston stay in the game for good. Surprise bullpen force Hideki Okajima (and his pristine 0.44 ERA) pitched an inning in both games, getting the save in game two. In Cleveland, last year's experimental closer Fausto Carmona (0 saves in 3 opportunities to go along with a 1-10 record) is proving himself to be the Tribe's most valuable starter in '07. For the second time this season, Carmona bested Twin's ace (and reigning Cy Young Award winner) Johan Santana, spinning a 2-0 complete game victory and leading the Indians to first place in the American League Central in the wake of Detroit's loss to Boston. Said Twins center fielder Torii Hunter of Carmona and his nasty sinker: "It was so scary, I thought I was hung over. He was filthy. Even if we were hot right now, he would have cooled us off." Meanwhile, the Twins have lost seven of the last eight and sit below .500 and in fourth place in the Central. On Chicago radio talk-show The Score this morning, Yankees reliever Kyle Farnsworth criticized the contract stipulations of his new teammate Roger Clemens. Of the clause in the Rocket's contract which will allow him to leave the team to see his family when he's not pitching, Farnsworth said "As far as a teammate and a player, I think everybody should be here whether they're pitching or not. You don't see guys who are hurt not sit on the bench. They're always there." While the flame-throwing setup man didn't seem too concerned about the contract causing friction in the Yankees' clubhouse, he's just one of many baseball personalities to speak negatively about the situation, and Clemens hasn't even started playing yet. I'd like to see how players (and the media) react the first time Clemens actually does leave his team, whether to see his family or play in a golf tournament or anything. Later in the day the clubhouse chemistry certainly didn't help New York overcome the White Sox, as the Bombers were defeated 4-1 in the South Side behind rookie starter Matt DeSalvo's first career loss. After three pitchers in the Mets organization were handed lengthy suspensions for positive drug tests in the last seven months (major leaguer Guillermo Mota and two minor leaguers), COO Jeff Wilpon said today that the organization is in discussions about the team's efforts to curb performance enhancer use. "Not to stop the positive tests but to educate the kids so they know what they're doing to their bodies and they know that besides being illegal and against the rules, that it's not good for them," Wilpon said. "They don't need to do it." On the field, the Mets channeled the May 13th Red Sox and rallied for five runs in the ninth inning, including a walk-off base hit by first baseman Carlos Delgado. The Cubs had previously held the Mets to just one run, but closer Ryan Dempster coughed up three hits, two walks, and five runs in his 1/3 of an inning, allowing the Mets to come all the way back and win the game.

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Video Source: MLB.com

Today in Baseball: 5/16/2007

2007-05-16T23:58:00.000-04:00

New-age rivalry delayed, Hamels two-hits the Brew Crew, Jays sweep the Orioles, Hard luck Arroyo issues walk-off walk

The Red Sox and the Tigers will have to wait to continue fleshing out their new American League rivalry, as they were rained out of Wednesday's game in Fenway. The game will be made up as part one of a day-night double header tomorrow. Cole Hamels, Philadelphia's phenom southpaw held the Milwaukee Brewers (supposedly the best team in the National League) to just two hits, and had a perfect game going through six innings. His 11 strikeouts led him to the top of the NL leader-board, moving past San Diego ace Jake Peavy. His sixth inning walk to Rickie Weeks broke up the perfect game, which was followed immediately by a two-run homer by J.J. Hardy to end the no-hitter. The Brewers, meanwhile, are suddenly not looking like the powerhouse team they were for most of baseball's first quarter. Milwaukee lost five of six games on this road trip to two of the better teams in the National League. Chances are, the Beer Makers may hold on to take a weak NL Central, but will not make it further than the first round in the playoffs. In the absence Roy Halladay, Toronto's back-up ace A.J. Burnett flexed his golden arm and three-hit the Orioles in a complete game victory, leading to a much needed sweep over the Blue Jays' division rivals. "We all know who Roy is around here, but with him down, I'm doing my [best] to keep us right in it until we get him back," Burnett said. "But it's not just me. It's the young kid [Litsch] yesterday. It's Shaun Marcum. It's the defense that we play and the chemistry of this clubhouse that keeps this team winning." Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo boasts of a sub-3.00 ERA, yet his winning percentage is a dismal .333. The poor guy has a ton of trouble getting run support in his games, and Wednesday's loss to the Padres was no different. The poor guy pitched a complete game gem, but his error in the ninth inning helped to load the bases, and his walk to Kevin Kouzmanoff brought home the winning run for San Diego. Someday this pretty great pitcher will get his come-uppance. You just watch.

Source: Boston.com and MLB.com

Sox Knocks: Drew and Beckett out

2007-05-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

The Boston Globe is reporting today that J.D. Drew will sit out of tonight's game after crashing into the wall in right field in last night's loss to the Tigers, resulting in a bruised back. This after The Boston Herald's Jeff Horrigan reports that Josh Beckett is unlikely to make his next start (scheduled for Friday), after suffering an avulsion (cut resulting in a skin flap) on his right middle finger in Sunday night's game against Baltimore. These are just the first two bumps along the road for the Sox (Mike Timlin's two disabled list stints would mean a lot more if the Sox bullpen wasn't tearing up the league), and how they manage on the field during the absence of their best starter and their number five hitter will go a long way to show just how deep and committed to winning this team is.

Picture courtesy of BostonHerald.com

Today in Baseball: 5/15/2007

2007-05-16T00:23:00.000-04:00

I'm trying out a new format here, in which I'll attempt to post a brief recap of today's baseball news and results, as well as all the scores and information you'll need. In this way I'll be able to make some kind of post everyday, while still supplementing Today in Baseball with features like Curt Schilling's DB of the Week Awards and the upcoming First Quarter Report. Any questions or comments are welcome, just post it here or email me at cereardon@gmail.com. Anyways...on to the show.

Yost ejected in Brewers Loss, The King returns, and Chicago destroys New York... that is, the Cubs and Mets.

The Milwaukee Brewers' standing as the best team in baseball has been questioned a lot in this early season due to the ease of their schedule thus far. Well, the Brew-Crew have done little to prove themselves in the past week, having lost four of the last five games to NL East toughs New York and Philadelphia. In tonight's game against the Phillies (the second of a three-game series), Milwaukee manager Ned Yost was ejected in the fourth inning for committing that almighty baseball faux pas: arguing balls and strikes. Later in the game former closer turned setup man Derrick Turnbow gave up the winning run to the Phillies, who continue to struggle around the .500 mark. Meanwhile in Seattle, ace-in-the-making Felix Hernandez made his return from the DL (tightness in the elbow) and pitched well, but not for very long. Facing a pitch-count, "The King" Hernandez threw for just 3 2/3 innings, allowing three earned runs, walking three, and striking out five. The Seattle offense was in it for the long run, however, scoring 11 runs (including six in the third inning) and seeing Ichiro put together his sixth five-hit game (that's the most among active players) en route to a win over the Angels. Reliever Sean White picked up for Hernandez with 4 1/3 scoreless innings out of the 'pen. The Yankees were rained out of their game against the White Sox, but there was still plenty of NY/CHI baseball to be had, as the Cubs showed up in Shea Stadium with their bats (and their ace) in stow. In Chicago's 10-1 victory, Aramis Ramirez blasted a ginormous grand slam into the second deck in Shea's left field, and Carlos Zambrano used his newly altered mechanics to hold the potent Mets offense to one run on six hits in his eight inning campaign.

Photo and stats courtesy of MLB.com

Kudos, Litsch

2007-05-15T23:35:00.000-04:00

The Toronto Blue Jays, reeling from an unruly number of injuries (nine players on the disabled list, including starters Roy Halladay, Gustavo Chacin, John Thomson, and Victor Zambrano) brought up former Tampa Bay bat-boy Jesse Litsch to start today's game against Baltimore. Litsch didn't wilt under the pressure of his major league debut, responding to the call-up by going 8 2/3 innings deep and allowing one run to earn Toronto (and Litsch) the win. Said Litsch after the game: "It's probably the best day of my life. I never thought it would happen that way but it's a great experience." Having gone 5-1 with a 0.96 ERA in his six double-A starts this season, it's very possible that the Jays have found themselves something to be happy about in this disappointing first quarter of the season.

Photo courtesy of MLB.com
Source: ESPN.com

Holy Crap! Sox come back.

2007-05-14T02:07:00.000-04:00

In one of the craziest ninth inning comebacks ever, the Sox managed to overcome their 5-0 deficit to the Orioles on Sunday, giving those fans who opted to stick around in Fenway Park (my unfortunate sister not included) a run for their money. It all ended on a Julio Lugo ground-ball that turned into a walk-off error by former Sox first-baseman Kevin Millar (though the error should technically belong to the pitcher for his poor catch - Millar's throw was on target). Just insane, and all the drama any Sox fan could ask for.

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The Curt Schilling Biggest DB of the Week Award - 5/10/07

2007-05-10T16:32:00.000-04:00

I've long held that Curt Schilling, while a very good pitcher, is perhaps the biggest tool in baseball. His douchebaggery seems to have increased exponentially this season with the addition of his blog 38Pitches. That's why I've decided to create this award, which may or may not be updated on a strict weekly basis, but most certainly will depict the biggest DB of the week.

That said, the inaugural Curt Schilling Biggest DB of the Week Award goes too... Curt Schilling! Here's to you Schilling, for going on WEEI radio and prattling on about how Barry Bonds has admitted to his steroid use, his adultery, and his penchant for cheating on his taxes. This would all be well and good if, well, it were true! While the allegations may or may not be true, Bonds has certainly never admitted to any of them. This after Big Schill reamed the sports media for making up stories about how he intentionally bloodied his sock during the 2004 World Series. Luckily, Curt manage to prove himself the "bigger" man by posting a public apology on his blog, featuring such gems as "I’m thinking that waking up at 8:30 am to do the weekly interview we do with WEEI is probably not the greatest format and if you heard the interview it’s not hard to realize that I’m usually awake about 30-45 seconds before it begins." Just like Terry Francona said, for someone who doesn't talk to the media very much, you sure talk to the media a lot. Way to go Schill, you're a douche.

Runners up...
David Wells, San Diego Padres pitcher, is a douche because he says too much and then runs back to retract it all when he realizes how stupid it was. This particular instance involved Roger Clemens, and Wells was quoted as saying "I don't think I would ever do it because of the fact I personally think it would disrespect the team and your teammates," in regards to Clemens' new contract with the New York Yankees, which will allow him to leave the team (if he so chooses) when he is not scheduled to pitch. The next days Wells took it back, saying that parts of the interview had been left out and that he really loves the Rocket. Of course, Wells. The media always misconstrues what you say to them. That fact that you have to flap your fat face about everything and everyone out there has nothing to do with it. And let's see you turn down a contract like the one Clemens received before you start spouting off about it, you douche.

Phil Garner, Houston Astros Manager, is a douche because he, quite like the Big Schill himself, is fond of making up allegations, in this case about his former player Roger Clemens. In reference to Clemens' deal with the Yankees (the precedence for which was made by the Astros), Garner told ESPN's Mike and Mike that the reason the Astros originally allowed for such terms in Clemens' contract was to lure him out of retirement, ostensibly so that Clemens would be able to spend more time with his family than the normal baseball schedule would allow for. "What sort of happened was we'd turn on the TV, and he's playing a golf tournament, so it evolved to be more than just seeing family," Garner said, immediately drawing the wrath of the Rocket. Clemens says that he has never played in a golf tournament while he was supposed to be with his team, and that he means to confront Garner face-to-face on the subject. I'd be scared if I were you, Phillip, and not just because your team sucks. Your douchebaggery is probably going to get you punched in the face this time.

Update Cy Young: Beckett making his case

2007-05-08T23:56:00.001-04:00

Not too many people believed me when I said that Josh Beckett is going to improve by leaps and bounds in his second year in the American League. Well, the numbers speak for themselves: Beckett has now won each of his first seven starts, giving him the best record in baseball to go along with his tidy little 2.51 ERA (good for fifth in the AL). It seems as though Beckett has settled down after his shaky 2006, putting more trust in himself and in Jason Varitek, and also allowing himself to relax on the mound and not rush his delivery. He still puts the ball over the plate at 97 mph, but he also has much more command and trust in his off-speed pitches, which only makes his heater more effective. Keep an eye on Beckett as the weather (and power bats) heat up; how he manages in the dog days will show just how improved this talented young pitcher is.

Update A-Rod for MVP's looking pretty realistic about now, isn't it?

2007-04-20T03:42:00.000-04:00

A-Rod's now hit an unprecedented 10 homeruns in his team's first fourteen games, two of which have been walk-off shots. And in the Bronx, I have a feeling people are beginning to dig those #13 jerseys out of the back of their closets. I'm rather fond of this article by ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski, which states "[The New York Yankees] are being carried on the previously fragile shoulders of Rodriguez, who is shoving Barry Bonds, Dice-K, the Philadelphia Phillies Phree-fall -- and anyone else to temporary baseball irrelevancy." My favorite part of the ariticle was this side-bar (thanks to Screengrab! for allowing me to capture it), which shows just how offensively potent A-Rod is compared other entire lineups in the major leagues. I know, I know, I'm prattling on about a Yankee, but c'mon! This is unreal, and I've always said I'm a baseball fan first and a Red Sox fan second. Good for A-Rod for shoving it right in the faces of all those doubting fans, and let's hope that he decides to opt of his contract and take over for Mike Lowell in Boston's hot corner next season. ;-)
Source: ESPN.com - COLUMNIST - Wojciechowskie: 'A-Rod Gone Wild!'

Sox wrap up Angels series in style

2007-04-16T19:59:00.001-04:00

Though the four-game series is technically not over until the two teams make up the game that was rained out yesterday, the Red Sox still managed to defeat the Angels in three games this weekend, scoring 25 runs to LA's three. Today's 7-2 win put the icing on the cake, capping off the series with a homerun for David Ortiz and some nice defense from Julio Lugo, who made perhaps the best play of the young season for Boston when he made this sliding catch in center field. The Angels are hardly the worst team in the league, and the offensive breakout of the Sox (coupled with the slew of injuries in the New York's already-weak starting rotation) gives more evidence of the fact that the Sox are the team to beat in the league this season.

MLB Preview '07: MVP Surprise Favorites

2007-04-16T14:34:00.000-04:00

In lieu of doing the typical MVP favorites piece filled with names like Pujols, Ortiz, Jeter, and Ryan (who are all but guaranteed to show up on the MVP top ten this year), I've opted instead to choose five players from each league who may not be the first to come to mind when the topic of Most Valuable Player is brought up, but who I'm projecting to fill just that role for their teams and possibly make a run at the title.

American League:

1. 3B Alex Rodriguez (Yankees): Okay, so A-Rod wouldn't be a huge surprise to take the MVP, considering he won the award just two years ago for the second time in his illustrious career. But Rodriguez struggled defensively last season and was weak enough at the plate to see a drop to number eight in the batting order during the 2006 post-season, making him prime for a big come back in 2007. This also may be his last year in pinstripes, as he will have the choice of opting out of his contract with the Yankees at the end of the season. Knowing that this could be a contract year may be enough to motivate A-Rod to 50-plus homers and 130-plus RBI. He's already started off the season as the hottest hitter in the bigs, knocking six long balls in his first seven games of 2007. Voters are sure to take a good long look at the Yankees' third baseman come October.

2. OF/DH Gary Sheffield (Tigers): Detroit already has all the pitching they need to make it deep into the post-season, but the reason they didn't win the World Championship in 2006 was a sudden drop-off in offense. Without making many other changes to the roster, Detroit traded for Sheffield and immediately made a huge impact on their lineup. Though he was injured most of last year, Sheffield is still one of the most feared hitters in the league. Though the baseball writers are supposed to disregard playoff performances in casting their votes for MVP, if Sheffield's bat leads to a championship in Detroit it's going to be hard to argue who the most valuable player in the league really is.

3. 3B Akinori Iwamura (Devil Rays): Hoping to do for Tampa Bay what Ichiro did for Seattle in 2001; that is, take over as the face of the franchise and help the team make an impact in the division. Now, the Mariners won 116 games in Ichiro's rookie year, which is highly unlikely for the Devil Rays. Iwamura shares Suzuki's sweet left-handed swing and slick fielding abilities, so I would be impressed, but not surprised to see the third baseman follow his countryman's lead by taking the Gold Glove, Rookie-of-the-Year, and MVP all in the same season.

4. C Joe Mauer (Twins): Even though his teammate Justin Morneau won the award last season, it is widely held that Mauer was really the most valuable Twin on the roster. Being the first catcher to take the batting title since 1942 really helps his cause in that regard. Everyone knows that playing backstop is the most difficult position on the field, and to prove yourself to be a force at the plate as well as behind it is truly one of the most impressive feats in baseball. If the Twins succeed as they did in 2006, I wouldn't be surprised to see the voters take notice of the Minnesota backstop as well as his teammates.

5. CF Vernon Wells (Blue Jays): Though he did just score a huge contract with Toronto, Wells remains one of the most underrated players in the game. He's right up there with Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran as far as center fielders go, but he plays in the AL East where an impact player is far more important than in the National League. Players from Boston already know better than to try to test Wells' arm on the basepaths.

National League

1. SS Jose Reyes (Mets): Reyes broke out in a big way last season when he hit .300 with 81 RBI and 64 stolen bases, netting himself a handy seventh place in the MVP voting. This guy has everything; five tools, good looks, and a powerful offense behind him. He's already one of the golden boys of Shea Stadium (along with third-baseman David Wright), and looks to be an important spark at the top of the lineup for years to come. He's sure to move up in the voting in 2007.

2. 2B Chase Utley (Phillies): Offensively gifted second-baseman are few and far between, and of those Utley is clearly the best there is. He strikes out a bit too often, but more than makes up for it in RBI and runs scored. If he proves to be a bit more patient at the plate, his on-base percentage could surpass .400 and the voters will be remiss to ignore him.

3. 3B David Wright (Mets): Reyes' teammate who also turned a lot of heads in 2006. He was one of the most productive hitters in the league for the first half of the season, though he slowed down a bit down the stretch. If he can keep his bat for the full season he's capable of 35+ homers and 120 RBI, certainly MVP numbers if I've ever seen them. His quick glove at the hot corner only serves to help his cause.

4. 3B Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals): The best player on the worst team, he'll give the Nats a lot of very productive at-bats and some pretty fine defense at third. He'll face a lot of competition at the hot corner from players like Wright, Scott Rolen, and Aramis Ramirez, but if Zimmerman continues to improve in his second full season in the bigs, there's no telling what he'll be capable of.

5. C Brian McCann (Braves): Mauer's counter-part in the National League, McCann broke out as one of the best offensive catchers in the game last season by hitting .333 with 24 homeruns. No catcher has won the MVP award in the National League since Johnny Bench in 1972, but if there's a modern backstop who can do it, it's certainly McCann.

There can only be one reason why I'm grinning like this...

2007-04-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

I got Red Sox tickets for tomorrow! I'm gonna see Daisuke in his Fenway Debut! :-D So stoked. Watch for pictures.

MLB Preview 2007: Rookie-of-the-Year Favorites

2007-04-04T22:53:00.000-04:00

American League:

1. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (Red Sox): Already a favorite for the Cy Young Award, Matsuzaka is sure to make a tremendous impact in his first year in Major League Baseball. His reputation for greatness may in fact hurt him in this case, though, as voters may opt instead to reward a young player who has come up through the minor leagues. Precedence has varied: Ichiro Suzuki won the award in 2001 but Hideki Matsui lost out to Angel Berroa (who has since fallen off the radar) in 2003.

2. 3B Alex Gordon (Royals): So good, he bumped Kansas City star Mark Teahen into the outfield so he could take over at the hot corner. Having a huge year while surrounded by little talent is a good way to get noticed by the voters. He's not the best defender in the game, and he's not going to have much protection batting fifth in the Royals' slim lineup, but this kid has tons of talent and is going to turn a lot of heads in '07.

3. OF Delmon Young (Devil Rays): Superbly talented, but ill-tempered, Young projects to put up some fantastic numbers for the Devil Rays in his rookie year, but may have some trouble pulling votes if he proves to be a problem in the clubhouse. Great fielder that is capable of going 30-30 while hitting for average.

4. 3B Akinori Iwamura (Devil Rays): Slick fielding infielder out of Japan has put up some pretty big numbers in his carrer in the Nippon Professional League. Like Matsuzaka, Iwamura may have trouble collecting votes because of his previous professional experience, but keep an eye on this guy.

5. RHP Phillip Hughes (Yankees): The most talked about young pitcher in the minor leagues is not starting the season with New York, but you gotta think that the Yankees are going to see some problems in their relatively thing rotation. Chances are Hughes is called up mid-year and makes a good impression as did Chien-Ming Wang a few years ago. If not, look for him as the front-runner for the award in 2008.

National League:

1. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (Padres): The Padres gave up their star second baseman Josh Barfield in order to pick up Kouzmanoff, so he better make an impact on the club in his rookie year. Definitely impressed in his September call-up with the Indians last year, knocking three homers and 11 RBI in just 16 games.

After Kouzmanoff (who played in an American League system last season), I'm not familiar with too many National League rookies. Rather than try to bull my way through this section I decided to link you to the MLB.com prejections, which do the job quite admirably. MLB.com NL Top Rookie Candidates

It's just opening day, people!

2007-04-02T23:56:00.000-04:00

Dan Shaughnessy is extremely pleased with himself, isn't he? He's probably the only man in Boston who's happy to see Curt Schilling struggle in his opening day start against the Kansas City Royals.

"Where to start? Blogmaster Schilling threw like a man suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, yielding five runs on eight hits and two walks in just four innings. 38pitches? That's almost how many Schill needed to get out of the first inning, when he threw 33 and walked home a run. It was his shortest outing since July 2001 and hardly a good start to his 2007 campaign for a new contract."

