Tradelbon

"Oh my god we're back again" By now I'm sure you've heard that the Red Sox signed Bobby Jenks to a 2-year 12 million dollar deal. First off, I LOVE THIS MOVE. But then I thought this guy has been a closer his entire career. He closed 27 of 31 last year; he throws strikes like you read about, and has a ground ball rate greater than 50%. So what is he doing signing with the Boston Red Sox, when the Sox have all-world, tougher than nails, wants to set the market for closers, Jonathan Papelbon? *rolls eyes*

This means one of two things. The first thing this could mean that Theo has compiled an onslaught of power arms for the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th innings and that he is prepared to let Papelbon walk after 2011. If it is in fact the stable of laser, rocket arms; this is exactly how you build a bullpen. ( Reliable Closer, Long man, one lefty, and 2-3 power arms.) This is also "closer insurance" if Papelbon gets hurt during the year and when (not if) Papelbon leaves after 2011. I refuse to believe that Jenks signed here without ever having the possibility of closing, when he could have signed with the Rays, potentially the Rangers if they wanted to move Feliz to the rotation, or a handful of other clubs that needed a closer.

The second thing this could mean is that Papelbon is on the block. Jon Heyman reported earlier that he keeps hearing rumblings involving Papelbon's name. I don't know what you get for someone in his situation (a 5^th year arbitration case, who intends to be the highest paid closer) but if they do then this is exactly what I thought they'd do, BLOW UP THIS PEN. They've already gotten rid of Ram-Ram, Delcarmen, and Okajima. Papelbon would be the last of the bunch. As a group last year they walked so many batters that it was almost impossible to win ballgames and a wonder they won as many as they did. What they're doing now is signing guys that challenge hitters and put the ball over the plate. Because as we know, you can't defend the walk.

Going back to what I said earlier about how you build a bullpen let's look at what they have out there.

Reliable Closer- Say what you want about my use of the word reliable, but despite Papelbon's decline in velocity, and uptick in walks, ERA and WHIP he has been one of the top 5 closers in baseball the last 5 years.

Long Reliever- Tim Wakefield, I wish he'd just retire but I suppose he's good for one more year knowing he is the mop up/spot start guy and gets rid of that my shit don't stink entitlement attitude.

Lefty- This is Felix Doubront's spot to lose but when the Sox re-sign Rich Hill he could give him a run for his money being more familiar with the Reliever position and the act that Doubront has options left.

Power Arms- Off the top of my head I can't think of a better Set-Up man than Daniel Bard so he's the only non question mark in the bunch

     Bobby Jenks could be one of the best signing in recent memory if he takes to the set-up roll/ 7^th inning slot but after a down year he isn't a sure thing

     Matt Albers can throw the shit out of the ball but has been pretty inconsistent thus far in his career this is a make or break year for him as far as turning "stuff" into stats.

According to sources the Sox just reached a deal with Andrew Miller who will compete with Albers and/or Doubront for the final spot in the bullpen, but a lefty that throws 96, if the Sox can get him to be more consistent in the zone he's absolutely going to be a weapon, think Matt Thornton.

I'll give my prediction as to what I think will actually happen in just a second, but let's look at who the potential trade suitors could be.

Los Angeles Dodgers- The Dodgers couldn't figure out Jonathan Broxton last year and wonder if they'd invest in a different closer with their McCourt Divorce finally coming to a close. A Papelbon for Broxton swap with maybe the sox throwing in some Cash considerations? I don't think that's out of the question.

Texas Rangers- They have been talking about getting Neftali Feliz's wing in the starting rotation and if they don't get another starter I wonder if Papelbon to Texas maybe for like Michael Young or someone like that and then Young plays short, which would then require a Scutaro trade. Michael Young makes about 16 mil annually but is also on the hook for next year too, that would take some tweaking as far as money.

St. Louis Cardinals- Once again there would have to be some configuring with money because I don't think there is a bad contract that they have the Sox would want to take on, but the Cardinals closer Ryan Franklin said he wants to retire after his contract.

Atlanta Braves- This would be out of character for them but with Billy Wagner retiring and Takashi Saito being horrible, they may want to think about it, and Papelbon dominates the NL.

