1391 replies to this topic

[smastroyin]

I think we've reached the limit of how useful more piling on is at this point.

I think the more interesting but perhaps less fun criticism is whether we should even want Dice-K (or anyone), standing in a relaxed position, to look like they are ready for the cover of Muscle and Fitness. I don't think we do. Pitchers need flexibility and fluidity throughout their motion. While increased muscle mass along with a lot of flexibility training might yield good results, I would rather the focus remain on his mechanics and his ability to consistently get the arm and release to the same point whenever he throws a pitch.

Basic point is, he is not a huge pile of goo this year, and I think that is enough reason to think that he worked at what he was doing. The question of "giving 100%" is rife with problems, because your idea of giving 100% may create a body that is unable to do what Dice-K needs it to do.

[Miskatonic PhD]

Smas, what are you talking about?

Have you never seen a picture of the great Pedro Martinez shirtless?

Dice-K has a long way to go before he attains a physique like that!

[SoxFanSince57]

Red Sox claimed RHP Gaby Hernandez off waivers from the Mariners.

Hernandez was designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week. The 24-year-old right-hander posted a 5.23 ERA in 146 1/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League last season, but has a 4.27 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over six minor league seasons.

Red Sox designated RHP Robert Manuel for assignment.

He was cleared in order to make room for right-hander Gaby Hernandez on the 40-man roster. Manuel was claimed off waivers form the Mariners in November. The 26-year-old right-hander posted a 2.88 ERA and 49/16 K/BB ratio in 65 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last season.

http://www.rotoworld...t/home_MLB.aspx

Edited by SoxFanSince57, 10 February 2010 - 05:38 PM.

[mabrowndog]

On MLBTV right now and for the next hour:

"Baseball's Seasons: 2004"

Not Sox-specific, but I have a feeling they'll be prominently featured...

Edited by mabrowndog, 10 February 2010 - 08:05 PM.

[smastroyin]

On MLBTV right now and for the next hour:

"Baseball's Seasons: 2004"

Not Sox-specific, but I have a feeling they'll be prominently featured...

We need a poll: What gets more airtime - Derek Jeter's catch or Dave Robert's steal.

[Punchado]

On MLBTV right now and for the next hour:

"Baseball's Seasons: 2004"

Not Sox-specific, but I have a feeling they'll be prominently featured...

Was looking forward to this but it kind of sucks. I mean, still pretty cool but they skip over just about everything.

ok, still tearing up at the end. Going to have to put in some old DVDs.

[SoxScout]

A report from Luis E. Rangel of the Miami-based Nuevo Herald, which indicates that Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz may be close to signing. Here are some quotes from Ruiz's agent, Jorge Luis Toca...

“In the coming week he should be signed. Perhaps we’ll be announcing something on Wednesday.” “Toronto, Texas, Boston, San Francisco, Tampa Bay and Colorado are the ones who have shown the most interest. We are also expecting an offer from the Yankees.” “The idea is to find a team where there is the most opportunity to rise quickly.”

The 25-year-old Ruiz hit .305/.408/.467 over 52 games in the Serie Nacional last season before suddenly defecting to the Dominican. ESPN's Jorge Arangure noted that he was more than just a masher relegated to first base, offering speed and athleticism.

MLBTR: http://bit.ly/9Ce1WL

[Seels]

I wasn't really sure where to put this since it's Sox related but not really relevant to now

What happened to Ted Williams in 1959? 62 points below his career low in average, 64 points below his career low in obp, 137 points below his career low in slugging, 218 points below his total career low ops. What gives?

[mabrowndog]

I wasn't really sure where to put this since it's Sox related but not really relevant to now

What happened to Ted Williams in 1959? 62 points below his career low in average, 64 points below his career low in obp, 137 points below his career low in slugging, 218 points below his total career low ops. What gives?

A) He turned 41 that August and was a year away from retiring.
B) He didn't play his first game until mid-May due to injuries, and was hitting just .175 through mid-June. He battled neck, back and shoulder problems all of spring training.
C) He was engaged in court battles that season over alimony and child support, five years after a bitter divorce.

Take your pick, or all of the above.

Edited by mabrowndog, 14 February 2010 - 11:20 PM.

