If they can get Dice-K back on track then we'll be fine. It might be difficult to figure out because he has been such an enigma all season long.. even before the injury, he might have been undefeated but he was not pitching like it and walking tons of batters. Masterson is VERY good and only going to get better, and Lester has obviously pitched great. I think most would agree that Schilling being lost isnt the end of the world- he is over the hill, and probably would not have even been slated to start games in the playoffs. In the end, you still have this pool of pitchers to choose from for a playoff rotation:
Beckett
Dice-K
Lester
Wakefield
Masterson
Colon
Buchholz
The lineup is solid at every position besides shortstop, and it is pretty much confirmed that the wrist will not be keeping Ortiz out past the end of July.. it is NOT a season ender. Even though we are young in a lot of places, it was demonstrated in the playoffs last year that they are by no means to young to handle the pressure- Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Lester all had ridiculous postseasons. In a season where most teams are dealing with injury problems, the situation for the Sox could easily be a lot worse than it is going to be at the All-Star break.
Beckett
Dice-K
Lester
Wakefield
Masterson
Colon
Buchholz
The lineup is solid at every position besides shortstop, and it is pretty much confirmed that the wrist will not be keeping Ortiz out past the end of July.. it is NOT a season ender. Even though we are young in a lot of places, it was demonstrated in the playoffs last year that they are by no means to young to handle the pressure- Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Lester all had ridiculous postseasons. In a season where most teams are dealing with injury problems, the situation for the Sox could easily be a lot worse than it is going to be at the All-Star break.
Varitek at bat isn't pretty but he is as valuable as ever behind the plate, especially with all of the young pitching both starting and comin out of the pen. Hard to comment on buchholz long-term as he could easily be the best of the 3 young starters, but Lester and Masterson have pitched better this season than Bucky has.. Colon is obviously the last option he is a fatass, but for a Number 7 starter on our roster, I know a lot of teams in the MLB would love to have him as their 4 or 5 now that he has demonstrated he can still pitch in the mid-90s/
wannabe whale
DiceK was obviously very rusty coming off the DL on Saturday. He has great stuff but does need to cut down on the walks. Unless he is really hurt I think he will have a decent year mainly because Lester has emerged as the #2 guy behind the outstanding Josh Beckett. Many a team would love to have a healthy Dicek as their 3rd starter.
On the field the real JD Drew may be emerging, he threw out the go ahead run at the plate today in the top of the 13th and if he keeps hitting is the AL favorite to be player of the month in June. Unfortunately he took the collar at the plate today.
Veritek hit .238 last year and was a key player for the World Series winner, he is hitting .236 this year and his value is not his bat but his leadership behind the plate and as captain, expecially with the young starters.
Youk is having a terrific year, hitting well and fielding great. Dustin Pedroia had four hits today and steady day in and day out.
Mike Lowell is still solid at third and a dangerous hitter, especially on the road where they need as much hitting as possible.
Natually the return of a healthy Papi could make up for a lot of bad days by players like Ellsbury, Veritek, Lowell and even Manny. Ortiz is about 7 days or so from picking up a bat..His return to form could make this team the best in baseball but that remains to be seen.
As long as Papi can recover and be the everyday DH the Sox can use an outfield of Manny, Ellsbury and Drew with Coco on the bench as the back-up.
Basically if that happens this team will win 95 games and make the playoffs easily as division winner or wild card.
The Yankees have turned it around but with all hands healthy the Sox have the better pitching and that in the end should make the difference. The DRays are no slouches this year and remain a threat to spoil someone's season.
wil..
DiceK was obviously very rusty coming off the DL on Saturday. He has great stuff but does need to cut down on the walks. Unless he is really hurt I think he will have a decent year mainly because Lester has emerged as the #2 guy behind the outstanding Josh Beckett. Many a team would love to have a healthy Dicek as their 3rd starter.
On the field the real JD Drew may be emerging, he threw out the go ahead run at the plate today in the top of the 13th and if he keeps hitting is the AL favorite to be player of the month in June. Unfortunately he took the collar at the plate today.
Veritek hit .238 last year and was a key player for the World Series winner, he is hitting .236 this year and his value is not his bat but his leadership behind the plate and as captain, expecially with the young starters.
Youk is having a terrific year, hitting well and fielding great. Dustin Pedroia had four hits today and steady day in and day out.
Mike Lowell is still solid at third and a dangerous hitter, especially on the road where they need as much hitting as possible.
Natually the return of a healthy Papi could make up for a lot of bad days by players like Ellsbury, Veritek, Lowell and even Manny. Ortiz is about 7 days or so from picking up a bat..His return to form could make this team the best in baseball but that remains to be seen.
As long as Papi can recover and be the everyday DH the Sox can use an outfield of Manny, Ellsbury and Drew with Coco on the bench as the back-up.
Basically if that happens this team will win 95 games and make the playoffs easily as division winner or wild card.
The Yankees have turned it around but with all hands healthy the Sox have the better pitching and that in the end should make the difference. The DRays are no slouches this year and remain a threat to spoil someone's season.
wil..
bigtendominator
I use everything I can. I have the local cable and pay for every channel they offer except a few porn jobs. The package offers the network channels from the Denver market, ABC - CBS and NBC, I get a half assed ESPN and Fox Sports, mostly in Spanish which sucks. However I have a DVR with the cable and can TIVO a lot of sports. I also use my computer a lot to watch games, I don't like it as much as my flat screen 32" TV but it is better than nothing.
I am looking into buying a device that will allow me to watch computer TV on my regular TV. I don't have the details handy or I would post a link, I gave them to someone to try and find the hardware for me here in San Jose.
Depending upon what I want to spend I can get quite a lot of sports on TV. For the Red Sox unless they are on Fox or ESPN I use WEEI radio to listen to the games on my PC.
Bottom line it sucks compared to what is available in the states but it's something I have to live with. NFL is a lot better as I get a lot of games from the Denver Market. College foots and hoops suck mostly unless I want to chase down more means to watch them but usually I am working anyway and keep up by computer.
wil..
I use everything I can. I have the local cable and pay for every channel they offer except a few porn jobs. The package offers the network channels from the Denver market, ABC - CBS and NBC, I get a half assed ESPN and Fox Sports, mostly in Spanish which sucks. However I have a DVR with the cable and can TIVO a lot of sports. I also use my computer a lot to watch games, I don't like it as much as my flat screen 32" TV but it is better than nothing.
I am looking into buying a device that will allow me to watch computer TV on my regular TV. I don't have the details handy or I would post a link, I gave them to someone to try and find the hardware for me here in San Jose.
Depending upon what I want to spend I can get quite a lot of sports on TV. For the Red Sox unless they are on Fox or ESPN I use WEEI radio to listen to the games on my PC.
Bottom line it sucks compared to what is available in the states but it's something I have to live with. NFL is a lot better as I get a lot of games from the Denver Market. College foots and hoops suck mostly unless I want to chase down more means to watch them but usually I am working anyway and keep up by computer.
wil..
