It's Spring!
OK, maybe not for over a month on the calendar, but it IS spring where it counts--in BASEBALL! Sox now at their spring training location and Opening Day is about six weeks away. Can hardly wait. Various pre-season rankings have the Sox anywhere from a contender in their division to last. If they avoid the injury bug, and play to capabilities and the free agents match hopes, I definitely can see a shot at the division. Go SOX!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Thursday, January 24, 2013
PEDRO'S BACK!!
Not to get too excited, but the news just came out! Pedro Martinez, the Sox top ace in the mid to late 90's and on into the 2004 Championship year as a major supporting piece of the team is rejoining the team. Not as a pitcher--he's retired from playing, but as a special assistant to the Sox GM, Cherrington. Terms and details have yet to be announced. In the opinion of this observer, he could really help the Sox in evaluating pitchers, present or possible additions, and also can be a major force in getting an inside lead on top prospects coming out of his home--the Dominica. Stay tuned--just a few weeks until Spring Training!
Not to get too excited, but the news just came out! Pedro Martinez, the Sox top ace in the mid to late 90's and on into the 2004 Championship year as a major supporting piece of the team is rejoining the team. Not as a pitcher--he's retired from playing, but as a special assistant to the Sox GM, Cherrington. Terms and details have yet to be announced. In the opinion of this observer, he could really help the Sox in evaluating pitchers, present or possible additions, and also can be a major force in getting an inside lead on top prospects coming out of his home--the Dominica. Stay tuned--just a few weeks until Spring Training!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Beefing up!
Well, the Hose are going on a Theo-like buying plunge! In the past few days, we have added three new players, at least one of whom was a major pain in the ass for the Sox over the last couple of years. That individual is the now-former Rangers catcher, Mike Napoli. He signed a 3 yr deal, subject to passing a physical, which should not be a problem. Sox also signed a three year deal with Shane Victorino, an outfielder previously with the Phillies and last season with the Dodgers. His time with the Phils showed some pretty decent numbers, but last year with the Bums was less than stellar. Hopefully, he returns to his Phillies form while patrolling beside Jake in the Sox outfield. The last guy the Hose picked upo was a cog in last season's surprise AL West Division championship winning A's team. Johnny Gomes is fairly young and this is his first free agent year. While he won't lead the team in any offensive stats, he is the type of solid player to support a good offensive lineup, shows some power and is a very good table setter for the heavier bats in the Hose lineup such as Papi and Napoli, not to mention Jake, if he comes back from last year's season destroying injury.
Welcome, guys! Looking forward to February!
Well, the Hose are going on a Theo-like buying plunge! In the past few days, we have added three new players, at least one of whom was a major pain in the ass for the Sox over the last couple of years. That individual is the now-former Rangers catcher, Mike Napoli. He signed a 3 yr deal, subject to passing a physical, which should not be a problem. Sox also signed a three year deal with Shane Victorino, an outfielder previously with the Phillies and last season with the Dodgers. His time with the Phils showed some pretty decent numbers, but last year with the Bums was less than stellar. Hopefully, he returns to his Phillies form while patrolling beside Jake in the Sox outfield. The last guy the Hose picked upo was a cog in last season's surprise AL West Division championship winning A's team. Johnny Gomes is fairly young and this is his first free agent year. While he won't lead the team in any offensive stats, he is the type of solid player to support a good offensive lineup, shows some power and is a very good table setter for the heavier bats in the Hose lineup such as Papi and Napoli, not to mention Jake, if he comes back from last year's season destroying injury.
Welcome, guys! Looking forward to February!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Papi's Got A Deal!
Best of all, it's with the Sox! Although not yet confirmed by the team, the deal is reportedly a two year deal for a total of $26 million. With various incentives, it could reach as much as $30 Million for Papi. It keeps him and his bat here and likely means he'll retire as a Sox player. Expect an announcement over the weekend, definitely not later than Monday. Go SOX!
Best of all, it's with the Sox! Although not yet confirmed by the team, the deal is reportedly a two year deal for a total of $26 million. With various incentives, it could reach as much as $30 Million for Papi. It keeps him and his bat here and likely means he'll retire as a Sox player. Expect an announcement over the weekend, definitely not later than Monday. Go SOX!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Farrell's Official!
Well, after just 16 days, it's official. Former Sox pitching coach John Farrell is the new Sox manager. The deal, which included compensation from the Sox to Toronto in the form of last year's shortstop, Aviles, is for a three year deal, with an option year for the 2016 season. In contrast to Bobby Vee, who never should have been hired by the Hose, Farrell is very familiar with all parts of the Sox organization, as well as most of the players, both in Boston and at the higher minor league levels. He is already close to the Sox GM, Cherrington, as well. Does this automatically mean the Sox will return to collecting post-season hardware? Nothing is automatic in the AL East, but one thing is certain. With Farrell at the helm, the team as a whole will perform much better and they'll be in the race all the way through the season. The post-season is not out of the question, although much will depend on who fills the lineup and how well the Sox fill out their deficiencies at the player level from last year.
John, welcome back and the best of luck!
