Timlin in, Velazquez out

wow i guess the sox are planning on blowing out the rays or getting blown out

Are they insane??? Timlin sucks! --

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHYYYYYYYYYYY Timlin, WHY!

He was washed up 2 year's ago. The greatest fear is he is forced to picth in a close game.

why timlin?!?!?!

Nooooooooooooooooo

oh no

i hope timlin doesn't pitch unless we are up by 6. I mean i like the guy but lately ehhh

This is playing with fire. Timlin only give you someone to burn innings in a blow out. I don't even think you can trust him with a six-run lead these days. We now know that Timlin will enter at least one criticial extra-inning game, say the 13th or something, because we have no one else and will promptly give up a home run. If he wasn't out there, we'd have to choose someone else, which going through the roster, anyone else would be better. At least they haven't faced Alex Cora if it came to that!
Can't believe we just don't have a better option right now, all sentimentality aside. Timlin barely rallied last year, and hasn't been close to effective this year.

who knows - maybe he comes in and sets them down one inning

I love the dodgers.. MANNNYWOOOOD!!!

i just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Good lord. Does Timlin have pics of Francona with a sheep or something?

To all the people who hate Timlin....what other available pitcher do you propose the Sox add to get 11 pitchers?

I guess these are the crazy ways of Francona

If they feel that strongly about putting him on the roster, I hope they think very carefully before bringing him into the game. He was the losing pitcher for 2 games the Sox played just against TB this year. I hope that's it!

Its too bad that commentors arent running the team----we'd have won the world series every year up till now. Smarten up people....those folks making the roster know a LOT more about baseball than you or me. Do you really think he'll be in there with the game on the line???

Timlin isn't washed up you idiot. Have ya noticed that he's always brought it with men on base? He's alway cleaning up someone else's mess.

Timlin isn't washed up you idiot. Have ya noticed that he's always brought it with men on base? He's alway cleaning up someone else's mess.

Wow... Talk about loyalty. Give Mikey a chance. He has been clutch for us in the post-season before and can do it again. The playoffs are totally different than the regular season. I have faith in you, Mike!!

Apparently, Eric Gagne wasn't available...

What a dumb move.

What a dumb move.

Putting aside for a moment that Timlin's best days are in the rearview mirror my bigger concern is how limited the bench is for Francona. Three catchers, not one that can hit or run, coupled with a first baseman/DH (Casey) who has a handicapped parking pass, not to mention that Terry has deep sixed for reason nobody can explain and the results are very few options at the end of the game.

Either Francona needs to use Casey or he should replace him with someone who can run and play defense in a tough spot. Perhaps they should carry Bucholtz for just that reason, I keep reading that he's a remarkable all around athlete.

i see this purely as the only move they could make to carry 3 catchers. Important as we all know, so he can pinch hit for Varitek.
An over stock in infielders forces the issue too.. Tito will not put Timlin in a tight situation, unless he has absolutely no other options left. And who knows, Mike may just step up with all of the experience he has and suprise you.

Oh my god, not Velazquez! What the hell, people? At least Timlin might be able to burn a couple of innings if any game gets out of hand one way or another, preserving the bullpen for a more meaningful fight some other day. Do you really feel there are better options out there?

An 11th pitcher is there ONLY in case of a blowout, what's the big deal

He will be a clean up guy in case there is a blow out either way. No need to burn a good pitcher to eat innings otherwise. You never know, he might even surprise all of us with a flash of the old more reliable Mike Timlin. I can't see him in there with the game on the line unless the entire bullpen has been exhausted.

Greg Kite errr I mean MikeTimlin, the human "white flag" or human "victory cigar" lets hop it is the latter.

I bet there will be a point in this series where we say "Man, wouldn't it be nice to have Gil Velasquez in this situation."

comon Tito..do not hae stomach for Meatball Mike

Smith and Aardsma were both more effective this year than Timlin.

why not get a legit pinch runner for a day when vs. a lefty both ellsbury and crisp play. I dont know if velasquez can run but there really no need for 11 pitchers

Should see Aardsma in there over Timilin.

Not sure I'd advocate using Buch as the designated pinch runner (a'la Steve Avery of years past), but interesting idea. Supposidly he's the only guy that's faster then Ells. Seriously doubt he knows anything about running the bases though.

Can't say that I'm at all surprised though, was apparent several days ago that this would be the roster move.

Being that the Sox are going to face lefties like Kazmir and J.P. Howell, wouldn't Jeff Bailey on the bench be a good idea?

I'd rather activate Wally The Green Monster than Timlin.

Is GI Joe Mike going to be bringing his little pack of army men with him to play with in the bullpen? He has to keep himself occuppied, because, as has been noted in other posts, he's either coming into a game where the Sox are getting blown out, or are blowing the Rays out.

Right on Holmes, the second-guessing from the peanut gallery is getting ridiculous. Could you imagine Belichick getting this kind of treatment?

People, try to imagine if some yahoo was posting criticisms on-line of how you do your job. The man is a professional and knows way more than any of you about how to run a team and win a championship. Give him his due.

Look people, are you really blowing up over Gil Valazquez being off the roster? I mean really? He is of no value, I'd much rather have a pitcher in case a game went extra innings and they needed another arm or there is mop up duty late in a game. You don't want to have Delcarmen or Okajima wasting themselves for that. Sooooo, that's why Timlin is there.

Take a chill pill.

Rolaids must have slipped the red sox some extra cash under the table.

Aardsma isn't available for post season play.

Timlin will only deal with mop-up duty and will then retire at the end of the season. But why Timlin? I would rather the Red Sox put a young kid in that slot for experience- it might help next year

They should make a trade for a guy like CC Sabathia or Roy Halladay....They are already out of the playoffs so there teams would most likley trade them. Adding CC Sabathia to our rotation would turn into a WS this year for sure. No way the Rays would be able to hit our pitching.

i would rather see Oil Can Boyd over Timlin right now.

