Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

[Stu]

Anybody else going to the home opener tomorrow? I am and can't wait.

[Misfit]

That game yesterday was pretty terrible. I'm hoping once the ring ceremony and fanfare over last year is over with this team will start showing some consistency.

[Stu]

Great weekend for the Red Sox. It didn't take long for Manny to heat up. 4 HR's and 11 RBI's in his last 3 games.

Wade Miller made a start for Wilmington yesterday as well. I can't wait until he joins the rotation. For all the questions with our pitching staff, they have actually performed pretty well and will only get better as Schilling and Wells get more comfortable.

[Stu]

The Red Sox just signed Tim Wakefield to a contract extension that will probably keep him in Boston for the remainder of his career. It's an extension for 2006 but has club options for any year thereafter. So basically the Sox can keep bringing him back as long as he wants to pitch.

Good deal for the Red Sox. There is no reason Wakefield can't pitch effectively into his mid 40's.

LINK

[ILLCHILL]

Wins, wins, wins. Yay.

[Misfit]

Foulke hasn't looked too good so far. His command his spotty and his fastball has rarely topped 85-86. He typically needs to be between 88 and 90 with pinpoint command to be effective. The hit he allowed to Koskie tonight was an 85 mph fastball right down the middle of the plate.

On a positive note, anyone see the homer Manny hit off of Halladay in the first? It went over the light tower, I've never seen that before. If Manny was left-handed and hit that ball to right field it would probably challenge the longest homer ever hit at Fenway by Ted Williams.

[Stu]

Quote: Originally Posted by Misfit

Foulke hasn't looked too good so far. His command his spotty and his fastball has rarely topped 85-86. He typically needs to be between 88 and 90 with pinpoint command to be effective. The hit he allowed to Koskie tonight was an 85 mph fastball right down the middle of the plate. On a positive note, anyone see the homer Manny hit off of Halladay in the first? It went over the light tower, I've never seen that before. If Manny was left-handed and hit that ball to right field it would probably challenge the longest homer ever hit at Fenway by Ted Williams.

I think Foulke will be fine. He went through some similar struggles last year as well. The biggest worry right now is that he's walked 5 in 8 innings. He only walked 15 all of last year and his career high is 23 in his first year. He needs to start throwing that fastball for strikes early in the count so he can get them out with the changeup. If he gets behind he has a tough time getting outs because his fastball has never been that great.

Manny's HR is being estimated in the 450 range. It was a monster shot without a doubt but the red seat is 502 ft from home plate, something I don't think will ever be matched. Here's a good article on HR distance.

"According to three physicists who have worked independently and have written extensively on the science of baseball, the human limit for hitting a baseball at sea level, under normal temperatures and with no wind, is somewhere between 450 feet and 470 feet."

[Misfit]

What a game by Wells last night. Limiting that Oriole's lineup to just 3 hits and no runs over 8 innings. I was pretty impressed. Now let's see Clement start to throw with some consistency.