While Shaughnessy is mostly right about Schilling, and I'll agree that Curt is mostly a tool and runs his mouth too much, this whole war between the pitcher and the journalist has gotten a bit out of hand. Shaughnessy's obsession with Schilling is wholly unprofessional and will only give the Globe a bad reputation among athletes. Schilling's constant rebuttals via his 38pitches blog and elsewhere show that he's spending a bit too much time listening to the media and not focusing on his gameplay.

That said, you never see Schilling fail to log at least five innings in a game. For all you Boston fans who are currently freaking out because you think the season is over based on one game, just calm down. Even if Schilling sucks this season, the rotation does not rest on his shoulders (no matter what he seems to believe). You're going to see some big years from a couple guys named Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett, so just quell the riots, will ya?

MLB Preview 2007: CY Young Favorites

2007-03-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

American League:

1. Johan Santana (Twins): How can Santana not be the preseason favorite to take the Cy Young award for the third time in four years? This guy could change his name to Pedro MarSouthpaw and nobody would bat an eye. He took the triple crown last season, and still has the most devastating changeup in the league.
2006: 19-6, 2.77 ERA, 245 K

2. Jeremy Bonderman (Tigers): He put up some career numbers last season and is still just 24 years old. This guy has gobs of talent and is still working on improving his repertoire. Watch for him to break out in a big way in 2007.
2006: 14-8, 4.08 ERA, 202 K

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka (Red Sox): Dice-K is ready to make a huge impact in the MLB. He has an arsenal of pitches that he can command and get guys out with. Whether he’s a power-pitcher with finesse, or a finesse-pitcher with power remains to be seen, but this guy is looking a whole lot like Pedro Martinez in his prime.
2006 (Japan): 17-5, 2.13 ERA, 200 K

4. Scott Kazmir (Devil Rays): His chances are hurt by the team he plays for, but Kazmir is one of the best young lefties in the game. If the offense can help him out in the wins column, Kazmir looks to move up in the voting.
2006: 10-8, 3.24 ERA, 163 K

5. John Lackey (Angels): Put up some nice numbers last season, but stumbled a bit down the stretch. He has the stuff to take the prize, but he’s going to have to remain consistent throughout the year to prove to the voters that he’s worth it.
2006: 13-11, 3.56 ERA, 190 K

Dark Horse Candidates: Chien-Ming Wang (Yankees), Justin Verlander (Tigers), Roy Halladay (Blue Jays), Dan Haren (Athletics), C.C. Sabathia (Indians), Erik Bedard (Orioles)

National League:

1. Carlos Zambrano (Cubs): In his contract year with Chicago, Zambrano is sure to put up some big numbers in the coming season. The offense is improved around him, which should help the Cubs in the division and put Zambrano on more of the voters’ radars.
2006: 16-7, 3.41 ERA, 210 K

2. Chris Carpenter (Cardinals): This guy doesn’t need to be put on anyone’s radar. Always a threat to take the Cy Young, Carpenter should make some fantasy owners happy once again in 2007.
2006: 15-8, 3.09 ERA, 184 K

3. Jake Peavy (Padres): He’s still riddled with talent, even if his numbers were down a bit last year. I’m expecting a big bounce back from Peavy in 2007, and considering he plays in the most pitcher-friendly ballpark and division in baseball, he should post some big numbers once again.
2006: 11-14, 4.09 ERA, 215 K

4. Roy Oswalt (Astros): He posted his second straight sub-3.00 ERA last season and has collected 55 wins in the last three years. With the absence of Andy Pettitte and the unknown that is Roger Clemens, Oswalt has proven that he is the ace of the Houston rotation.
2006: 15-8, 2.98 ERA, 166 K

5. Barry Zito (Giants): The move to the National League looks to be favorable for Zito. He isn’t the dominating pitcher he once was, but he can still do a lot for a team to win games. His numbers in the NL West are sure to improve over those in the AL West.
2006 (Oakland): 16-10, 3.83 ERA, 151 K

Dark Horse Candidates: Brandon Webb (Diamondbacks), Jason Schmidt (Dodgers), Aaron Harang (Reds), John Smoltz (Braves), Ben Sheets (Brewers), Derek Lowe (Dodgers), Dontrelle Willis (Marlins)

MLB Preview 2007: Preseason Playoff Picks

2007-03-28T02:30:00.000-04:00

Click for a larger image. And yes, I did make this myself so don't go stealing it and calling it yours. I'm the only one crazy enough to take the Reds in the NL Central and to put the Phillies in the World Series, anyway.

MLB Preview 2007: NL West

2007-03-28T02:22:00.000-04:00

1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Losing J.D. Drew hurts, but the starting rotation more than makes up for it. By adding Jason Schmidt, the Dodgers now boast of three starters in Schmidt, Derek Lowe, and Brad Penny who have Cy Young stuff and ace potential. Juan Pierre is overrated on offense, and Luis Gonzalez is just over-the-hill, but other than that the lineup is actually looking pretty strong, though it lacks a middle-of-the-order thumper. Keep an eye on Nomar Garciaparra; I have a feeling he’s poised to have an even bigger year than he had in ‘06.

2. San Diego Padres: The division leaders of a year ago made some nice offensive moves (watch for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to have a big year), but got a bit older in the rotation by adding Greg Maddux and David Wells. Still, Jake Peavy is a perennial Cy Young threat and the bullpen is as strong as ever. The reunion of the Giles brothers makes for a nice story, but not nice enough to help the team take the division.

3. San Francisco Giants: I’m nowhere near convinced Barry Zito is worth $126 million, but he should put up some decent numbers this year. Think about it - he plays in the same area as his old team, and the National League is much easier to pitch in than the American League. Bonds seems healthy, so there’s 30 homers right there, and the rest of the roster is easily solid enough to lock up third place. I like the addition of Bengie Molina behind the plate.

4. Colorado Rockies: If the Todd Helton trade rumors are anything to go by, it seems as if the Rockies are trying to shed the extra weight of some of the huge contracts they’ve signed in the past, which is a good thing. This team had some surprisingly good pitching last season, and while I don’t expect them to be quite as impressive on the mound this year, I do expect the team to be more cohesive in all aspects of the game. It probably won’t be enough to power them very far in the division, however.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks: Honestly, I was tempted to put the Giants in this position, but I just couldn’t bring myself to doubt Big Z that much. True, the D-Backs have the reigning CY Young in Brandon Webb at the top of a rotation that also features Randy Johnson and Livan Hernandez, but I just know that Arizona is going to have serious problems when it comes to offense this year. When Eric Byrnes was your leading homerun hitter at 26, and no team member surpassed 80 RBI last season, you know you’re in trouble scoring runs. Some good pitchers are going to have some low win totals in the desert this year.

MLB Preview 2007: NL Central

2007-03-27T23:55:00.000-04:00

1. Cincinnati Reds: I might be the only writer outside of Ohio to pick the lowly Reds to beat out the World Series Champion Cardinals, the Astros (who appeared in the World Series in 2005), and the Cubs (who have done a lot to improve their staff this winter), right? Well, hear me out. The Reds only finished 3.5 games out from the Cardinals last season, and the Cardinals did little to improve their roster this winter. With Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo the two pillars of a very solid rotation, and some punch in the lineup with Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr., and Jeff Conine, the Reds appear ready to make a run at the playoffs. Watch for former number one draft pick, recovering drug addict, Rule-5 pickup Josh Hamilton to make a big impact in his rookie year.

2. Chicago Cubs: The single most improved team of any this season, the Cubs are coming into the season with big expectations after landing players like Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Ted Lilly. True, after Carlos Zambrano the rotation lacks a heavy hitter, but guys like Lilly, Jason Marquis, and Mark Prior (if he can stay healthy) should be solid enough to let the offense win plenty of games. And trust me, this Chicago offense is easily the best in the division. Guys like Ramirez, Soriano, and newly healthy Derrek Lee should make quite an impact on the leader boards this season.

3. St. Louis Cardinals: I know they’re the World Champions and everything, but the Cardinals simply depend too much on the strength of a few players to carry the team. After Chris Carpenter, the starting rotation is a pieced together mess. After Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen, the offense is mediocre at best. After Jason Isringhausen, no player makes a huge impact in the bullpen. Jeff Suppan, Jeff Weaver, and Jason Marquis certainly weren’t the best pitchers on the market this winter, but losing them to free agency didn’t help St. Louis’ pitching problems any. A repeat for the Cardinals in ‘07 is going to be a tall task in this division.

4. Milwaukee Brewers: This team is itching to make an impact in their division. Every starter in the rotation logged at least 11 wins with his respective team last season (except Ben Sheets, who won six games in 17 injurious starts, but who we all know has enough talent to win 15 or more games if healthy). The bullpen looks strong with Francisco Cordero set to close games out, and the lineup is deadly enough with Prince Fielder, Bill Hall, and Geoff Jenkins. What fascinates me most about this team, though, is the strength of the bench. Guys like Craig Counsell, Tony Graffanino, Kevin Mench, and Laynce Nix are going to do their part to help this club win games.

5. Houston Astros: Just like the Cardinals, this is a recent playoff team that has high expectations but depends too much on the strength of a few guys like Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee, and Lance Berkman. Their acquisition of Mark Loretta to be used as a utility man makes me a little sad after his nice performance (every day) for the Sox last year, and Jason Jennings is not going to replace Andy Pettitte’s impact in the rotation. That said, the Astros’ playoff hopes do indeed loom on the back of one man, but he’s not even on their roster: Roger Clemens. A gut feeling (wishful thinking?) tells me the Rocket is not going to join his hometown team mid-summer, especially if they’re not doing well in the standings.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates: This is just the little club that couldn’t, isn’t it? They did manage a fifth place coup over the league-worst Chicago Cubs last season, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot for 2007 (or ever). Adam LaRoche is nice addition, but he came at a price (closer Mike Gonzalez). Still, there is some young talent on this team (Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez), and though I’m not expecting it, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised to see them take fifth or even fourth in the division.

MLB Preview 2007: NL East

2007-03-27T18:17:00.000-04:00

1. Philadelphia Phillies: Jimmy Rollins said a couple weeks ago that the Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East, and I may be one of the few people who believes him. The Phillies have a better starting rotation than the Mets (led by off-season pickup Freddy Garcia) and a better offense than the Braves featuring names like Chase Utley, Rollins, and the inimitable incumbent MVP Ryan Howard. I’m expecting big things from this team that hasn’t done many big things in a long time.

2. New York Mets: They still have the strongest offense in the National League, and probably improved it with the addition of Moises Alou. This team returns a remarkable three players who finished in the top ten in MVP voting (Carlos Beltran #4, Jose Reyes #7, David Wright #9). The pitching staff isn’t where it could be with all that payroll money as New York missed out on some big names like Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt. On the strength of the position players alone, I’ll put this team in the Wild Card.

3. Atlanta Braves: I like the rotation packed with names like John Smoltz and Tim Hudson (and a Mike Hampton that may be returning from his elbow injury sooner than originally thought), but this team seems to have lost the winning spirit that it possessed (at least during the regular season) for a decade and a half before last season. The problem is, the division has improved by leaps and bounds around Atlanta, and the Braves have mingled right around the status quo. Watch for Andruw Jones (in his contract year) to be traded mid-season - and remember that Boston has shown interest in the center fielder in the past.

4. Florida Marlins: This is still a young and talented team for sure, but somehow they don’t excite me as much as they did last year (maybe it has something to do with the departure of 2006 manager Joe Girardi). The team was made up of mostly rookies last season, so how many of those players are going to go through sophomore slumps in 2007? They do still have perennial MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera manning third base, and Dontrelle Willis leading a very talented young rotation, but this team is looking up at a very tough division. Getting Jorge Julio to close out games will help, but not enough.

5. Washington Nationals: I view the Nationals in the same light as I do the Royals in the American League Central; basically, an afterthought in a division that is sure to pummel them into the ground. Like the Royals, the Nats have one young player who is sure to bring a lot of smiles to people’s faces in Ryan Zimmerman, but not much else going for them. The entire roster seems like a work-in-progress (especially the rotation), and that’s just not going to cut it in this division.

Update Bullpen: Snyder to fill #7 slot, Lopez to fill in for Timlin

2007-03-27T17:20:00.000-04:00

As I expected because of his lack of options and his performance during spring training, the Sox have opted to keep Kyle Snyder in the bullpen to begin the season. What surprises me a little (after comments made last year by Francona that carrying a lefty specialist can be wasteful and taxing on the manager in late innings) is the decision to allow Javier Lopez to fill in for Mike Timlin while the veteran setup man is on the shelf with on oblique strain. Of course, the team projects Timlin to be back on the roster by the April 10th home opener, so Lopez won't be with the team for long, but I still would have expected them to carry Bryan Corey or Manny Delcarmen before Lopez. Is this Francona's way of saying that he doesn't have as much confidence in newly acquired lefty J.C. Romero as needed?

MLB Preview 2007: AL West

2007-03-27T03:49:00.000-04:00

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Hopefully for LA, ace Bartolo Colon will be healthy this year. He is just a season removed from his Cy Young campaign in 2005, and he has enough talent to top a very strong rotation. Add that to one of the best bullpens in baseball, and the Angels are looking every bit the division leader they are meant to be. The addition of Gary Matthews Jr. was probably over-hyped after his career 2006, but this team relies much more on pitching than on offense.

2. Texas Rangers: I gotta be crazy to take Texas over Oakland, right? Well, I don’t know. There are a lot of question marks on this squad, but if some of them pan out (namely returns to dominance from Eric Gagne and Sammy Sosa) then this is a team that may surprise a lot of people in 2007. They still have one of the best young infields in the game, led by first baseman Mark Teixeira, and their rotation is decent, if not spectacular.

3. Oakland Athletics: Rarely do I pick offense over pitching, but I’m putting the Rangers above the Athletics because of the massive difference in offense. Sure, the A’s have a pitching staff as good as any in the major leagues, but they’re going to have a fun time scoring runs to back it up. The off-season acquisition of Mike Piazza (who will spend his first season in the American League and as a DH) might work out well, but he’s not going to provide nearly the offensive punch of Frank Thomas, whom Oakland lost to the Blue Jays.

4. Seattle Mariners: Say goodbye to Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle fans. The man wants to win ballgames, and with all his talent who can blame him? He’ll be gone after the season if the Mariners don’t prove themselves playoff-worthy, which is going to be a tough task after trading Jamie Moyer to the Phillies and losing “ace” Gil Meche to free agency. Young Felix Hernandez (12-14, 4.52 ERA) heads a makeshift starting staff with names like Jarrod Washburn, Jeff Weaver, and Miguel Batista. You’d have to see some huge years from some mediocre players in order for Seattle to do much damage in the AL West.

MLB Preview 2007: AL Central

2007-03-26T22:39:00.000-04:00

1. Detroit Tigers: They stunned the entire baseball world last season by leading the Central for most of the year and finishing up with a Wild Card berth and a World Series appearance. The addition of Gary Sheffield should boost an offense that stumbled at the end of the year (though I’m not entirely sure that he was worth all the young pitching they gave up for him), and the starting rotation and bullpen is still as strong as it was last year, led by Rookie-of-the-Year starter Justin Verlander and flame-throwing setup man Joel Zumaya.

2. Minnesota Twins: Even though young phenom Francisco Liriano is on the shelf for the year, the Twins still boast of the reining AL Cy Young and MVP in Johan Santana and Justin Morneau. Santana may in fact be the best pitcher in the game today, having won the Cy Young in two of the last three seasons and taken the pitcher’s triple crown in 2006. The bullpen is strong, the offense is there, and this talented team has the makings of a playoff contender if they can take the Wild Card.

3. Cleveland Indians: This team has a very strong offense led by monster slugger Travis Hafner and rounded out with the likes of Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez. The rotation is nothing to laugh at either with names like C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee. The central division may be a bit tough for the Indians to overcome in 2007, but that’s what everyone said about the Tigers a year ago (myself included).

4. Chicago White Sox: Since their monster 2005 season, the Sox have done little to improve upon what made them so successful that year - the starting rotation. In fact, Chicago parted ways with two very talented starters in Freddy Garcia and Brandon McCarthy this off-season. The Red Sox learned last year that you can never have enough starters, and it looks like the White Sox may learn the same lesson in 2007.

5. Kansas City Royals: In years past they’ve been referred to as a triple-A team that plays against major leaguers. That may not be the case in 2007, as the Royals have done a bit to improve their roster. Still, Gil Meche is not exactly the ace Kansas City needs him to be, and Octavio Dotel is coming off Tommy John surgery and put up a 10.80 ERA in 14 appearances for the Yankees last year. The emergence of Mark Teahen will be about the only thing Royals fans have to cheer for in the coming season.

MLB Preview 2007: AL East

2007-03-26T13:05:00.000-04:00

1. Boston Red Sox: Call me biased, but remember that last year I picked New York as number one in the East. I look at the Sox and I see the best starting rotation in the division (maybe the league) and now, finally, a stopper at the back-end of the bullpen in Jonathan Papelbon. Manny’s going to produce even more than normal with J.D. Drew protecting him in the lineup, and of course David Ortiz is going to make yet another run at the league MVP. Unless the Sox see a catastrophic rash of injuries like they did in ‘06, things are looking good in Beantown.

2. New York Yankees: Still the most potent offense in the league, the Yankees have proven the last two post-seasons what a team really needs to make it far into October - namely, pitching. They’ll still beat up on a lot of teams in the American League, and they’ve got a shot at the Wild Card (though the AL Central is looking really strong, too), but I expect to see a mid-season move for a starter if the Yankees hope to make an impact in the playoffs.

3. Toronto Blue Jays: The strong offense was improved with the addition of Frank Thomas, but they lost some big names on both sides this offseason (Ted Lilly, Bengie Molina, Frank Catalanotto). Still, Roy Halladay is a perennial Cy Young contender and A.J. Burnett has a ton of talent, while B.J. Ryan was almost as good a closer as Papelbon last year. They don’t have the winning mind-set the Sox and Yankees do, but if either team stumbles, the Jays are ready to jump ahead in the division (as they did in ‘06 by overcoming the ailing Sox to take second-place).

4. Tampa Bay Devil Rays: I gotta tell you, I love the D-Rays. I’m a Sox fan through-and-through, but Tampa Bay is an extremely talented young team with one of the best young starters in the league (Scott Kazmir) and some of the most exciting offensive players around (Carl Crawford, Delmon Young, Akinori Iwamura). Whenever they’re not playing the Sox, I’m always rooting for the Rays to do well, and that’s not going to change this year as I’m taking them over the Orioles in the AL East.

5. Baltimore Orioles: Baltimore looks like a team that could take the division… in the 2005 NL West, perhaps. The Orioles certainly have some talent in Miguel Tejada, Nick Markakis, and new acquisition Aubrey Huff, but it’s just not going to be enough to succeed in this the toughest division in baseball. Tradition says they will take fourth in the East once again, but I really think Tampa Bay has the advantage in 2007.

Wang to hit DL, Pavano to hit rubber

2007-03-25T03:25:00.000-04:00

In anticipation of ace Chien-Ming Wang beginning the season on the disabled list, the Yankees have named a new opening day starter. Mussina? No. Pettite? No. Uhhh...Igawa? No.

Yup, Joe Torre has announced that because of scheduling issues, neither Mussina not Pettite will be able to open the season. That leaves an unproven rookie or a somewhat proven veteran who hasn't pitched in almost two years. So I guess Pavano was the lesser of two evils in this situation. What a farce. The loss of Wang will prove to be a huge blow to the rotation in New York for the first part of the season, and Pavano's opening day start will prove to be representative of the entire season - roughly patching up a dismal rotation and praying the offense and bullpen can win enough games to get the Yankees into the post-season. It's worked in the past, and in all likelihood will work again --- but one has to wonder how long their division-winning streak will last.

Duhhhh....

2007-03-24T03:30:00.000-04:00

Hey I finally figured out how to correct the timestamp on my blog so it doesn't post Pacific time! Now my posts aren't three hours off. hurray!

This and that...

2007-03-23T12:30:00.000-04:00

So I finally finished all those Red Sox v. Yankees pieces, and it only took two months! What a difference a vacation from work makes.

-This Manny Ramirez grill business is ridiculous. The grill didn't even belong to him (it was his neighbor's), and the fact that bids for it on eBay reached the website's highest possible sum of $99,999,999.99 makes me think I just puked a little bit in my mouth. Luckily eBay pulled the grill from the site, as Ramirez's ownership of it could not, indeed, be verified. Gee, if I'd known that any item that a superstar gets his picture taken next to is immediately worth $100 million I'd have started my collection long ago...

-David Wright an MVP favorite? On Cold Pizza this morning, Jay Crawford referred to talking head (and Met's third baseman) David Wright as a favorite for the MVP vote. Now I'm as big a fan of Wright's as anyone this side of the Connecticut border, but I find it hard to believe in him as the favorite for MVP over Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols. Top ten in voting? Absolutely. Number one? Not likely.

-La Russa the sleep-driver. You idiot! You may or may not be one of the best managers in baseball, but for God's sake, man! If you've had to much to drink (or anything to drink, or even if you're sober) get a damn limo. Even if you're too cheap for a limo, get a damn cab! Way to go ruining your name and reputation for all the fans in St. Louis, smart-guy.

-Top cops bully Biggio into removing pin. C'mon Commissioner's Office! You're telling me that with all the negatives going on in baseball today, this is what you're actually going to show some real action on? If he was wearing the pin during the regular season, that would be a different store. But it's the gosh-flashugnah Grapefruit League! He wasn't hurting ANYONE, he wasn't improving his play AT ALL, and he was in fact representing a good cause! Score one for the tough guys.