[BellhornsBiatch]

Buchholz Gains About 15 lbs

Clay Buchholz made his first appearance on the fields at the Red Sox’ minor league training facility, throwing a bullpen alongside Jon Lester. It was Buchholz’ seventh bullpen session since he resumed throwing, having also faced live hitters out at University of California-Irvine. (Minor league catcher Mark Wagner, an alumnus of UC Irvine, set up the sessions.)

But the big news in regards to Buchholz was the added poundage the pitcher is carrying around. After pitching at 185 pounds last season, he is tipping the scales at 198, crediting the weight gain to simply eating more.

It will be interesting to see if he can keep it on, but with the GB/SO ratios adjusting last season with the 2-seamer working in the majors, you'd have to think he could be a bit more durable innings-wise this year.



edit: pic (bigger pic link)

Edited by BellhornsBiatch, 15 February 2010 - 11:23 AM.

[drtooth]

A little something to look at for 2011 about possible FA's for the Sox to explore. From Marc Topkin's blog.

The Rays are clearly making a serious effort this season to get back to the playoffs, pushing their payroll past $70-million with the addition of Rafael Soriano and hanging on (for now anyway) to potential free agents such as Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. And principal owner Stuart Sternberg made it even more clear during a 620-AM radio interview Monday night that it will be different in coming years, with a significant reduction in payroll.

“We did out-spend ourselves last year (at $63-million) and completely have out-spent ourselves this year,’’ Sternberg told Andy Freed and Dave Wills. “And unfortunately we’re going to feel the effect of that the next couple years for certain. … There’s no $60-million payroll next year either, let alone a $70-million payroll. It’s going to be a tough transition, but it’s something that given the economics of the game and specifically the economics of what we are in Tampa Bay and in St. Petersburg, it makes it impossible to do it for more than a couple of years.’’

This probably more than indicates that both Crawford, Soriano and Pena are all gone after this year. Food for thought.

[mabrowndog]

Buchholz Gains About 15 lbs

The difference is readily apparent in TV interviews. He's got a robust Beckett/Clemens roundness to his face now instead of that thin "I survived a month in the wilderness on moss, twigs, and insects" appearance he carried the previous few seasons.

EDIT - Here's a clip. And another one here.

Edited by mabrowndog, 16 February 2010 - 09:01 AM.

[SoxScout]

Even more important than the 14 pounds, I think, Abraham posted the whole audio file of his interview and he just sounded like a different person, direct, confident, unwavering. I guess Lindsay Clubine whipped him into shape.

[mabrowndog]

Six years ago today, Slappy McBlueLips joined the New York AnusDemons.

Six years ago today, the New York Yankees acquired Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers for infielder Alfonso Soriano.

Fans in Boston were crushed. Just a few months prior, a Sox deal for A-Rod seemed imminent. The transaction would have been spectacularly complicated, with the Sox swapping Manny for A-Rod and then sending Nomar to the White Sox for Magglio Ordonez (while also restructuing A-Rod's contract, with the union's permission). Then everything fell apart. At the time, no other suitor was out there (or so we thought). It seemed that Rodriguez would simply languish in Texas (or so we thought). Then the Yankees suddenly swooped in and made the deal. Red Sox fans were shocked – and angry.

Make no mistake – Red Sox Nation wanted A-Rod. Badly. This was before the handslap of Arroyo and the playoff chokes, before Cynthia and Madonna and Kate, before the steroid denials and subsequent confessions. The A-Rod of early 2004 had none of that baggage. Instead, he was seen as he what he was (and arguably still is): the most talented son of a gun in the game.

[Pandemonium67]

...with the Sox swapping Manny for A-Rod...

There was also a little piece named Lester who would've been included. That totally changes the dynamics of the trade, especially if Slappy ended up opting out of his contract after 2007, which I bet he would have done, and signed with the AnusDemons anyway.

[Hyde Park Factor]

If that trade ended up going through, I don't think we win in '04 or '07.

[rembrat]

Buchholz Gains About 15 lbs



It will be interesting to see if he can keep it on, but with the GB/SO ratios adjusting last season with the 2-seamer working in the majors, you'd have to think he could be a bit more durable innings-wise this year.



edit: pic (bigger pic link)

Holy shit, are you sure that isn't Josh Beckett? He's even got that crappy chin hair thing going on.

[Pumpsie]

Well, I, for one, never wanted ARod on our team. And I was delighted we didn't land him. I love rooting against the guy. Having him in the red and white would have landed me in quite the dilemma.

