Boston Red Sox - 2006

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

If anything I see his stock dropping after ST. I mean he was arguably the ace of a team that went to the ALDS and pitched well after the injury and in every big game. At the very least, his stock will stay the same.

It's a gamble, but definitely one worth taking. Wells will have much more value in spring training when a team inevitably loses a key starter to injury or realizes the staff they have isn't very good. The gamble, of course, is that Wells could get hurt himself thus making his value nothing. At that point though I think the Red Sox would be perfectly happy to hang onto Wells (not paying him his bonuses per start) as an insurance policy for later in the season.

However, we still have the "problem" of having one too many starters, so I think either Wells or Clement will get dealt by April 3rd.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Keith Foulke is the first veteran to report.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/02/14/sox_manager_eager_after_eventful_postseason/

[ILLCHILL]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Nice to see. Hopefully his head gets back into the game.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Ok I'm pissed off. My plans to see the Red Sox on the road this year are falling through since the schedule makers gave us the absolute worst weekend road schedule ever. My options are basically take a 10 hour flight to Seattle or go to Tampa in the middle of summer. ugh

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

My early thoughts...


- Don't care about the Manny situation. Can't imagine why anybody would.

- Foulke seems to be saying all the right things. We'll see if he can return to the 90-91 MPH level on his fastball. Don't forget: He couldn't locate his changeup at all last year, so this will be key to watch as well. I'm tempering my optimism on Foulke, because the moment he blows one save (and it will happen sooner or later), people are going to start ripping the guy. He seems primed as public enemy #1 for some reason. No clue why.

- I'm just waiting for one of the team's on the West Coast to find one of their projected starters has an injury. This should trigger Wells departure.

- I'm real worried about Lowell. This guy has disaster written all over him IMHO. If he gets off to a slow start (and this is a very real possibility), people are going to absolutely tear this guy a new one, given how much he is making. I hope I'm wrong on this one, because his contribution could really change the nature of the lineup IMO.

- The late innings infield defense has me feeling pretty damn good. Lowell, Gonzalez (has he shown up yet?), Loretta, Snow. That appears to be quite solid defensively.

[deeman11747]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

- Don't care about the Manny situation. Can't imagine why anybody would.

Maybe not everyone is thrilled with a star player getting special treatment just because hes a pain in the ***. Sometimes, this creates jealousy and controversy in the clubhouse which, even on a team with a clubhouse chemistry as perfect as the Red Sox reportedly do, can create problems.

[Beantown]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Maybe not everyone is thrilled with a star player getting special treatment just because hes a pain in the ***. Sometimes, this creates jealousy and controversy in the clubhouse which, even on a team with a clubhouse chemistry as perfect as the Red Sox reportedly do, can create problems.

Hasn't really created too many problems yet, so I'll wait until someone other than Manny is publically affected by Manny's antics before caring about his crazy-ness.

[Misfit]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Manny shows up late every year to spring training, who really gives a ****?! The media just loves to bust his balls, otherwise we wouldn't even be hearing about it.

Foulke couldn't locate anything last year, not only his change. You could tell guys just starting sitting on changeup because the fastball was everywhere and then Foulke would just groove a change thinking he could sneak it by hitters. Case in point, the Tejada homer off of him.

Lowell does scare me as well. I really don't expect much out of him but he can't be worse than he was a year ago. I really don't know what fan expectations are of him so I'm not sure what it will take for him to start hearing the boo birds.

If Nixon is healthy and Youk proves himself capable at first I really like the defense for this team in general, not just the late innings. The only "hole" right now would be Manny, but he plays Fenway's left field adequately. It's when the Red Sox hit the road and go to some of the bigger parks that he becomes a liability.

Schilling looks a hell of a lot better than he did a year ago. He looks younger which I can only assume means he's in better shape, or maybe I'm just fooled by the longer hair. Whether or not it translates onto the mound is another thing, but it certainly is a good sign. If Schilling can pitch like a front of the rotation guy this year, then I really like our pitching staff. Esepcially knowing that Lester and Hanson are there for depth at the Triple A level.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

- Don't care about the Manny situation. Can't imagine why anybody would.

