Red Sox Spring Training Preview
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Jason Beck | Tuesday, February 6, 2007 |
Red Sox.com has a quick preview of the 2007 season.
For those of you that are not counting, the Sox Pitchers and Catchers report in 11 days. Wooo Hooo!!
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 Red Sox Spring Training Preview
Red Sox.com has a quick preview of the 2007 season. For those of you that are not counting, the Sox Pitchers and Catchers report in 11 days. Wooo Hooo!! Todd Helton tries to force a Red Sox trade
Who pays attention to baseball on Superbowl Sunday? Guys whose team lost to Peyton friggin’ Manning last week, that’s who. Todd Helton is trying to force a trade to the Red Sox:
Helton’s trying to play hardball here; the Rockies have to move his money and everyone knows it. They’re either gonna have to call his bluff, or call the Sox back and eat mid-level prospect. If I were them, I would guess that he’s bluffing. Helton clearly wants to play for a winning team. I doubt he’d shoot himself in the foot for the next five years just to make a point. If they rekindle talks to with the Red Sox, assume that it starts with the players previously on the table: Mike Lowell and Julian Tavarez. In lieu of Manny Delcarmen, around whom talks broke down last week, the Sox could throw in a lesser arm – hello, Justin Masterson – or take on more of his salary than the half (~$45 mil) they were hoping to get away with. As a Red Sox fan, of course I’m in favor of getting a player like Todd Helton without giving up top prospects. Much though I love Mike Lowell, Helton’s obviously an upgrade; we can live without Tavarez, although we will miss his startling late-season spot starts; and it’s not my money. Helton had a terrible last year, at least by his standards, but the word is pretty consistent that he’s back to full health now. Here’s hoping. And go Bears. (Yeah, I know, fat chance.) Curt Schilling vs. Dan Shaughnessy, Round Whatever
It’s hard to know what to think about this article, in which two nimrods make hate with each other:
It’s like if Peyton Manning and Alex Rodriguez got in a fight. Who would you root for? Well, you’d root for a piano to fall out of the sky, right? I feel similarly about Curt Schilling and Dan Shaughnessy. Don’t get me wrong: I love Curt Schilling, the athlete. The athlete is gritty, determined and accountable. The athlete is a fantastic mentor for our younger pitchers, which shows a selflessness that I admire. The athlete did that thing a couple of years ago with tendons and staples, and I’ll never forget it. But Curt Schilling, the guy…can’t keep his mouth shut. If he was a supervillain, he’d be the guy in the League of Evil who was always yelling “Wait until you step on that pressure plate and unleash our secret cyborg laser owl counterattack!” If he was in your circle of friends, he’d be the guy who blew the surprise party. If he was your coworker, he’d be the guy who brings up politics at inappropriate times and then gets really huffy about it. I love Curt Schilling as an athlete. As a guy, he’s kindof a tool. Dan Shaughnessy, of course, looks and acts like Lindsay Lohan’s crotch. He’s the most universally loathed sportswriter, perhaps, in Boston history, and this column is the latest in a long string in which Shaughnessy breaks a core rule of journalism by making himself the story. The piece could be summarized thusly: “Holy crap I’m so awesome, Curt Schilling totally knows who I am.” If the mark that you’ve made it is that Curt Schilling thinks you’re a goon, New York City has several million success stories who’d like to talk about Derek Jeter’s batting average. This is not the first time Shaughnessy’s tried to portray himself as Boston’s “villainous” writer. He’s nurturing some kind of delusion that he’s the Ice Cube of journalists – the writer we love to hate. Unfortunately, we don’t love to hate him. We just hate to read him. I only read him once every couple of months when my brother-in-law emails me to alert me to a particularly inane column, like this one or his utterly execrable “Welcome Matsuzaka” piece that ended with some kind of lunacy about letting Boston wash over him like, if I’m remembering correctly, pee. No, all of Boston would be thrilled to see him go. So in the end, the round goes to Schilling, because he’s got several redeeming features. Actually, all his features are redeeming except for his mouth. Maybe next time Shaughnessy will try to interview Julian Tavarez, who might give him more than a verbal beatdown. Theo Epstein is a Married Man – Update
Turns out Theo’s dad is quite the jokester
Theo still did it his way, but not the way we originally thought. Clemens “failing at retirment”
Should he play or should he go. That’s what the Rocket wants to know. Cause if he quits there will be trouble, but if he plays he’ll bring double, so what he really wants to know, is should he play or should he go. The AP is reporting