[cwright]

Papelbon talks about pitch selection and more: (link)

How would you like to improve on last year?
There's always room for improvement. For me, the biggest thing, I think, is being able to improve on my pitch selection. I think you can always improve on that.[...]

Did you get away from the split last year?
No question. No question. I think when you're successful at one certain aspect of your game, and mine was being able to locate my fastball towards the end of the season, you're successful with it, I tended to really kind of rely on that a lot. Until I got hurt with it, which was a big part of the season, I went with it. Hindsight's 20/20 now, but obviously I'm going to take that into consideration, try to be a little more selective with my pitch.

Did you lose the feel for the splitter?
No question. That's such a feel pitch.[...] There were times when I was choking it down a little too much and overthrowing it [...]

We've heard this all before, but I hope to see the return of that nasty splitter this year.

[SoxScout]

I think a lot of people saw this coming... very cool:

Life has been a blur for Norwich native Hannah Kearney since she skimmed her way across moguls and flew over jumps to capture the Olympic gold medal in moguls Saturday in Vancouver. The interviews have been nonstop with local, national and international news outlets looking for comments from the bubbly 23-year-old, who captivated television viewers in beating Canadian Jenn Heil to win on the final run of the event.

As for the coolest thing that has happened to her since winning gold, that's easy, she said.

While doing an interview Monday, she was interrupted by a phone call from Tom Werner of the Boston Red Sox.

"He asked me to throw out the first pitch for the Red Sox-Yankees game on opening day," she said, adding that she's an avid Red Sox fan and had mentioned that in interviews prior to his call.

http://www.rutlandhe...359/1004/NEWS03

When being interviewed on NBC by Costas the other night she said she was wearing an Ellsbury t-shirt under her USA gear as she marched in Opening Ceremonies. WCVB did an interview with her while she worked out before leaving for Vancouver and she was showing off her workout binder plastered in Red Sox ticket stubs.

[RedOctober3829]

Props to SoxScout quoting my hometown newspaper.

I thought this was pretty cool. How many teams can say this about their starting rotation? Edes is talking about Beckett, Lester, Lackey, and Dice-K.

Add Lackey and you're talking about four pitchers who have all won at least one World Series game, have all won at least 17 games in a season, and have all struck out at least 199 batters in a season.

Link

[Montana Fan]

Have we heard anything out of Gammo since 1/26? That's his most recent video update on the NESN page. Is he writing anywhere?

[Eric Van]

One of my ST rituals is hunting down all the former members of the organization that are non-roster invites. Always a mix of signings that made the news and ones that went under the radar. Guys in bold are farm system products.

Michel Hernandez, C, Bal
Joey Gathright, OF, Tor
Phil Dumatrait, LHP, Det
Bruce Chen, LHP, KC
Mike Maroth, LHP, Min
Lenny DiNardo, LHP, Oak
Marcus McBeth, RHP, Oak
David Pauley, RHP, Sea
Josh Bard, C, Sea
Chris Woodward, INF, Sea
Chris Duncan, OF, Was
Kevin Millar, 1B, ChN
Bobby Scales, UT, ChN
Kevin Cash, C, Htn
John Halama, LHP, Mil
Chris Smith, RHP, Mil
Adam Stern, OF, Mil
Craig Hansen, RHP, Pit
Wilfredo Ledezma, LHP, Pit
Jonathan Van Every, OF, Pit
Charlie Zink, RHP, StL
Jeff Bailey, 1B, Ari
Jay Payton, OF, Col
Nick Green, SS, LAN
Doug Mientkiewicz, 1B, LAN
Matt Stairs, OF, SD

[Eric Van]

And my other ritual is listing the products of the Sox farm system on other 40-man rosters and comparing it to the guys on our roster who are not our own products. This used to be pure masochism, back in the 70's and 80's, when the list had Bagwell, Fisk, Tudor, and many others we gave away.

