In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : Fair points, Geo, about the loss of good players.  However, I don't think we can bank on the idea that the other teams are considerably stronger.  They may be considerably stronger on paper, like the 2011 Red Sox were, but sometimes the reality can be very different than the public perception of how a team may perform.
Posted by Yukon-Cornelius

Every time the Sox make a depth move, or another team signs another player, tons of commenters complain about how the Sox are going to suck. Look at their roster, and tell me how this isn't going to be one of the best teams in the AL. They don't need a superstar at every position. Get over last season, all ready. 1. Ellsbury (MVP Capable) 2. Pedroia (MVP Capable) 3. Gonzalez (MVP Capable) 4. Youk 5. Ortiz 6. Crawford (MVP Capable) He will bounce back. 7. Ross 8. Salty/Lavarnway.... not sure why they signed .180 hitter Shoppach 9. Punto 1. Lester (CY Young Capable) 2. Beckett (CY Young Capable) 3. Buccholz (Cy Young Capable) 4. Oswalt - when they sign him, it's coming. 5. Bard/Aceves --- Who knows with Bard, he could be great or could end up back in the pen. Bull pen: 7th- Jenks/Aceves/Bard 8th- Melancon 9th- Bailey You guys are foolish to even think that the Red Sox are going to be bad, and that this years singing have been bad. Get over last year and quit being so Damn negative. 1/25/2012 12:38 AM EST Recommended (1) Report abuse
Posted by Bisson1

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : let's hope Yukon.....we could get that perfect storm of Youk/Clay coming back strong, Papi keeping it up, Josh/Lester not fading, Dice coming back strong in 2nd half, Salty stepping up, and all the new guys playing real well....but i think the only things that you can count on are ells, pedey, and agon...and god forbid if one of them underperforms/is injured.... thats a lot to hope for...me? im just going to enjoy bobby V as a manager and watching some of the new guys perform/esp Iggy...a wild card this year would be pretty amazing...imo
Posted by georom4

sorry but the sox arent better than they were last year even....scutaro & paps replacements wont be as good.....Papi had a great year last year...can it happen it again??? our pitching is so shaky it is scary given the injuries and fatheads that comprise it....oswalt would be a great boost but hey, at least we have cody ross!  crawford is hurt, and can we really expect Papi to repeat last years stats at his advanced age? i think we will do about as well as last year...90 wins... but the most important part of the coming season is what our AL rivals have to done to get better...how do we compare to the yankee moves? the marquee signings fielder, etc???  I doubt we are even as good as last year..and I know the other teams are considerably stronger... now go wave those pom poms somewhere else...
Posted by georom4

Baloney! The Sox are not as good as the team that ended 2011. They lost one of the best closers in MLB history, and replaced him with a lesser light. They start with one decent OF. No shortstop. Question marks in the rotation, and the bullpen. Meanwhile, The Tigers, Jays, Rangers, Yankees, Angels and Rays, have all improved by off season moves. Vegas doesn't rank the Sox in the top SIX for winning the World Series. This team has chosen to act like a small market team, dumpster diving, instead of biting the bullet and going over the luxury tax ceiling. Pathetic!
Posted by GhostofTito

Baloney! The Sox are not as good as the team that ended 2011. They lost one of the best closers in MLB history, and replaced him with a lesser light. They start with one decent OF. No shortstop. Question marks in the rotation, and the bullpen. Meanwhile, The Tigers, Jays, Rangers, Yankees, Angels and Rays, have all improved by off season moves. Vegas doesn't rank the Sox in the top SIX for winning the World Series. This team has chosen to act like a small market team, dumpster diving, instead of biting the bullet and going over the luxury tax ceiling. Pathetic!
Posted by GhostofTito

THIS OFF SEASON! GET IT?
Posted by GhostofTito

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : You're ridiculous...Closer of lesser light you say? Let's look at these numbers: Bailey:2009-2011 ERA 2.07 WHIP 0.95 SV%89 Papelbon : 09-11 ERA 2.89 WHIP 1.10 SV%88 Let's not forget that with the new platoon in RF we should be getting an OPS that's about .200 better! Let's not forget that Scutaro was no defensive wizard, and while he was clutch in September, that was the extent of his clutchability. Iglesias may not be a feared hitter, but when he gets up to the bigs this year (and he will) he will save soooo many more runs than Scutty it's not even funny. Question marks in the BP? The additions of Melancon and Bailey are nothing but positives. Chances are Bard will be back there too (I'd prefer to see Aceves in the rotation behind Oswald or Floyd) With those three, talk about innings 7/8/9 being game over!  I think you place too much faith in the moves other teams have made, and no faith in the moves we have made. Sure, there were no blockbusters this offseason but you can't continually spend, spend, spend! If we did, we'd be no better than the Stankees  CC and Agon will be in their second year with the Olde Towne Team and I think that will do nothing but help them improve. Crawford can do nothing but improve and with Gonzo's shoulder at full strength, I hope to see big things from them (not that Gonzo had a bad year last season) The Sox won 90 games last year and with all of the moves we have made PLUS the addition of a great in-game (and clubhouse) manager in Bobby V, I see nothing but improvement this year.  The only thing I see as pathetic is your lack of faith. Can't wait for the Sox to get deep into the post-season so I can see you and geo eat crow!  Put your money on that Vegas!
Posted by stodknocker

