Give Cherington some credit

[Danzz]

He signed a bunch of arms and position players that were not in high demand. They have contributed and are keeping the Sox in the race although it isn't likely that they can go the season with this outfield. If it weren't for an underperforming and highly touted starting pitching staff, the Sox would probably be in first place.
Did Crawford retire or is he ever going to play again? I admit I liked the signing at the time even though he was overpriced. Now it appears they won't have the money to sign Elsbury and that alone makes it a bad deal. Thanks Theo.

 

[Waquoit]

Did Crawford retire or is he ever going to play again? I admit I liked the signing at the time even though he was overpriced. Now it appears they won't have the money to sign Elsbury and that alone makes it a bad deal. Thanks Theo.

I think ownership gets the blame for Crawford. I heard Werner on the radio guaranteeing the Sox were going to be major players in the FA market and thinking who can he be talking about except for Crawford? Class move the way they disavow all this after his lousy year.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Not signing Ellsbury wouldn't be a bad thing. Although all of his injuries have pretty much been freak accidents, he's a freak type of athlete...so I would say he wouldn't age very well.

As far as Crawford, that really sucks...but I just want him to get healthy and contribute to the team. He'll still be a good player, he just will be overpriced.

And I'm officially on the Bard back to the bullpen bandwagon. I was holding out hope but yesterday was ridiculous. He's better there.

 

[60'sfan]

I think ownership gets the blame for Crawford. I heard Werner on the radio guaranteeing the Sox were going to be major players in the FA market and thinking who can he be talking about except for Crawford? Class move the way they disavow all this after his lousy year.

I agree, but I too thought that signing Crawford was a good thing at the time. It seemed to do three things. It took an all-star outfielder away from a division rival, kept him away from the Yankees and locked up left field for the Sox for the foreseeable future. Since he was supposed to have Ellsbury-like skills, it also took away some of the pressure of trying to sign him. I agree that it is unlikely that the Sox will sign Jacoby. I think some bitter feelings may have developed when he broke his ribs in 2010. He has Boros as his agent and he will cost someone a small fortune. I think he'd like to get back to the Northwest (Seattle?). Maybe a deal can be had with the Mariners for King Felix before we lose him to free agency.

 

[60'sfan]

And I'm officially on the Bard back to the bullpen bandwagon. I was holding out hope but yesterday was ridiculous. He's better there.

This deja vu with Bard. He was putting up much worse numbers as a starter in the minors after the Sox first signed him. After two horrendous years, they almost released him. After he was converted to the bullpen and knew he didn't need to stretch his arm out for seven innings, he was dominant. I did not think this experiment would work and I still believe that he doesn't have the chutzpah to be a closer. I hope they make him the set-up man again.

 

[Danzz]

This deja vu with Bard. He was putting up much worse numbers as a starter in the minors after the Sox first signed him. After two horrendous years, they almost released him. After he was converted to the bullpen and knew he didn't need to stretch his arm out for seven innings, he was dominant. I did not think this experiment would work and I still believe that he doesn't have the chutzpah to be a closer. I hope they make him the set-up man again.

Bard's fastball is about 93 MPH most of the time so he can't get away with mistakes. The result is he is trying hit spots and ends up walking batters or getting behind early in the count. He gets hit hard late in the count when he has has to throw a strike. Bard is frustrating because he has shown signs that he can be a starter. The Sox will probably send him back to the pen when DiceK comes back. I'm not looking forward to the torture of watching DiceK pitch.
The only positive to Bard starting is that he has had to develop his off speed pitches.

 

[60'sfan]

Bard's fastball is about 93 MPH most of the time so he can't get away with mistakes. The result is he is trying hit spots and ends up walking batters or getting behind early in the count. He gets hit hard late in the count when he has has to throw a strike. Bard is frustrating because he has shown signs that he can be a starter. The Sox will probably send him back to the pen when DiceK comes back. I'm not looking forward to the torture of watching DiceK pitch.
The only positive to Bard starting is that he has had to develop his off speed pitches.

At his best, Dice K was a nibbler who got tough with men on base and did not give up many hits. He is usually approaching 100 pitches in the 5th inning and has a grand total of one complete game in his career. I don't bother to watch the games when he is pitching unless it is the post season.