 

If I had to venture a guess I say Papelbon will still be a Red Sox come Spring Training because the Red Sox may subscribe to the contract year theory with regards to his upcoming performance. But this new addition to the bullpen is another great piece to what looks to be a promising 2011.

Stay Tuned

Ryan

This Offseason is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I have a bit of a conundrum going on right now. The Red Sox have a TON of money left to spend this winter and they've already acquired an impact bat (Adrian Gonzalez) for prospects and only garnering 6 million in new salary towards this year's ballclub. The key to this theory is the fact that the Red Sox haven't officially announced the contract extension with Gonzalez and trust me, it's in place, you don't give away those prospects without knowing you're signing this guy. I have a theory that I know what the Red Sox are doing with the rest of the offseason.

With the recent rumors of Carlos Beltran becoming available and the Red Sox showing interest, in what would most likely be a bad contract Swap, in steps One Daisuke Matsuzaka. Beltran has one year 18.5 million remaining on his contract and the Mets are rumored to be offering 10 million in relief on that albatross and Matsuzaka has 2 years at 10 mil per. (Side Note: Marco Scutaro makes 5 million this year). The Mets need pitching like you read about with Santana out to start the season, (see Side Note) they also need a second baseman and this deal makes SO MUCH SENSE. Beltran is also open now to playing a corner and with his diminished range in the outfield playing Left in Fenway Park would be perfect. Matsuzaka's NL splits are more than adequate and you would fill 2 positional needs, 3 if you count getting rid of Beltran since the relationship has soured. This would fit everyone's needs more than effectively.

Before I go any further, I want to point out that the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox is in such a lull prior to this offseason that it was time to spark it back up. Enter Mariano Rivera. He was a free agent and the best closer available, and when the Yankees were offering only 1 year the Red Sox came in and tried to swoop in and bottle him up with more years. Loyalty prevailed, but you know this chafed Brian Cashman's behind. What is the Yankees most important need this offseason, and what could the Red Sox possibly do in order to really get up in the Steinbrenner's craw?

Cliff Lee has been offered a 7-year deal by a mystery team. According to Washington sources, it wasn't their club. The Yankees, have said they will NOT go farther than 6 years. The Rangers, I think, are going to look at getting younger and attempt to acquire Zack Greinke and will only go 5 years on Cliff Lee. This potential move, would not only give the Red Sox the best rotation in BASEBALL HISTORY, it will be almost impossible for the Yankees to overcome.

The Sox after factoring in Beltran (8-10 million dollar salary) and Gonzalez (6.1 million dollar salary), you're looking at 40 million or so left to spend. If you give Cliff Lee his 7^th year you'll only have to sign him to a 20 million dollar annual salary and you'll still have 10 + million to spend on your bullpen which is in DIRE need of fixing, which is certainly attainable given the talent on the market and the funds you have left allotted for it.

This sounds far-fetched, but let's looks at the math. 178 million is the salary threshold you can get to without paying a luxury tax.

With all the retirements and dead money coming off the books you start with between 40 and 45 million dollars to spend.

Let's call it 45 for arguments sake.

45 (total) – 6 (approx Gonzo deal)=39 million

39 (total) – 8 (approx Beltran deal with salary relief)= 31 million

31 (total) – 20 (approx Lee Deal)= 11 million

11 million to fulfill bullpen needs.

The money works, all we need now is the nut sack to do it!

Stay Tuned

Ryan

Attention V-Mart Shoppers

If I could load audio files onto this friggin thing there would be a quick snip-it from Staind's "Been a While" at the inception of this post but a simple, "What's cookin' probably never gonna be good lookin?" is going to have to do.

So I hear a certain big-name, switch hitting, middle of the order, catcher just left Beantown for Motown and everyone just as soon jump off the Tobin instead of thinking this through and look at what has already been put before us. Before I get into the provisions that make this non-move by the Sox acceptable let's look at the reports on what happened with negotiations.

