BrandoFan

Piniero? Yes. He lacks Freddy's fastball, although it's still good....and his secondary arsenal is filthy. He is also younger than Garcia and makes 4 Mill less. He is getting lip up now, so Seattle wouldn't ask for quite as much one would think. Not an ace, but Sox won't need an ace until late July, if not August when they would ostensibly be fine-tuning the club for the post-season battles - knock on wood.

Cerb, that much goes without saying. I was ripped for saying this, but with 2002-2003 numbers, JoBo has no business even on a ML bench. However, I am not advocating bringing up Borchard, far from it. I want him to put up ungodly numbers in AAA, first. Let's get real. Borchard will get you almost nothing. Now if you were getting a Randy Johnson - which would only happen if Borchard was ripping AAA apart -- then yeah, trade him. Ryan Sweeney is 19 and the earliest he could be a legitimate ML threat (if ever) will be ASB-2006 - if then. Anderson? Hasn't faced a single AA pitcher. Young can't even handle A-ball pitching. Borchard will hit HR's on swings that Anderson produces a soft line-out on. He has all-field power. Now he needs to learn to make contact and foul off pitcher's pitches.

Kip Wells has good stuff, but he is not "great" pitcher by any stretch. He is another #3 on a good team. I have a feeling that in AL, under playoff pressure, he is just a 4.00 pitcher, which is good, but nothing special. Of course I'll take him no prob, but Sox better not give up Cotts and Honel for him.

Lie #1: Sox would have been steamrolling people in the playoffs in 2003 if only *tear* they got there. Esteban Loaiza was out of gas in September and likely would have suffered the same fate as Zambrano. Judy is Judy. Colon and Buerhle could have been decent, but that probably wouldn't have been enough against much better prepared and experienced Red Sox/Yankees since Thomas-Ordonez-Lee-Konerko have a history of overswinging and choking in the playoffs (2000) and other big games. Comparison with Florida is not apt. Florida was the best team in NL since McKeon took reins in May - and that despite the fact that they played in a tough-ass division in NLE. Sox didn't have anyone like Josh Beckett and Ivan Rodriguez to step up and carry them through ALDS. Secondly.......Why wouldn't you try to get better for the playoffs AND solve the #5 problem at the same time? What the hell do you propose Sox do?

Absolutely. I am sorry, but outside of that HR on a get-me-over fastball in a blow-out, Timo has been really bad at the plate against RHP; he looks downright lackadaisical in the field and has more career CS than SB, which is simply abominable......He used to be good in 2002, but that time is gone. Armando Rios used to be solid, too. Reed could probably give you 350-360 OBP against RHP in the 2-hole. He would steal bases and bust his ass in the field, maybe even bringing some extra fans to the park in the process Unless of course Reed's wrist injury is structural in which case technically he shouldn't even be playing, let alone playing in the bigs.

There's not hitting for POWER and then there is not hitting for power. He had a near-600 Slugging in the spacious AA park against hard-throwing AA'ers. Now, in Charlotte sandbox, his Slug % is, what, .365? Couple that with his abysmal ST showing and off-season health travails... Obviously I don't expect him to hit for real power EVEN if he were 100% healthy -- he is a John Olerud, not a Giambi afterall.......But 525-550 Slug in that AAA park is a must - if only because of singles, doubles and triples. In any case, Timo and Aaron not only can't hit RHP, they can't even get on base. Rowand starts against LHP and Reed - against RHP in the 2-spot where his OBP and baserunning would be most welcome. Ideally, you would wait for Reed to get healthy and not waste a year of ML service in 2004......But emergency is emergency --Sox need everybit of OBP/contact they could muster with their schitzophrenic "1 run today, 12 runs tomorrow" all-or-nothing offense.

I doubt the "cocain" part. But the lazy asshole part? Very possible. He really underachived in 2002-2003 away from Safeco, and I simply do not trust him to take the ball 2 times in ALDS against Red Sox or the Yankees....

