The Red Sox Thread

[ieddyi]

For all that people gripe about the Yankees FO, the Red Sox have really hamstrung themselves with a meaningful percentage of their payroll going to Crawford and Lackey, and not having the pieces in the upper levels of their farm system to step in. They'll be decent this year, but they really don't have any depth.

The farm is the key

The "100M development machine" seems to be lagging a bit. Filling out the pen from the farm is a sign of a productive system. It's been a while now since they've brought up an impact position player. Theo got out at the right time

[ieddyi]

Not a bad outing by Bard last night

[Bronson'sCornrows]

Not a bad outing by Bard last night

He didn't look very good over the first three innings. He got roughed up a little in the third and there were some hard outs and rockets in the first two. They were really keyed into his fastball early and he wasn't throwing much else during that stretch except when he got ahead.

He really seemed to hit his stride after the 3rd, though. He started mixing his pitches better; throwing occasional changeups, starting guys off with hooks, etc. I was disappointed that Valentine had such a quick hook for him in the 5th. I really think he should have been given a chance to pitch out of his own mess. He couldn't have done any worse than Justin Thomas did.

Not that the Jays offense is the best measuring stick, but his breaking stuff was nasty all night long. He was dropping hooks for strikes on both corners, keeping most of them nice and low, and they just couldn't touch it. I would like to have seen him throw more changeups. He wasn't throwing them for strikes, but they were close to the plate, had good movement, and more importantly, were all kept nice and low. Between the movement of his change and his FB velocity, this could easily be an out pitch if he keeps throwing it. The problem is that he would have to commit to throwing it more regularly and the team and fans would have to suffer through whatever growing pains that would come along with that. I'm fine with that, honestly. I'm not expecting much anyway; might as well maximize his potential as long as we're insisting on this experiment, anyway.

[ArodEra]

As far as velo is concerned, Bard's FB averaged 94.8 and topped out at 98.2. Aren't those the numbers we expect from Pineda?

[YankeePride1967]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...ion/?page=full

Interesting.

Don’t look for former manager Terry Francona at Fenway Park when the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of their beloved ballpark a week from Friday against the Yankees. Francona is still smarting from the way things ended between himself and the Red Sox after the collapse of 2011.

“Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad,’’ Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe’s Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona’s job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication. “It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll have a great event and I was part of a lot of that stuff there, but I just can’t go back there and start hugging people and stuff without feeling a little bit hypocritical.’’

“Until I’m more comfortable with some answers on what happened at the end of the year, I don’t want to have much to do with the organization and that’s a shame,’’ Francona said Tuesday. “With all the good things that were accomplished, I just feel pretty strongly about that.

“It was pretty raw at the end of the year. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of moving on from that. At the same time, I’m never going to forget that. For me to go back and start waving and hugging, I’m just not comfortable doing that. I made it pretty clear to John Henry. When I told Larry that, he said, ‘Well, I haven’t talked to John about it.’ I said, well then how [expletive] important could it be?

[snapple]

Francona is such a dude. I'd love to have a drink with the guy.

[4bronxbombers]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...ion/?page=full

Interesting.

Don’t look for former manager Terry Francona at Fenway Park when the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of their beloved ballpark a week from Friday against the Yankees. Francona is still smarting from the way things ended between himself and the Red Sox after the collapse of 2011.

“Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad,’’ Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe’s Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona’s job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication. “It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll have a great event and I was part of a lot of that stuff there, but I just can’t go back there and start hugging people and stuff without feeling a little bit hypocritical.’’

“Until I’m more comfortable with some answers on what happened at the end of the year, I don’t want to have much to do with the organization and that’s a shame,’’ Francona said Tuesday. “With all the good things that were accomplished, I just feel pretty strongly about that.

“It was pretty raw at the end of the year. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of moving on from that. At the same time, I’m never going to forget that. For me to go back and start waving and hugging, I’m just not comfortable doing that. I made it pretty clear to John Henry. When I told Larry that, he said, ‘Well, I haven’t talked to John about it.’ I said, well then how [expletive] important could it be?

Wow - what a sh*tty way to treat someone. Good for Francona for sticking to his guns and not kowtowing to them. I'm glad he isn't going back there with open arms - I don't blame him for feeling the way he does.

[CoyoteYankee]

I guess I wasn't paying all that much attention in the offseason but I had no idea that the animosity between Tito and the Red Sox was at that level. I knew I always liked him.

[b-ball-lunachick]

I've always like Tito and now even moreso.

“I thought there was some uncertainty as to whether he had actually gotten the invitation,’’ said Lucchino. “He’s going to be here on the 22d for the Sunday night game so I called him and invited him and he declined. It was a sincere invitation for him to come back. He has an exalted place in our history and we were hoping it would be convenient and comfortable for him to come back and we were hoping it would be.’’

Lucchino is such a lying douche - he knew the invitation was already out there -- probably why Henry finally called him back after all those months...

When I spoke to John he made me think they were going to make an effort. John and Larry made it clear to me they weren’t responsible for what was said [in the Globe article]. I thought they owed it to me to get to the bottom of it a little bit.’’

sorry Tito -they aren't going to make an effort because it might expose themselves.