First off, let me say, THE SOX DIDN'T WANT HIM, IF THEY WANTED HIM THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN AGGRESSIVE (see Matsuzaka Daisuke, Drew JD, and Lackey John). This is not only evidenced by their pedestrian attempt in re-signing him but the paltry offer of 2 years 22 million they offered him in season. It should be noted that if I were Martinez I would be offended by this offer and the corresponding 3 year 36 mil and 4 year 42 million dollar deals from a big market club.

Despite the progress(and it was noticeable) that he made throughout the season on his pop-times to second base or any base for that matter, it was like watching Johnny Damon behind the dish and although they won't admit it, it put undue stress on the pitchers especially Buchholz. When your pitchers have ABSOLUTELY no faith in the arm behind the plate subconsciously they are going to think about trying to make a more perfect pitch, they are going to throw more fastballs in order to get the ball to the plate quicker for the catcher and in turn become much easier to hit because of the overabundance of fastballs.

Detroit has lots of money right now and was very aggressive, as they were with signing Joaquin Benoit last week. The owner wants to win now, and since he is majority owner of all 4 of the major sports in Detroit and the other three leagues have pretty stringent salary caps all of his surplus of funds can go into the Tigers. According to sources from a Venezuelan outlet:

"Serrano reported that Martinez was offered four years and $48 million from the Orioles and three years and $48 million from the White Sox. Why he would take $12.5 million a year from Detroit and pass up $16 million a year from Chicago isn't clear."

If you'll notice that he passed up almost 4 million dollars it's clear that it's contingent on him catching for the duration or for most of the length of his contract, which is clearly not what the Red Sox had in mind…And if you can honestly say you want to see how slow he is to second base 3 to 4 years from now, then you clearly don't deserve to be reading this blog.

So Now what? I'll also say that if they go into the season and don't make a splash in some way in the free agent market, my stance on Martinez leaving changes considerably. I am also resigned to the fact that Beltre is gone as well…So now you need to replace 45-50 HRs and 150-175 RBI. That's not going to be easily done, but there are a couple things you could do:

I personally, am satisfied with Saltalamacchia behind the plate, but if you're not and you think he should be the backup there are options and I think they go in this order.

1. You could talk Bengie Molina out of retirement (he loves 1-year deals so that shouldn't be an issue if he wants to still play). Historically he has hit well at Fenway Park.
   

   Split G GS PA AB HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS TB BAbip tOPS+
   

   BOS- 33 32 128 118 5 17 .288 .323 .492 .814 58.276 125
   

2. They've had interest in Miguel Olivo, and he could be another mentor type until "Salty" is ready to take the reigns
   
3. Mike Napoli, he's expendable out in Anaheim but if you are going to trade for him you're going to sign him to a multi-year deal as to protect the investment you've spent with minor leaguers.
   

You need to remember this with Saltalamacchia though, they have coveted him (Theo specifically) so much so they almost traded him for Buchholz straight up. He is most likely going to be the backstop of the future for the Sox, the only question is whether the future is now, or next year? I believe it's this year. And for those who think that Atlanta doesn't get rid of many can't miss prospects (that is a pretty fair point) but at the time he was one of the centerpieces of a MARK TEIXEIRA trade! The Braves had Brian McCann in their pipeline and therefore deemed Jarrod an unproven commodity.

Now that the catching situation is resolved let's look at the middle of the lineup. Well, right now I'd rather not look at it. That being said it's my job to fix it and if you are to take the Ownership by their word, ("We will make a big free agent signing, an impact trade, and improve the bullpen") and I will for one more offseason until I start pointing fingers I think it could go something like this:

I would classify Adam Dunn as a big name free agent. I could see a deal where you pay him more than he may be worth to play 1B for only 2011 and then you make him the DH after 2011 when Ortiz has moved on. You pay him like a first basemen even though he's playing DH, that's what he's been worried about with regards to his upcoming deal. I say Adam Dunn because you need to keep the balance in your lineup so I your losing a lefty (Martinez) you need to replace him. I also could see them doing the exact same thing they did with Adrian Beltre, with Carlos Pena. Let him re-establish his value on a one year deal in a hitter's park (who consequently is moving the right field fence in) and play spectacular defense and then make a big splash after 2011 on Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, or Prince Fielder.