Red Sox v. Yankees '07

2007-03-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

Overview, 3/22/2007

Relief Pitching, 3/22/2007

Designated Hitter, 3/20/2007

Outfield, 2/13/2007

Backstop, 1/26/2007

Middle Infield, 1/23/2007

Corner Infield, 1/22/2007

Starting Rotation, 1/20/2007

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Overview

2007-03-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

Starting Rotation: Despite Papelbon’s move to the bullpen, the Red Sox still have the stronger rotation. Matsuzaka is having a fantastic spring and Tavarez proved himself a capable starter down the stretch in 2006. Schilling and Wakefield are good for a combined 26 wins (at least), and the biggest question mark - Beckett - didn’t lose his talent just because he had a “tough” 2006. The Yankees have to hope Pavano and Pettite are both healthy and committed and that Igawa is ready for the major leagues. Mussina and Wang should continue to shine but they can’t carry the team by themselves.
Winner: Boston Red Sox

Bullpen: The Sox are stronger with Papelbon closing out games, but the rest of the bullpen is still a work in progress. Brendan Donnelly will probably prove to be the go-to setup guy if Timlin can’t prove himself healthy and effective. The Yankees still have Rivera for ninth inning, and the trade for Vizcaino makes for a very talented setup corps with Farnsworth. The Yankees are in a better position to win more close games than the Red Sox in 2006.
Winner: New York Yankees

Lineup: Obviously no team’s offense compares to that of the Yankees. Power threats all down the line (excluding Mientkiewicz) and a few of the most productive hitters in baseball make the Yankees offense simply incomparable. That said, the Sox shouldn’t have as much trouble scoring runs this year with Lugo leading off and Drew offering more protection to Ramirez than anyone else in the lineup could. I’m also expecting offensive bounce-backs by both Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek, meaning the bottom of the order won’t be as impotent as it was in 2006.
Winner: New York Yankees

Defense: The Red Sox took a slight step in the wrong direction by signing shortstop Lugo over Alex Gonzalez, while the Yankees made a slight improvement by acquiring Mientkiewicz to play first. Still, the Sox led the league in fielding percentage last year and aren’t likely to see that performance decrease in the coming season.
Winner: Boston Red Sox

Bench: The three bench players Boston features - Wily Mo Pena, Alex Cora, and Eric Hinske - are some of Francona’s favorite players for their versatility and ability to win games. Melky Cabrera, Miguel Cairo, and Josh Phelps are all good, but don’t offer quite the same level of play as the Boston trio.
Winner: Boston Red Sox

Coaching: The Yankees have a squad made up of a few former managers (Tony Pena, Larry Bowa), and Joe Torre has been to six World Series, winning four of them. Terry Francona has a World Series win of his own, but some freshman on the staff (Luis Alicea, John Farrell, Dave Magadan) have a lot of proving to do before we start handing out accolades.
Winner: New York Yankees

Chemistry: Apparently not a priority for George Steinbrenner or Joe Torre (as they battle their own issues out), the Yankees have all kinds of trouble getting along. A-Rod and Jeter aren’t the friends they used to be, Mussina thinks Pavano is a baby, and Mariano Rivera wants an extension. Meanwhile in Sox camp, things seem to be more light-hearted than usual, as Manny is talking to the media (albeit briefly and never about baseball), players are laughing about their inability to speak Japanese, and the general buzz through the media about Dice-K seems to be energizing the team as a whole. Managing ability aside, Francona seems the more personable coach than Torre anyway. The whole business about Schilling wanting to be re-signed before the season started seems to have been put in the past, and chances are the Sox are going to sign him at some point during or after the season, anyway.
Winner: Boston Red Sox

Overall: Where the Yankees trump the Red Sox, they aren’t doing it by leaps and bounds (except perhaps when it comes to infield offense). Where the Sox trump the Yankees (particularly in the starting rotation), New York barely compares. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Sox haven’t won the division since 1995, but if there were a year to do it, it’s 2007. The Yankees are weakest where the Sox are strongest and Francona and company are going to have to capitalize on that in order to make it to the playoffs after last season’s absence. Overall, I’ll take the Red Sox to win the American League East.

Update Bullpen: Papelbon to close it out

2007-03-22T17:12:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, and as has been suggested by ESPN all day, Terry Francona announced today that Jonathan Papelbon will indeed be the Red Sox closer for at least the 2007 season. Paps says that closing games is what he wants to do for the rest of his career, but there's no telling what the Sox will do with him after this season, especially regarding the development of Craig Hansen and Bryce Cox. As for who will take Papelbon's slot in the rotation - well that will be former #5 starter Tim Wakefield. Duhhhhhh. Filling Wakefield's #5 slot is going to be Julian Tavarez, at least to start the season. This makes me think that the Sox are going to go extra hard after Roger Clemens as it seems like there is more of a need for him with Papelbon in the bullpen. Keep an eye on The Baseball Beat for further updates.

PS: At the risk of tooting my own horn a bit, I'd just like to point out that I actually scooped the Boston Globe on this story. My "rumors and speculations" post earlier today came at about 1:00pm (10:02am PT as seen in the timestamp) while the Globe made no mention of the Sox's intentions to move Papelbon into the bullpen until a 2:26pm post in the Extra Bases blog.

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Relief Pitching

2007-03-22T16:49:00.000-04:00

Red Sox Bullpen: The biggest problem the Red Sox are going to have this season will be closing out close games and allowing the starting pitchers to keep their “W”s after leaving the game in the sixth or seventh inning. After moving Jonathan Papelbon into the rotation in order to get more innings out of him and keep his arm healthy, the Sox now have several options to slide into the closer’s role (none of which is especially appealing). One thing the Sox do seem to have is farm depth, but many of those pitchers are young, inexperienced, and apparently not ready to handle the full load of a major-league relief pitcher. Of the seven available bullpen spots the Sox will likely begin the season with, six seem all but taken by the veterans on the staff. There are a whole bunch of arms looking to fill that last hole. In no particular order, this is what Boston’s bullpen should look like in ‘07:

1. RHP Joel Pineiro - Supposedly the leading candidate to fill the closer’s role, Pineiro is actually a converted starter out of Seattle who is trying to revamp his career by coming into the game in the late innings. Once considered one of the most talented young starters in the game (16-11, 3.78 ERA, 151 strikeouts with the Mariners in 2003), Pineiro pitched himself out of Seattle’s rotation last year and wasn’t exactly remarkable out of the bullpen, either. Scouts say that he has the stuff and the makeup to be a good reliever with experience, however, and the Sox are hoping they are right. In 37 career relief appearances, Joel (pronounced with two syllables like “jo-el”) has maintained a 3.21 ERA (that’s actually 1.37 runs lower than his career ERA as a starter) along with .88 strikeouts per inning compared to .64 as starter. So history says he may just be suited for relief duty, but he’s probably going to log about as many innings as a reliever this season as he has in his entire career (70). Time will tell if he’s suited for his first full season out of the bullpen.

2. RHP Mike Timlin - Timlin has been one of the most important pieces of the bullpen puzzle over his four seasons in Boston. In the past three seasons he has appeared in at least 75 games and logged at least 20 holds. With 139 careers saves, Timlin has the most closing experience of any other candidate in camp, but tradition says the Sox find him more valuable in a setup role. That said, Timlin sputtered a bit last season and has been experiencing some injury problems this spring. In fact, given that a strained oblique is likely to land him on the DL to begin the season, his slot in the bullpen will probably be filled by another candidate for the seventh slot or by a fifth outfielder (perhaps Alex Ochoa?) until he is healthy again. On his return sometime in the middle of April, Timlin will be hard-pressed to show that he can still be effective and stay healthy at 41 years old.

3. RHP Julian Tavarez - OK, I’m not going to say that Tavarez is a bad pitcher, because he certainly has some degree of talent. The problem comes in the fact that, at least when it comes to last season and this spring, Tavarez has pitched best when he goes for several innings at a time. In his six starts of 2006, Tavarez posted an ERA (4.01) that was 70 points lower than in all of his relief appearances combined. Named as one of the candidates for the closer role before spring training began, it’s clear that Tavarez’s inability to shut a lineup down for a single inning at a time makes him ill-suited for such a task. Yet Terry Francona has insisted that he has no intention of carrying a long-reliever on his staff, opting instead for six setup guys and one closer. Considering the depth of Boston’s starting rotation, I’d say Francona will get little value out of Tavarez by keeping him on as a spot-starter. My suggestion would be to trade him for a team that is looking for a fifth starter or long-reliever, possibly as part of a package for a true closer like Armando Benitez or Jorge Julio.

4. LHP J.C. Romero - During his years with the Minnesota Twins, Romero was considered one of the top left-handed arms in any major league bullpen. His best year came in 2002 when he went 9-2 with a 1.89 ERA in 81 innings. Then Romero was acquired by the Angels prior to the 2006 season and… well things just fell apart. Not only did he pitch in a career low 48.1 innings, but he also posted a career high 6.70 ERA. The Sox tried to acquire Romero from the Twins when he was still a hot property, so their ability to snatch him up from the free agent market this winter (when his down-year lowered his price considerably) may prove significant if he can bounce back from his struggles with the Angels.

5. LHP Hideki Okajima - Having been a consistent and productive reliever in Japan since 1995, Okajima had a career year in 2006 (his first with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters), posting a nice little 2.14 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 54.2 innings. Now 1.16 strikeouts per inning pitched is about the most you could ask from any reliever, but expect that number to decrease somewhat in the States. Not known to be a left-handed specialist type, his deceptive changeup and over-the-top delivery make him more suited to fill a setup role, especially against right-handers. If Romero can’t prove that 2006 was just a bump in the road, Okajima may turn out to be Francona’s left-handed go-to guy late in the game.

6. RHP Brendan Donnelly - For the past five seasons, Donnelly has been a rock for one of the best bullpens in baseball, the Las Angeles Angels of Anaheim (formerly just the Anaheim Angels). Since his debut for the Angels in 2002, Donnelly has gone 23-8 with a 2.87 ERA and 295 strikeouts in as many innings. He posted career-worst ERA and strikeouts per inning pitched last year, but at 3.94 and .83 he was still better than Pineiro, Timlin, Tavarez, and Romero. He’s known to be a competitor and have a tough makeup on the mound, but he has only 4 career saves and may not have the experience needed to be the closer for the Sox. Also, don’t expect to play as Donnelly in your favorite baseball video game because he (like Kevin Millar before him) has been blacklisted by the MLBPA for his participation during the baseball strike of 1994.

7. a. RHP Manny Delcarmen - The Boston native is a fan favorite, but thus far has not succeeded in showcasing his supposedly killer breaking ball in the major leagues. In 53.1 innings last year Delcarmen went 2-0 with a 5.06 ERA and 45 strikeouts. If he doesn’t break camp with the team, chances are you will see him with the big club at some point during the season.

b. RHP Kyle Snyder - Snyder is out of options (he‘ll become a free agent if he doesn‘t break camp with the Red Sox), and may be a long-shot to fill the closer’s role, but he’s also a candidate for a late-spring trade. He’s pitching well in spring training, so far posting a 2.89 ERA and ten strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched (three starts), but in his career with the Royals and the Sox Snyder has gone 6-14 with a 5.94 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 181.2 innings. For most pitchers, that is one season to forget, but for Snyder those numbers are spread out over four years. If you ask me Theo Epstein should take this opportunity to get some value for Snyder and trade him, Tavarez, and outfielder David Murphy for a top-of-the-line closer.

c. RHP Craig Hansen - Once billed as the Sox closer of the future, Hansen is now struggling to correct his mechanical problems and find that devastating slider that made him the best closer in college baseball two years ago. Hansen doesn’t seem to be taking well to the Red Sox tinkering with his delivery, and the fact that he was rushed into the majors the same year he was drafted and again last year has put the kid under an enormous amount of pressure that can’t have been good for his development. Last year Hansen posted a 6.63 ERA and 30 strikeouts in his 38 innings pitched. His walks were on the lower side with 15, but where he got into trouble was in the hits department. With an opponent’s batting average of .376 and 46 hits allowed, Hansen is going to have to figure out how to keep the ball away from the bat if he wants to stick in Boston’s bullpen.

d. LHP Javier Lopez - The Mike Myers-esque submariner appeared in 27 games for Boston last summer as a situational lefty and posted a 2.70 ERA. His strikeouts-to-walk ratio was right around 1-1 though, and Francona has said in the past that carrying a lefty specialist is like wasting a roster spot, so I wouldn’t expect to see him pitch for the Red Sox this year unless there are serious injury or performance problems.

e. LHP Kason Gabbard - He was decent in his 7 games for the Red Sox in 2006 and has impressed this spring going 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 4 starts (10 innings pitched). More likely to start the season in Pawtucket’s rotation and come up as needed in spot-start situations.

f. RHP Devern Hansack - Hansack made a name for himself by putting together a couple of memorable starts for the Red Sox in late 2006; a bright spot in an otherwise dismal time period for the Sox. Regarded in media circles as a dark-horse candidate for the closer role, it’s more likely that Hansack, like Gabbard, will begin the season as a starter for Pawtucket and come up to the Show as needed.

g. RHP Edgar Martinez - The converted catcher has impressed in the minors since the switch in 2004. Martinez is little known but coveted by the Red Sox, as he has spent a lot of time on the 40-man roster protected from the rule-5 draft, yet has never appeared in a game for the Sox. He spent last year in Portland and posted a 2.61 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 18 walks in 69 innings pitched. Unlikely to break camp with the team, Edgar is very likely to be called up before season’s end.

h. RHP Bryce Cox - Cox has taken on the role of Boston’s closer-of-the-future from the maligned Hansen. He tore apart every hitter he faced in college and did the same in A-ball last year. You probably won’t see him in Boston in 2007, but keep him on your radar screen as he’s just itching to make a name for himself on the big stage.

Yankees Bullpen: The Yankees are looking pretty good in regards to their bullpen, as long as management can keep emotions checked and arms healthy. They boast of the best closer in the game, a crew of some very talented setup arms and a few young guns that are ready to help out at some point during the season. Like the Sox, the seventh slot in the Yankees bullpen (if indeed they opt to carry 12 pitchers) could be filled by a number of candidates.

1. RHP Mariano Rivera - Though he has stated that the Yankees will have no advantage in signing him if he is allowed to reach free agency this offseason, Mariano Rivera is still in pinstripes for 2007. Therefore, if the Yankees have the lead going into the ninth inning, the game is essentially over. With a career 2.19 ERA and 413 saves, Rivera didn’t disappoint last season when he garnered 34 saves with his typically miniscule ERA of 1.80 to go along with 55 strikeouts. No good or bad the rest of the bullpen looks, Rivera is and always will be the ultimate closer.

2. RHP Kyle Farnsworth - Farnsworth wasn’t spectacular in his first season in pinstripes, posting a 4.36 ERA in 72 appearances. His strikeouts per inning pitched was a pretty nice 1.14 though. Chalk last year’s performance up to his adjusting to the New York pressure, and you can expect the flame-throwing Farnsworth to do a handy job setting up for Rivera in 2007.

3. RHP Luis Vizcaino - Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Randy Johnson trade, Vizcaino is widely regarded as one of the harder working setup men in baseball. Having averaged nearly 72 appearances a year for over the last five seasons, he’s the owner of a 4.00 ERA in that time (a number that would be much lower if it weren’t for his single down-year in 2003) and 318 strikeouts. He and Farnsworth figure to take turns as the primary setup men for Rivera.

4. LHP Mike Myers - Formerly of the Red Sox, Myers was acquired by the Yankees as a means of getting some of the big left-handers in the division out in late-game situations (David Ortiz, anyone?). Last season, however, his OBA against right handers (.224) was actually 33 points lower than against lefties. In nine at-bats against Ortiz, Myers allowed just two hits, but one of those hits accounted for one of Myers’ three homeruns allowed on the season. Still, the submariner is considered one of the better lefty specialists in the game, and he should keep that reputation up this year for the Yankees.

5. RHP Scott Proctor - Proctor was actually stretched out during the beginning of spring training as a starter, but it looks as if he’ll be back in a middle-relief role for the Yankees this season. Appearing in a team-high 83 games last season, Proctor impressed by putting up a 3.52 ERA to go along with his 89 strikeouts. At 30 years old, Proctor is just now hitting his prime as a major-league reliever, but expect him to match or improve upon all of his 2006 numbers in the coming season.

6. RHP Chris Britton - Acquired in the Jaret Wright trade from Baltimore, Britton impressed in his rookie year by posting a 3.35 ERA and 41 strikeouts in his 52 appearances with the Orioles. The OBA of .286 could stand to drop a couple points, but chances are Britton will continue to improve in a middle-relief role for the Yankees.

7. a. RHP Darrell Rasner - Groomed as a starter in his time as a minor leaguer, Rasner is the owner of a 3.44 ERA and 397 strikeouts in his 100 minor-league appearances. He appeared in six major league games with the Yankees last season (three starts) and held a 4.43 ERA to go along with 11 strikeouts in his 20.1 innings. May have a leg-up over the competition for his ability to go multiple innings and spot-start as needed.

b. RHP T.J. Beam - He’s allowed just two hits and no runs in his 4 innings this spring. With a sinking fastball that sits around 91-94 mph, Beam should be able to get more than a few groundballs at the major-league level.

c. RHP Colter Bean - The righty has been in the Yankees system since the 2000 draft and has posted a nifty 2.69 ERA and 587 strikeouts in his 459.2 minor league innings pitched. That hasn’t been quite enough to land him on the major league roster for any significant period of time, apparently, and Bean is once again spending the spring trying to prove that he belongs with the big club. Having not allowed a run in 6.2 exhibition innings, Bean certainly is proving himself capable, but that hasn’t stopped the Yankees from snubbing him in the past.

d. RHP Brian Bruney - Appeared in 19 games for the Yankees last season and threw for a 0.87 ERA and 25 strikeouts in his 20.2 innings. Struggled in 47 outings for the Diamondbacks in 2005 with a 7.43 ERA, but still had a high strikeouts per innings pitched rate at 1.11. If he can keep his hits and walks allowed down for a second year in a row, Bruney could prove to be a valuable part of the Yankees’ bullpen.

e. RHP Jeff Karstens - Not likely to appear in the bullpen before Rasner, Karstens will probably start the season at triple-A and come up to the big club as needed for starting help. In eight games (six starts) for the Yankees last season Karstens was 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA. The strikeouts-to-walks ratio could be higher at 1.45.

f. LHP Sean Henn - Another starter in the Yankees system that could spend some time in the bullpen this year, Henn owns a career 24-20 record, 3.62 ERA, and 347 strikeouts in 440 minor-league innings pitched (78 starts). Like Karstens, Henn is unlikely to reach the majors as a reliever before Rasner, but Henn has the advantage of being one of very few lefties in camp.

Bottom Line: The Red Sox acquired some proven veterans that are gunning to come back from off-years this winter, but the Yankees’ acquisition of Vizcaino to setup for the ultimate closer in the game alongside Kyle Farnsworth is more than enough to trump the Sox bullpen once again in 2007.

Rumors and Speculations 1.0

2007-03-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

Closer problem solved? ESPN is reporting that an announcement could be made after today's exhibition game against the Phillies that Jonathan Papelbon is indeed headed back into the bullpen. I'm not sure who would be the fifth starter, but there's no denying Papelbon's value closing out games. He would be a definite boon in the biggest question mark the Sox face this spring.

A-Rod to Boston? The Yankees are saying they have no intention of extending A-Rod's contract and will not enter a bidding war with other teams if he decides to opt out of his contract after this season. Mike Lowell's contract is up at the end of the year, and the Sox will be looking for a third-baseman. Chances are A-Rod will not play for the Sox and may even wish to change back to his natural shortstop position, but a boy can dream, right?

Trade possibility null? The Phillies have been shopping starter Jon Lieber all spring, and yesterday announced that Lieber would start the season in the bullpen. Well it wasn't long before Freddy Garcia hurt his right bicep, leaving the Phillies with no choice but to slot Lieber back into the rotation. True, the Sox have previously said that they were not interested in picking up Lieber, but that was before this business about moving Papelbon back into the bullpen began to heat up again today.

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Designated Hitter

2007-03-20T16:02:00.000-04:00

Red Sox DH: Few words describe what David Ortiz means to the Red Sox. The simple fact that he hardly ever plays defense says little about the impact Ortiz has as the Red Sox (and someday, the league’s) most valuable player. The amazing thing about Ortiz’s tenure in Boston thus far has been his ability to improve upon his power numbers every year. With the Twins in 2002 Ortiz had 75 RBI and 20 homeruns. In 2003 (his first year in Boston), Big Papi immediately improved to 101 RBI and 31 homeruns. The magic year 2004 saw Ortiz knock in 139 runs and hit 41 homeruns. In 2005 he had 148 RBI and 47 RBI, and in the 2006 season to forget Ortiz continued to shine with 137 RBI and a Sox record 54 homeruns. Ortiz has also wowed Red Sox fans with his amazing 15 walk-off hits in his time with Boston (nine of those hits, by the way, were homeruns). Known as the most dangerous hitter in baseball in the clutch, Ortiz is a blown save waiting to happen for every closer in the major leagues.

Ortiz has had some back problems in the past, which may have actually hampered his power numbers last season (if you can believe that). If he’s 100% throughout the 2007 season (no guarantee) and if Julio Lugo does a better job in the leadoff spot than did Coco Crisp, there’s no telling what kind of numbers Ortiz is capable of putting up. 150 RBI and 60 homers isn’t out of reach, but I’ll pencil him in for 130 RBI and 45 homers just to be on the safe side.

Yankees DH: The Yankees will showcase their own left-handed superstar in the lineup this season, his first as a full-time DH. Jason Giambi seems to have put his struggles and the stress of steroids accusations behind him. After being named the 2005 AL Come-Back Player of the Year, Giambi improved upon those numbers by collecting 113 RBI and 37 RBI in 2006. He only hit at a .253 click, but managed to match his career .413 on-base percentage by drawing 110 walks.