Clemens’ words to the contrary (If it were easy to walk away he wouldn’t play this game year after year) the desire is clearly still there to pitch at the major league level. He may not make an announcement until May, he may not decide until then, but he will take the hill wearing one of three uniforms this June. He can come full circle and wrap it up in Boston. He can go back to the city of his greatest success in New York. Or he can stay with the Astros. Brian Cashman seems to be taking the Yankees into a smarter direction. Less overpriced and elderly veteran players. More younger and flexible talent. Is there a place for a very expensive 44 year old starting pitcher. To keep him out of Boston, they’d make room. And the Red Sox with their six starters on the roster seem to have no room for Clemens, either, but surely they would make room. Houston must be tired of this game, but the hometown fans would not be happy if Clemens walked the way that Nolan Ryan did. It is a nearly perfect situation for a pitcher of Clemens’ talents. He has three franchises interested, two of which will fight to the death for him. But which team will be best served by the presence of Roger Clemens in their rotation?
Houston: Oswalt is a staff ace and Jennings is solid. Williams pitched effectively last season in the pitcher’s paradise of San Diego, but with his declining strikeout rates, he will be lucky to keep his ERA under 4.50 in more hitter friendly Houston. Wandy Rodriguez got his eighth win on June sixth and then only got one more the rest of the season, with a demotion to AAA thrown in. Nieve pitched well, but mostly in relief last season. Houston has the most holes in their rotation and therefore the biggest need for Roger Clemens. New York: The front three are as strong as any trio. Mussina and Pettitte can be counted on for 200 innings of above league average work. Wang is using his extreme groundball tendencies to blossom into a very effective inning eater. And with a better fielding first baseman taking more of the throws at first in Doug Mientkiewicz, he could win 20 games this year. Kei Igawa will need to transition to the US major leagues. How he handles big league hitters in a rough and tumble division is a big question mark. As is Carl Pavano, who might be healthy, might be injured and if he’s healthy there is no guarantee he will be effective. The Yankees will be evaluating their need based largely on Pavano. If Crapshoot Carl is healthy and effective, their need for Clemens is mitigated. Of course Andy Pettitte wants his fellow Texan back in the Bronx, and the Yankees will open the checkbook to bring Clemens back if for no other reason to keep him out of Boston. But their need is less than Houston’s. Boston: The Red Sox have the deepest rotation of the three. If healthy, Schilling, Wakefield, Beckett and Matsuzaka could combine for 850 innings among them. Jonathan Papelbon is transitioning back to starting and should be stretched out to throw six innings a start. Papelbon has been immensely effective, primarily out of the pen, for the Red Sox in his young career, which makes it hard to figure how he will be as a starter. But there is little statistical evidence to suggest he will fail. In addition, Boston has Jon Lester ticketed for Pawtucket, and Joel Pinheiro, Julian Tavarez and Kyle Snyder in the pen, who can each provide league average innings as starters. The need is the least in Boston, but again, they will woo and wow Clemens to ensure he doesn’t go to the Bronx. The inescapable conclusion is that he winds up back in Houston. The Red Sox and Yankees would prefer that he doesn’t play for the other. Houston has the greatest need. And Koby Clemens may be up with the big club for a September call up to play a few games with dad on the team. Neither Boston nor New York can offer that. His failure at retirment means the Astros get another shot at success and the elusive World Championship. Theo Epstein is a Married Man
A Mazel Tov is in order for the Red Sox General Manager
I am happy for Theo, and I am even happier that he was able to do it his way. This is likely the reason that the JD Drew deal too so long to complete. Helton, Red Sox Deal is dead
According to multiple sources this deal is not going to happen
The Sox are far from a team that needs to be worrying about costs, but Theo seems to take a Belicheckian approach to players, he establishes a value (both financially and in terms of prospects) and will not cross that line. Believe me, I would love to see Helton batting in the #2 slot in front of Ortiz, but it is not worth the risk of taking on a 34 year old player for the next 5 years who has had injury concerns and decreased performance for the last 2-3 years and trading 2 power arms that are under 24 years old. The Sox offense is the least of their concerns, but it was nice to dream about a lineup that would match the one 200 miles south of Boston. Schilling to Pitch in 2008
Curt Schilling’s run at the Senate will be put on hold, since his family gave him the go ahead to pitch in 2008
The best news about this situation is that if things do not work out with Boston, we will not see Curt in pinstripes
Curt seems to understand his place in Red Sox history a little better than Johnny Damon. I do not fault Johnny for taking a “job” that pays him more money. All of us normal people would do the same thing if we had the opportunity (most likely for significantly less money). What Johnny did not seem to understand, right or wrong, that by going to the Yankees his Red Sox legacy has been diminished. The other problem Curt would would be if he is serious about running for the US senate. He is going to have a hard enough time running as a Rebuplican in Massachusetts. Imagine if he was a Republican wearing pinstripes? Good luck Red Sox Talking to Rockies about Helton
Is Todd Helton is going to be the newest addition to the Boston Red Sox?