Couldn't agree more. Nobody has ever questioned Manny's preparation so I don't know why we should start now. Seems like writers trying to create a story out of nothing.

- Foulke seems to be saying all the right things. We'll see if he can return to the 90-91 MPH level on his fastball. Don't forget: He couldn't locate his changeup at all last year, so this will be key to watch as well. I'm tempering my optimism on Foulke, because the moment he blows one save (and it will happen sooner or later), people are going to start ripping the guy. He seems primed as public enemy #1 for some reason. No clue why.

You make a good point about Foulke's changeup location. People made such a big deal about his fastball being slower, but his real issue was not being able to throw the changeup for strikes. If he has his best changeup he can get away with an 86-89 mph fastball. Last year hitters knew he couldnt get the changeup over the plate so were just sitting on the fastball, which was getting hammered no matter what the speed.

- I'm just waiting for one of the team's on the West Coast to find one of their projected starters has an injury. This should trigger Wells departure.

I can't wait. Wells is the perfect fill in for a team that loses a starter. It should be interesting to see what the Red Sox are looking for in return.

- I'm real worried about Lowell. This guy has disaster written all over him IMHO. If he gets off to a slow start (and this is a very real possibility), people are going to absolutely tear this guy a new one, given how much he is making. I hope I'm wrong on this one, because his contribution could really change the nature of the lineup IMO.

I admit that Lowell is a big question mark, but he improves the defense at 3B (even though Mueller was very good) and should give you at least the amount of pop that we saw from 3B last year, which wasn't much. He won't get on base as much as Mueller, but we should hopefully see more power. Lowell might not live up to his salary but I think most people he's only here because of Beckett so will give him a free pass early on.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Maybe not everyone is thrilled with a star player getting special treatment just because hes a pain in the ***. Sometimes, this creates jealousy and controversy in the clubhouse which, even on a team with a clubhouse chemistry as perfect as the Red Sox reportedly do, can create problems.

There are players who get preferential treatment on every team in baseball. Not sure where you heard reports of Red Sox perfect chemistry either, we have too many new faces to have any sort of chemisty. When it comes down to it, most players will take a "cancer" who can hit like Manny over a good clubhouse guy like Millar any day.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Schilling looks a hell of a lot better than he did a year ago. He looks younger which I can only assume means he's in better shape, or maybe I'm just fooled by the longer hair. Whether or not it translates onto the mound is another thing, but it certainly is a good sign. If Schilling can pitch like a front of the rotation guy this year, then I really like our pitching staff. Esepcially knowing that Lester and Hanson are there for depth at the Triple A level.

I think there's no question Schilling is healthier given that he's actually been able to workout in the offseason. However, I would be surprised to see him return to 2004 form, especially after reading this in the Globe today:

Zip missing
It's difficult to trust your eyes when watching pitchers throw in February, but it's evident from seeing Josh Beckett, Jon Papelbon, Jon Lester, and Schilling throw side by side that the three younger pitchers are driving off the mound and throwing the ball with more authority than Schilling.

That being said, I don't think we need the 2004 Schilling in a rotation with Beckett, Wake, Clement, Arroyo and Papelbon. These guys all have the potential to win 15 games so we don't need Schilling to win 20 and carry the rotation.

[deeman11747]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

There are players who get preferential treatment on every team in baseball. Not sure where you heard reports of Red Sox perfect chemistry either, we have too many new faces to have any sort of chemisty. When it comes down to it, most players will take a "cancer" who can hit like Manny over a good clubhouse guy like Millar any day.

Cam, come on man... you can't deny that Manny conducts more public antics than almost any other player in sports aside from TO. Especially playing for a high profile team like Boston doesnt help.

