The Official Thread of the 2006 Boston Red Sox

[Jon]

You got it! A rap group won Best Song, so that gave them a few hours of material right there.

D and C hate black people more than the president. :p ;) They have the same taste in music that North Star has in b****es. :eek:

Are they still in Fort Meyers? I kept hoping they'd run afoul of an alligator during their 23 golfing trips. :p

I think that at least once this season, Manny will ask to be traded. In fact, you can set your watch to it.

[Haunted]

I'm not sure Wells would be the guy going to the pen. I don't think he's ever done it in his carreer, not sure he'd do it now.

rotation (if I were Tito):
Schilling
Becket
Wells
Wakefield
Clement

The reason (for now) I keep Papelbon out of the rotation is that he's the Plan B if Foulke sucks. I'd rather have him in the pen and ready to go from the start. Also, Clement has had great 1st halfs the last few years, lets get what we can out of him. This gives you Arroyo as a long-man and Papelbon as a solid setup/emergency closer.

Having said that, one thing we can count on is that something will go wrong at some point, so this is all just blather until it gets going.

[UMO Better Blues]

I'm not sure Wells would be the guy going to the pen. I don't think he's ever done it in his carreer, not sure he'd do it now.

rotation (if I were Tito):
Schilling
Becket
Wells
Wakefield
Clement

The reason (for now) I keep Papelbon out of the rotation is that he's the Plan B if Foulke sucks. I'd rather have him in the pen and ready to go from the start. Also, Clement has had great 1st halfs the last few years, lets get what we can out of him. This gives you Arroyo as a long-man and Papelbon as a solid setup/emergency closer.

Having said that, one thing we can count on is that something will go wrong at some point, so this is all just blather until it gets going.

Where have you seen mention of Wells going to the pen?

I like your rotation, but I'd flip Becks and Wells to avoid having 2 RHP power pitchers back to back.

[Haunted]

Where have you seen mention of Wells going to the pen?
Check back a page, someone here mentioned it. Don't remember who. Plus you hear nitwits on the radio mention it.



I like your rotation, but I'd flip Becks and Wells to avoid having 2 RHP power pitchers back to back.
No arguments there. So you'd have Fast - Slow - Fast - Really Slow - Medium. Not bad.

[UMO Better Blues]

Check back a page, someone here mentioned it. Don't remember who. Plus you hear nitwits on the radio mention it.


That's crazy talk. I can't imagine how long it would take Wells to get warmed up to come in. That's only one of so many reasons it's a bad idea, but I highly doubt it would happen so I won't spend much time on it. :D

More rational crazy talk that I've seen is trying to convert Hansen to a starter now that he's developed a fourth pitch. It might set him back a year or two in development, but that would give the Sox 4 quality young starters around 25. It would be an easier argument to make if MDC and Big Edgar were better closing prospects. I think MDC will become a very good 7th/ 8th inning guy, but I'm not sure about his 9th inning makeup. It may be there, but it hasn't been utilized yet. Personally, I still think Hansen should be groomed as the closer, but it is an intriguing possibility.

[Haunted]

More rational crazy talk that I've seen is trying to convert Hansen to a starter now that he's developed a fourth pitch. It might set him back a year or two in development, but that would give the Sox 4 quality young starters around 25. It would be an easier argument to make if MDC and Big Edgar were better closing prospects. I think MDC will become a very good 7th/ 8th inning guy, but I'm not sure about his 9th inning makeup. It may be there, but it hasn't been utilized yet. Personally, I still think Hansen should be groomed as the closer, but it is an intriguing possibility.
Not sure I like the idea. He's got a tiny frame, and he throws really hard. As a starter, he'd either burn out real fast, or would throw softer, neither of which are good.

I really like the idea of having Becket, Lester, and Papelbon as our young guns of the future and MDC and Hansen at the other end of the staff.

Now if I could only find a midget and some gin I'd be in business.

[UMO Better Blues]

Not sure I like the idea. He's got a tiny frame, and he throws really hard. As a starter, he'd either burn out real fast, or would throw softer, neither of which are good.

I really like the idea of having Becket, Lester, and Papelbon as our young guns of the future and MDC and Hansen at the other end of the staff.

Now if I could only find a midget and some gin I'd be in business.

I see your point on Hansen's frame, but for comparison, Mets stud Mike Pelfrey is listed at 6'7" 210lbs. The same weight, but an inch taller than Hansen. The knock on CH would be that he hasn't started in the past. As I said, it would be intriguing to see it play out, but I'm not necessarily sold on the idea either. Becks, Paps, and Lester in the rotation; with MDC, Big Edgar, and Hansen in the pen is still a very nice balance of young arms to have.

Unrelated: Bunk treatment for AGon in the WBC. Cut on a cellphone voicemail - while already in WBC camp- after leading Venezuela to a Caribbean WS title a few weeks earlier? Weak...