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : You're ridiculous...Closer of lesser light you say? Let's look at these numbers: Bailey:2009-2011 ERA 2.07 WHIP 0.95 SV%89 Papelbon : 09-11 ERA 2.89 WHIP 1.10 SV%88 Let's not forget that with the new platoon in RF we should be getting an OPS that's about .200 better! Let's not forget that Scutaro was no defensive wizard, and while he was clutch in September, that was the extent of his clutchability. Iglesias may not be a feared hitter, but when he gets up to the bigs this year (and he will) he will save soooo many more runs than Scutty it's not even funny. Question marks in the BP? The additions of Melancon and Bailey are nothing but positives. Chances are Bard will be back there too (I'd prefer to see Aceves in the rotation behind Oswald or Floyd) With those three, talk about innings 7/8/9 being game over!  I think you place too much faith in the moves other teams have made, and no faith in the moves we have made. Sure, there were no blockbusters this offseason but you can't continually spend, spend, spend! If we did, we'd be no better than the Stankees  CC and Agon will be in their second year with the Olde Towne Team and I think that will do nothing but help them improve. Crawford can do nothing but improve and with Gonzo's shoulder at full strength, I hope to see big things from them (not that Gonzo had a bad year last season) The Sox won 90 games last year and with all of the moves we have made PLUS the addition of a great in-game (and clubhouse) manager in Bobby V, I see nothing but improvement this year.  The only thing I see as pathetic is your lack of faith. Can't wait for the Sox to get deep into the post-season so I can see you and geo eat crow!  Put your money on that Vegas!
Posted by stodknocker

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : No mention of the starting rotation?  Other than being presumptious that Oswalt or Floyd will be acquired?  The most important ingredient to any team's success.........Hmmmm.......
Posted by andrewmitch

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : You're ridiculous...Closer of lesser light you say? Let's look at these numbers: Bailey:2009-2011 ERA 2.07 WHIP 0.95 SV%89 Papelbon : 09-11 ERA 2.89 WHIP 1.10 SV%88 Let's not forget that with the new platoon in RF we should be getting an OPS that's about .200 better! Let's not forget that Scutaro was no defensive wizard, and while he was clutch in September, that was the extent of his clutchability. Iglesias may not be a feared hitter, but when he gets up to the bigs this year (and he will) he will save soooo many more runs than Scutty it's not even funny. Question marks in the BP? The additions of Melancon and Bailey are nothing but positives. Chances are Bard will be back there too (I'd prefer to see Aceves in the rotation behind Oswald or Floyd) With those three, talk about innings 7/8/9 being game over!  (**UPDATE**) With the return of Buccholz, the top 3 are one of the best in the majors! If you think the FO is going to stand pat with only have a solid 1-3 you're just kidding yourself. Whether it's Oswalt, Floyd or Jackson, the Sox will add another arm and I would take any of those pitchers in the 4-5 slot! I see a lot of people crying about injuries but the fact is, any other team could also have an injury to their top 3 and that would make them just as fallable as the Sox would be.  I think you place too much faith in the moves other teams have made, and no faith in the moves we have made. Sure, there were no blockbusters this offseason but you can't continually spend, spend, spend! If we did, we'd be no better than the Stankees  CC and Agon will be in their second year with the Olde Towne Team and I think that will do nothing but help them improve. Crawford can do nothing but improve and with Gonzo's shoulder at full strength, I hope to see big things from them (not that Gonzo had a bad year last season) The Sox won 90 games last year and with all of the moves we have made PLUS the addition of a great in-game (and clubhouse) manager in Bobby V, I see nothing but improvement this year.  The only thing I see as pathetic is your lack of faith. Can't wait for the Sox to get deep into the post-season so I can see you and geo eat crow!  Put your money on that Vegas!
Posted by stodknocker

Typical Red Sox never do anything wrong ballwashers. Anyone who thinks Bailey is better than Paps, is a fool. This is an incomplete team, while many have improved, this team got weaker. Take your stats, which are for losers, and shove them.
Posted by GhostofTito

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : thats not going to happen - im usually right about things....
Posted by georom4

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : No mention of the starting rotation?  Other than being presumptious that Oswalt or Floyd will be acquired?  The most important ingredient to any team's success.........Hmmmm.......
Posted by andrewmitch

I'm just going to do what I always do, sit back and enjoy the season.  The Sox are better than most of the teams in the AL, and that gives them a good chance to make the playoffs.   I don't understand the doom and gloomers.  I mean, you have the right to feel that way, but to me it misses the point of baseball.  Baseball is there to be enjoyed.  I enjoyed the Sox during the bad times, so I am enjoying them even more over the last decade.  To me, this is a great time to be a Sox fan, but then, it is always a great time to be a baseball fan.
Posted by fizsh

In Response to Re: Sox - Better than drones on this site think. : Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz are as good as any top 3, if healthy.  They gave the Sox 75 starts last season.  It's not a stretch to project them to provide at least that many starts between them this year. Bard or Aceves and then whoever should be better than Lackey, Wakefield, Weiland, Miller, Dice, and whoever else we threw out there last year.  Lackey was terrible last year, and he comprised 28 starts.  It won't take much to improve upon that.   As few starts as we got from our projected starting rotation, we still won 90 games.   Even with the poor pitching, the likelihood that the team would only win 7 games in September is astronomically low.  It was an anomaly that the Sox only won 90 games.
Posted by RedSoxKimmi