Any team would like to have Giambi in lineup, but the Yankees may see a problem in playing him as the DH all year. For his career, Giambi has maintained a batting average that is 58 points better when he plays the field (despite the fact that he is somewhat of a defensive liability). But the Yankees acquired defensive wiz Doug Mientkiewicz this off-season and plan to platoon him at first with either Josh Phelps or Andy Phillips. Thinking liberally, I’ll project 40 homers and 120 RBI for Giambi in 2007.

The Bottom Line: Without question, the Red Sox boast of the better DH in this comparison. Ortiz will post far better numbers than Giambi across the board, and he will have much more impact on his team both at the plate and in the dugout.

Wells has Diabetes

2007-03-19T16:33:00.000-04:00

David Wells, formerly of the Boston Red Sox, was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Not that I'm incredibly surprised that an overweight 43-year old would end up with the disease, but this is never good news. I've known plenty of people with diabetes (overweight or no) and it's not a fun disease to live with. I wish Wells the best both in his upcoming season with the Padres and in controlling his diabetes in the future.

A picture really is worth a thousand words...

2007-03-05T22:18:00.000-05:00

I know I'm getting a little behind on this thing, it's just been really crazy at work and etc. lately (and I've been playing with my new phone too much lately.) However, I promise my last two Sox vs. Yankees pieces (DH and bullpen) will be posted before the season starts, as well as my picks for the 2007 season.

In the meantime, I saw this picture on Over the Monster and thought it was hilarious.
Thank goodness for those clever photo- graphers down in Florida.

Update NESN broadcast schedule

2007-02-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

Probably because of all the media attention focused on new Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka down in Fort Meyers, NESN has decided to air the annual Red Sox vs. Boston College exhibition game. Dice-K is scheduled to start the game; chances are the network will air the innings he pitches and that's about it, just as ESPN did in Roger Clemens' first minor league start last season. Watch for the Japanese sensation to pitch March 2 at 6:00 pm on NESN.

JSUK: Red Sox Televised Exhibition Schedule

2007-02-20T16:53:00.000-05:00

Feb 28, 7:05 pm - vs. MIN on NESN
Mar 3, 1:05 pm - vs. PHI on NESN
Mar 7, 1:05 pm - vs. NYM on NESN
Mar 12, 7:05 pm - vs. NYY on NESN
Mar 17, 1:05 pm - vs. CIN on NESN
Mar 18, 1:05 pm - @ BAL on NESN
Mar 21, 1:05 pm - @ PIT on ESPN
Mar 22, 1:05 pm - @ PHI on ESPN
Mar 26, 1:05 pm - @ CIN on ESPN
Mar 28, 7:05 pm - @ MIN on NESN

Foulke's Joke: $5 Million? No Thanks.

2007-02-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

Keith Foulke will never be able to top his great performance in the 2004 postseason and throwing the final pitch of the World Series. That's because today he's going to announce his retirement from baseball; this, after signing a $5 million dollar contract to contend for the Cleveland Indian's closer job.

"I'm not going to be a middle bullpen, 5.00 ERA guy," Foulke told reporters at the Boston Globe. "Either I can come back and be a dominant pitcher, or I'll take it to the house." Apparently he felt discomfort in his throwing elbow during his first day of spring training, and then and there decided to shut himself down. I was a huge fan of Foulke and his finesse style of pitching. I used to get chills watching him throw a fastball for strike one, another fastball for strike two, and then his famous changeup for strike three. I can't count how many times I saw that happen -- baseball's three and out -- yet it never got old. I'm sorry things turned out this way for Foulke, and I hope he finds success in whatever he decides to do.

Bye, Bye Lenny!

2007-02-15T00:35:00.000-05:00

The Sox yesterday lost a real dirt dog when left handed pitcher Lenny Dinardo was claimed off waivers by the Oakland A's. Lenny has by no means been the most spectacular pitcher for the Sox since they acquired him from the Mets in the 2003 rule-5 draft. Yet for some reason I've always liked the guy. He did anything the Sox asked of him, constantly shuttling between Pawtucket and Boston and between the rotation and the bullpen. I have it on good authority that Dinardo is pissed about the move, and he may even retire rather than pitch for Oakland. It's a shame that the front office should take such a cold approach with such a nice guy and a good pitcher. We'll miss you buddy!

WTF?!

2007-02-13T22:05:00.000-05:00

***WARNING! DON'T CLICK THIS LINK IF YOU ARE AT ALL SQUEAMISH OR IF YOU JUST ATE!!!***
So I use Google Images along with other resources to search for pictures to post along with my fabulous rantings on this blog. Most of the time I just get countless photos of athletes doing their thing. I was quite surprised then, when I searched "Johnny Damon" on Google Images and the second picture on the list was this horrifying image. Maybe that's what Damon looks like when he wakes up in the morning? I have no idea, but if anyone can clue me on what exactly this is a picture of then I might be able to sleep tonight...

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Outfield

2007-02-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

I must apologize for taking the past couple weeks off. I've been crazy busy with work, but hopefully things are settled down a bit for now and I'll be back at it. Enjoy!

Red Sox Outfield: For 2007, the Red Sox boast of an outfield that should account for a ton of Boston runs if they can stay healthy and happy, which may be a tall order. Patrolling left field for his seventh season in Boston will be one of the most feared hitters in baseball in Manny Ramirez. A career .314 hitter with 470 homeruns, Ramirez led the team in 2006 with his .321 average. As long as Ramirez doesn’t spend a considerable amount of time on the disabled list, you can put down 100 RBI and 30 homeruns under his stat sheet in ink, though he is plenty capable of 40 plus homers and 125 RBI. I also believe that Ramirez is highly underrated on defense. Sure, sometimes he seems a little flaky on the field, but I’m will to forgive him for that for all the spectacular plays he can make. His arm strength and accuracy or both surprisingly decent, and he can get rid of the ball very quickly. Emotionally, Ramirez is hardly the most stable player on the roster. For what seems like the twentieth time since he signed with the Sox, Manny requested to be traded this off-season, and once again the front office failed to find a suitable deal. Also, Ramirez seemed to break down both emotionally and physically toward the end of last season, and many fans and writers speculated that he wasn’t giving Boston his best effort down the stretch. Still, no other hitter on the team is capable of offering David Ortiz the lineup protection that he needs while still do his own offensive damage. The two make for the best 3-4 combo in baseball, and I’m glad to see that they’ll be back at it in 2007.

In center field the Sox will return young and talented Coco Crisp. Crisp didn’t exactly live up to his expec- tations in 2006, leaving many fans clamoring for a trade. But keep in mind that he injured his finger early in the season and never quite got his swing back even when he returned from the DL. He ended the season hitting .264 with 8 home runs and a .317 on-base percentage - not exactly the kind of numbers Boston is looking for in their leadoff hitter. Yet if you go back to 2005 you’ll see that Crisp hit .300 with 16 homers and a .345 on-base percentage. He’s also one of two switch-hitters in the everyday lineup (the other being Jason Varitek), adding to his versatility. If he can bounce back from last year’s injuries, Crisp should do just fine this year. He won’t be asked to bat leadoff (as the Sox acquired Julio Lugo to fill that role), so in the number eight slot the speedy outfielder should do some damage at the plate and on the base-paths. Crisp is a very solid defender, capable of getting to a ton of balls with his speed and making a ton of great plays with his athleticism, but his arm strength is a little below average. He still made one of the most spectacular plays in the major leagues last year when he stabbed a David Wright sinking line drive while literally soaring through the air parallel to the ground, saving the game for Boston. There’s no doubt in my mind that Crisp will improve in his sophomore season with Boston.

For the first time since 1998 the Sox will begin this year with a new face in right field. When Trot Nixon became a free agent, the chances of him returning to the club he spent his whole career with were seen as very slim. They became non-existent after the Sox signed J.D. Drew from the Dodgers and Nixon moved on with former Sox closer Keith Foulke to become a Cleveland Indian. Fans will miss Nixon’s grittiness and competitiveness, but clearly Drew is the better player. Having spent about the same amount of time in the big-leagues (Nixon having amassed just 124 more plate appearances than Drew), Drew’s on-base percentage is 27 points higher than Nixon’s, and he has hit 29 more homeruns. He’s also scored 58 more runs and stolen 45 more bases. Drew, like Nixon, has experienced some injury troubles over the past few years, but managed a comeback for the Dodgers last season when he hit .283 with 100 RBI and 20 homeruns. Unlike Nixon, who may be declining as a player, it seems as if Drew is capable of reaching a level of play that he has not showcased as of yet because of his injuries. Defensively, Drew is as good as they come. He can play all three outfield positions, can reach just about any ball hit in his direction and has above-average arm strength. Fans in St. Louis and Las Angeles complained about Drew’s passiveness, but there’s a good chance the energy of Fenway park will help him in that area. Since he’s not expected to be the best hitter on the team, I expect Drew to do just fine for the Sox in the number five slot.

The Sox also boast of one of the most powerful young backups in the game in Wily Mo Peña. Peña will probably be an everyday starter for the Sox one day, but for 2007 Terry Francona will have to figure out how to get him into the lineup as often as possible while not depriving any of his starters any significant at-bats. Always known for his soaring longball, last season Peña also managed to bump his average up 40 points to .301 from his career batting average. Peña is capable of playing all three outfield positions, but showcased his best stuff in backing up Crisp in center last year. Also likely to see some time in the outfield this season will be Eric Hinske. Hinske is a good hitter and a decent-enough defender, but he’s more likely to catch his at-bats while playing the infield. Should anyone go down with an injury, two of the Sox’s top prospects are ready to come up to help. David Murphy is an on-base monster with good plate discipline, while Brandon Moss is full of raw power and potential at the plate. Both players are very capable defenders.

Yankees Outfield: In 2007 New York will return to play one of the best outfields in the Major Leagues. Over in left the Bombers will have one of their most consistent players in Hideki Matsui. Recovered from his nasty broken wrist (suffered in a game against the Sox) Matsui is sure to again be one of the most important pieces of an extremely potent Yankees offense. Though he managed just 172 at-bats last season, Matsui still maintained a .302 average with 8 homeruns and 29 RBI. Before the injury, Hideki had never missed a game in all his time in the Major Leagues. In his four years in the US (all with the Yankees), Matsui has hit at a .297 click with 78 homeruns and 359 RBI, along with his nifty .372 on-base percentage. Assuming Matsui really is healthy, he’s all but guaranteed to hit 25 homers and knock in 100 runs in 2007. A huge asset at the plate, Matsui is somewhat overrated on defense. He doesn’t take the best routes to balls and his arm is pretty weak. Still, he doesn’t make a ton of mistakes on the field, which is something we can’t exactly say about Ramirez.

In center for the Yankees will be everyone’s favorite traitor, Johnny Damon. Despite all the boos he will continue to get in Fenway Park, Damon was and is one of the best leadoff hitters in the game. He put up good numbers in 2006, with a .285 average, 80 RBI, and a career best 24 home runs. His average and on-base percentage (.359) decreased from what he had produced in his last two years in Boston, but he also stole 25 bases, which he hadn’t done since 2003. He missed 600 at-bats for the first time since 1999, but just barely (593) and he played much of the year with a broken bone in his foot. No matter what, Damon will continue to be a spark at the top of a very flammable lineup. He’s a lock for 100-plus runs and will also knock more runs in than most other leadoff hitters in the league. Roaming center, Damon is quick and willing to sacrifice his body to make a play, but his throwing arm is a joke. By no means is he a bad defender, but you won’t see any gold gloves on his mantle anytime soon.

The Yankees made perhaps their best move for the 2007 season in the middle of 2006 with their deadline trade to bring in Corey Lidle and Bobby Abreu from the Phillies for four prospects. Tragically, Lidle was killed in a plane crash during the offseason, but Abreu looks to but a productive middle-of-the-order bat for the Yankees. Though his power may be on the downslide, Abreu is a contact hitter with a career .919 on-base plus slugging percentage. After his trade to New York he maintained a .330 average and a .419 on-base percentage. Abreu is quick on the base-paths too, having stolen a total of 30 bases last year. However, I’m not as high on Abreu as many other writers seem to be. Granted, you don’t have to hit 40 homeruns to succeed in the Yankees lineup, but Abreu isn’t getting any younger and it seems as though his power-hitting days are behind him. Most likely, his base-stealing and good defense days aren’t too far behind. The best thing Abreu brought to the team was the opportunity to trade Gary Sheffield and get a mess of pitching in return. That said, he was one of the only Yankees to perform in the post-season, and he’ll be the best defensive outfielder of the bunch. I don’t expect him to bat third all season, though.

The Yankees, too, have a pretty capable backup outfielder in Melky Cabrera. With Matsui and Sheffield going down with major injuries in 2006, Cabrera saw a good amount of playing time. In is 460 at-bats he logged a .280 average with 7 homers, 12 stolen bases, 50 RBI, and a .360 on-base percentage. Chances are he won’t get anywhere near 400 chances in 2006 (unless there’s another major injury in the outfield) so I expect most of his numbers to take a dip as a result. He proved his defensive foibles in his 2005 debut were merely freshman jitters, and he made a spectacular play or two, but he’s no Ichiro Suzuki out there. You can also expect to see Kevin Reese and Kevin Thompson see a bit of playing time for the Yankees this season, though all the talent ahead of them will prevent them from doing much until September call-ups. If the Yankees experience another crippling injury in the outfield as they did last year, they will solve the problem in the same way by trading for an experienced major leaguer rather than trusting their unproven prospects.

The Bottom Line: It’s close, but the Red Sox have a quite few more question marks than the Yankees. Manny Ramirez is a more valuable hitter than any single Yankee outfielder, but as a group the Yankees will produce more than the Red Sox. The Red Sox are better on defense, but not by leaps and strides. One thing the Sox have over the Yankees is greater outfield depth, and better prospects at the position, but chances are this won’t come into play in 2007. All around, the Yankees trump the Red Sox in the outfield, but it’s a battle to the finish.

Red Sox v. Yankees ‘07: Backstop

2007-01-27T00:21:00.000-05:00

Red Sox Catchers: 2006 aside, the Red Sox for years now have boasted of one of the most dependable and productive catching duos in the game. Jason Varitek, despite a downfall in his hitting last season, remains the most important aspect of Boston’s pitching staff. This was quite obvious when any sense of good pitching completely fell apart after Varitek hit the disabled list on August 1 and had to undergo knee surgery. Always known to be a pitcher’s catcher who can call a game as good as any other big leaguer around, in 2005 Varitek proved that he was in fact the best all around catcher in the league by taking home both the Gold Glove and the Silver Slugger award. That year he batted .281 with 22 homeruns and 70 RBI, and was the AL starter in the All-Star game. In 2006, however, Varitek saw his average drop to .238 with 12 homers and 55 RBI. Many believe that his participation in the inaugural World Baseball Classic led to his decreased production and late-season breakdown, so if he can respond well to his knee surgery he should be back to his normal self in 2007. Regardless of his hitting, V-Tek will remain the premier game-caller in the league, and he’s always been an outstanding plate-blocker. With a killer rotation and a beefy bullpen to work with, Varitek should lead the pitching staff to drop as much as a run from its collective ERA in 2007.

Mirabelli also suffered an uncharacteristic down year in 2006, but chances are he too will bounce back this season. Previously considered perhaps the best backup catcher in the major leagues, Mirabelli was traded to San Diego before the 2006 season for second baseman Mark Loretta. While trading a backup catcher for a starting second baseman who turned out to be a very dependable number two hitter for the Sox is a move that can be lauded by critics of the front office, scrambling to get Mirabelli back in May and giving up Josh Bard and Cla Meredith (who proved to be stars on the Padre’s roster) is not one of Theo Epstein’s crowning achievements. Mirabelli hit .191 with 6 homers and 25 RBI for the Sox, and his biggest draw - catching mastery over Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball - was nullified while Wakefield spent two long months on the disabled list. Still, Epstein opted to resign Mirabelli to a one-year deal with expectations that Mirabelli will return to his 2004 form when he had career highs in average (.281), homers (9), and RBI (32).

Meanwhile, Epstein may have redeemed himself for the Mirabelli debacle when he made perhaps his best move of the season in August, sending David Wells to the Padres for catching prospect George Kottaras. The Padres got a 43 year-old contract-year pitcher who has knee and back problems, while the Sox received the Padre’s top hitting prospect and immediately upgraded what had been a weak position in the system. Splitting his time between each club’s double-A affiliates, Kottaras batted .255 with 10 homeruns and 50 RBI in 376 at-bats. The Sox also made minor-league deals with two defensive-minded catchers in Alberto Castillo and Kevin Cash. Neither catcher is known for his prowess at the plate, but should they be called up in a time of Boston need, they will be more than effective behind the plate.

Yankees Catchers: New York got somewhat more production from the backstop position than did the Red Sox in 2006. A big part of that is because Jorge Posada, a lifelong Yankee, hit for a .277 average with 23 homeruns and 93 RBI. That rather large RBI number was tops in the league for catchers, but it’s not hard to knock a lot of runs in when you’ve got a middle-of-the-order lineup like the Yankees’ batting in front of you. Still, Posada has been very dependable at the plate since he became the full-time starter in 1998, averaging 21-plus homers and 83 RBI per year and maintaining a career .270 average. He played in 143 games, starting 121 behind the plate last year despite suffering bruises on his elbow and finger, and a strained tendon in his knee. However, he has a tendency to wilt under pressure, as evidenced by his .241 career postseason batting average with 9 homeruns and 31 RBI in 307 at-bats. Defensively, Posada is middle-of-the-pack. He doesn’t have a strong arm and he can let a lot of pitches get by him. He’s also been known to let his defense slip after experiencing a bad at-bat. His defense has improved somewhat over the past few years, but it’s still doesn’t put him in the top ten in the league.

Backing up Posada this year will be career minor-leaguer Will Nieves. Since being taken in the 47th round of the 1995 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres, Nieves has played in just 37 games in the major leagues. Last season for the Yankee’s triple-A Clippers, Nieves hit .259 with 5 homeruns and 34 RBI. He didn’t manage a hit in his six major-league at-bats. The only upside to all of Nieves’ negatives is that Posada will probably catch 80% of New York’s games.

The Yankees don’t have many other options at backstop in their system, though they did make a splash by signing 16 year-old Venezuelan prospect Jesus Montero. It’s unlikely that Montero will see any big-league action in the next few years, but the Yanks intend to make him Posada’s replacement when Jorge retires. For 2007, however, the Yankees will be in big trouble should Posada go down with an injury.

Bottom Line: While Posada may have a slight offensive edge over Varitek, the two don’t even begin to compare defensively. If Posada can score two runs in a game, Varitek can score one and save two with his defense and game-calling. Add that to Boston’s new-found depth at the position and the Yankees’ apparent lack of options, and the Red Sox clearly have the stronger backstop situation for 2007.

There's a new J.D. in town

2007-01-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry Johnny, but your initials will no longer be the ones people think of when they hear "J.D." in reference to the Red Sox outfield. That's because, seven weeks after agreeing in principle to a five year contract with former Dodger J.D. Drew, Boston has finally hammered out all the shoulder-injury technicalities and made the deal official. Watch for my Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Outfield piece in the next few days to see how the two JDs will match up this season.

Red Sox v. Yankees ‘07: Middle Infield

2007-01-24T02:24:00.000-05:00

Red Sox Shortstop and Second: The Red Sox, for the third year in a row, will see a complete turnover in the middle-infield to start the 2007 season. The positions have been experiencing the so-called “revolving door” syndrome for years now, but in Julio Lugo and Dustin Pedroia the front office hopes to finally see some multiple-season stability up the middle. After proving himself to be a thorn in the Red Sox side during his three and a half seasons in Tampa Bay (and thus becoming one of the most coveted players in the Theo Epstein era), the Red Sox finally acquired shortstop Julio Lugo this winter and are set to slot him into the leadoff spot. Since his debut with Houston in 2000, Lugo has maintained a .277 average with 68 homeruns and a .340 on-base percentage. Lugo was a rock in the Devil Ray’s lineup, but experienced a drop-off in his performance after his mid-season trade to the Dodgers last year. I find it hard to fault him for this, though, considering he experienced almost no stability after the trade; he was playing with a new team, in a new league, all the way on the west coast, and the Dodgers played him more at second and third base than they did at short. His signing with the Red Sox will put him back in a familiar environment - he’s found a lot of success playing in the AL East and, in particular, at Fenway Park. In fact, in his 115 career at-bats at Fenway, Lugo has hit at a .330 clip with 16 runs scored and a .384 on-base percentage. Lugo is a very athletic shortstop with good speed and some pop - he looks to score a lot of runs out of the leadoff spot for the Sox, and he‘s capable of stealing 30 or more bases depending on how often Terry Francona chooses to give him the green light. His defense isn’t the best in the league, but it’s not anything near the worst, either.

Meanwhile, rookie Dustin Pedroia will try to shake off his unimpressive debut last year and prove that he has what it takes to be an important part of the Red Sox lineup. In 89 at-bats with the Sox Pedroia hit just .191 with two homeruns and seven RBI. However, in his 1094 minor league at-bats previous to his debut with the big club, Pedroia maintained a .305 average with 23 homers and 140 RBI. In 2006 for Pawtucket he hit .305 with 50 RBI and 30 doubles, so clearly he can produce at the plate. It will just be a matter of adjusting to major-league pitching and major-league pressure, which I believe Pedroia is capable of doing. His work ethic and plate discipline translate well into major-league success, and he’s not going to have a ton of pressure batting ninth. As for defense, Pedroia is as good as they come. He has more professional experience at shortstop, but his build and scrappiness make him perfect for the second base role.

Backing up in the middle infield will once again be Alex Cora, who resigned with the Red Sox for two years and $4 million. Cora is one of the better infield backups in recent Sox history, and not because he’s a particularly great bench hitter. He just knows the game of baseball, and he’s extremely consistent in the field. If Pedroia doesn’t produce at second, Francona will be more than happy to start Cora everyday, especially since Alex tends to hit better when he gets consistent at-bats. Even with limited play, Cora usually makes something happen at the plate, making him a good option to back up shortstop and second base.

