Since he's never had a forum to express himself...

Okay, so as you all know, the last thing I'd want is to be constantly subjected to even more of his opinions, but even I have to admit that this is pretty damn cool. Not many athletes have the will/time/interest to even start something like this. And he's probably going to stick with it. So long as he stays on the subject of baseball, and his charity work, I'll be reading regularly. (Then again, if he goes all political on us in late 2008, that could be pretty amusing too.)

The Bullpen may look shaky......

But the starters have been lights out. Not counting Dice-K's and Beckett's outings against BC and NU, respectively, the starters have gone 25.1 innings 3 earned runs (1.06 ERA) 19 Hits, 5 BBs, 21Ks Only 1 HR. Not too bad.

Outfield Competition?

So far this spring, the Sox have shown that they've got some young kids that are probably only a year or so away from breaking into the bigs. Unfortunately, for most of them, there will be no place to play.

Unless the Sox can find a huge infield bat next off-season, Manny Ramirez will more than likely be back in LF. Lowell will be vacating third base (most likely), so you can get a 3b or 1b guy with a big bat. But you can't lose that power in the middle of the lineup.

So, what about the young guys? Moss, Murphy, and Ellsbury are having solid springs. Now, that doesn't translate all the time, but they are making contact and running the bases well. Ellsbury looks like one of the faster guys I've seen lately. And let's not forget about Wily Mo. Also having a great spring, and the power the Sox would need in the OF.

But with four talented players vying for a position that may or may not be there, it will probably mean trades for most of them.

From the looks of it, so far, the pen is looking "not good". Piniero was apparently pretty good yesterday, although I didn't see the game. My guess is that he is the closer when camp breaks. Timlin? Muscle spasms in spring training...Hansen (who was a question marks to make the team to start the season)? Nursing an injury. Delcarmen? Well, you can't tell from spring training pitching all the time (as guys will throw the same pitch 10 times in a row trying to fine tune location), but he hasn't looked good. Tavarez also hasn't looked that sharp, at least early on...

To recap the pen...Donnelly has been decent to good (not worried about him). Piniero I think will continue to improve (not worried about him). Okajim has been impressive. That's three guys out of a lot. They need depth in their pen if they want to win this year.

So, some of these guys will be dangled for trades. My question is, though...would it be Wily Mo to the Nationals with a Hansen or Delcarmen and another one of these outfield prospects for Cordero? That is a good off-season move, because there is time to look for another guy off the bench with power...Not now, though.

And, getting back to the earlier question...How do they make room for these guys over the next two years?

A glimpse ahead - A-Rod

There is a lot of talk about whether A-Rod will walk away from his contract. Sure the $81MM is a lot to walk away from. And he won't get $27MM per year. However, I do think he will opt out and sign a nice 7 or 8 year deal at $20MM per year. Maybe with the Angels or Dodgers. Or perhaps there is some wild card out there.

The two things they really can spin are a return to SS and that a long term deal allows Alex to finish his career somewhere. I can hear the Boras spin now "Alex and Cynthia have a young daughter who will be starting her education in a couple of years and they just thought as parents that it would be the right thing to do to secure her future and not have to uproot the family in the middle of her formative years. Mr. Moreno (or Mc Court or McGowan or whomever) have shown a commitment to Alex that he will be the cornerstone of the franchise while allowing him to return to his natural position. Additionally, making the sacrifice of forgoing the extra additional compensation he could have recieved on an annual basis shows that Alex is dedicated to winning and demonstrates that these decisions are not about being the highest paid player in the game or having the largest contract......"

We can sit hear and ask, who the hell will pay 160/8, but weren't we just asking that about Zito and Soriano? I'm too tired to look it up, but I would guess A-Rod has appeared in more all star games than the two of them combined. and you can probably throw Carlos Lee into the equation as well.

Pedro

Does this mean he admits Theo was right? Pedro onw whether he will return as strong as before - “You just never know how long you have baseball with you, so enjoy every moment of it, enjoy every bit of it, and when it’s time to let it go, let it go. No regrets.”