This isn't the only thing that needs to be done. You've still got a hole to fill and that's in left field. The answer isn't Carl Crawford, it has to be a righty to keep with the balance theme. I UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD EVER SIGN JAYSON WERTH. He is a late bloomer and has an injury history, NO THANKS!. You need to make a trade. This is where it's time to cash in all those prospects. The only prospect that I do NOT trade is Jose Iglesias, everyone else is available for the right deal. You need to look at a righty with power that can hit 6 in your lineup. I WISH it would be Ryan Braun, more so because the nickname The Hammerin Hebrew sounds like a porn stars nickname, but I just don't see him being available even if we gave him every prospect in our system, but if a deal is to be had than it needs to get done.. But another couple names that could be interesting would be:

• Andrew McCutcheon- I could be completely be completely off base but if you wanted him you could have him by giving Pittsburgh pitching prospects (Doubront and another) and an OFer that projects well in the big leagues. Ryan Kalish, Jacoby Ellsbury or someone like that in the Sox System.
  
• Justin Upton- You'd have to blow the Diamondbacks away, but when you have a player who's career OPS at his age is in line with players like Albert Pujols, Mickey Mantle and Miguel Cabrera you get that deal done if possible.
  
• Michael Cuddyer- He's older than the other guys, but I'm wondering if you could maybe do a Beckett or Lackey Swap for him? The Twins are desperately in need of pitching if they ever want to get out of the first round. And the players are both of comparable age and salary. Possible, maybe?
  
• Carlos Quentin- The White Sox are always wheeling and dealing I'm not sure what they would need/want but I wonder I he could be had?
  

I'm not saying that any of these things WILL happen, but if they did, then it would make the loss of Martinez a little more palatable. They have another 4.5 months until the start of the 2011 season and 40 million to spend and many potentially moveable pieces. Anyone that thinks that this team won't be improved somehow is mistaken, but let it be known if they go into the season with Mike Cameron as a starter and don't make a splash in free agency, this will go down as one of the biggest shams, and Shit Shows in Boston history. Rest assured there will be a blog about that too, fact not opinion.

Stay Tuned

Ryan

Swinging for the Fences

Brought to you by the same folks that gave you the Monster Seats, Red Sox Nation Membership Cards, and 8 dollar hot dogs; In 2011 we will be graced with the presence of Bullpen Seats!!!! *Crickets* The Sox are bringing the fences in Right Field. According to them it is a pure comfortability move for the relievers, because they are too cramped when warming up. The League recommends 29 feet wide Fenway's pens are 21. So you're looking at a cool 10 foot shallower fence in the once spacious right field.

Ya know what, do what you want with your money but don't play it off like you're doing it for the players when come to find out there may be a new quirk to this expansion. Gary Thorne (Orioles Broadcaster) has ties in the Sox organization and seems to think there will be seats in front of the bullpen. Cue the Duckboats, here's the latest attraction to charge 200 dollars per seat.

But instantly my mind starts trying to figure out why else do this other than revenue (as if that isn't their only thought, 24/7). Power. Looking at your lineup right now you're losing a 3, 5, and 6 hitter from a healthy Boston lineup. That means you need some thunder. However there is no premier slugger on the market. Here's my thought: You need a 3 hitter to bat after Dustin and before Youkilis. Crawford would seem to be a great fit in anyone's lineup nevertheless he isn't a power hitter and to hit 3^rd in Boston you're going to need to hit 20 HRs a year minimum. So what do you do if a player can't hit for more power? Bring the fences in. Let's say the Sox get outbid for Crawford and need a secondary option, Jayson Werth has a right-center power stroke and moving the fences in here would be almost reminiscent of the confines in Philadelphia as far as distance. So by moving the fences in for THIS free agent class we'll call it, in a word, Insta-Thump.

How else does this affect the Red Sox lineup? Well Pedroia and Youkilis smoke line drives to right-center all the time and they are short hopping the wall or getting ground rule doubles this will allow our righties to hit for more pop as well. As for the lefties, JD Drew and David Ortiz (if option is picked up, or deal is reached) are not getting any younger and would most likely regress in their power stroke. This will enable them to continue to be productive even when the ball isn't completely scorched to put a few more runs than expected up on the board.