Yankees Shortstop and Second: The Yankees return two of their most consistent players to the middle infield this season, both of whom took home Silver Slugger awards in 2006. Arguably the best shortstop in the game, Derek Jeter boasts a career .317 average and .388 on-base percentage. Since his Rookie-of-the-Year campaign in 1996, Jeter has averaged 77.5 RBI and almost 17 homeruns per year. His power numbers aren’t the best at the position, but he has a knack for coming up with the big hit when it’s most needed, as evidenced by his career .307 average with runners in scoring position. Jeter stepped up to another level last season, making a serious push for American League MVP while batting .343 with a .417 on-base percentage and knocking in a career-second 97 runs (bested only in 1999 when he had 102 RBI). Derek has only failed to score 100 runs once since his rookie year (2003 - 87), making him a very dangerous bat near the top of an extremely dangerous lineup. Jeter is also one of the most exciting defensive players to watch. A three time Gold Glove winner (including last season), he gets to a ton of balls and has a really strong arm, and he can astound crowds with his acrobatic and sometimes reckless fielding maneuvers. Yet even though he’s never afraid to put his body on the line to make the play, he’s still averaged 151 plus games played every year since ‘96. No matter how many question marks the Yankees have on their roster, Derek Jeter is certainly not one of them.

Over at second the Yanks feature one of the better young infielders in the game in Robinson Cano. In 2006 Cano came in third in the league in batting average behind Jeter and the Twins’ Joe Mauer, hitting at an impressive .342 pace. He also had 15 homeruns and 78 RBI - pretty sweet numbers for a bottom-of-the-order hitter. In all likelihood, Cano will continue to blossom into one of the best second basemen in the league. He made the All-Star team in his sophomore season and was named AL Player of the Month in September. He isn’t as spectacular with the glove as is Jeter, but he may be more reliable, with just 9 errors to Jeter’s 15. Regardless, the two can turn a double-play as good as any tandem in the league.

The Yankee’s backup infielder will be Miguel Cairo once again in 2007. He’s not an incredible bench presence, but he’s decent enough, carrying a .239 average last season with 30 RBI and 13 stolen bases. He’s also capable of playing every infield position, plus some outfield. His versatility is an important factor when it comes to his playing time, considering that Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter aren’t known for taken many days off, and you can be sure Joe Torre will keep Cano in the lineup as often as possible. Cairo will be lucky to gather 200 at-bats this season, but he’ll do an okay job when he’s asked to.

Bottom Line: No question, the Yankees have not only a better middle infield picture than the Red Sox, but probably better than most teams in the league. Derek Jeter is simply incomparable, and Cano is turning out to be another gem formed in the rough of the Yankee farm system. The Sox will be probably see some decent production up the middle, but the Yankees definitely will, and then some.

Stars of the Future, pt. 1: Jeff Natale

2007-01-23T21:07:00.004-05:00

This is part one of my interview series "Stars of the Future" where I will speak with some minor leaguers and ask them the hard-hitting questions. Lol. Part One features Jeff Natale, who played at second base last season for the single-A Greenville Drive and was subsequently named the 2006 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year. To learn more about Natale, check out his page on SoxProspects.com here.

Chris Reardon: You were the Red Sox 2006 Minor League Offensive Player of the Year. What does garnering an award like that mean to you and to your future as a ballplayer?

Jeff Natale: Being the offensive player of the year was a huge honor. It was unbelievable to be presented with such a great achievement. Even though all that was great, this year will be a huge year for me. And I'm already looking forward to the challenges ahead.

CR: Who was your favorite baseball player growing up?

JN: I’ve answered that question a lot lately for some reason and the answer is Derek Jeter. Even though I wasn't a Yankee fan growing up he was always the most fun exciting player to watch especially during the playoffs. You can tell when a player is special and he's by far the most exciting player to watch.

CR: Did you know when you were in grade school that you would end up playing professional baseball?

JN: Actually I always thought that I would end up playing hockey. Growing up hockey was always my favorite sport and it wasn't until about junior year in college when I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in baseball.

CR:Your Myspace account lists people you’d like to meet as Derek Jeter and Mickey Mantle. There’s no denying the greatness of these players and their impact on the game, but do you find that being a Yankees fan is a conflict of interest while playing in the Red Sox system? Ever get in trouble for it from your teammates?

JN: There isn't much talk about everyone's favorite team in the clubhouse. A lot of guys come from a lot of different places and no one could predict that they'd be drafted by the Red Sox. I think everyone in the clubhouse is a big Red Sox fan now.

CR:Your scouting report on SoxProspects.com claims that you do not project as an adequate defensive second baseman, and that you may be converted to the outfield. How do you respond to the negativity about your defense and do you see yourself at another position in the future? Have you ever played in the outfield before?

JN: I also get that question a lot and the answer is I really dont know about playing another position in the future. At Trinity College, I played left field my freshman year, centerfield my sophomore year, centerfield for half my junior year and 2nd base for half my junior year, then 3rd base my entire senior year. So basically this last season was the first time that I had ever played 2nd base consistently. I think my defense has improved 100% since I signed with the Red Sox and I hope it will continue to get better and better. A lot of playing a position is just being comfortable there, and I dont think I got completely comfortable until the 2nd half of the season.

CR:As a minor leaguer, there must be a lot of pressure looking up at the major leaguers and at all the talent ahead of you on the depth chart. How do you handle this pressure?

JN: There’s a huge amount of pressure in any job that your going to have so I guess the answer is Yes. The Red Sox in particular have such a great reputation of putting the best talent on the field each year so its difficult to look at the people ahead of me all the time. I try to concentrate on the things I can control (i.e. my plate appearance, my work ethic, my defense) rather than things I can't control.

CR:How do you feel about Dustin Pedroia playing second base for the Red Sox in 2007? Is he or are you the second baseman of the future?

JN: Dustin is a great player with tons of talent. I'm excited to see him compete at the major league level. I hope that he's going to play very well this year and we’ll see about the future.

CR:What are the Red Sox chances this year? Would you be willing to pick them over the Yankees?

JN: The Red Sox chances are great this year. Anytime you have a pitching staff like they do this year, your going to be really competitive. The offense is going to continue to contribute with guys like manny, DO [David Ortiz], and Varitek in the line-up. As far as the Yankees, they are also a great squad with a ton of depth but their pitching will be a big issue for them this year. I'd be willing to bet on the Red Sox this year.

I want to thank Jeff Natale for all his cooperation. Keep an eye out for more interviews in the future!

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Corner Infield

2007-01-22T23:18:00.000-05:00

Red Sox Third and First: The Sox wisely return two of their most consistent players of 2006 to the corners this season. After his mediocre 2005 season, Mike Lowell was thrown in as an afterthought in the Josh Beckett trade with Florida, but he proved that he was more than capable of bouncing back. A career .273 hitter, Lowell batted .284 in 2006 with 20 homeruns, 47 doubles, and 80 RBI. He also played gold-glove caliber defense, committing just 6 errors in his 153 games at third base. There’s nothing to make me believe he won’t match or improve upon his numbers in the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, in his first full season in the big leagues and at a new position, Kevin Youkilis wowed fans with his performance at first base. Not only did he play sparkling defense with just 5 errors, he also produced at the plate with a .279 average, 13 homeruns, 42 doubles, and a .381 on-base percentage. He hit all over the lineup, and filled nicely in for Coco Crisp at the leadoff spot while Crisp was out with an injury to his finger. Look for him to spend most of 2007 batting behind newly acquired leadoff man Julio Lugo. He’ll always be an on-base machine, and there’s a good chance you’ll see an increase in his power numbers, to boot. Remember, those Fenway fans are screaming “Yooooouuuuk!” not “Booooo!”

Backing up third base will be Youkilis and Alex Cora, one of Terry Francona’s favorite players for his consistency and knowledge of the game. Cora isn’t a huge threat at plate with his .239 average, 1 homerun and 18 RBI in 235 plate appearances, but he knows how to get things done. If you need a bunt or a sacrifice, you can count on Cora. He always plays superior defense. He won’t play that many games at third, as his natural positions are shortstop and second base, but he’ll spell Lowell a few times in the season. You can also expect to see fan favorite David Ortiz play a handful of games at first base, especially during inter-league play. Obviously Big Papi is one of the premier players of the game, and somehow continues to improve every year. Spending most of the season at DH, he’s not the most spectacular defender but he’s not the liability that most people expect him to be, either. Look for utility man Eric Hinske to spend some time at the corners, too. Acquired in August from the Blue Jays, Hinske wowed the Fenway crowd in his debut against the Yankees by hitting four doubles. He ended up hitting .288 with a homerun and 5 RBI for the Sox, bringing his ‘06 totals to .271 with 13 homeruns and 34 RBI.

Yankees Third and First: The Yankees have a few question marks at their corner positions, but I believe they’ll end up getting some good production, at the very least out of third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Many believe A-Rod had an off year in 2006, and by his standards perhaps he did. Having averaged almost 42 homers per year since his first full season with Seattle in 1996 with a career .305 average, Rodriguez hit 35 long balls in ‘06 and batted at a .290 click. He still managed to knock in 121 runs. He also garnered a lot of criticism for his defensive decline, collecting 24 errors at the hot corner. His most infamous performance (and hardest for the fans to forget), however, was at the plate in the 2006 post-season. A-Rod hit a measly .071 with four strikeouts in October, and during his time with the Yankees has just one homerun and 3 RBI during the playoffs. That said, he was the AL Player of the Month in May when he batted .330 with 8 homeruns and 28 RBI. He’s also proven that he can handle the pressure cooker that is New York, winning the American League MVP award with the team in 2005. The fact is that Rodriguez is and always will be one of the premier players in the game. Despite fans clamoring for GM Brian Cashman to trade the third-baseman, A-Rod will once again prove to be an asset for the Yankees at the hot corner.

First base looks to be a platoon situation for the Yankees this year. This winter New York acquired former Red Sox Doug Mientkiewicz, who batted .283 with 4 homeruns and 43 RBI for the Royals last year. The left-hander will see most of his at-bats against right-handed pitchers, and will likely be a common defensive replacement when there’s a left-hander on the mound. Known for his glovework, Mientkiewicz won a gold glove in 2001 and has the major league’s second best fielding percentage (.996, behind Travis Lee) among first basemen since his debut in 1998. The second half of the platoon will be filled either by Andy Phillips, who has been tearing up the Yankee’s farm system for several years now, or Josh Phelps, whom the Yankees acquired in this year’s Rule-5 draft. Phillips spent a good chunk of time with the big club in 2006 but failed to continue with the success he found in the minors, hitting just .240 with 7 homeruns and 29 RBI in 246 at-bats. Phelps was phenomenal in the Tiger’s system last year, batting .308 with 24 homeruns and 90 RBI for Triple-A Toledo. The two will battle for the position during spring training, and may see some competition from Juan Miranda, whom the Yankees acquired as an undrafted free agent this winter. Jason Giambi, like Ortiz, will spend most of the season at DH, but will likely play the field during inter-league play or when another Yankees slugger needs a break from defense. Miguel Cairo resigned with the Bombers this year and will probably spell A-Rod at third during his rare days off.

Bottom Line: The disparity at the corners isn’t as big this year as it was in 2006. The Sox will probably see more production from Youkilis than the Yankees see from Mientkiewicz and Phillips/Phelps, but even after Mike Lowell’s comeback season and Alex Rodriguez’s off-season, A-Rod is still the better hitter. Defensively, the Sox will easily trump the Yankees at the corners, but New York will ultimately see more production at the plate.

Red Sox v. Yankees '07: Starting Rotation

2007-01-20T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'll be posting a series of articles that compare the players on my favorite team, the Red Sox, with those on my obligatory least favorite team, the Yankees. I'll go through every position on the teams and decide which team is stronger in that area. I'll try to remain as unbiased and honest as possible. Enjoy!

Red Sox starting rotation: The Red Sox astounded the baseball world this offseason with their astronomical $51.1million bid just for the right to negotiate with superstar Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka. Over his eight year career with the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka went 108-60 with a pretty 2.95 ERA and 1355 strikeouts. Having signed a six year, $52 million contract for the Sox, Dice-K looks to be an important part of Boston’s rotation through the 2012 season. Count on him for 200 innings, and watch for him to win at least 14 games, though his MVP performance in last year’s World Baseball Classic (against mostly major-league hitters, mind you) shows that he’s capable of notching 17 or 18 wins in his rookie year.

For at least the 2007 season, Matsuzaka will be a part of the big-three of powerful twenty-six year olds in the rotation, including Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon. Beckett struggled somewhat through the 2006 season, posting a 5.01ERA (1.16 points above his career average of 3.85), but he still led the Red Sox with his 16 wins. He did allow 36 homeruns, however, and in Fenway Park if he doesn’t learn to keep his fastball away from the middle of the plate he’ll be a severe power threat (the bad kind). Odds are 2006, which wasn’t all bad, was just a year of acclimation to the American League for Beckett and his second season in the AL East will prove more successful. He was the World Series MVP with the Marlins in 2003, and if he can return to his golden days he’s capable of winning 21 games, but you can expect him to win more than 15.

Meanwhile, no pitcher on the Red Sox roster can boast of more successful season than the exuberant Jonathan Papelbon, but that was in a role that he won’t be in for 2007. After proving that he was a better fit for the Sox closer’s role than the much-maligned Keith Foulke, Papelbon went on to save 35 games, demolishing the previous Red Sox rookie saves record previously set by Dick Radatz’s 24 saves in 1962. Along the way he posted miniscule numbers, including a 0.92 ERA and .167 opponent’s batting average, and finished second to Detroit sensation Justin Verlander in the Rookie-of-the-Year voting. If Papelbon’s success out of the bullpen translates into success in the starting rotation (where he pitched for most of his professional career, including his major league debut in ‘05), then you can pretty much count on him winning 15 games.

These three alone make for a pretty successful rotation, but the Red Sox also boast of two proven veterans who know how to win games and eat innings. Curt Schilling will be back for his third and, as he says, final year with the Red Sox. He led Sox starters in 2006 with his 3.97 ERA and 183 strikeouts, and was second to Beckett with 15 wins. Known as one of the hardest workers in baseball, as long as his body holds up Schilling is more than likely to match or improve upon his ‘06 win total.

Then there’s Tim Wakefield, the longest-tenured member of the Red Sox. He had a season to forget in 2006, posting a 7-11 record with a 4.63 ERA in an injured shortened season. If he’s healthy, Wakefield is good for 11 wins or more. Keep in mind that there will be more stability at backstop for Wakefield this year as Doug Mirabelli resigned with the Sox, guaranteeing he’ll be with the team through spring training and the start of the season, unlike last year when he was traded to the Padres.

Waiting in the wings: The Sox have some decent back-up options to fill any rotation holes that might come up during the season because of injuries within the front five. Jon Lester has reportedly recovered from his cancer scare and will be out to prove that the success he found with the Sox in his rookie season was no fluke. Lenny Dinardo, who will be battling for a spot in the bullpen to begin the season, is also capable of starting games, as is fiery setup man Julian Tavarez. Then there’s David Pauley and Davern Hansack, who both impressed in their debut starts last season. The Sox also signed former Mariner Joel Piniero, who appears to have left his better years behind him but may just be a capable long-relief man, spot starter or, as many believe, closer. Last but not least (well, maybe least) is Matt Clement, who is currently on the DL and may or may not ever pitch for the Red Sox again, but has proven in the past that he knows how to win games (see: first half of 2005 season).

Yankees starting rotation: This winter the Bronx bombers said goodbye to their 43 year-old ace Randy Johnson and underachieving Jaret Wright. They also made the winning bid of $26 million for negotiation rights to 27 year old Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa of the Hanshin Tigers. Igawa was a solid part of the Tiger’s rotation for eight years, but only surpassed 14 wins in 2003, when he notched 20 Ws. Since 1999 Igawa is 86-60; that’s twenty-two wins fewer than Matsuzaka with the same number of losses in the same number of years. Igawa has also been criticized in Japan for his declining performance over the past few years. Add that to the fact that Igawa did not pitch in the WBC and face major-league pitchers as did Dice-K, then you see that the Yankees have a $26 million question mark on their hands. Igawa may do good things in the states, but it’s doubtful. I’d be surprised to see him post more than 12 wins.

It may not be that much of a loss to play Igawa every fifth day, however, what with the Yankees monstrous offense and a couple of proven veterans ahead of him in the rotation. One of those is Mike Mussina, who since his first full season in 1992 has never failed to post at least 11 wins. Boasting a career 239-143 record and 3.63 ERA, Moose went 15-7 last year with 172 strikeouts and a 3.51 ERA. Cleary, this guy is nothing if not consistent. During his time with the Yankees, Mussina failed to start 30 games only once (27 in 2004), but over the last three years he has seen a decline in his innings pitched, which may be a sign of his age catching up to him. Still, at 38 years old Moose still has what it takes to post at least 14 wins, if he stays healthy.

The Yanks also took a look at the past in order to find a new number one starter for their ailing rotation. Whom they found was Andy Pettitte, who was with the Yankees for his first nine years in the bigs, but played the last three seasons for the Houston Astros. Pettitte was stellar in ‘05, but saw somewhat of a decline in his performance last year, going 14-13 with a 4.20 ERA. He did manage to match his career-high of 35 games started, and has always been an innings eater. No question Pettitte will be a worthwhile pickup for the Yanks, and you can look for him to win around 16 games behind New York’s offense.

Next is the pitcher who beat out Mussina and Johnson last season and proved himself to be the ace of a fairly dismal Yankees pitching staff. Chien-Ming Wang tied with Minnesota’s Cy Young winner Johan Santana for the league leading 19 wins. In his two years with the Bombers he is 27-11 with a 3.77 ERA. He’s not a strikeout guy, but his killer sinking fastball is good for plentiful double-plays throughout the season. If he can match his performance from last year, he’ll cruise to 16 wins, and likely post a few more.

I’m tempted to leave it at that, as the fifth spot in the Yankee’s rotation is essentially a giant question mark. It’s assumed that Carl Pavano and his giant contract will fill the spot, but the Yankees picked up some nice pitching talent in the Johnson and Gary Sheffield trades, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pavano gone by mid-season. Since signing his 4 year, $40 million contract after the 2004 season, Pavano has pitched a measly 100 innings for the Yankees, all of which came in the 2005 season. That year he went 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA. His lifetime record is a mediocre 61-64 and 4.27 ERA, and he’s had one great season in his entire career - 2004, leading into his free agency, he posted an 18-8 record and 3.00 ERA for the Florida Marlins. Having not pitched for a year-and-a-half, I doubt Pavano’s ability to get much done this season. If he is healthy, I’ll pencil him in for 10 wins - and that’s being generous.

Waiting in the wings: As I said, the Yankees have plenty of talent ready to pick of any slack in the starting rotation. Phillip Hughes is the most heralded arm in the system, and he went 10-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 21 starts for the double-A Trenton thunder last year. Other prospects who may be ready to see some big-league action are Humberto Sanchez, Sean Henn, and Jeff Karstens. Then there’s setup man Scott Proctor, who has actually been stretching out as a starter this winter and could log a few spot starts before season’s end.

Bottom Line: The Red Sox are the clear winners in the rotation battle. They are more talented, deeper, stronger, and younger than the Yankees staff. The only thing that will stop the Red Sox front five from posting a collective 70 wins will be a rash of injuries like we saw last season. Even still, barring a trade the Sox seem better equipped to handle injuries this year than they did last year, and they’re far more prepared than the Yankees for such a situation. Still, don’t be surprised to see the Yankees make some more moves before winter’s end to help the rotation out.

Wildcard: Just like last year, Roger Clemens has yet to decide what he wants to do for the upcoming season. He has said that if he doesn’t decide to retire, he’ll only pitch for the Astro’s, Yankees, or Red Sox. Of the three, the Sox seem to have the least need for Clemens, but Tom Werner has such a stiffy for the Rocket that you never know what will happen. Whichever team he signs with, and even considering the fact that he’ll likely pitch for only three months, he will be a boon down the stretch. I’m tempted to backtrack and say that he’ll only help out if his age hasn’t caught up to him yet, but in all honesty I believe Clemens is ageless. He’ll post a sub-3.50 ERA no matter where he pitches.

Switch-Pitcher

2006-05-05T19:58:00.000-04:00

I always wondered about this. I knew there wasn't any active switch-pitcher in the major-leauges, but I was curious as to whether or not it would be possible and also whether or not it would be in accordance with the rule book. Although Division I baseball doesn't necessarily follow the same rules as the MLB, I'm still happy to have learned that there is such a thing as a switch-pitcher.

"Pat Venditte Jr., isn't your ordinary college pitcher. He's the only active switch-pitcher in NCAA Division I. Venditte employs his ambidextrous abilities as a reliever for Creighton University. In a game last week against Kansas, Venditte retired six batters, three right-handed and three left-handed, and he recorded a strikeout with each arm. Through Wednesday, Venditte had a 2.51 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. "

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (and the Pretty!)

2006-04-13T16:38:00.000-04:00

The Good:
Jonathan Papelbon. I know I probably gush about this kid too much, but it's not without reason. His stat line on the season so far easily makes him the top closer in the game, after he's pitched 5 innings with zero runs scored, one hit and no walks, going 4 for 4 in save oppurtunities (t-1st). What makes this all even more impressive is that Papelbon never had a major league save coming into the season (just one career minor league save) and he spent most of spring training preparing as a starter. He's really something special, and his dominance hints at good things to come with the Red Sox pitching staff, and also continues with a wave of spectacular young pitchers in the major leagues. As the Steroid Era fades away, baseball will become more of a pitcher's sport, and names like Papelbon, Rich Harden, and Felix Hernandez will soon become as well known as Roger Clemons, Greg Maddux, and Randy Johnson.

