Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

[Stu]

I agree with GBTW. I know everybody's excited about Papelbon, but he really should be considered a "depth" pitcher at this point. He's not going to come in next year and win 15-20 games. With Wells however, you know you're getting a consistent starter for 30+ games.

If we do end up trading Wells, they will need to sign another starter. A rotation of Schilling, Clement, Wakefield, Arroyo and Papelbon with no depth just isn't going to cut it. If Papelbon starts next year as the 5th starter, our rotation is in serious trouble.

[ILLCHILL]

I still don't see we would be in serious trouble though. I don't expect him to come in and win 15 games, but as a number 5 starter he's not expected to, and quite honestly, there's no reason to think he can't based on his performances this year.

[GBrushTWood]

Illchill, I don't see The Pope as the problem under that circumstance though.

I see the problem as having one of Schilling, Arroyo, Wakefield, or Clement go down, then who fills in? Abe Alvarez? Then you are relying on The Pope to jump up to pitch as your 2nd or 3rd best starter, depending on who went down. This could be a problem.

This is not to mention the fact that Papelbon has never even pitched a full season as a starter yet, and still only has 1, maybe 2 pitches. Don't get me wrong here, I'm very excited with Papelbon, but I think we have a tendency to kind of rush young prospects into roles too large for them. I think he can likely handle it, but I'd prefer if we move him along at more of a tempered pace.

I hope the braintrust on Yawkey Way is considering these issues as opposed to yakking away at the bargaining table trying to get Theo's contract finished. Why do I feel they've done no preparation for 2006 as they work on extending Theo's contract?

As an aside, how nice is it to post in this thread without bandwagon mook's posting their bile? A couple of months ago, this thread was an atrocity with one poster literally spamming away daily consisting of posts with "Yeah go Tek!!! NICE HIT!! Come on J-V!!"

[UMass03]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBrushTWood

I see the problem as having one of Schilling, Arroyo, Wakefield, or Clement go down, then who fills in? Abe Alvarez? Then you are relying on The Pope to jump up to pitch as your 2nd or 3rd best starter, depending on who went down. This could be a problem.

I think you make a good point. There is not a whole lot of depth in the pitching staff when you look at risks of Schilling going down, Arroyo injured possibly, etc...

It seems like BoSox fans are aching to bring in another big name when that may not be the best thing for this club. My $.02

[GBrushTWood]

True. I have no idea who we can acquire on the FA pitching market aside from Burnett (I heard it was a very weak class), so it might turn out that our only options may indeed be Papelbon plus praying that Schilling improves somehow? And this is only the starting rotation; every other part of the team has massive question marks aside from Shortstop, Catcher, and DH.

Personally I wanted them to trade Arroyo for something, maybe take a stab at Burnett, but Wells wanting to get moved really came out of right field.

[UMass03]

Quote:

This town is really hard to live in,' Wells said. 'I couldn't go out this year. Everyone wants your autograph, wants to take your picture. It's not fun and me and my family got annoyed by that. Now, I understand why fans do that and that's never going to change. I do understand that and don't blame them. The fans here, they're supportive as anything, but they have to understand us. We go through this (expletive) and wind up having to live like hermits

This from the Boston Herald. Since he apparently wants to go back to Cali does that mean no one bothers him in the Golden State? I can't see anyone wanting Wells with all his issues, personal and physical, except maybe the Dogers

[ILLCHILL]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBrushTWood

As an aside, how nice is it to post in this thread without bandwagon mook's posting their bile? A couple of months ago, this thread was an atrocity with one poster literally spamming away daily consisting of posts with "Yeah go Tek!!! NICE HIT!! Come on J-V!!"

HmMmMm....I can think of one or two specific posters that sigle-handedly made this place a bit less enojyable with these type of postings.


All right then, let's pretend Theo doesnt get re-signed, and they sign one of us this off-season. What are you doing with this team to get it back to the WS?

[ILLCHILL]

Wells, you just came from NY, how friggin different was it there? And with these comments you say and the way you act, it's not like you stay behind the scenes much.