[JohnB]

The reason (for now) I keep Papelbon out of the rotation is that, if Foulke's knee doesn't explode by mid April. his head certainly will, he's the Plan B when Foulke sucks. I'd rather have him in the pen and pray to god that despite his age and lack of experience he's ready to go as our only hope as a closer from the start. Also, Clement has had great 1st halfs the last few years, lets use him until the all-star break and Arroyo can come out of middle relief for a mediocre second half which would be better then Clement. This gives you Arroyo as a long-man, first half of the season and hopefully Papelbon can handle the pressure as a rookie closer.



Fixed your post.

[UMO Better Blues]

Fixed your post.

JohnB: President of the Keith Foulke Fan Club :D

No doubt Foulke is a major concern. At this point, I'd say he's the biggest question mark. His knees are getting treated already and he's yet to take the mound. To put him down for any sort of contribution right now looks to be premature. That being said, there are other options available. Timlin is an option, provided Tito focuses on bringing him in w/o inherited baserunners. Papelbon should not be tossed straight into the fire, IMO. I would prefer to start with Timlin as the closer and Paps as the 8th inning set up guy for awhile. Let Paps get his feet weet with runners on base and coming in with the game on the line. I realize he did this last year, but 34 IP including three starts is not a lot of experience. You can't expect every rookie to perform like Huston Street. Additionally, I have faith in the FO to make a move by midseason if Foulke has not come along and The Timlin/Paps set up isn't working. Last season we had the hope that Foulke would "get better" at some point until it was too late to make an impactful move. A mistake on the FO's part that I would noty expect them to make for two consecutive years.

[Haunted]

If Foulke doesn't work, I'd be stunned if they made a trade for a closer. Hansen will be ready (probably) by the end of this year, give or take. Papelbon was a closer until coming to the pros. They just have too many fallback plans to waste prospects on a rent-a-closer. They're well stocked in the pitching department. Even with a near-worste case scenario, they still have enough there to plug holes. Anyway, could things be worse than last year pitching-wise?

[UMO Better Blues]

If Foulke doesn't work, I'd be stunned if they made a trade for a closer. Hansen will be ready (probably) by the end of this year, give or take. Papelbon was a closer until coming to the pros. They just have too many fallback plans to waste prospects on a rent-a-closer. They're well stocked in the pitching department. Even with a near-worste case scenario, they still have enough there to plug holes. Anyway, could things be worse than last year pitching-wise?

I don't think they'd go after a Wagner-type with years left on a deal, but I could see them going after a FA to be. Not for any of the top prospects, but some sort of package players from beyond the top 8 or so prospects, plus a possible veteran. It's far too early to speculate on what sort of package they could put together. The closer role is too important for a playoff/ contending team to try to develop on the fly.* I can see the Sox giving Paps a shot at it, but I would imagine they'll want to have that role clearly defined by the AS break. If he falters, I would expect them to make a move. I would think Paps or Hansen would have the role the following season, but I don't know how comfortable I am with a rookie in that role.

(*= I know OAK did it with Street last year, but they're cheap as hell and buy used balls and bats for their players. Free spending teams have a little more leeway)

[Blackout]

The Sox have announced that on 8/26, they will host a minor league double header.

Lowell will play first, and then Pawtucket... Ticket prices are heavily discounted...

I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!! :D

[Haunted]

So John Flaherty retied. There goes 160 RBIs!!!! ;)

[Pal]

David Wells is back!!



Okay, it's not news that he's staying with the club, but he's back to being himself... and bashing Bud Selig! He called on Selig to resign, and called him "a piece of s---." There goes some of that already low base salary! :eek:

Link (http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-wells0308.artmar08,0,5117506.story).

[Stillings]

The Sox have announced that on 8/26, they will host a minor league double header.

Lowell will play first, and then Pawtucket... Ticket prices are heavily discounted...

I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!! :D

Interesting. Personally, I like minor league ball for the small parks and convenience. Not sure how this will go over.

[ScottK]

The Sox have announced that on 8/26, they will host a minor league double header.

Lowell will play first, and then Pawtucket... Ticket prices are heavily discounted...

I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!! :D

The Spinners and PawSox both announced this back in December. The Spinners have had an ad for a bus trip to the game on their website for over a month.

The SeaDogs and NH Fisher Cats also announced on the same day that they will be playing 1 game a year at Fenway as well. They haven't announced the date for this year's game yet, but it's expected to be in either June or July.

[Haunted]

Dougie coming back? (http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=130265)

[Haunted]

NESN reporting that Juan Gonzoles has signed a minor league deal with the Sox.


:eek:

[BC ZamboniGuy Cult]

NESN reporting that Juan Gonzoles has signed a minor league deal with the Sox.


:eek:

I like this deal. He's certainly not the same JuanGone, but it's not like a minor league deal is a huge risk. Another good Theo move- low risk, big upside.

[Haunted]

WEEI reporting that Boston is working on a trade with Cincinatti - Matt Clement for Wily Mo Pena.

I'd love this, but I can't fathom why Cincy would want it. Of course, since WEEI reported it, it must be true. ;)