The Bad:
Barry Bonds. Not only is he not hitting on the season (.167 average and the big number- zero home runs), but he's a cancer in the lung of Major League Baseball. Currently there's an investigation as to whether or not Bonds perjured himself in a federal grand jury hearing about steroid use. The MLB needs to put the lingering effects of the Steroid Era behind it, and the biggest symbol of that Era is bonds, who is threatening to tarnish 2 records that were posted by two of the greatest hitters of all time in Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. It doesn't help that Bonds has made himself a sideshow in the otherwise professional world of baseball. His new ESPN program "Bonds on Bonds" is just one more joke in the repertoire that is Bonds' major league career. I myself haven't watched the show, but just seeing the ad was enough for me: it has Barry saying something to the effect of "there's no better place to here it than from me." Right B, because everyone knows you're just a simmering cauldron of credibility. And those circus acts around spring camp - like when he dressed in drag to judge a rookie singing competition - had nothing to do with camp morale or camraderie, it was simply a means of getting something of interest to film for his show. Bonds has soiled the image of baseball long enough, it's time for him to let himself fade from the spotlight.

The Ugly:
David Wells. His tough outing last night isn't just a matter of one loss on the season; like it or not, his performance was symbolic of his attitude during the offseason and through spring training. After a spectacular week in Red Sox pitching, Wells - who asked to be traded over the offseason and then went through a minimal workout regimen in the spring - became the fumbler and paved the way for the Blue Jays to take a three game opening series at Fenway with wins over Wells and Matt Clement. Also, the fat biker guy look went the way of Dan Conner and 1994. Lose some weight, lose some ego, and add some heat to your fastball. You don't win 15 games by pitching a batting practice season.

The Pretty
Bronson Arroyo. Pretty face, pretty voice, pretty breaking ball, pretty...swing? Bronson is the first pitcher in the modern era to have two wins and two homeruns in his first two starts of the season. Of course, both dingers came from pitches by the same guy - the Cubs' Glendon Rusch, but there's no denying that Arroyo is the whole package. I miss him. :-(

Crisp junked, Pedro plunked?

2006-04-13T14:49:00.000-04:00

-Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp, who is currently on the 15-Day DL with a broken knuckle, was signed to a three year contract extension yesterday with a club option for 2010. This continues a busy week for the Sox front office, after they signed slugger David Ortiz to a four-year extension. Likely on the horizon: an extension for Josh Beckett, who has dazzled in his two starts in a Boston uniform. Not as likely, but would be a good move: locking Jonathan Papelbon into a long-term deal before his value goes up much more, which it will.

-Outfielder Dustan Mohr, who had a pretty great spring for the Sox, was called up to replace Crisp on the roster, and he started yesterday's game in center field. All he did was hit a two-run home run in his first game for the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Wily Mo Pena started in right field in place of the hurting Trot Nixon (who is listed as day-to-day with a groin injury) and he, too, smashed a long ball. But these two smashs and another by Ortiz would not be enough to lift the Sox over the Blue Jays, who won 8-4.

-It was the rematch everybody was waiting for. After Pedro Martinez plunked three Nationals in their meeting last week, yesterday saw Petey on the mound against Washington again. Everybody and their dog expected old-school Nats manager Frank Robinson to respond by beaning Pedro, but it didn't happen. Nobody was hit in the game and the Mets rode a fine performance by Martinez to a 3-1 victory.

-Right handed Sox reliever Julian Tavarez will return today from his 10-day suspension, which came in response to his punching Tampa Bay center-fielder Joey Gathright in the face during a spring exhibition game. His presence will add to what projects to be a fantastic bullpen, especially with Papelbon pitching the way he is.

-Rookie second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers - the replacement of super slugger Alfonso Soriano - was put on the DL today because of a dislocated left thumb. His spot on the roster was taken by outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., who was being activated from the DL after a rib-cage injury.

-With the activation yesterday of starter David Wells of the Red Sox, most expected lefty Lenny Dinardo to be sent back to Pawtucket. Not so, as reliever David Riske was put on the DL with a back strain, leaving room for Dinardo. It was a good thing, too, as Dinardo (who usually starts in the minor leagues and makes a good long-man out of a major-league bullpen) picked up for David Wells in the fifth inning and didn't let the Blue Jays get too far ahead in the game, although the Sox offense would never recover from the six-run performance by David Wells. Speaking of Wells, he better watch his performances closely. Yesterday's was most likely a result of his not getting enough work in during spring training, but he has to remember that the Sox have Papelbon just waiting to take his spot in the rotation if he falters.

Another fantastic game

2006-04-11T16:57:00.000-04:00

Today was the Red Sox home opener, and the new-look '06 Sox didn't fail to put on a show. Prized off-season acquisition Josh Beckett pitched beautifully, young flamethrower Jonathan Papelbon dazzled in the ninth, and the Sox offense put together a nifty second inning, scoring the four runs that would have been enough to beat Toronto. The Sox moved to a 6-1 record (first time since 1999) on the season in their 5-3 victory over the Jays.

Beckett's first inning was a bit of an adventure, but after he walked in the Blue Jay's first run, a double play off the bat of first baseman Shea Hillenbrand saved him from any more damage. But, not unlike in Beckett's debut in Texas, the pitcher settled down and put the Blue Jay's offense away for the rest of the game. He pitched 7 innings in the game, allowing three hits, four walks and one run while striking out 2. After a 36 pitch first inning, Beckett left the game with just 105 in the game.

The Sox bats came alive in the second inning. After Josh Towers allowed a walk to Trot Nixon and a single by Jason Varitek, third baseman Mike Lowell (4-4) hit the first of his three doubles to score Nixon and tie the game. The next batter, center fielder Adam Stern (who started in place of Coco Crisp), also doubled and scored Varitek and Lowell, putting the Sox in the lead for good. Stern then stole third base and scored on a double by first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who was batting in Crisp's leadoff spot.

The only other Boston run of the game came on David Ortiz's second homerun of the season, his first of many at Fenway Park.

Keith Foulke came on in the eighth inning and allowed a base hit to Blue Jays shortstop Russ Adams. Then outfielder Frank Catalanotto hit a fly ball to right field that bounced out of right-fielder Wily Mo Pena's glove and into the bullpen for a two-run homerun, cutting the Sox lead to two runs. Two fly outs got Foulke out of any more trouble and paved the way for Papelbon to come on in the ninth.

Papelbon sparkled. He easily put down Jays sluggers Lyle Overbay, Hillenbrand and Bengie Molina on just ten pitches, eight of which went in for strikes. Papelbon's dazzling stat line on the season moved two 4 for 4 in save oppurtunities, five strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in his five innings of work.

Other notes:
Trot Nixon left the game in the fourth inning today with a groin injury and was replaced by Pena. More on his status to come.

The Sox did not call up Willie Harris to take Crisp's spot on the roster, but instead went for Dustin Mohr. Francona said it was so they could have another right-handed bat in the outfield, but after Trot went down today Francona might be kicking himself because Adam Stern may be the only lefty remaining in the outfield.

Meanwhile, across the majors:
Bronson Arroyo is doing some amazing things for the Cinncinatti Reds. Not only did he pitch seven scoreless innings to improve his record to 2-0, but he hit his second homerun in as many starts! Arroyo came into the season without ever having hit a homerun in his career, and without having a hit since 2001. Now he's got more homeruns than Barry Bonds! Good for you Bronson. It seems like you are going to thrive in the National League, so keep it up.

The Cubs and slugging first baseman Derrek Lee agreed to a five-year deal with a no-trade clause that's reportedly worth around $65 million. It's the biggest contract signed by the club since Sammy Sosa's four-year, $72 million deal in 2001.

Former Cy-Young winner Roy Halladay of the Blue Jays left his team on their road trip, returning to Toronto to nurse a sore forearm. He's expected to miss at least one start. With AJ Burnett spending time on the DL and Ted Lilly's persistent back problems, what has the potential to be a star rotation in the American League East is facing some adversity to begin the season.

2006-04-10T20:01:00.000-04:00

Those of us Boston fans who were just waiting for Johnny Damon's shoulder to give out so we can laugh at the Yankee's stupid purchase may have to stick their feet in their mouths right about...now. Coco Crisp, Damon's replacement in Boston's center field and leadoff spot, is to be put on the 15-day DL tomorrow because of a non-displaced fracture at the base of his left index finger. He hurt the finger during a botched steal attempt in Baltimore, and he could miss up to a month because of the injury. The Sox, however, will move on. They're rather deep in the outfield, and this will be a chance for Wily Mo Pena to get some regular at-bats. Terry Francona also gets to call up another position player before tomorrow's game (my guess is it'll be Willie Harris). Then in just a few more days they can send Adam Stern back down to Pawtucket and replace him on the roster with more of an impact position player, or perhaps a pitcher (most likely Manny Delcarmen).

Yesterday Rockies outfielder Cory Sullivan made history when he became just the eleventh player in baseball history to hit two triples in one inning. The last player to accomplish this rare feat was Gil Coan of the Washington Senators in 1951.

After dragging their feet since spring training, the Red Sox front office finally inked a contract extension for designated hitter David Ortiz. The deal has the big lefty playing for Boston through 2010, with a club option for the 2011 season. The monetary value of the extension was not discussed, but expect Ortiz to make substantially more than the $6.5 million he's owed this year.

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was put on the disabled list today after he banged up his leg during Sunday's game against the Giants. He isn't expected to take long to heal, but with sprains in both his right knee and ankle, he'll have to let the leg heal before he can get back on the field.

Baseball's opening week is over, and every team finally has at least one win and one loss. Only two of the current six division leaders (Oakland As and New York Mets) are from my picks, but of course it's far too early to start looking at standings. It is important to note, however, that the Yankees are currently last in the American League-East with a record of 2-4, while the Red Sox are riding a 5-1 season start at the head of the division. However early in the season it is, starting the season 3 games back of your chief rival can't be good for morale.

2006-04-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

Looks like my top-picked Dodgers are falling apart left and right. The Boston Globe reported today that Dodgers closer Eric Gagne will have surgery on his pitching elbow to remove a nerve. A huge part of the reason the Dodgers performed so poorly last year was that Gagne was hurt for most of the season, and if that's also the case for '06, then I'd say that along with the injury to Nomar Garciaparra's ribcage, which landed him on the fifteen day disabled list on tuesday, will severely hurt Los Angeles' chances this season. The Dodgers currently have five players on the DL, and Wednesday saw a game in which two players had to leave the game with minor injuries and three other players came dangerously close to having to leave the game. Clearly something is working against this team and their hopes at a division title.

Meanwhile, the hitting streak of Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins ended yesterday in Philliadelphia's third straight loss to the Cardinals. I'm a little upset about this because I was just working on a column about whether Rollins' historic streak was a more important story to baseball than the steroid scandal plaguing the big leagues.

People in San Fransisco are too nice. Despite Barry Bonds' tarnished image and the apparent hatred of road fans, the patrons at AT&T Park on Thursday gave him a standing ovation when he was introduced. Don't they realize that he's been duping them for like five years now? I certainly wouldn't be too quick to cheer for a man that has lied to us between his teeth and helped support an era that will forever leave a cloud over the game.

After getting beaned three times in three game series between the Mets and the Nationals, Washington outfielder Jose Guillen had enough, charging the mound and causing the dugouts to clear. Poor Guillen was so shaken by the number of times he's been hit by Pedro Martinez that he says the former friends' relationship is over. C'mon man! Grow some junk will you? If you're going to crowd the plate, then you have no place blaming a pitcher when you're beaned by an inside pitch. Pedro has always been known for commanding the interior of the plate, and considering the fact that he'd hit you three times before Thursdays game, one might think you'd make an adjustment at the plate so as not to get hit.

Young Guns Pumped Up

2006-04-06T13:22:00.000-04:00

Last night was good for young Boston pitchers.

Josh Beckett (25) started and went seven strong, allowing one run, one walk, and seven hits while striking out five.

Jonathan Papelbon (25) came on in the ninth inning, despite the fact that with a 2-1 lead, closer Keith Foulke should have been called upon. No matter. All Papelbon did was go 1-2-3 with 2 strikeouts to convert his first major league save.

Meanwhile Mike Timlin (40) pitched the eigth and allowed two hits, a walk, and a passed ball. He managed to get out of the inning unscathed thanks to a putout at homeplate on a relay play by Manny Ramirez and Alex Gonzalez.

Now, I realize much of this was related already in my last post, but I really just wanted an excuse to get these cool pictures up.

What a Night

2006-04-05T23:46:00.000-04:00

You know, I had a feeling when I woke up today that it was going to be a fantastic day for baseball. Maybe it was because it was snowy and I was looking forward to sitting down and watching the game, but I was really excited to see the Red Sox debut of pitcher Josh Beckett against the Texas Rangers. -->

Beckett scared me a little in the first inning, allowing one run. But that was it. Beckett's Boston debut couldn't have been better, scattering seven hits and getting a nice little ovation from Curt Schilling as a reward. Texas' Kameron Loe pitched a superb game, but allowed a two-run homer by Trot Nixon to put him behind in the game.

Beckett pitched a full seven innings and struck out five, but the momentum appeared to shift in the eighth inning when Mike Timlin came out and allowed two batters to get on base. Then when appeared to be a base hit that should have sent the runner from second all the way home became a put out on a relay from left fielder Manny Ramirez to shortstop Alex Gonzalez to Jason Varitek at home. Timlin got out of the inning miraculously unscathed.

Then Terry Francona made the bullpen call of the century when he asked for Jonathan Papelbon to prepare for the ninth inning instead of closer Keith Foulke. Papelbon didn't dissapoint, putting up a 1-2-3 ninth, earning his first major league save (and just his second save in professional baseball), and handing Beckett his first win of the season in what was a very tense game.

Other baseball notes:

<--Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins extended his two-season hitting streak to 38 games, putting him just one game behind Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor and 18 behind record holder Joe DiMaggio.

Bronson Arroyo, in his debut with the Cinncinatti Reds, not only earned the win but hit the first homerun of his carreer to hand himself a lead in the third inning against the Cubs.

The new ad for MLB 2K6 featuring Derek Jeter and Josh Beckett is pretty good. It's intense. It's kinda hot. I like.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his career 537th homerun to pass Mickey Mantle and claim the #12 spot on the all-time home runs list.

You heard it here:

-The Sox will trade or release Josh Bard before the end of the season, not because he can't catch the knuckler, but because his offense is a liability when Tim Wakefield pitches.

-The 2007 Red Sox starting rotation: Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, Wakefield, John Lester. Clement will be traded this offseason and David Wells will retire. If Clement manages to impress this year and, more importantly, to stay strong down the stretch, there's the possibility of keeping him in the rotation and sending Wakefield to the bullpen.

-Rollins will keep the streak going until April 13, when he'll face Tim Hudson and the Braves.

-Barry Bonds will hit at least twenty homeruns before the All-Star break, but scrutiny and fan dissaproval will leave him disenfranchised and he'll end up on the disabled list for exhaustion, if nothing else, finishing short of Hank Aaron's home run record.

-Nomar Garciaparra will make a decent recovery from his rib-cage injury and come back to hit .300 on the season. C'mon Nomah! I picked the Dodgers in the NL West, and you were a big reason. Don't let me down!-->

MLB Preview '06

2006-03-29T18:28:00.000-05:00

Well, the season starts in less than a week so I guess it's time to throw out my predictions for how the standings will look 162 regulation games from now.

American League East:
1. New York Yankees - With an offense led by reigning MVP Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees could clobber their way to 90 wins even with sub-par pitching. And one thing they will not have this season is sub-par pitching. That said, the rotation doesn't match that of Boston and the defense doesn't come close, either.
2. Boston Red Sox - May not score as many runs as they did in '04, but they will score more than they did in '05. This is a more complete team than it was last year, and the superior pitching and highly improved defense, along with power duo David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez manning the 3-4 slots, the Sox should win 95 plus games this year.
3. Toronto Blue Jays - An increase in payroll led to an offseason spending spree that makes for a club that looks worthy of a division title...on paper. A.J. Burnett will start the season on the DL, Roy Halliday is coming off a big injury, and B.J. Ryan hasn't been a closer for a whole season yet.

American League Central:
1. Chicago White Sox - They did nothing but improve over the offseason (though I'm not so hot on Javier Vazquez as everyone else seems to be) and with the best starting rotation in baseball and an improved offense, they should roll to a victory in the Central division.
2. Cleveland Indians - This is a good young team, and if they don't take the division this year there's a good chance they can do so in '07. The front office has done a great job of signing its young talent to long term deals - as evidenced by yesterday's inking of a six year contract for leadoff man Grady Sizemore.
3. Minnesota Twins - Still just 2 years off from a division win, this is a strong team that has a lot of talent coming up in the system. May not be much of an offensive force. Johan Santana won't be the pitcher he was in '04.

American League West:
1. Oakland Athletics - Barry Zito might not be on the team after July 31st, but that's only because this team has a wealth of young arms waiting to prove their worth. Frank Thomas will prove that he's still an offensive force and Eric Chavez will make a run for MVP.
2. Las Angeles Angels of Anaheim - Bartolo Colon won't repeat his Cy Young winning performance, but a healthy Vladimir Guerrero will mean more runs for this team. Still, I can't pick their offense and bullpen over Oakland's starters and all-around talent.
3. Seattle Mariners - The addition of Kenji Johima might be the spark the Mariners have been looking for, but it won't be enough to put them over Oakland and LA.

AL Wild Card:
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Las Angeles Angels
3. Toronto Blue Jays

National League East:
1. New York Mets - Every year the Braves are overlooked before the season, and for at least the past 14 seasons they've proven the doubters wrong, but I still have to go with the Mets for '06. They've made a bevy of improvements over last year: Paul lo Duca is a better catcher than Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado is a better first baseman than Doug Menkievitz, and Billy Wagner is a far better closer than Braden Looper.
2. Atlanta Braves - They lost their greatest strength over their championship run: pitching coach Leo Mazzone. They lost their leadoff man in Rafael Furcal (another key in the championship run) and Edgar Renteria may never return to form over at short. Still, they manage to surprise us every year.
3. Florida Marlins - Everyone's saying that they're going to lose 100 games this year after they got rid of all but two of their big names. I say they've got a squad full of young talent and the two big names they did hang on to - Dontrelle Willis and Daniel Cabrera - are both young'ins themselves that are proven winners. Watch for the NL Rookie of the Year to come out of this team, and if they surprise everyone and take the division, you're looking at someone like Cabrera to take the MVP award.

National League Central:
1. St. Louis Cardinals - They still have the reigning MVP and the Cy Young Award winners in Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter. They have a healthy Scott Rolen who will produce. This team is even more dangerous than it was last year, and you can bet they'll win around 100.
2. Houston Astros - If they'd managed to sign Roger Clemons, I would have given them all the gold. This team has a hell of a starting rotation and an underrated offense. If they can add some power mid-season, they still have a shot at the division.
3. Milwaukee Brewers - Ben Sheets and Prince Fielder. Contenders for Cy Young and Rookie of the Year. These two names are the only reason I put this team above the Chicago Cubs.

National League West:
1. Las Angeles Dodgers - I really like this team - maybe because so many of them are former Red Sox! Look, Bill Meuller may never hit as many homeruns as Adrian Beltre, but he'll hit for average from both sides of the plate and his performance with runners in scoring position may make him even more valuable than Beltre was in '04. Nomar Garciaparra will stay healthy for the first time in three years, and Eric Gagne will recover from his shoddy '05. This is the team to beat in the NL West, and I don't care how many dingers Bonds puts in the water.
2. San Diego Padres - Jake Peavy will be back to anchor a decent rotation in a pitcher's park. Dewon Brazleton will put his past behind him, and the additions of Mike Cameron and Mike Piazza should be enough for an offensive improvement over last year.
3. San Francisco Giants - I gotta be nuts to put a team with Barry Bonds in the lineup at third in the division, right? Face it, the Giants are depending on Bonds to carry their team, and mark my words he will not produce as much as they need him to. He'll be lucky to start 100 games. He may very well crush 30 big boys in that time, but that will not be enough to power this team to the top of the division.

NL Wild Card
1. Houston Astros
2. Atlanta Braves
3. San Diego Padres

Post-Spring Break Update

2006-03-28T16:17:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while; I've been on spring break. A lot happened with the Red Sox while I was gone, so I'd just like to talk about a few of the moves they made.

1. 3/14/06 - Returned Rule-5 pick Jamie Vermilyea to Toronto.
If you read my mailbag question from the last post, you know my thoughts on this. Vermilyea should never have been picked in the Rule-5 Draft. The front office (which made the move during Theo Epstein's absence) failed to think the pick through, and apparently knew nothing about their own minor league organization and the prospects that are ready to come up. The move cost money and experience on all sides.
Yay or Nay: Nay. Boo front office. Boo.

2. 3/16/06 - Signed Catcher Javier Cardona to Minor League contract.
This move became neccessary after an off-season that saw the trades of Doug Mirabelli and Kelly Shoppach, and the retirement of off-season acquisition John Flaherty. The Sox no longer had a top catching prospect in their system, nor really any options for backstop in the minor leagues. Cardona is a career minor leaguer but has the kind of veteran experience that may help the Sox if things go wrong with Josh Bard or Ken Huckaby. Of course, none of this matters a whole lot at the major league level except on every fifth day, when Josh Bard will now be expected to catch for Tim Wakefield. Regardless of whether Bard masters the art of catching Wakefield's knuckleball, the absence of Mirabelli's bat in the lineup on those days will make for some closer games and perhaps a dip in Wakefield's win percentage.
Yay or Nay: Yay. You can never be too deep behind the plate. The Sox may have the reigning AL Silver Slugger AND Gold Glove behind the plate (AKA the best catcher in the American League) in Jason Varitek, but he won't be there forever.