The Red Sox despite what they say monitor everything the Yankees do and they have seen how the launching pad in the Bronx has made their team almost unbeatable at home. Well since The Steroid Era is complete and this team is no longer a perfect fit at Fenway, the front office needs to adapt. Everyone says this lineup needs more thump and when thump isn't available via trade or free agency this is the next best thing.

Stay Tuned

Norton

The Rebuilding Effort and WS Picks

It's been a hella long time. I haven't talked to you in a while but I figured I'd let you know what I would do with next years' Sox team in order to bring back our beloved Beantown back to the postseason.

In terms of the 3 big free agents we have:

You re-sign Victor Martinez to a 3-4 year deal at 13 million…BUT you make sure the provision that he is not setting foot behind the plate He spends 75% of the time as the primary DH and spot starts at 1B and C when your catcher needs a day. You would be overpaying him as a DH but because of his versatility you are covered with injuries therefore I wouldn't view it as overpaying.

Being that Victor is the DH that means I don't think you re-sign Ortiz. We've seen what big bodied aging sluggers look like (see Mo Vaughn, Cecil Fielder and other players of that ilk), take the draft picks.

Beltre is a HUGE question mark to me. I LOVED HIM all year but there is something to him being healthy in contract years and performing….I'd love to sign him but no more than 15 mil per season and no more than 4 seasons…Someone will probably go 16 for 4 or a 5^th year…if that's the case I don't want him. If you can't sign him you could look into trading for a Chone Figgins or (maybe even David Wright, I've seen many reports about a re-build for the Mets) Here's the big issue though…after this year there is a triumvirate of 1B's to hit free agency (Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez) if you think you can sign any one of those guys you don't make the deal for a 3B.

On a related side note, I do NOT move Kevin Youkilis (A Gold Glove First basemen) unless you get one of the 3 first basemen mentioned in the previous paragraph. Just because he is able to play 3B does not mean he should be playing there. He's a top 15 player in the Majors offensively when healthy and he gets less wear and tear at First Base.

Then you are missing two prominent power bats from your lineup. My solution is to trade for Andre Ethier. He is a left-handed, Triple Crown threat, and he's Pedroia's best friend to boot. He would play left field and would be cheaper than both Crawford and Werth and doesn't have the injury history. You can't have Crawford and Ellsbury in the same lineup. Ellsbury would bitch even more (than his wipe front to back monologue)if he got moved out of the leadoff hole. Carol Crawford is also not a 3 hitter which should be the perfect blend of power, speed and average he clearly has the speed and average but power is not his MO. The Dodgers need pitching and Daisuke's numbers against the NL are actually quite good. Daisuke, Ellsbury and maybe a Michael Bowden would probably be enough for Ethier.

SS is an issue for me. Scutaro was admirable for playing through what he did but his defense was so bad at the end of the season it was more painful to watch than his shoulder was for him. I'd LOVE to give Lowrie a shot there and make Scutaro the util for the IF. Lowrie when healthy has hit in every level of baseball and although it is a risk to assume health when every time the wind blows he gets scurvy or some variation of a disease that hasn't seen the light of day in a century.

The bullpen needs 3 arms. Okajima is gone, he has to be. I'd pick up Scott Downs, Jason Frasor and one of Kerry Wood, JJ Putz or Kyle Farnsworth. Papelbon is a weird case for me. You can't trade him without getting an arm in return. The White Sox have a stable of arms and I'm wondering if they would want Papelbon since Jenks has been ineffective for a while and maybe we could get Thornton in return and make Bard the closer?

With the proposed trade that would send Daisuke to LA you have an opening in your rotation. I'd LOVE to see Felix Doubront get a shot. He should incredible poise and as far as I'm concerned was very effective in the time he was there. Wakefield is another strange case because all indications are that he's not effective, yet he can still eat innings. His role would still be in the mop up/spot start and he has to accept it. If not then you move on and buy him out for 1.25 mil instead of the 2 that he's owed.