Well, after just 16 days, it's official. Former Sox pitching coach John Farrell is the new Sox manager. The deal, which included compensation from the Sox to Toronto in the form of last year's shortstop, Aviles, is for a three year deal, with an option year for the 2016 season. In contrast to Bobby Vee, who never should have been hired by the Hose, Farrell is very familiar with all parts of the Sox organization, as well as most of the players, both in Boston and at the higher minor league levels. He is already close to the Sox GM, Cherrington, as well. Does this automatically mean the Sox will return to collecting post-season hardware? Nothing is automatic in the AL East, but one thing is certain. With Farrell at the helm, the team as a whole will perform much better and they'll be in the race all the way through the season. The post-season is not out of the question, although much will depend on who fills the lineup and how well the Sox fill out their deficiencies at the player level from last year.
John, welcome back and the best of luck!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Vee's GONE!
Well, the Sox didn't waste much time. News just flashed over the web--Valentine's been fired. It's only about five months too late.The first right move by the Sox in the off-season (should have been the post-season, but with the year the Hose had, off is the only thing they qualified for after the 162 games were done). No comments yet on who the successor might be, but the betting here is John Farrel, the Hose former pitching coach, who was excellent here and has good relationships with most of the veteran members of the team. If not him, I'd love to see Terry back, but realistically, that's so slim as to be non-existent. He's rumored to be going to Cleveland.
Well, the Sox didn't waste much time. News just flashed over the web--Valentine's been fired. It's only about five months too late.The first right move by the Sox in the off-season (should have been the post-season, but with the year the Hose had, off is the only thing they qualified for after the 162 games were done). No comments yet on who the successor might be, but the betting here is John Farrel, the Hose former pitching coach, who was excellent here and has good relationships with most of the veteran members of the team. If not him, I'd love to see Terry back, but realistically, that's so slim as to be non-existent. He's rumored to be going to Cleveland.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Mercifully Over!
well, the season ended like bookends. Lose at the start--lose at the end. In between, we've unfortunately seen the worst Sox baseball in over forty--that's NOT a typo--years! The last time the Sox lost this many games in a season was 1965--two years before the legendary 'Impossible Dream' pennant winning season. It was a combination of many things--the largest number of DL injuries in MLB history in the last 25 years; poor starting pitching, underperformance in other areas, and finally the glue that binds this unfortunate mess together--VEE. The injuries you can't help. The pitching you can trade or free agent toward improvement. But the manager....From the start, he got off on the wrong foot with his criticism of Youk. Maybe, as the season ultimately showed, Youk is on the downslope of his career, but a manager shouldn't take his beef to the media before the season's even really underway. As The Dustman observed at the time, "That's not the way we do things around here." Then, we had the giveaway of the game in early season to the Stripes--after leading at one time nine zip! And so it continued from one game to the next, from one month to the next, to the merciful end of the season. Today we see that Vee apparently, so it's being reported on the web (and perhaps in a number of other locations), couldn't get along with his coaches.
There will always be next year, hopefully under someone else--John Farrell comes to mind. The team really isn't a last place team. Are they legitimate contenders, particularly now that in addition to Mr. Hankie's Yankees and the Rays, there are the reborn O's? Time will tell. But they have a good nucleus: Pedroia, Papi, Jake, Ciriaco, Ross, Podsednik and Salty (even with his sub-.230 BA--he does throw out a good number of base stealers and has good power). But, the guys in the front office--Cherrington and his new assistant, none other than Tek [WELCOME BACK, TEK~!]--have got to start by deciding they no longer want to have this Valentine. See you all in February. For now, I'm rooting for the 'other' Boston team--the Braves (check your history books!
well, the season ended like bookends. Lose at the start--lose at the end. In between, we've unfortunately seen the worst Sox baseball in over forty--that's NOT a typo--years! The last time the Sox lost this many games in a season was 1965--two years before the legendary 'Impossible Dream' pennant winning season. It was a combination of many things--the largest number of DL injuries in MLB history in the last 25 years; poor starting pitching, underperformance in other areas, and finally the glue that binds this unfortunate mess together--VEE. The injuries you can't help. The pitching you can trade or free agent toward improvement. But the manager....From the start, he got off on the wrong foot with his criticism of Youk. Maybe, as the season ultimately showed, Youk is on the downslope of his career, but a manager shouldn't take his beef to the media before the season's even really underway. As The Dustman observed at the time, "That's not the way we do things around here." Then, we had the giveaway of the game in early season to the Stripes--after leading at one time nine zip! And so it continued from one game to the next, from one month to the next, to the merciful end of the season. Today we see that Vee apparently, so it's being reported on the web (and perhaps in a number of other locations), couldn't get along with his coaches.
There will always be next year, hopefully under someone else--John Farrell comes to mind. The team really isn't a last place team. Are they legitimate contenders, particularly now that in addition to Mr. Hankie's Yankees and the Rays, there are the reborn O's? Time will tell. But they have a good nucleus: Pedroia, Papi, Jake, Ciriaco, Ross, Podsednik and Salty (even with his sub-.230 BA--he does throw out a good number of base stealers and has good power). But, the guys in the front office--Cherrington and his new assistant, none other than Tek [WELCOME BACK, TEK~!]--have got to start by deciding they no longer want to have this Valentine. See you all in February. For now, I'm rooting for the 'other' Boston team--the Braves (check your history books!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