*Rule 5 draftee

Cla Meredith, RHP, Bal
Kelly Shoppach, C, TB
Justin Masterson, RHP, Cle
Adam Everett, SS, Det
Carl Pavano, RHP, Min
Justin Duchscherer, RHP, Oak
Frank Francisco, RHP, Tex
Luis Mendoza, RHP, Tex
David Murphy, OF, Tex
Hunter Jones, LHP, Fla
Anibal Sanchez, RHP, Fla
*Jorge Jimenez, 3B, Fla
Hanley Ramirez, SS, Fla
Jeff Suppan, RHP, Mil
Argenis Diaz, SS, Pit
Brandon Moss, OF, Pit
Rafael Betancourt, RHP, Col
*Armando Zerpa, LHP, LAN
David Eckstein, 2B, SD
Freddy Sanchez, 2B, SF

Compare them to Atchison, Beckett, Bonser, Castro, Hernandez, Lackey, Ramirez, Ramirez, Wakefield, Martinez, Varitek, Beltre, Hall, Hulett, Lowell, Scutaro, Cameron, Drew, Hermida, and Ortiz.

There are exactly 40 players on 40-man rosters that are products of our farm system, including the two Rule 5 draftees.

[mabrowndog]

Have we heard anything out of Gammo since 1/26? That's his most recent video update on the NESN page. Is he writing anywhere?

I'm not sure if this is actually him running this Twitter feed, but whoever it is has been providing semi-regular updates.

No idea why he's not been more of a presence on NESN.

[mabrowndog]

Gordon Edes is awesome. Earlier he tweeted, "Lackey's first official act is a game of catch with Clay Buchholz. We'll let you know when he takes a bathroom break."

A minute ago he updated his feed: "Thought I was kidding, didn't you?"

Along with this pic:

Edited by mabrowndog, 18 February 2010 - 10:04 AM.

[pat3734]

I'm not sure if this is actually him running this Twitter feed, but whoever it is has been providing semi-regular updates.

No idea why he's not been more of a presence on NESN.

Tonight Peter and Tom Carron will be hosting the first NESN show from Spring Training. An hour long starting at 7 PM. According to NESN they will be providing 15 hours of ST coverage and I believe that Peter will be there for all of it. No mention of Heidi, though.

[Eric Van]

Byung-Hyun Kim came out of retirement to sign a ML contract with SF.

I remember reading that now, but he is not listed on their NRI page.

I don't know whether he or the club changed his mind, or whether these NRI pages aren't perfectly accurate -- either would be disappointing!

I can remember being 12 or 13 years old and reading an article in Baseball Digest about the "ghosts" in ST camps. They made it sound thrilling, and arguably I've been unduly fascinated ever since.

[mabrowndog]

Peter Abraham reports Jorge Sosa will be a late arrival due to visa issues.

[E5 Yaz]

Gordon Edes is awesome. Earlier he tweeted, "Lackey's first official act is a game of catch with Clay Buchholz. We'll let you know when he takes a bathroom break."

A minute ago he updated his feed: "Thought I was kidding, didn't you?"

Edes is ecstatic that a) he's covering the Red Sox full-time again and b) he's out of the daily newspaper business.

Definitely a win-win for us

[mabrowndog]

Jersey numbers being worn by new members of the Sox this spring (hat tip to Peter Abraham):

16: Marco Scutaro
22: Bill Hall
23: Mike Cameron
29: Adrian Beltre
32: Jeremy Hermida
30: Boof Bonser
40: John Lackey
46: Joe Nelson
55: Brian Shouse
70: Tug Hulett
76: Jose Iglesias
89: Gaby Hernandez

[Rasputin]

Jersey numbers being worn by new members of the Sox this spring (hat tip to Peter Abraham):

55: Brian Shouse

I like it when players wear their age on their unis.

[mabrowndog]

Great article from Rob Bradford on Scott Atchison -- one ballplayer who's clearly not in it for the money.

One agent estimated the 33-year-old could have made as much as $3 million if he chose to continue his career path in Japan. But he didn’t, and now he finds himself on the back fields at the Red Sox’ minor league training facility vying for a spot in the Sox’ bullpen with a contract that could pay him $430,000.

The decision was an easy one for a very uneasy reason.

“We have two-year old and she has a couple medical issues that are minor stuff but we wanted to be around here for it.”

Atchison’s daugther’s “medical issues” might be considered somewhat minor, but they are issues just the same. The kind of which were enough of a concern that staying another season in Japan wasn’t an option.

Callie was born with a rare condition called “TAR” (Thrombocytopenia-absent radius), which is characterized by the absence of the radius bone in the forearm, along with a dramatically reduced platelet count. It is a problem that promises to improve, but also requires specialized medical attention at this stage.