Lineup-

Lowrie/Scuatro-SS

Pedroia-2B

Ethier-LF

Youkilis-1B

Martinez-DH

Beltre/Wright-3B

Drew-RF

Saltalamacchia-C

Kalish-CF

 

Rotation

Lester

Buchholz

Beckett

Lackey

Doubront/offseason pick-up

 

Bullpen

 

Wakefield

Rich Hill

Downs

Frasor

(1 of Putz, Wood, Farnsworth)

Bard

Papelbon or Thornton

 

Theo has already gone on record saying that the bullpen will be re-made, so that is why I expect a HUGE turnover for next year's pen and there should be movement in lineup too. The complimentary pieces (Drew and Ortiz) are both much worse than league average against lefties and April is what cost us being more in the race and we have to play a full 162 to win the division in 2011.

 

There may be something to the whole Beckett in even years (when he is average to utterly attrocious at best) compared to odd years (when he seems to dominate) and in case you aren't observant next year ends in a 1. I should have seen the whole Lackey to the AL East transition year coming; I really should have and would have adjusted my projections accordingly. It happens with everyone that comes from a weaker division and I'm so much better than that.

 

As for the playoffs this fall

I have the series going as such:

Yankees over Twins in 4

Rangers over Rays in 4

Phillies over Reds in 3

Giants over Braves in 4

I don't see any of these series going the 5 game distance and expect the LCS's to be MUCH better.

 

Rangers over Yankees in 6

Phillies over Giants in 7

 

The Rangers pitching staff will stymie the Yankees especially with their two left-handed monster of Lee and Wilson. The Yankees Pitching is in shambles and because CC will throw Game 4 of the ALDS he won't be able to start again till Game 2 or 3 of the Championship series.

If anyone is going to challenge the Phillies in the NL its going to be the Giants. Tim Lincecum in the playoffs I think you're going to see the resurgence in his velocity because of the adrenaline of pitching in the postseason, and he is going to have a postseason to remember. Lincecum vs. Halladay Game 7? Sign me up.

 

Rangers over Phillies in 6

Originally I had the Phillies but I'm switching. Am I the only one that sees the symmetry of Cliff Lee pitching against the Phillies in the WS. This could be EPIC if he gets matched up with Halladay and you could see some of the best pitched games in WS history. But ultimately I think that the 2 lefties that the Phillies will have to face could neutralize Howard and Utley and will make the Rangers the Champs of Baseball.

 

 

 

Painting the Corners

Alright, I'll gladly take the verbal beating that I have coming to me after not posting for damn near a month. But I'm hoping that this post at least nullify the urge to cut off my blogging balls for at least a little while. Now being that the economy is in shambles and I clearly don't wipe my ass with crisp 100 dollar bills, I need to find a way to make a little extra money on the side, and I was a little tired from selling myself on the corner from the night before that I thought painting would be a relaxing alternative.

So bright and early on Sunday morning I'm slapping the latex on (wow that doesn't sound right) a door and frame. Because the door has to stay open, I was basically sitting in their house the entire time, thus being able to overhear (not eavesdrop because I'm 100% focused on painting) everything going on in the living room. Let me preface by saying, the reason that I'm painting/installing this door is because the guy broke his leg in like 5 places and is hobbling around on crutches. Back to the Present. I recognize a familiar theme song on the television and I couldn't quite put my finger on it until the shows tagline came on, let's see if you can guess before the tagline: "You say you want to be a player. But your wheels ain't fly. You gotta hit us up, to get a pimped out ride. PIMP MY RIDE!!!" I'll say first, 2004 called and they want their 1992 Celica back. Second, does Xzibit do anything anymore? Third, are there no more cars in the world to fix 'cause I have a 98 Grand Am that could use a little paint, can you throw a brotha a bone?

It wasn't really the fact that they were watching this show it was the commentary and silly banter between the homeowners that came along with it. At one point I think I heard: "Is there ever any white people on this show? Or at least a white person that isn't trying to be black?" This induced a loud snort but I played it off as a "snough" or sneeze cough that sort of sounded like I was hacking up an anvil. But could that not be more true?