Schilling

So at first, I could only think of two reasons for there being no extension for Curt:

1. They are saving their money for a run at Zambrano or a trade and then big contract for another ace.

2. They think he does not have much left in the tank.

But after a bit more thinking, it could be a whole bunch of items:

1. A challenge for Curt. Give him a little extra incentive to have a monster season. An interesting note on Schill - he has NEVER signed a free agent contract.

2. They don't like that Curt made his pronouncement in the media.

3. They think the gamble is worth it. If he has a great year, it may take $18MM to sign him. So they feel it would be worth the extra $$ as opposed to sinking $13MM (i.e., flexibility).

4. Gambling that he really does not want to leave Boston. His kids are in school here. He knows Boston is passionate city and he gets far more media attention that he would almost anywhere else.

5. Maybe Schilling is jealous of all the attention dice-K is getting, so this has been a great way for him to keep his name front and center. Plus I liked how he pronounced himself the opening day starter. Classic.

6. All that being said, they still could work something out before season's end.

So who really knows. I just hope it does not become a Derek Lowe situation where we hear about it all year long. I don't think Schill will mope the same way, but Lord, I don't want to read 346 articles this summer about his contract.

Hypocrisy, Something to Talk About, or Something Else???

Ok...so maybe this is a weird question, but I am always looking at sportswriters and listening to sports radio looking for gaps in their logic. And believe me, there are a ton of them.

With the arrival of Daisuke (I can't write Dice-K), everyone is saying that despite his great 5-6 pitches, all of which he has great command, he will struggle because he has never seen hitters like he will face. Fine, that kind of makes sense. He has to learn the American style of baseball. Right?

But...

With Arroyo, he excelled because people hadn't seen him before. He didn't know the hitters. He switched leagues. The first time around (and as X will support...) with basically two pitches, he was untouchable. However, because of his limited pitches, the next time or two down the road, he had little to no success.

So...

The question is...why shouldn't Sox fans feel that the number one pitcher in Japan, the World Classic MVP, and a guy who commands 6 pitches, working with (perhaps) the most knowledgable catcher in the game (Varitek) won't be fairly lights out?

Why would the assumption be that he would struggle? He's confident (you can see that in his interviews) and how he comes after hitters...He went through hitters from all over the world with no problem.

I know the AL East is tough...But the O's and Rays are in the East, too. There are breathing spots in those lineups.

How many starts would he have against the Yankees and Jays? 6? 7?

There is also the fact that he'll probably be slotted as the number 3, matching him up many times with a fairly weak pitcher from another team. (Let's face it, not many teams have a great 1, 2, 3)...

What are my predictions for him? 16 to 17 wins...6-7 losses...ERA about 3.6-3.7. I think that he'll keep many hitters off-balance and will remain unpredictable. As a result, I would say 180Ks or so...Rookie of the Year candidate...possible winner...

I just feel that this guy has proven himself more than he hasn't (as the sportswriters are saying). Rose-colored glasses? Maybe...but his numbers seem to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Varitek

All the expected areticles have come out today. "Is he done?" "Is he old?"

Of course after the down year he had (including injury and surgery), it should come as no surprise. Everyone seems to quote the numbers on over 35, etc. etc.

What I do find funny is not one articl mentions that Posada, exactly one year older, had a really nice bounce back season last year. H exceeded his career averages in nearly every offensive category. Will tek do the samd? Who knows. I'm just surprised that in a NY obsessed city, the observation was not even noted.

Foulke retires

Wow. When he signed with the Native Americans I just assumed he was giving it one more year. Does this mean he finished his career with Boston?

Anyway, Foulke: thanks for that 2004 offseason. Still amazing to think about.

Virtual waiting room my ASS - Part Deux

So I entered a lottery to win a chance to buy Roof Deck seats, Monster seats, or Yankee game seats. I can buy tickets for opening day or Yankee games. I clicked the link a couple minutes to noon. The site is down. A few minutes after noon, I get in... in to what? The VIRTUAL WAITING ROOM!!!

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