Yes every team has guys that get preferential treatment but last year after the Green Monster incident... the annual trade demands.. and the "anonymous" quotes about Schilling's rehab... people who dont even know him are sick of him. Imagine how his teammates must feel. Obviously you nor I have any idea what goes on behind those clubhouse doors but I would assume his teammates dont find all of the things he does to be funny. So now on top of that his teammates see that one of the worst behaved players on the team is getting a free pass from the front office? I've been on plenty of teams and theres nothing I hate more than when a teammate of mine gets a free pass on something that would be not be tolerated for anyone else.

And the "perfect chemistry" point was just me being sarcastic about how the media constantly portrays the Sox as the fun loving clubhouse but it seems as if, like you said, with al the new faces that really isnt the case anymore..

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

Cam, come on man... you can't deny that Manny conducts more public antics than almost any other player in sports aside from TO. Especially playing for a high profile team like Boston doesnt help.

Yes every team has guys that get preferential treatment but last year after the Green Monster incident... the annual trade demands.. and the "anonymous" quotes about Schilling's rehab... people who dont even know him are sick of him. Imagine how his teammates must feel. Obviously you nor I have any idea what goes on behind those clubhouse doors but I would assume his teammates dont find all of the things he does to be funny. So now on top of that his teammates see that one of the worst behaved players on the team is getting a free pass from the front office? I've been on plenty of teams and theres nothing I hate more than when a teammate of mine gets a free pass on something that would be not be tolerated for anyone else.

And the "perfect chemistry" point was just me being sarcastic about how the media constantly portrays the Sox as the fun loving clubhouse but it seems as if, like you said, with al the new faces that really isnt the case anymore..

Or... some fat, buffet-storming, smelly bunghole writers are simply trying to sell newspapers or get moe-rones to tune into their bile media programming. I've got my money on the latter rather than the former, given how much people consume Red Sox coverage.

Re: Chemistry: Key-rist, the full squad has only been together for one day. There is no chemistry anyways with so many new people. There's nothing to lose! Let's not get carried away here because we don't know what is truly going on, as you said.
The Red Sox brought in a lot of veteran "character" guys like Snow, Loretta, and Lowell anyways. I'm willing to bet they understand that Ramirez gives you around 40 HR's a year. For that kind of production, his nuttiness is tolerable for teammates.
Really, this is just fodder to attract attention to one's own media interests...

*Edit* One other thing: Ramirez isn't comparable to Terrell Owens, at all. TO divided his locker-room and created an atmosphere where teammates took sides against one another. Throughout Ramirez's entire stay, this type of thing has never been known to occur with the Red Sox. Owens effect on his football team and Ramirez effect on his baseball team are not accurate comparisons, IMO.

[deeman11747]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

*Edit* One other thing: Ramirez isn't comparable to Terrell Owens, at all. TO divided his locker-room and created an atmosphere where teammates took sides against one another. Throughout Ramirez's entire stay, this type of thing has never been known to occur with the Red Sox. Owens effect on his football team and Ramirez effect on his baseball team are not accurate comparisons, IMO.

I didnt mean to compare the two in terms of effect on their team... I was just stating that the only athlete that, in my opinion, brought more negative attention to himself (non steroid/drug related) than Manny this past season was TO.

[Stu]

Re: Boston Red Sox - 2006

I didnt mean to compare the two in terms of effect on their team... I was just stating that the only athlete that, in my opinion, brought more negative attention to himself (non steroid/drug related) than Manny this past season was TO.

I'm not going to deny that Manny has made his share of bonehead moves but nobody else I've ever seen in a Red Sox uniform has been attacked by the media like him. The media in Boston is infested with bitter, spiteful little men who can't stand when a player won't talk to them, which Manny has refused to do during his tenure in Boston. If Manny doesn't run out a ground ball, he gets ripped for a week in the papers and on talk radio, but if David Ortiz does the same thing nobody even notices. I'm not a bit surprised Manny wanted out of an environment where he is criticized for every perceived transgression while his teammates are being promoted as heroes.