The second thing was the SLAYING of Xzibit. "God damn, this guy looks like Scooby Doo with Corn rows." I actually had to get up and go outside and laugh my ass off because that is probably the most accurate thing I've ever heard, and the fact that they were watching a show that shows music videos and blasts X's name everywhere all over the show and they had no idea who he is cracks me up.

The last thing, was this guy who is clearly a car guy as evidenced by the Fast and the Furious type car sitting in the garage I was drooling over. He made a comment about how "those wheels are garbage, but I think we should put those doors on your (his wife's) car." Then she made some sort of snide remark and you could hear him run-crutching around to try to catch her but she was just running away. And I was like, what kind of cold heartless woman does that to a clearly broken man. Woman needs to be taught a lesson. Straight crutch to the crotch sounds about right, k thanks.

April Showers Bring May Power

Just when you thought it was safe to write the Red Sox off. They turn in essentially a weeks' worth of DOMINATING starting performances, John Lackey Aside, and win 5 of their last 6 to put them only 2.5 games out of a wildcard spot. I realize that May hasn't even ended yet but Tampa looks to be on a collision course with Destiny to win the AL East, so I think the Wildcard would be a solid goal at this point.

Who was this Daisuke Matsuzaka guy that pitched on Saturday, and when did we sign him. I remember this other Japanese guy that every fifth day sort of Rollie-Pollied his way out to the mound for about 3 and 2/3 innings and after 700 pitches he'd call it a day. But whomever this guy was. I like him. No I don't just like him I respect him. The real question though is what to do behind the plate when MatsuWalka starts. The splits between the two catchers per start is downright scary. Dice-K's ERA is under 1 when Varitek catches him and over 7 when Martinez catches him. Francona won't put a stamp on "personal catchers" but what other choice does he have at this point? Every time Varitek catches him all of his pitches seem to have extra life, bite, and break and he dominates teams. We almost have no choice but to get the most out of what I was/am almost ready to call a bust. But if he can turn this season into a respectable 15-win affair, I have no choice but to call it a success thus far and last season was an aberration.

Tim, Timmy, Timmah, who's got the keys to my Beamah? I'm not going to lie I went in thinking we had to take the first two games of the Philadelphia series because I was saying there is absolutely no way Shakey Wakey was going to out duel Doc, but holy Christ did Wakefield just teabag the shit out of the Phillies lineup yesterday. 8 MASTERFUL innings. I honestly thought he was too old to get out there and walk up the dugout steps 8 times a game let alone pitch that well. So this is pitching depth eh? I like it a lot *said in my Bruce Almighty voice*.

Remember how I said that the Yankees would finally show their age? Bitch what's up now. They are in a horrible tailspin lately with Posada out over a month, Rivera was banged up but he's back to being immortal, Jeter is struggling for the first time in YEARS at the plate. And Pettite is VERY hittable despite his sterling numbers. Teixeira isn't hitting, and now fortunately for the Sox, he's pressing. He's trying to swing too hard to hit 6 home runs with one swing and its killing him every time. The Best player on their team right now is Robinson Cano, whom I ever so slyly picked to win the AL Batting Title, and that's not good since he's your 9^th highest paid player. They are going to fall and it could be soon, since the rest of the league is starting to figure out CC. Burnett is hit or miss and will be until he starts losing velocity. He'll go out there with no-hit capability every time he steps out on the mound but when you get to him you'll get to him hard. Phil Hughes however has finally lived up to the hype that was surrounding him for the better part of 5 years. He's dominating out on the mound and he's pitching like the ace of the staff.

We now end our tumultuous 13 game stretch of playing all playoff caliber/Division leading teams with the Rays before our schedule lightens up immensely and we can really get back into this division. But we're going to go out there with Buchholz Lester and Lackey. Our 3 best pitchers all things considered thus far and if we can take 2 out of 3, we will be in phenomenal shape. We would have gone 8-5 in our most difficult stretch of the season and that's pretty impressive considering the quality of opponents that we played in the last 2 weeks. And I'm back on the Wildcard Bandwagon.

Stay Tuned

Ryan