BrandoFan

Man, if only Shingo gets going with that slider.....lights out -- his moving fastball is migh faster than it looks after a a slider/curve in the 70's and change in the 60's. Right now he is nibbling too much -- Gary Sheffield looked uncomfortablke against him and yet Shingo was scared s***less to pitch to him.

SS, that's not pessimism, but a little thing called "healthy scepticism grounded in baseball reality/history". Good on ya. Then again, you're obvisouly rooting for him to fail, hater

Actually, it doesn't always go both ways -- just like it didn't go both ways in 1968 and in 1930. Velocity difference wasn't THAT great and pitchers made up for it by almost uninterupted cheating (which made breaking ball tougher) and intimidation (knocking batters on their ass), as well as other factors I mentioned in the previous post. When you have a line-up full of punch-and-judy hitters, you can keep on grooving pitches with little consequence if you're Chrissy [/slight exaggeration]

About 31K average for Yankee series. Not bad, not great -- probably closer to latter because of unspectacular weather and non-promotional weekday-ness. Molto probably knows this, but is it true that there will be money left over for a porch-type project in LF as well in 2005-2006?

Yeah, but during that era ballparks were spacious, mound high, baseball heavier, hitters out of shape and strike-zone HUGE. It's a feat no doubt, but it's hard to judge it by today's standards.

If Hurt was alright, I would start platooning them now. Crede against all lefties. Gload against at least half righties. Same as Aaron, Joe's time to strruggle was in 2002 and 2003. Now it's time to PRODUCE, so let the best man win.

He earned it out of ST, but better late than never.

RIP. Hero is damn right. Makes Terrel Owens and Manning seem like ugrateful petty little b****es, don't it? Say....Ted Williamns and countless others actually saw combat....Any chance Berroids, Shamy and Pirzinski enlist, the unstoppable gladiators that they are?

Politte looked even better in ST. Gordon who? I'd rather have Takatsu closing than Koch.

You betchaz it is.

Did I say he was a fluke? I said he might a fluke, it's 50-50 -- unlike Frank who is the real deal. And don't give the minor league numbers becuase: 1. They aren't THAT impressive out side of that 28-game stretch. 2. There is a HUGE difference between AAA and ML, and many, many, many talented hitters over the years couldn't hack it in the bigs. There is DL trip or two in store for Frank, so let's see how Ross handles himself in all kinds of situations, against all kinds of pitchers.

Great thread. And no, I won't tell you.

Bulls***. I've liked Gload since he hit 14 homers in 28 games for Cubs AAA affiliate a few years back, the guy can play a decent OF, can handle 3B if Crede doesn't snap out of it, etc. But this is silly: right now he has shown he can hit a 1st pitch fastball and a mistake rolling curveball on a first pitch off a rookie scrub and velocity-losing Moose......What happens when the league adjusts to him, will be he have the smarts to adjust back and mental toughness to last a full ML season grind? Didn't Craig Wilson hit .500 for the entire month 4-5 years ago? Where is he now? Frank may be overestimating his own value, contract-wise.....but he is Sox' biggest draw, a HOF'er and once he starts punishing those hanging sliders and get me over fastballs that he let go by for strike 1 so many times this year, his OPS will jump to 900+ and Magglio will have a baserunner on for a change.

Last year he was pitching in a division that had some of the more pathetic-hitting teams of the last decade (Tigers and Tribe as well as the mediocre Twins) and he still barely cleared the 4.00 ERA mark. I know he is off to a good start, but a 4.00 ERA pitcher ain't worth nearly 13 Mill per when your payroll is 60+ I'd rather have Show and wait until the All-Star Break to acquire a REAL ace pitcher, not an apathetic donut-chaser Bartolo.

I like that he is getting groundballs, but in ST he was K'ing people like crazy. That change-up is such a key because when it works, it adds another dimension, allowing him to set hitters up much better. Then again, when the change doesn't work, it gets hit a LONG way.

Yes, he did. A big homer and a lead-off single, which Sox wasted but it's not his fault. BUT....that homer was a 85mph batting practice pitch middle of the plate and that single was him chasing slider low-away and barely bouncing it past PayRod. In short, Joe came through tonight alright, but it was merely a battle; so far he is losing the war -- without shorter swing and better pitch selection, he ain't going nowhere.

Yes....homoeroticism is palpable as the Scriptural sparks fly.

Quality start, technically speaking, is not particularly quality -- 6inn/3 ER is 4.50 ERA, which is league average. It's only quality when it's either 4th or especially 5th starter who does it.....but when we're talking 2-3, I prefer 7 inn/3 er and ace - 7 inn/2 er Show wasn't great -- hardly threw a change up, which he is going to have to do sooner or later lest ML hitters get comfortable with slider-fastball combo, and walked Tony friggin Clark 3 times -- but overall was very, very solid. I was gonna start a second "kudos" thread but this one'll do. I hope Neal took notes - his time has come. I hope Ozzie realizes that. Oh and.....Please don't compare Show to Loaiza -- E-Lo has a better control, better four-seamer, better cutter and a change-up that hitters don't crush 420 feet. Show has a nice sinker and a serviceable slider, but unless he discovers his inner Buerhle, he is just a good #4, nothing more. If Scott's year-end ERA is 4.20, I'll be ecstatic. The abslutely worst thing would be if Sox management goes the cheap route, thinking this rotation is good enough for the pennant race/playoffs.

Yeah, it was well over 30K. Guess I was wrong. Good times

Thu GoG: Timo Perez Willie and Uribe had a nifty play each, but Timo's dive stopped the bleeding and allowed Show to settle in. Neither Everett nor Rios would have had a prayer.

3rd game for me tonight, though after my 2 faves went down and Sox lost 2 in a row I ain't exactly thrilled. KC series was more fun than last night's. Attendance? I am thinking 25K for Thursday.

Yeah, I am sure that's it They need not worry; there is no damnation by association.

Hey sanctimonious cowards, how about you respond directly to me, eh?

He teased a lot of people in the last 2 months of 2002. I mean, he was hitting GOOD pitching, not just mistakes. Plate coverage, early power to opposite field (just ask Jim Edmonds how he was doing before he developed it) -- Joe had it all. Yes, his pitch selection was crappy, but he made up for it by excellent hand-eye coordination and supreme confidence in himself. Now he's just looking lost and his swing is too long. Joe Borchard land -- and Crede doesn't have Joe's raw power, so balls Borchard will mis*** for homers are mere flyouts for Crede. He better get it together, quick.

What's wrong with Hillary? Is she any "worse" than Kerry or Slick Willie or any other politician's politican? Or maybe she is not sexy enough? Sends the wrong message to young girls everywhere? What? .