[teknetic]

Rays, Texas, and Yanks due up next. Ouch.

Youk also looks rather cooked.

[pleasepassthesoup]

Quality starts from the Sox in their last 33 games: Lester 4, Beckett 1, Lackey 1, Bedard 1
Starts of at least 7 innings: Lester 4, Beckett 1.

[YankeePride1967]

Well Boston did win one game this series, that is an improvement! So they are headed in the right direction!

[conkermaniac]

Rays, Texas, and Yanks due up next. Ouch.

Youk also looks rather cooked.

That's rather unfortunate. The Sox will be facing us just in time to get hot....

[teknetic]

Currently possess the worst record in the majors.

[ArodEra]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...ion/?page=full

Interesting.

Don’t look for former manager Terry Francona at Fenway Park when the Red Sox celebrate the 100th anniversary of their beloved ballpark a week from Friday against the Yankees. Francona is still smarting from the way things ended between himself and the Red Sox after the collapse of 2011.

“Somebody went out of their way to make me look pretty bad,’’ Francona said, referring to a story by the Globe’s Bob Hohler that cited unnamed club sources expressing concerns that Francona’s job performance may have been affected by his use of pain medication. “It’s a shame. I’m sure they’ll have a great event and I was part of a lot of that stuff there, but I just can’t go back there and start hugging people and stuff without feeling a little bit hypocritical.’’

“Until I’m more comfortable with some answers on what happened at the end of the year, I don’t want to have much to do with the organization and that’s a shame,’’ Francona said Tuesday. “With all the good things that were accomplished, I just feel pretty strongly about that.

“It was pretty raw at the end of the year. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of moving on from that. At the same time, I’m never going to forget that. For me to go back and start waving and hugging, I’m just not comfortable doing that. I made it pretty clear to John Henry. When I told Larry that, he said, ‘Well, I haven’t talked to John about it.’ I said, well then how [expletive] important could it be?

Good stuff. Thanks for the link.

[Dave Visbeck]

Currently possess the worst record in the majors.

HEY! We're doin' a game better than last year!

[4bronxbombers]

Currently possess the worst record in the majors.

Awesome.

[Bronson'sCornrows]

HEY! We're doin' a game better than last year!

Haha! Was just gonna post the same thing. 1-5 FTW.

[gregzzy22]

This Francona thing might take a while to blow over. He's got my respect for not running out there so soon.

I bet its not easy either, he was a huge part of that franchise, damn near identical to what Torre was for us. And he cant feel OK with embracing and letting the fans embrace him. That has to hurt.

[Art Vanderlay]

Someone in the Boston front office leaked priviliged medical information and details of Francona's personal life in order to discredit and smear him. Only a handful of people had access to Tito's medical files, it would not be very difficult for Henry and Lucchino to figure out the source of the leak if they were so inclined. Their inaction and indifference speaks volumns.

Bravo for Tito!!

[freebubba]

Someone in the Boston front office leaked priviliged medical information and details of Francona's personal life in order to discredit and smear him. Only a handful of people had access to Tito's medical files, it would not be very difficult for Henry and Lucchino to figure out the source of the leak if they were so inclined. Their inaction and indifference speaks volumns.

Bravo for Tito!!

Absolutely. The Red Sox FO is the only reason he is not managing the Cardinals right now. It is my understanding that Tito called John Henry so he could clear up the b*ll................ about his prescription drug use, and Henry couldn't be bothered in making the call to St. Louis. I'm sure Tito would love to be at the event from a fan appreciation perspective, but I have a ton of respect for him for telling the Red Sox FO to go stick it up their ass.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

Someone in the Boston front office leaked priviliged medical information and details of Francona's personal life in order to discredit and smear him. Only a handful of people had access to Tito's medical files, it would not be very difficult for Henry and Lucchino to figure out the source of the leak if they were so inclined. Their inaction and indifference speaks volumns.

Bravo for Tito!!

I may be wrong, but I think it was more complicated than that. I think it was known that he was taking the pain relievers, and that he had had conversations with others regarding his concerns over addiction. So there may well be more sources than are usually associated with these things.

[Yankees1962]

I may be wrong, but I think it was more complicated than that. I think it was known that he was taking the pain relievers, and that he had had conversations with others regarding his concerns over addiction. So there may well be more sources than are usually associated with these things.

However, Terry isn't buying it and probably has a good idea who leaked the information.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

However, Terry isn't buying it and probably has a good idea who leaked the information.

Yeah, and, regardless, the fact that Henry couldn't even find the time to call him back to talk about it is ridiculous. Given how that team markets itself, it's a huge black eye that the guy who is arguably their best and most successful manager in the last 80+ years won't attend the ceremony, despite the fact that he has to be in town for the Sunday game.

The only negative about Francona not attending is that it would have been great if he got a big ovation and the team's current leadership was booed.

[Art Vanderlay]

However, Terry isn't buying it and probably has a good idea who leaked the information.

and who encouraged and approved it.