3. 3/19/06 - Signed OF Juan Gonzalez to minor league contract.
What does this mean for the 2006 Red Sox? Almost nothing. ESPN analysts don't call him "Juan Gone" for no reason. Gonzalez has lost his bat, and he probably won't see any time in the major leagues this season, especially since the Sox have Adam Stern, Gabe Kapler, Dunstan Mohr, Willie Harris, and David Murphy - all of whom have far more potential than Gonzalez. What does this mean for the future of the Red Sox? Simple. Gonzalez's addition to the Pawtucket outfield left Brandon Moss out of the job. Moss was sent back down to double-A Portland, and now is even less likely to make the major leagues any time this season or next.
Yay or Nay: Nay. Gonzalez has nothing to offer this organization except a wasted roster spot.

4. 3/20/06 - Traded RHP Bronson Arroyo and cash to Reds for OF Wily Mo Pena.
Oh Sox! Sox! How could you trade him? He won 14 games last year! He had the ability to dominate out of the bullpen! He was effing cute! Boston fans loved Arroyo, and he loved Boston, which is why he took a steep discount on his contract to stay here. The move, as it seems, was merely made to heighten Arroyo's trade value. What did they get in return? A career .248 with 51 homeruns and 288 strikeouts in 830 at-bats. How. Could. You?

Okay now that I've let loose that rant, I must admit that this move actually works for the Red Sox in a number of ways. The Sox lost a lot of power from the bench when they moved Mirabelli, so this gives management a strong right-handed bat to work with. Pena is young, and Trot Nixon (entering his contract year) is not, making Wily Mo a top candidate to roam right field when Nixon inevitably flies the coop. His bat makes him seem like a risk, but keep in mind that the Sox are somewhat deep in the outfield, with a number of players like Gabe Kapler (who will return from his achilles tendon injury mid-season) who will be able to pick up some slack if necessary. Also, this move is a message to David Wells. The Sox, by trading Arroyo and relegating Jonathan Paplebon to the bullpen, are giving Wells the chance to help this team at the same time as telling him that they have a very capable young arm waiting in the bullpen to take over for him in the rotation if he falters.
Yay or Nay: Yay. It's really hard for me to say that because I love Arroyo, but the Sox may have spent some of their surplus of pitching depth to improve on the somewhat lacking bench offense.

5. 3/24/06 - Claimed 1B Hee-Seop Choi off waivers from the Dodgers.
You might be saying - gee, with Kevin Youkilis, JT Snow, and David Ortiz all slated for some playing time at first base this year, why make the move for Choi at all? Frankly, this move doesn't do anything really to improve the Sox's first base outlook. What it does, however, is provide some insurance over at third base. Mike Lowell is coming off a very down offensive 2005, and he hasn't been shining at the plate this spring, so the addition of Choi means that if the Sox are forced to move Lowell and send Youkilis back to third, then Choi can come up and provide some depth at first.
Yay or Nay: Yay. It's not often that a move for a first-basemen can help improve third base, yet here we are.

6. 3/26/06 - Royals claim IF Tony Graffanino off waivers.
What a mess. The Sox screwed Graffanino by offering him arbitration even though they had no intention of starting the 2006 season with him in the infield. Any team that signed Graffanino then would have to give the Red Sox a draft pick, severly decreasing his value. So what was Tony to do? He accepted arbitration and forced the Sox to sign him to a one-year, 2.05 million dollar deal. Smart, but it left the Sox with a logjam in the middle infield and virtually guaranteed him to be traded before the season. However, the front office dragged their feet on the trade, and no move was made before Graffanino's contract would have become guranteed, so instead the Sox put him on waivers, to be plucked by the team that the Sox originally acquire Graffanino from in '05. By offering Graffanino arbitration and then by not being aggressive in trading him, the Sox have wasted another huge chunk of money (they still have to pay a quarter of the money owed to Graffanino) and not gotten anything in return. Add this to the money the Sox are paying Edgar Renteria to play for the Braves and Bronson Arroyo to pay for the Reds, and you end up having to shake your head at the money that this front office has wasted during the offseason.
Yay or Nay. Nay. If the Sox like throwing money away so much, they should pay me to go cover the Pittsburg Pirates.

Veterans still learning after all these years

2006-03-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

It's good to see that even those pitchers that we consider the most elite are still able to improve themselves and expand their horizons when neccessary.

A couple days ago Curt Schilling said that he was getting ready to use two new pitches this season. Traditionally a power pitcher with a mean splitter, Curt plans to add a changeup to his aresenal in '06. A good changeup always brings a whole new layer of depth to a pitcher, and if Curt can master the pitch (which, with his work ethic, shouldn't be a problem) as well as continue to pound the strike zone with power, he looks to be very dominating this year. Not only that, but he also spoke of throwing fastballs inside on batters, not something he's been known to do in his career. Historically, the most dominating pitchers (Pedro Martinez, Roger Clemons, Randy Johnson) use the inside fastball as a means to intimidate batters and perhaps break some bats, and even some batters should the need arise. These two pitches look to increase the value of Schilling as a power Ace.

Meanwhile, Keith Foulke (who has made his career out of having the best changeup in any bullpen, and has always been known to have nice command of his fastball and his third-best pitch, the slider) spoke today of adding a split-fingered fastball to his arsenal. Are Schilling and Foulke working together to make sure they each have better '06 seasons that '05 or something? The splitter is Curt Schilling's signature pitch and if Foulke can indeed master it, it'll bring a whole 'nother level to what he does, because each of his pitches not only moves differently, but they all have different speeds and the same (or damn close to the same) delivery, so the batter (who already had to make a decision as to whether he was throwing a fastball or a changeup) will now have to decide if that fastball is going to stay up in the zone or if it's going to "roll off the table" as the splitter does.

These are two great pitchers and by adding these pitches, you know they can only improve their stuff because they know better than to add fluff to their repertoires.

Minor leaguers showing up the big guys

2006-03-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

An odd occurance has taken place this spring; with all the talk of how deep the Red Sox major league pitching staff is, the fruits of that labor are not being reaped in Grapefruit League action. Out of the top thirteen pitchers in innings pitched (most = 4.2, least = 3.0) at camp, eight project to be in the minor leagues and five in the majors.

Look at this:

Jonathan Papelbon, headed for the 25 man roster when camp breaks, has a 7.71 ERA so far in his 4.2 innings.

Craig Hansen, most likely starting the season at Pawtucket, hasn't allowed a run, so his ERA is 0.00 after his 4 innings.

David Riske, a major leaguer, has pitched four innings so far and taken away an 11.25 earned-run average.

Mike Bumatay, a minor leaguer, has put up a 4.91 ERA in 3.2 innings.

Major leaguer Bronson Arroyo has lobbed himself to a 19.64 ERA in his 3.2 innings.

Abe Alvarez, minor leaguer, 0.00 ERA in 3.1 innings.

Josh Beckett, major leaguer, 15.00 ERA in 3.0 innings.

Manny Delcarmen, minor leaguer, 0.00 ERA in 3.0 innings.

Rudy Seanez, major leauger, 18.00 ERA in 3.0 innings.

and Cla Meredith, minor leaguer, 0.00 ERA in 3.0 innings.

The other minor leaguers, Matt Ginter, Mike Holz, and David Pauley, have posted ERAs of 18.00, 6.00, and 9.00 respectively. Those aren't spectacular numbers, but still better than some of the major leaguers.

In fact, out of all the major leaguers on this list, the only one with an ERA in the single digits is Papelbon, who just came up from the minors. Still, his 7.71 is very high considering that the benchmark ERA - the one everyone shoots for - is around 3.50.

Now I know that ERA is a stat that will lie on the extremes when the innings pitched is very low. Just look at Meredith, whose ginormous 2005 ERA of 27.00 doesn't mean a whole lot since he only pitched 2.1 innings with the Red Sox. Earned-run average is a projected average over nine innings, and none of these pitchers have even thrown nine innings yet.

Still, I just think it's funny that the minor leaguers are performing at a much better clip than the major leaguers. We'll see how it turns out at the beginning of the season, but if by that time someone like Hansen has posted a 2.75 ERA and someone like Riske has posted a 6.75 ERA, I'll be very upset with Terry Francona if Hansen doesn't make the squad.

RIP Puck

2006-03-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

Kirby Puckett: 3/14/1960-3/6/2006

Happy trails big guy. We'll miss you.

Wells a monkeywrench in the Red Sox's gears

2006-03-05T22:35:00.000-05:00

First he wanted to be traded. Okay, the Sox have a starter with huge potential coming up from the minors and they traded for Josh Beckett. Even with Wells gone, they'd have a logjam in the rotation, which in all respects is a good problem to have. Now Wells is saying that he wants to stay in Boston.

He really isn't much more than a thorn in Theo Epstein's side, is he?

Don't get me wrong, I like Wells a lot. I think he's a great pitcher and he's positioned to have a great year (that whole nonsense about not going about a normal starter's routine to start the season because his knee - which he had arthroscopic surgery on in October - was sore was just that: nonsense. Matt Clement had the same surgery at the same time and he hasn't even mentioned it this spring. The fact is, Wells hates spring training, and doesn't want to be involved in any competition that doesn't count). But don't ask for a trade and have a team make moves to absorb the move, and then rescind the request. Now because of you, and because you're damn sure not going to make a move to the bullpen, both Bronson Arroyo AND Jonathan Papelbon will have to move to the 'pen, that is if Papelbon makes the final cut at all. Either that or the Sox will make a different trade involving Arroyo or Clement, sending away a pitcher that actually wants to be here, and that fans want to see here, in order to keep some crotchety old bastard that can't make up his mind and is probably going to retire in a year. Great.

If I had my way Wells would have been traded as soon as the Sox acquired Beckett. Forget the West coast - Wells doesn't have a no-trade clause and he's caused enough problems. Send him to whatever team needs pitching no matter where they play their home games, and let them deal with him.

The fact of the matter is that almost every team needs pitching, and they're willing to trade away some talent to get it. How about that deep outfield down in Tampa Bay? Think they'd throw down some Joey Gathright for some Wells and another minor leaguer - maybe one of the glut of backup catchers the Sox are dealing with right now? I think they would, and I think it would be worth it for the speed-starved Red Sox.

Yes, I think Wells is a good pitcher. But I don't think he should ruin the chances of two major leaguers that have proven they belong here just because he's fickle. David Wells, it's time to get out of Boston.

You can't write this stuff

2006-03-02T23:45:00.000-05:00

Today was the first spring exhibition game of the season. How more fitting a time to...immediately judge the ability of EVERY PLAYER ON THE SQUAD!

Actually, that's not true at all. But the exhibitions can still be a time when we can take a symbolic look at the season ahead, if you will. Today the Yankees played the Phillies at 1:05pm, and the Red Sox played the Twins at 7:05pm. Johnny Damon started in center for New York and Coco Crisp started in center for Boston.

Damon's debut performance was impressive. He went 2-3 with a double. Not bad. He didn't score any runs or knock any RBI, but not bad.

Coco's performance, after Johnny's was completed, was fantastic. Crisp trumped Damon offensively by going 3-3 with a double AND a triple. That's just a homer short of the cycle, people, and the guy might have done that if he had had a fourth at bat. Along with that, he scored a run AND he kocked one in.

Classic.

Perhaps even more fitting, the Sox and the Yankees both lost. By the same score. 3-6.

****
And right now I just want to gush for a minute. I love baseball season so much. Reading the box score today made me so happy. I realized that the last time I had done so was in October, and I really had missed it. The little things, people. This is my favorite time of year! :-)

A Prospective Look at the Red Sox

2006-03-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

No team has any chance of success if it doesn't have a deep minor league organization. Even teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox that are traditionally stacked with veterans depend on their minor leaguers - first, as trade bait in order to acquire some of those veterans, and also in order to plug a hole where one of those veterans inevitably goes down with an injury. Such was the case last year with the starting rotations in New York and Boston, where injuries allowed for call ups of Chien-Ming Wang and Jonathan Papelbon. Both pitchers proved that they belonged with the big clubs, and both earned spots on the 2006 rosters of their clubs. That said, I'd like to introduce you to the top ten prospects in the Red Sox organization, and talk a little bit about the impact I think they will make on the club, and when they will make it. Keep in mind that baseball is a very unpredictable sport, and depending on injuries and performance, the estimated-time-of-arrival for any given prospect can be much sooner or much later than expected. Also, I'm giving you scouting reports for all the prospects. Those reports, the pictures, and the rankings are provided by http://www.soxprospects.com. This is a great site, you should check it out.

#1 Prospect - Jonathan Papelbon

Scouting Report: Good pitcher's build with a live arm and solid delivery. Fastball has been clocked up to 95 mph, typically hitting the low-90s with great command. Very good slider and changeup, as well as a slurve curveball. All can be thrown for strikes, and Papelbon has improved his consistency with these pitches. Papelbon also added a splitter to his arsenal in the spring of 2005, after some tutoring from Curt Schilling. Projects as a frontline starter.

Papelbon projects as a frontline starter, meaning that when Schilling retires or his contract runs out, Papelbon might have a new job at the top of the Red Sox rotation. That is, of course, if he doesn't get traded before then. He's the only prospect on the list that is pretty much guaranteed to start the season on the 2006 active roster, but whether or not he'll be in the starting rotation is another issue. The Sox have seven starters (six if they finally manage to trade David Wells) to fill five slots, and as it stands the number five slot is Bronson Arroyo's to lose. Still, both Arroyo and Papelbon have proven that they can be dominant out of the bullpen, so just having Papelbon on the roster immediately improves both areas of the pitching staff.

# 2 Prospect - Jon Lester

Scouting Report: Very athletic lefty. 2-seam and 4-seam fastballs sit in the low 90's, top out in the mid-90s, and have good movement. Lester also utilizes an above-average change-up, an 11-to-5 curveball which sits in the low 70s, and in 2005 worked on developing a cutter. Easy delivery motion with good explosion, similar to Andy Pettitte. Power strikeout pitcher, uses his fastball and occasionally his curve as his out pitch. While Lester typically has top notch control, occasionally he will have games where his control of certain pitchers is off. Very hard worker, prepares will for each game. Has also been compared to Mark Mulder. Great pickoff move.

The Sox are blessed to have two starters with very high ceilings in their organization. Just look at Lester's scouting report; with comparisons to Andy Pettitte and Mark Mulder, clearly this kid has what it takes to man the top of a pitching rotation. If things work out for the best, the Sox look to have the next "Big Three" (formally Mulder, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson of the Oakland Athletics) in Papelbon, Lester, and newly acquired fireballer Josh Beckett. That situation, should it play out, is still a few years down the road. Lester will start this season at triple-A Pawtucket, but there's a good chance you'll see him in Boston long before the roster expansion in September. He was last year's Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and he made the Eastern League All-Star team. Don't be surprised if he garners both honors again this year, that is if he doesn't spend most of his time with the big club.

#3 Prospect - Craig Hansen

Scouting Report: Hansen's fastball (the best in the system) has topped out in the high 90s, and he consistently hits the mid-90s. He also possesses an excellent high-80s slider, which also was voted best in the system by Baseball America. A fierce competitor who has an excellent closer mentality. Does not walk many batters. Named "closest to the majors" of all players in the 2005 draft.

The fact that this kid was on the major-league roster at all last season is a huge testament to his ability; he had only been closing for St. John's University just months before! He also swooped in and stole the closing job in Pawtucket from the formerly highly-touted Cla Merideth (who, by the way, dropped severely in the prospect rankings after putting up a startling 27.00 ERA with the Red Sox last season). The rookie impressed with the big club last year, but that was just the beginning. No doubt, if the Sox can resist the temptation to trade him off (his trade value as a closer is tremendous), then this is your closer of the future. He'll definitely join the Red Sox when the roster expands in September, but he could even get here sooner. In the meantime Pawtucket is lucky to have a closer of his caliber on the roster.

#4 Prospect - Dustin Pedroia

Scouting Report: Small infielder had a tremendous career at Arizona State. Average power for a middle infielder, with good bat speed and excellent plate discipline. Loves the game and has fantastic instincts. Plays top-notch defense up the middle, named the 2003 National Defensive Player of the Year. Very scrappy; a great teammate. Moved to second base prior to the start of the 2005 season; Boston hasn't ruled out moving Pedroia back to shortstop.

The cool thing (and fortunate, for him) about Pedroia is his versatility. Cleary the Red Sox's first pick in the 2004 draft has what it takes to be either a starting second baseman or shortstop. The Sox, this season, are deep up the middle with names like Alex Gonzalez, Mark Loretta, Alex Cora, and Tony Graffanino; but expect Graff to be traded, so if any of the other three go down with an injury, their job goes to either Pedroia or Alex Machado - a prospect that you don't hear a lot about, but he impressed the club enough to make the playoff roster last season. Pedroia will get one more season of triple-A under his belt, and then he'll be more than ready to be a major-league contributer by the 2007 season. You never know in a big market like Boston, though, and he might end up suffering the same option-shuffling fate that Kevin Youkilis did for two seasons.

#5 Prospect - Manny Delcarmen

Scouting Report: Boston native always dreamed of playing for the Sox. His career was on the fast track with a mid 90s fastball, and an outstanding curveball - until he injured himself in May 2003. Delcarmen had Tommy John surgery in May 2003, but returned to the mound a year later in May 2004. Post-surgery, Delcarmen's fastball may have actually gained velocity, as he has topped out in the high 90s. Delcarmen has average control, with decent changeup and a very good curve which he uses as his out pitch. Delcarmen's father played in the Phillies Organization.

Last season Delcarmen made an impression on the Red Sox; enough so that he was called up by mid-season to contribute to an ailing bullpen. Now, this offseason the Sox went out and added big names to their relief corps, meaning that Delcarmen, for now, is out of a job. One worry last season was that Delcarmen's out pitch, his curveball, was lying flat and not breaking the way it should. Well in a recent report on mlb.com Delcarmen said that he spent all winter trying to find his curve, and it seems to be going well for him so far this spring. You can't help but hope for big things for this Beantown Boy. As for 2006, he'll start the season in Pawtucket, and he might get called up in case of injury, but his greatest contribution to Boston won't come until September and then on a much more regular basis in 2007.

# 6 Prospect - Jacoby Ellsbury

Scouting Report: Ellsbury was on of the best players in the NCAA in 2005. He is very fast, plays excellent defense, and has shown a great ability to get on base. Decent gap power for a centerfielder who projects as a lead-off hitter. Has often been compared to Johnny Damon. Also said to be a team leader.

Along with Hansen, Ellsbury was the prize of the 2005 draft selection. He still has a long way to go in the organization, but in him the Sox have their centerfielder and leadoff hitter of the future. He proved to be a star in last year's College World Series, and continued to hit well with the low single-A Lowell Spinners afterward. I doubt he'll make an appearance with Boston in 2006, and he may only be called up in September 2007, but after that you can expect him to be a star. As for this year, he'll start the season with the high-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, but he'll probably end up with the Sox's double-A affiliate Portland Sea Dogs before the end of the season.

#7 Prospect - David Murphy

Scouting Report: Murphy is a tall, athletic lefty with a sweet swing. Pulls a lot of pitches, and displays excellent patience at the plate. Loves the game, and displays excellent leadership skills. Needs to work on adding more power. Accurate arm with decent range. Average speed. Injury-plagued 2004 season showed mediocre stats.

He was the Sox's number one draft selection in 2003, and he's been having a little bit of trouble living up to the hype that goes with that kind of status since then. Still, his scouting report says that he shows patience at the plate, which is the kind of discipline the Sox typically love to get out of their hitters. He'll start 2006 as the PawSox's centerfielder, and he may get a callup in September. If not, barring a trade, you'll definitely see him with Boston in 2007.

# 8 Prospect - Brandon Moss

Scouting Report: Athletic outfielder with a good arm. Excellent approach at the plate - good swing with a raw power. Moss is a competitor. He didn't show much at the plate in his first two professional seasons, but put in a good amount of work in the off-season prior to 2004, producing an outstanding 2004 season in all respects.

Moss impressed in winter ball this season, earning him a spot in Pawtucket's right field. If he continues to improve his plate discipline, then the Sox are looking at a great replacement for Trot Nixon (whose contract is up after this season). Whether or not he'll be called up this September depends a lot on his performance throughout the season, but don't be surprised if he does make it. Otherwise he might be a big contributor off the bench in 2007 (I expect the Sox to sign a veteran to a one-year deal to replace Nixon as starter), and as a starter after that.

#9 Prospect - Jed Lowrie

Scouting Report: Excellent fielder with a strong arm and above average range. Above average speed on the basepaths with great power for a middle infielder. Hits equally from both sides of the plate. Smart and athletic.

His scouting report makes him sound like we have the next Alex Rodriguez-esque, five-tool middle infielder on our hands. The fact that he's a switch hitter simply adds to his value (though if the development team notices a strength from either side of the plate, they'll try to get him to stick with that). I'm very excited to see what Lowrie can bring to our team, though I don't expect him to make it up here until September 2007 or later. I just really hope they don't trade him. Lowrie and Pedroia have huge potential to be a talented double play combination that will bring offensive production that's typically uncommon in the middle infield.

#10 Prospect - Clay Buchholz

Scouting Report: Buchholz has a mid-90s four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a slider, curveball, and a circle change. Also played outfield at Angelina College after transferring from McNeese State.

With names like Hansen and Ellsbury floating around the 2005 draft talk, you might be surprised to learn that Buchholz was actually the Sox's #1 pick last year. This kid has an arsenal of major-league caliber pitches. Still, the development team will probably make him figure out which three or four pitches are his strongest, and stick with those. Because he projects as a starter, a position that the Sox are traditionally very deep in at the major- and minor-league levels, he won't appear with the big club for a few years yet. He'll make an impression when he does though, and if he can survive the trading block (unlikely, given his trade value and the aforementioned pitching depth) he'll be a big contributor to the starting rotation in 2009 and beyond.