There are plenty of pitchers that could have been there instead of Timlin, and I'm pretty sure they are all younger too. Bob Stanley, Tony Fossas, Tom Burgmeier, Larry Andersen, just to name a few.

I believe Timmy. I believe. He deserves your respect people. You couldn't hold his jock.

Why not Clay B. at least he has a live arm.

Ok, I will play along... lets just say Mike Lowell was healthy then what would Francona have done? Still gone with 11 pitchers and added Timlin? If so then what position player would have got bumped? The point being, an extra pitch runner with speed is more valuable than a slow pitch softball pitcher.

Two-Run Timlin??? When is this team going to realize that he is DONE!!

Tinder Box Timlin, at least Gas Can Gange is gone, or the Trop might go up in flames.

Tim is the ultimate Sox. He'll be up for it. Don't be surprised if he makes some key outs.

Timlin is the right choice. He is experienced and has had success in the playoffs. He is rested and pumped at being a part of it and the vote of confidence from Tito. Aardsma is not worth the risk and stunk since coming back from the DL. Worse case scenario he will be sacrificed when and if we are getting killed, best case scenario he'll come through. I have faith in Timlin's last hurrah with us!

Chad, why don't you guys ever ask the obvious questions at these press opportunites? I mean, really, don't you think about these things before the camera starts rolling?

I can understand Timlin over Aardsma (that's six of one or a half-dozen of another among poor choices), but ... David Ross?? With Lowell out, and with Kazmir and the Rays tough lefthanders out of the bullpen, the team is heavy in lefthanded bats. Jeff Bailey provides pop from the right side, plays first AND both corner outfield positions, and has experience catching, so he can serve as the third catcher in an emergency. I'd really like to hear Tito's reasons why he rejected that, but no, you couldn't be bothered to ask it.

I agree with Aardsma over Timlin. In 4 games against the Rays this year, Timlin spit the bit in two of them, with 5 walks and 1 HR allowed in 4 innings pitched.

Contrast that with Aardsma who held the Rays scoreless in 4 and 2/3 and, amazingly walked less than Timlin (3) in 2/3 more of an inning.

Everyone come in from off the ledge.

Francona: "I don’t know when he’ll pitch or how he’ll be used"

Tito is throwing a bone to Timlin for his years of service and probably won't dare use him except for mop-up duty. In that sense, he will have a potentially better impact in saving pitchers (or taking one for the team, a la Wakefield a few years back in that 19-8 debacle) than Velasquez as another runner.

That said, I would have preferred Aardsma too.

Timlin can cover pitching when the game is over but you still have an inning or two to complete.

Maybe he'll be an innings-eater in any blow-out loss (like Wakefield vs. the Yanks).

just terry being terry

Mike has had a tough year, so I can understand some of the anxiety about his inclusion on the roster. Me, I'm Ok with it under the circumstances. What bothers me is the way some of you guys are firing insults at him. We went 86 years without a title. He helped win two -- so far. Grow up and give him the respect he deserves.

Are you kidding me?
Velasquez has a far better ERA than Timlin.......

Someone asked: if not Timlin, then who? OK.. assuming an 11th pitcher is even needed, I'd take Aardsma, Chris Smith, even Devern Hansak. If, as everyone seems to agree, Timlin will only be used to eat innings in a blowout game, why not have an 11th pitcher who actually has the POTENTIAL of pitching effectively? This is clearly Tito's "loyalty" at play, which i think in this case is getting in the way of selecting the best possible roster.

I was at Fenway when he gave up the 14th inning homer to pena he just is too old give it up mike if the sox put him in during a key situation we will loose this series.

you're a bunch of weei-weiner line idiots!
if the games start going into extra innings and the need pitchers, who are they going to bring in after they blow through pap, manny, oki, lopez and others?
timlin still has it, and besides, if you idiots learned anything from last weeks games, it should be that success in the regular season does not mean you're going to be good or "bad" in the playoffs
you're a bunch of idiots!

The bigger loss is not having a right-handed bat to platoon with Kotsay against Kazmir and lefty relievers. Jeff Bailey was effective in that role in Lowell's prolonged absence before and should be out there now. And there's something about having one of the newbies bring their energy in the postseason that has sort of succeeded before.

Timlin in...Red Sox out.

MEATBALL MIKE SHOULD HAVE RETIRED AFTER LAST YEAR !!

The Rays are salivating regarding this move.

Timlin will come up big for the Red Sox. He will secure the clincher in the Sox' favor.

Mike Timlin is a great guy ! A real competitor! But I'm damn sick of hearing how we need over-the-hillers TO EAT UP INNINGS !! That's crap !! WE NEED PITCHERS WHO WIN ! I hope this comes back to haunt Francoma..........

You freaks need to calm down. I guess none of you panic pushers have ever been on a serious team before. Don't discount the intangible impact of having TImlin prepping in the bullpen and traveling as a player and not just an embarrassed piece of baggage. Tito is capable of making bad choices just like the best of them, but if any of you think you know more about the game and this team dynamic than Francona, 2 time world champ Francona, you're bigger idiots than you sound in this blog. Grow up and be a real fan. I hope you don't coach your kids' little league team.

I lost all respect for Timlin back in 2006 after the Sox pitching had given up like 26 runs in 4 games and he said basically that they had been pitching well but not getting enough offense.

I know I'll be criticized for this, but Timlin is one of my favorite players. Papelbon and Delcarmen (among others) have given him tons of credit for their success. He is the captain of the bullpen.

Timlin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????? There goes that game.