Will Middlebrooks

[60'sfan]

My guess: Hill

It's a lefty reliever but it's not Hill.

 

[The Viking]

well I guess that means Morales

 

[The Viking]

We'll see if Valentine's handling of pitchers works in the dog days of August because that will be the real test. I agree on Tito but there is a middle ground that probably makes more sense.
The Sox bullpen has been incredible so far but I keep waiting for them to fall apart. Aceves can fill a number of roles if Bailey ends up being the closer down the line but the pitcher who has really been a surprise is Miller who has a big time arm and has been throwing strikes. Miller may have learned to pitch and stands a chance to finally live up to his potential. Sometimes it is just a case of a pitcher trusting his stuff and throwing strikes early in the count.

Bailey and Bard both should be in the bullpen by August and possibly either Alex Wilson or Tazawa from AAA. But I'm not sure if it will matter because after watching Pedroia the past few days trying to swing the bat, it's pretty clear he needs to be DL'd. Which means our season may be ducked. No Ellsbury, Pedroia in the lineup and getting nothing from Crawford and Gonzalez so far...yikes.

 

[Danzz]

Bailey and Bard both should be in the bullpen by August and possibly either Alex Wilson or Tazawa from AAA. But I'm not sure if it will matter because after watching Pedroia the past few days trying to swing the bat, it's pretty clear he needs to be DL'd. Which means our season may be ducked. No Ellsbury, Pedroia in the lineup and getting nothing from Crawford and Gonzalez so far...yikes.

Agree on Pedroia. He looks terrible. This patchwork lineup may be ok for awhile but eventually they will have trouble scoring runs. The playoffs don't look like a reasonable expectation.

 

[60'sfan]

well I guess that means Morales

Correct. His fastball averages 94.8 and he has hit 98. I did not know he could throw that hard.

 

[60'sfan]

Agree on Pedroia. He looks terrible. This patchwork lineup may be ok for awhile but eventually they will have trouble scoring runs. The playoffs don't look like a reasonable expectation.

Help may be on the way soon. Kalish is ready I think and Lavarnway is starting to really heat up. Didn't see Pedroia but if he has to go on the DL, we are probably in trouble. Can't understand why Gonzalez isn't hitting. Is he distracted by right field? I kind of gave up on the playoffs some time ago. Despite some decent efforts lately, I still see starting pitching as the biggest weakness.