Why It Sucks to be Jon Miller

2006-03-01T15:51:00.000-05:00

David Wells spoke to the media today about baseball-related matters for the first time all spring. He told reporters about the bullpen session he tossed today (his first this spring) and about how his right-knee (which was operated on back in October) was responding to his workout regimen. Then Jon Miller from WBZ dropped the bomb everyone there had their mitts on and asked Wells if he was still seeking a trade away from Boston. At that Wells immediately ended the media session, saying that that was the wrong question to ask. He also said that it wasn't Miller's fault, that he didn't know not to ask such a question, but I guarantee you that that was of no comfort to the other reporters that were present at the media session. Aside from his own embarassment, what tortures were beset upon Miller by his colleagues? I wonder if he was tarred and feathered and then left to bake in the Florida sun. Probably not. But I sure never want to be in his position.

Bonds in Drag

2006-03-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Guess who that is in the middle. That's right. For some silly singing competition the Giants put on for charity, Barry Bonds decided to show up in drag - as Paula Abdul, no less! - and act as judge. Barry...no. Just...no.

Red Sox v. Yankees II: Corner Infield

2006-02-28T23:53:00.000-05:00

First and third base, for most major league teams, are positions out which managers expect to get production first, defense second. That's not to say that defense at these positions is an afterthought, but since they're not as demanding as, say, the middle infield, it's reasonable to expect players at first and third to focus more on the plate than on the field. That said, I'd like to take a look at the men in the corners in Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, and we'll decide which team is going to get the most production out of those positions. I'll begin with the most probable starters at those positions and then talk a little bit about the bench players on each team for the corner infield.

Third Base:
Gone is fan-favorite Bill Meuller from Boston; he'll be joining former Red Sox teammates Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra along with manager Grady Little with the Las Angeles Dodgers. He takes with him highly underrated defense and clutch hitting. His replacement, Mike Lowell, has nice potential at the plate but is recovering from an off-year in '05, in which he hit .236 with 8 homeruns and 58 RBI. Compare that to his '04 numbers (.297 - 27 - 85), and perhaps you'll see that the Sox may have gotten a deal when they acquired Lowell along with Josh Beckett and Guillermo Mota (who was later spun to Cleveland in the Coco Crisp deal) for four minor leaguers. He also won a Gold Glove last season, his first, so if he can improve his hitting (very probable given the hitter-friendly confines of Fenway) Boston should boast of a very solid third baseman in '06.
Meanwhile New York has the reigning American League MVP in their hot corner. Alex Rodriguez challenged for the triple crown in '05, hitting .321 (second, behind Texas shortstop Michael Young) with a league-leading 48 homeruns, and 130 RBI (fourth in the league behind Boston's David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez and Texas' Mark Texeira). Along the way he silenced all those critics in New York who said he couldn't handle the pressure. He's also one season removed from a Gold Glove award, so clearly he can play his position (even though he was made famous at shortstop).

First Base:
Kevin Youkilis will finally get the chance to prove himself on a regular basis this season (all it took was three years and a position switch to do it)- partly because the Sox like his polished swing and partly because he's out of options and they don't have the choice of shuttling him back to Pawtucket to make room on the active roster anymore. Offensively Youkilis should be pretty productive- at the very least he'll put up better numbers than that other first-base Kevin (who will now provide humor in the clubhouse and at the plate in Baltimore). His biggest plus at the plate is his ability to get on base. In the last two seasons Youkilis combined for just 287 at bats with the sox, but he maintained a .376 on-base percentage. The Sox covet those kind of stats. He also projects to hit 20+ homers in regular at bats, which will be another nice improvement over the power-starved Millar. Defense is a question; Youkilis came up as a third baseman, but he's been practicing at first since last spring and he can't be any worse than Millar in that respect, either. An added plus: his experience at third base means that he can spell Lowell and give lefty JT Snow some starts at first at the same time.
I'll admit, I was one of the many that counted Jason Giambi out after the 2004 season. The former MVP posted terrible numbers, suffered from numerous injuries, and was neck-deep in a steroid scandal that threatened his entire career. Fast-forward to '05 (specifically June '05 and beyond) and suddenly Giambi is back to where the Yankees want him to be and on his way to becoming the American League Comeback Player of the Year. After terrible months of April and May and the threat of being sent back to the minor leagues, Giambi gritted his teeth and went crazy, never looking back until by the end of the season he had posted a .271 average with 32 homeruns (only three of which he had knocked before May 10) and 87 RBI. If he can maintain that momentum into '06, the Yankees will have a hitter in the number six slot of their lineup that would easily be number 3 or 4 elsewhere.

Bench:
J.T. Snow will fill the role in '06 that John Olerud filled last season; namely, he'll be a late inning defensive replacement and get some starts against right-handed pitching. Like Olerud, Snow is known for his spectacular defense at first. Unlike Olerud, Snow never has and never will challenge for a batting title. Last year with the Giants (where he was more of an everyday player than he will be in Boston) he hit .275 with 4 homeruns and 40 RBI. Those numbers are sure to go down as does the number of at bats he gets. The Sox are banking on his defensive prowess (he won six consequtive Gold Gloves between 1995 and 2000) to make up for his offense.
You can also expect slugger David Ortiz to get some starts at first, especially as the Sox move into interleague play mid-season. I don't need to tell you how much of an offensive force Big Papi is (and I plan to do so in my DH section anyway) but I'll just say that last season Ortiz led the league (actually, he led the entire MLB) in RBI with 148, and he placed second in long balls with 47. He's even proven to have a pretty strong arm when he plays defense, but he's been having trouble catching fly balls this spring, according to a chuckling Willie Harris.
In New York, expect to see Andy Phillips give Giambi a break or two over at first. He had a poor showing in his 27 games with the big club last year, but in 75 games at triple-A Columbus, Phillips hit .300 with 22 homeruns and 54 RBI. If Joe Torre can somehow find him some regular at-bats, his major league numbers should definitely improve.
Meanwhile, the Yankees brought back Miguel Cairo to help man the left side of the infield. After his 2004 Yankee season, Cairo went across town to the Mets and batted .251 with 2 homeruns and 19 RBI in 327 at-bats. Those are hardly Yankee caliber numbers, and considering the durability of Rodriguez and shortstop Derek Jeter, don't expect to see Cairo very often in '06.

And the winner is: Do I even need to say? The Yankees are sure to outblast the Sox once again at their corner positions. Unless both Rodriguez and Giambi get hit by busses or some other freak injury affects their performance, the two of them should combine for around 85 homeruns and 225 RBI. The Sox - if they're lucky - will get 45 homers and 140 RBI out of their starters.

Rookie Boxer Run

2006-02-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

I found this picture on Boston.com (link at right). It's hard to tell from just their tooties, but after studying this picture for a little while [;-)] I've decided that, from left to right (the naked ones), are Jonathan Papelbon, Craig Breslow, Edgar Martinez, Jamie Vermilyea, and Jon Lester. If I'm wrong, let me know. Anyway they're being watched by Manny Delcarmen (left) and Abe Alvarez (right) and that could be Jimmy Serrano in the middle of the clothed guys, but it's a little too blurry to be sure.

Why Number Five in the East is Really a Beast (originally posted 2/20/2006)

2006-02-26T20:35:00.000-05:00

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Ever the underdog, always last in the standings, and constantly brushed off by AL East. It must suck to be a Devil Ray.
But wait. Something happened recently that might change our minds for ever for this mighty team with a tiny payroll ($38 million- 29th in the majors above the Royals). All of a sudden, they're starting lineup looks capable of trampling any pitching in the majors, never mind those of their eastern rivals. They have perhaps the deepest and most talented outfield in the majors. They have both speed and power in their infield. Their pitching - well, that may be calls for questioning, but what more can you ask of this team?
In 2005, five Devil Rays made more than $1 million, and only two - Aubrey Huff and Julio Lugo - made more than $2 million. To put that in comparison, in 2005 TWENTY Red Sox made more than $1 million, and the top two earners - Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling - made $19.8 million and $14.5 million, respectively. Now, the Sox held a 12-6 record over the Rays in '05, but what about that giant goldmine in New York? The Yankees have far-and-away the highest payroll in baseball ($205 million in '05; nearly twice that of the #2 Red Sox) yet the Devil Rays, whose players made roughly one fifth the money that players in the Bronx made, beat the Yanks in the season series, going 8-7 against the Bombers.
This is a team that has always been pesky against their competitors in the East, and '06 will finally be their chance to prove that they can do that throughout baseball. I'm not predicting any October action for the Rays this season, but I wouldn't be completely surprised if the Rays, at the very least, move up to #4 in the division, considering the direction Baltimore has taken their club (more on that in an upcoming post).
Let's look at that sparkling young outfield:
Carl Crawford - Simply put, this left fielder has it all. He's improved his offense every year that he's been in the majors. He's fully capable of batting leadoff, second, and even third - a slot reserved for the most versatile hitter on the squad, someone who can both knock baserunners in and get on base for the clean-up hitter. In '05 he batted .301 (12th in the AL), with 15 homers, 15 triples, and a sizeable 46 stolen bases (ps, that's only five fewer nabs than the entire Sox staff had last year combined).
Rocco Baldelli - He missed all of last season with injuries to his elbow and knee, but if he can come back healthy and productive, the Ray's will have one of the best centerfielders in the game, and a fast improving offensive force on their hands. Given the fact that the front office signed him to a multi-year deal this offseason despite missing all of 2005, the organization is banking on Rocco returning to form in '06. By the way, Baldelli has one of the most feared arms in the outfield, something that has cost the Sox a run or two in the past.
Aubrey Huff - The right fielder/first baseman had an off-year last season, batting .261 with 22 homeruns and 92 RBI (I use the term "off-year" somewhat loosely here). In 2003 Huff smashed his way to a .311 average, 34 homers and 107 RBI. He's perfectly capable of coming back in '06, giving the Rays a very powerful number 3 or 4 hitter to work with. Huff (who was rumored to be included in a few deals this offseason - including one that would have landed him Boston) is known to be a Red Sox killer, so watch for him to keep up his reputation this season.
Johnny Gomes - Gomes will play as the DH on most nights, but he is capable of playing in the outfield as well. Last year the rookie impressed the organization when, in just 348 at bats, he smashed 21 homeruns, knocked in 54 runs and maintained a .281 average. He is widely considered to be the sparkplug that helped the Rays go on a torrid streak in the second half of '05.
Joey Gathright - The fastest runner in the major leagues. End of story. If he was an everyday player he would collect 60-70 stolen bases, easy. Last season he nabbed 20 in only 203 at bats. In '05 he'll remain on the bench, but expect him to spell Baldelli in center in case of injury or fatigue. He's been the talk of the trade block all offseason, but I expect him to be around at least for the first half of '06.
Damon Hollins - He was Rookie of the Month back in May. By the end of the season he'd hit .249 with 13 long balls and 46 RBI in 342 at bats. A very capable fifth outfielder that could have a breakout season if he can improve his average a little.
Delmon Young - If you ask him (and most player development people in the majors), this five-tool player is ready for the big leagues. If injury or poor performance land him on the 25-man roster by season's end, he'll get the chance to prove himself. If, in fact, new manager Joe Maddon finds around 300 at bats for the youngster, he'll be a surefire candidate for Rookie of the Year. That's a lot of "ifs," but all it adds up to is outfield depth for Tampa Bay.
That, people, is one of the deepest outfields in the majors, and certainly a lot more talkented than even some division rivals'. In the middle infield, they have the talented and capable Julio Lugo at short and Jorge Cantu at second. The corner infield positions will be filled by strong defenders that have potential at the plate in Sean Burroughs (third) and Travis Lee (first). And behind the plate the Rays feature Toby Hall, who ranked third in the AL last season by throwing out 37.8 percent of the opposing baserunners. He's not a huge offensive force, but he hits for average and will knock some guys in.
Now, the pitching staff is a question mark, but starter Scott Kazmir is capable of putting up a Cy Young-worthy season. If the rest of the staff can keep up, you might see more than just a gritty little team in '06. You might see a real contender.

Red Sox v. Yankees I: Pitching Rotation (originally posted 2/15/2006)

2006-02-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

One thing that I'm fond of doing throughout the season is making comparisons between AL East rivals. I'll start with an analysis of the starting rotations of the Yankees and the Red Sox. I touched on this a bit in my last post, but here I'll go into a bit more detail and analyze each pitcher.
Each of these teams is going into the 2006 season with fairly deep rotations. In fact, as of this post both teams have seven viable starters to fill five spots. For the purposes of this entry, I'll begin with the ace of each team and move down what I project to be the five-man rotation; the final two spots will be referred to as the wildcards. Bear in mind that this is my own opinion on what the rotations of these teams will look like in '06, and by April the situation might be completely different.

ACE (#1 Starter): The Yankees will return veteran Randy Johnson to the top of their rotation in '06. The southpaw had an "off" year in '05, going 17-8 with a 3.79 ERA and 211 strikeouts. He also led Yank's starters with 225.2 innings pitched. That's a career season for most pitchers, but the Yankees hope that Johnson will show glimmers of '02 in '06. That season with the Diamondbacks, Johnson had a remarkable 24-5 record, sparkling 2.32 ERA and a ridiculous 334 strikeouts. To me, the Big Unit is sitting on the edge of a knife, and one of two things can happen as a result. Either he will pull an Alex Rodriguez and have a huge comeback in his second year in pinstripes, or we will see that the dropoff in his numbers has more to do with his age than with his location. The 42 year old is ancient by MLB standards, and it won't help that his personal catcher John Flaherty with be catching knuckleballs in Boston this season. If Johnson can overcome the pressurized situation in Yankees Stadium, then New York looks to have the most dominant left-hander in the game starting every fifth night.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, have two top-of-the-rotation guys to fill the role of ace. However, assuming that he can return to 2004 form, I'm projecting Curt Schilling as the true #1 man in this squad. Yes, he's coming off a horrendous, injury marred 2005 campaign in which he went 8-8 with a huge 5.69 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched. Yes he's 39 years old and a huge comeback will be much tougher at that age. But no pitcher in the major leagues has a better work ethic than Schil, and if he says he's ready to be our ace again, I believe him. History tells us that Schilling is pretty good at bouncing back. In 2002 the big righty went 23-7 with a 3.23 ERA alongside his buddy and now rival Johnson with Arizona. The next year Schilling was limited to 168 innings and came out with a 8-9 record. Then came 2004, that magical year in Red Sox Nation and Curt's big comeback, when he went 21-6-3.26-203 in 226.2 innings. If he stays true to his past, following his poor 2005 season Schilling should be poised to win another 20 games for the Sox this year.

#2 Starter: Formally the ace of the Yankees pitching staff, Mike Mussina was demoted with the acquisition of the Big Unit. Known to be one of the most durable pitchers in baseball as of two years ago, Mussina has failed to reach 200 innings in each of the last two seasons. Age (he's 37) and the health of his arm will be a factor this season. In 2005 Mussina went 13-8-4.41-142 in 179.2 innings. If he can overcome the odds, however, he figures to be a big part of the rotation in New York.
The Sox also have an potential ace filling their #2 slot. Acquired in a huge trade with the Marlins for top prospect Hanley Ramirez, Josh Beckett is a young fireballer with a high ceiling that has already proven himself at the major league level. In 2003 Beckett was the MVP of a young World Series squad that defeated that fearsome Yankees. Last season Beckett went 15-8 with a 3.37 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 178.2 innings. That last number is what has some in Boston worried - he has continually suffered problems with blisters and last season he missed his last few starts because of a sore shoulder. But the medical staff in Boston would lead us to believe that they can handle any blister this side of Derek Lowe, and that the shoulder issue was more precautionary than neccesary. Regardless, Beckett is coming into a situation where the pressure won't be all on him, given the Sox's deep pitching staff, and if he lives up to his potential he'll be Terry Francona's new best friend.

#3 Starter: Here's where the Yankees begin to fall apart a little bit - the bottom half of their rotation. I'm projecting starter number three this year to be Chien Ming Wang, who in his rookie campaign last year went 8-5-4.02-47 in 17 starts (116.1 innings). Yes, those are impressive numbers for a rookie, but who knows if Wang can keep that up in his sophomore showing? Also, given the fact that Wang was indeed the Yankee's third best starter in '05 and he only made 17 starts, that says a lot for a rotation that returns each of its components from last year.
The Red Sox, meanwhile, boast of a number three man that went 13-6-4.57-146 in 191 innings last year. Naysayers will point to Matt Clement's sub-par second half (only 4 of his 13 wins came after the All-Star break), but for goodness sake's the man got his head caved in by a line drive! You come back and post even four wins after that! Still, Clement has a history of sputtering later in the season, but he definitely has the potential to win 17 games in '05 if he can finally prove everyone wrong about his second-half performances. Watch closely though, because with all the trade rumors floating around this winter, we might not even see Clement in Boston for very much longer.

#4 Starter: Carl Pavano was one of the Yankee's prized free agent acquistion last offseason. Remember Carl-lapalooza? The nationwide tour-de-force Pavano took, shopping himself to various contending teams (including the Red Sox)? Well, the Yankees won his huge contract, but in return all they got was a 4-6 record, 4.77 ERA, 56 strikeouts, and months on the disabled list. Can Pavano make a comeback in '06? If so, the Yankees will feature a #4 man that went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA and 139 strikeouts for the Marlins in '04. If not, then perhaps that was $40 million they should have spent elsewhere.
The Red Sox look to start veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in the number four slot this season. As evidenced by the nearly unlimited contract the front office signed Wakefield to during the '05 season, this is a man the team can count on. Emerging as the ace of last year's staff, Wakefield went 16-12 with a 4.15 ERA and 151 strikeouts in 225.1 innings. He also led the squad with three complete games. The thing about Wakefield is that his knuckleball doesn't have the devastating affect on his shoulder that a hard-thrower's fastball does. Therefore, age is hardly a factor for Tim, and you can expect him to continue baffling hitters with his knuckler in '06. One thing to watch for: Doug Mirabelli, Wakefield's personal catcher of the last four years, will be joining the battery in San Diego in '06. His replacement, John Flaherty, is known for his defensive prowess but may not be the offensive force that Mirabelli was during Wakefield's starts.

#5 Starter: Shawn Chacon had a pretty crazy season in '05. After starting out 1-7 with the Colorado Rockies, Chacon joined the Yankees and went 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 79 innings. Many speculate that his improvement can solely be attributed to the change of leagues and batters' unfamiliarity with his style. The Yanks are hoping that it was no fluke, and the he can maintain his momentum in '06. If so, they'll have a quality #5 man for the first time in years; if not, we may not see Chacon in the rotation for very long, as Jaret Wright and Aaron Small will be waiting in the wings to take over for him.
The Red Sox will have a sore time trying to choose their number five guy for '06. That's because Bronson Arroyo has already proven himself capable of posting 14 wins, yet Jonathan Papelbon is a pitcher with a much higher ceiling than Arroyo. After all the dust from spring training has cleared, however, I predict you'll see Arroyo back in his familiar number five slot this season. In 2005 Rockin' Bronson went 14-10 with a 4.51 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 205.1 innings. Arroyo is the type of pitcher that will shutdown lineups for entire games; he nearly pitched a no-hitter early last season and in 2003 he hurled a perfect game for triple-A Pawtucket. Don't be surprised if he makes baseball history this season. Arroyo has proven himself effective out of the bullpen, and if he does make that move you can expect him to be the best long-reliever on the staff.

The Wildcards: Aaron Small put together perhaps the most impressive season of any Yankee's starter last season. A reliever by trade, Small started nine games in New York, pitched in fifteen, and posted a 10-0 record, including a complete game. In 76 innings Small gathered 37 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA - second only to Chacon in pitchers with nine or more starts. But because he has more experience out of the bullpen, expect him to start the season there and be pulled into the rotation in the event of injury or poor performance. Jaret Wright, meanwhile, is a starter by trade that is expected to remain in the bullpen as a long reliever in '06. The Yankees signed Wright as their fifth starter for a pretty big contract prior to the 2005 season, but the right hander failed to return on their investment, battling injuries and posting a 5-5 record, 6.08 ERA, and 34 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. Wright projects to be added insurance for a rotation that is historically prone to injury.
During the '05-'06 offseason, veteran left hander David Wells requested a trade to a west coast team, where he can be closer to home and play in warmer conditions. So far, the Sox have not found a suitable trade for Wells, but in all likelyhood they'll manage something before the end of spring training. If they decide to keep Wells, they'll have one of the best big-game pitchers in the game, a man who went 15-7 last season, with a 4.45 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 184 innings. Like Arroyo, Wells is the type of pitcher that can destory a lineup for an entire game. He has a perfect game in his career and I wouldn't be surprised if he nails another if he doesn't retire first. The other Wildcard in the Sox rotation this season will be Jonathan Papelbon. Last year the rookie impressed the entire organization when he appeared in 17 games (three starts) and posted a 3-1 record, 2.65 ERA, and 35 strikeouts in just 34 innings. He figures to be an extremely valuable piece of the bullpen puzzle, and if anyone in the rotation is sidelined by injury, expect him to prove that he's meant to be a starter.

And the winner is: The Red Sox. They have more of a proven staff coming into the season and have had fewer injury problems than the Yankees. Both clubs are stacked though, and you can expect some great pitcher's duels between the division rivals.

The Rocket Factor: The Astros this season didn't offer Roger Clemens arbitration, effectively making the Rocket a free agent and disqualifying Houston from signing him until May 1. Though Clemens may very well wait that long to make his season debut and stay in his hometown, he has suggested that there are three other teams he would consider signing with: the Rangers, the Yankees, and the Red Sox. Should either of the division rivals land him with a contract, then you can pretty much call the division theirs. Clemens brings with him a career 341-172 record, 3.12 ERA, and a whopping 4502 strikeouts. Should he sign with the Sox, with one win he will surpass Cy Young's all time win record with the team. The Sox seem to be the team most interested in signing Clemens, but frontrunners at this time appear to be the two Texas teams, allowing Clemens to stay close to home and keep a close eye on his son (who is a catcher in the Astro's organization).