The "book" on Freddy Garcia inexplicably struggling the last couple of years mentions something about a "lazy, cocain-dabbling asshole". I doubt the veracity of such rumors, but other than "ace stuff" there is nothing about Freddy Garcia that says "ace". A very good #3, sure. I just think Sox need an ace to slide everyone else back. If Garcia can be had without breaking the bank, fine, but let's not salivate over someone with his track record, to say nothing of the splits that Cheat provided above.

Well, we know Rowand starts against LHP, regardless of what Borchard and Reed do. This season Aaron is hitting BIG against lefties, somsething like 1100 OPS after today's game. I know I said Jeremiah Reed shouldn't be brought up until 2005, but when you have Timoran Perowand with a collective OBP of 220against right-handed pitching, of which there is a majority in MLB.......Let's just say, opinions are meant to be changed. Reed's ailing wrists may have zapped his power, but he could muster a 350 OBP against RHP in his sleep. He does other things well, too. Harris and Reed as #1 and #2 against righties works like a charm.

Again, getting rid of Borchard would be stupid. His value is very low right now. Lee - he's just getting hot, starting to hit to CF-LCF finally. Now he needs to start lining outside fastballs to RF/RCF and his production will shoot up. That means his value will be back to 'decent', even with a big contract. Oakland is an option - with Angel pitching sucking and Anderson/Glauss sustaining big injuries, they're a VladimiR Guerrero disk re-injury away from falling off the wagon. That means Oakland can easily compete, if not win ALW/ With Tejada gone and Dye filling in the 4-spot shoes, they need a #5 hitter who can DH/1B and drive in big runs. Karros can hit LHP, but he is brutal against righties. I am sure Billy Beane won't be averse to getting Palmeiro at a prorated cost, which won't be much. Anyway, Zito is a possibility now that he is struggling and A's have another prospect ready to join Harden, Hudson, Mulder and the crafty lefty. Glavine. Unit, depending if his knee passes a physical. Ditto Schmidt and the elbow/shoulder Freddy Garcia would be nice. Perez. Wells.

Infield singles and SB's are nice and all, but the primary reason why Sox paid him that huge bonus is so he could develop and provide Jim Thome OPS and RBI. But his late streak is good news.

Is it true Bill Cosby bailed out Sweetback Sweetness?

Sun GoG: Olivo (big throw) It's a shame Garland is gonna get the AoG because he did his best to make sure Sox lose this very important game.

Where's Odalis Perez as an option? We have a #2 in Buerhle We have a #3 in Loaiza We have a #4 in Judy We have a #5 in Schoenweiss/Cotts/Rauch #1 is missing, and you can't win ALDS within a big 3....

Valentin made all 3.

Big Frank reaches. Christian Guzman "Infield Hit" Meter this series: 5 That's at least 4 errors (Rowand's ball is iffy) that should have been charged to him if the home scorer had any balls, with 1st costing the Twins at least 4 runs....Gold Glover my ass, no wonder his Zone Rating is last in the league.

That's what I call a productive at bat. Thata boy Joe

Jose misses a 3-run homer off a lefty by a couple of feet. Only 1 run scores. f***.

No, those are too expensive. Old Man Carl wouldn't stand for wasting money on that fancy stuff..

Guzman....thanks for that hesitation and another gift. Rowand safe.

Don't be so hard on him - it's only his second f***-up today completing a DP. Only 1 run scored. as a result.

Guzman gives the Sox a 3rd "infield" single in this series......Thanks

How about.....Call Rauch and have Cotts back him up every fifth day? While we're waiting for the "deal" to blow our minds and JR's wallet.......A two-headed 5th starter is a necessity at this point.

Yeah in the 9th when the runner at 3rd is a winning run and Bonds is coming up..... If you can't get Justin "Russel Branyon" Murneu out in the 1st inning so you have to load up the bases for Torii Hunter....well, then pitching is not your thing, try virtual reality fishing instead.