“We feel more comfortable over here,” the 6-foot-2 righty said. “The medical stuff over there was good but it’s not the same.

[SoxScout]

In addition to Ellsbury switching to #2, Buchholz is now #11.

[TheYellowDart5]

In addition to Ellsbury switching to #2, Buchholz is now #11.

I picked an awesome time to buy a newly outdated Buchholz player-tee. Fuck.

[sachilles]

I picked an awesome time to buy a newly outdated Buchholz player-tee. Fuck.

Think of it as a limited edition collectors item.

[Adirondack jack]

Gordon Edes is awesome. Earlier he tweeted, "Lackey's first official act is a game of catch with Clay Buchholz. We'll let you know when he takes a bathroom break."

A minute ago he updated his feed: "Thought I was kidding, didn't you?"

Along with this pic:

Maybe it's just the picture, but wow, for such a big feller, Lackey sure looks like he has some chicken legs.

Along with most others, Lackey was always one of my least favorite opponents probably mostly because of his intense nature on the mound. So long as he's healthy, I think most of us whom disliked him so much through the years will do a complete 180 now that he's grinding it out in our laundry.

[Saints Rest]

Maybe it's just the picture, but wow, for such a big feller, Lackey sure looks like he has some chicken legs.

Along with most others, Lackey was always one of my least favorite opponents probably mostly because of his intense nature on the mound. So long as he's healthy, I think most of us whom disliked him so much through the years will do a complete 180 now that he's grinding it out in our laundry.

This should always be referred to as Rodney Harrison Fandom.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

I picked an awesome time to buy a newly outdated Buchholz player-tee. Fuck.

My Ellsbury World Series jersey is outdated, too. I kind of like that, though.

[Eric Van]

This should always be referred to as Rodney Harrison Fandom.

We older folks think of it as the M.L. Carr Phenomenon. He was absolutely loved by Celtic fans for the precise reasons he was despised as a Piston.

(Trivia note is that signing Carr led indirectly to the Bird dynasty. We needed to compensate the Pistons and Red Auerbach somehow persuaded them to take Bob McAdoo (whom the owner had traded three first round picks for without Red's consent) as the compensation in return for two first round picks, which turned out to be the 1st and 12th picks overall. And those were sent to the Warriors for Robert Parrish and the 3rd pick, Kevin McHale, who was of course the guy we would have taken at #1.)

[mabrowndog]

From Daniel Bard's online diary (transcribed by someone who can't spell Buchholz correctly), he discusses getting married, deer hunting, how his "I want to be a closer" comments were misconstrued, and how experience makes this spring training different.

But his most interesting offerings are on his curveball:

My curveball is something I've gained confidence in. I threw a lot with Victor toward the end of last year, which definitely didn't hurt. I experimented with a couple different breaking balls and finally settled on one that was a slider in the mid-80s, whatever you want to call it, it's a breaking ball. I settled on that instead of trying to find one. That gives you some comfort rather than saying you've got to throw this big slow one or the harder cutter thing. It's easier when you've settled on one.

Edited by mabrowndog, 20 February 2010 - 10:15 AM.

[mabrowndog]

John Tomase on Joe Nelson and his Vulcan-grip changeup:

It might be the most unique grip in the game. While many pitchers throw a changeup by gripping the ball between their middle and ring fingers, Nelson takes it to the extreme. He jams the ball so far in that the webbing between those fingers is long gone.

Whereas the normal person might be able to get 45 degrees of separation between those fingers, Nelson is basically at 90 and has room enough for a softball.

His pitch earned its name because it resembles the “Live long and prosper” salute of Spock in the “Star Trek” movies.

“I learned it in junior college,” Nelson said. “My coach at Seminole Junior College in Oklahoma said I needed some kind of split. I tried a conventional one and it wasn’t good; 20 years later it’s still terrible.

“So I jammed it in there between my ring and middle finger and threw one, and it had good tumble. He goes, ‘All right, whatever it was, let’s work on that.’ I just developed it over time. I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t throw it. It’s my out pitch.”

If Nelson’s to have any shot of making the roster, the Vulcan will undoubtedly play a key role. It typically crosses the plate at 76-78 mph, which is a good deal below his 88 mph fastball.