While Helton is not the same offensive force that he was 3 seasons ago, he is still an upgrade over Mike Lowell. Hansen and Delcarmen would be a steep price to pay especially since both of them are expected to pay a big role in this year’s bullpen. As much as I love the thought of getting Todd Helton into this lineup, unless the Sox have a legit bullpen solution, I am not sure they can make this move. Red Sox, J.D. Drew Agree, At Last
After many delays and much revision, the Boston Red Sox and J.D. Drew have finally agreed to the five year contract. The Red Sox have an out clause in case Drew’s shoulder does not allow him to play consistently in either year three or year four of the deal. Gordon Edes at the Boston Globe
The Red Sox have long coveted the offensive machine that is J.D. Drew. Unfortunately, Drew has been snakebitten by repeated injuries, some as the results of pitched balls, but just as often, minor twinges have hampered him. He has, however, played at least 145 games in two of the last three seasons. His MVP-like campaign in 2004 for the Braves was the best of his career, as he posted .305/.436/569 with 31 homeruns. The Red Sox are hoping for that kind of performance hitting behind Manny Ramirez. Looking at the Red Sox lineup, we see a hitting machine. SS Julio Lugo Fourth outfielder Wily Mo Pena will be underutilized coming off the bench, but barring a trade, there is no starting role for him. I did a brief and largely unscientific study of Pena early last season, before injuries landed him on the disabled list. Pena played significantly better in a regular, defined starting role. Pena hit considerably worse when he started irregularly, compared to when he played several days in a row. The sample size was limited, so the data support no conclusions. But it bears watching, can Wily Mo Pena produce playing three or four times a week? Eric Hinske will also be available for corner outfield duty as well as corner infield duty and Alex Cora comes back to back up the middle infielders. Doug Mirabelli will be caddying for Tim Wakefield, unless prospect George Kottaras earns the backup job in spring training. The Red Sox bench is competent. What dazzles is the awfully pricey starting rotation Curt Schilling Julian Tavarez and Kyle Snyder can act as swingmen in case any starter needs to miss a start or two. And Jon Lester, who battled non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in the offseason, will be getting back up to speed likely in Pawtucket, the Red Sox AAA affiliate. In addition to Tavarez and Snyder, the Red Sox have Joel Pinheiro, Mike Timlin, Brendan Donnelly, JC Romero and Hideki Okajima in the pen. That’s a complete pitching heavy roster. The Red Sox might try to sneak Kyle Snyder through waivers and stash him at Pawtucket in favor of carrying an additional hitter like Kerry Robinson or Alex Ochoa, who were signed to minor league contracts. The uncertainty at closer looms, but on paper that’s a solid team. In the wings is the possible return of Roger Clemens, who will decide between the Red Sox, Yankees and the Astros where he will play part of the 2007 season. Will it be enough to overtake the Yankees? Only the games will tell. Outside the Beltway Sports will look at the Yankees next. |
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