1:44pm: Padilla received a minor league deal that pays $1.5MM in the Majors, reports the Boston Herald.
11:34am: The Red Sox reached an agreement with righty Vicente Padilla, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. Boston's interest in Padilla was first reported by Francisco Jarquín Soto at the Nicaraguan paper El Nuevo Diario two days ago. Padilla is represented by Wasserman Media Group.
Padilla (pictured) made only nine appearances for the Dodgers in 2011, all in relief, before neck problems ended his season in June. He briefly took over the closer's job from Jonathan Broxton, though in recent years the 34-year-old has been a swingman and spot starter (he thrived as a starter as recently as 2010). He has reportedly been hitting 95-96 mph with his fastball this winter in Nicaragua, and has said he wants to fight for a rotation spot. Seeing as the Red Sox have no shortage of hard-throwing righties in their revamped pen, Padilla could get his wish if his health permits. Aaron Cook and Carlos Silva are expected to be part of that fifth starter battle.
Aside from his injury history, Padilla brings the baggage of a 2006 DWI and a reputation as a headhunter.
Nick Collias contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Thank God the Yankees signed Kuroda! If they only traded for Pineda, and the Sox signed Padilla, they’d be done!!
why padilla is not very good
You missed the sarcasm sign.
funny how Bobby V is saying there was no improvement to the yankees rotation, and yet his rotation is in question it self. and i think id take pineda and kuroda over cook,padilla, and silva any day.
Who wouldn’t?
Bobby V wouldn’t.
Decent signing for a minor league deal. He’s not great but not terrible. Solid pickup.
Yeah, this would be a great minor league deal. Haven’t seen any indication that it is, though.
I would take him (especially at Fenway) over Maholm and he somehow got 5m in guaranteed money.
I would take him (especially at Fenway) over Maholm and he somehow got 5m in guaranteed money.
I’m getting more and more confident Oswalt is going to fall right into the Cardinals lap.
The Cardinals continue to downplay interest in Oswalt, and as much as I’d like him here, there really isn’t a fit. Maybe as a 3 mil reliever, but that role likely doesn’t seem very desirable to Oswalt.
I don’t know how he isn’t a fit. The team could still use an upgrade and the only real option left to upgrade is the 5th starter spot. If Oswalt signs, he will start.
I understand when people say the upgrade isn’t worth the cost of what they would have to pay Oswalt and either pay Westbrook or eat of his contract to move him. I even agree, but if that difference in money is just going to sit in Dewitt’s pocket, I would rather have the upgrade.
St. Louis was one of the few places he would accept a trade to a couple years ago. I would think the Cardinals are still appealing to him. Chance for a championship and a nice place to rebuild his value. With him wanting a one year deal, I think he’s a great fit.
You Red Sox fans better get used to brawls cause Padilla loves to drill opposing batters. He was constantly doing it here in Texas.
Yankees/Red Sox just got more interesting?
Tex and paddilla hate eachother so prob
woohoo more excitement in a rivalry. either way yankees will win the division
Ummmmm awesome. I’ve always hoped we could find ways to make the rivalry into a Bruins/Canadiens game.
So much better than signing Oswalt, right?
It’s about adding DEPTH.
that is true, between the sox and yankees their pitchers get hurt more then any other teams pitchers. thats why i hope the yanks hold on to garcia and hughes. 1-4 rotation is set (sabathia,pineda, nova, Kuroda, then garcia,burnett or hughes with the last two being in the pen.
I still think they will attempt to get Oswalt.
I hope you’re right, but I am even less confident than I was last time we had this conversation.
Haha, likewise.
they will have to drop payroll, meaning trade someone. guess that crawford deal hurt alittle. maybe get him to reconstruct his contract since he had such a poor season last year. and was on the DL alot
the dollar store redsox at it again Pitching is the key to winning a world series and they are going on the cheap in the place they need the most help
*shrugs* That’s what happens when you make major financial commitments at other positions. Money is not unlimited, much as fans might wish it were.
…fans here don’t know nothing ..he’s a cheap pick up and thats it…Red Sox fans think the Sox have 10’s of millions just sitting around to sign all free agents out there..even though they are already at their limit..well what can you say..it’s not their money so spend it…LOL
Some people “don’t know nothing.”
The Red Sox limit is an arbitrary one that the ownership chooses to put on themselves, their actual payroll limit is tens of millions higher than the arbitrary one they have put on themselves.
I’m ready for some exciting AL East brawls when he beans A-Rod, Longoria, Bautista…
A-Rod’s a wimp. A brawl with him can’t be exciting as a Yankee fan. Bautista and Longo could prob hold their own. I guess Padilla can fight for us. Orioles… no one wants to fight them anyway.
Except you won’t have Varitek, the tough guy challenging Alex with his mask on.
But you will have A-Rod the tough guy challenging with his makeup on. He will probably call Madonna to jump in for him.
Vtek ended in a headlock so im not sure what ur talking u want to fight a guy as strong as arod go ahead he played through enough injuries last yr to be considered tough
Damon is tough. He plays through the injuries all season every season. A-Rod is just desperate to prove he is worth the money so he comes back slightly early from un-recovered injuries because he has an ego.
Arod played through a torn meniscus for a couple of weeks and a shoulder injury for the whole season. Not to mention a injured thumb in the end of the season but why let facts get in your way.
That is hilarious. Mikey Lowell you may recall if feel like it played through that same injury back in ’08 only because Boston needed him.
Just lay off the Rodriquez is a tough guy persona.. Everyone with a brain cell knows he is a word that will get flagged here.
Ugh! You got that right, boss. A-Rod is a major “expletive!” :p
Ya arod got the surgery becaue the yankees didnt need him and wanted his power back but he played through it, i love all these iternet tough guys that be to scared to say it his face, hes a wimp but the guy that lost the fight in catching gear is the tough o boy do i wish i had that one brain cell.
Yeah great one season where he knowingly played under 100%. Still a diva with those dancer hands, and screaming on fly balls. Most football players are banged up in one way or another every season all season I guess they are just above tough then.
So its his fault he didnt have injuries to play through when he was younger? I guess only pedoira can slap the ball. Ya nfl players are tough, and football was a sport arod was recruited to play
When did Pedroia slap the ball out of the pitchers hand? And yeah he had an injury the year before that he sat out half the season for like he should have. Please link me to this Pedroia slap though.
Cant u google it this site hates links, just search pedoira ball slap look at images. He sat out with a hamstring injury nfl players dont play through that
Firstly A-Rod elected to get the surgery instead of playing through it for the rest of the season then getting surgery so it was an injury he could have played through. I only brought that up to establish that at this juncture he has a current and relevant injury history and despite the fact that he has played through it at times he has also sat out a lot too which in comparison to players with nagging injuries who play through them years on end is not really that tough. At least imo he is not one of the tougher players out there. As for the Pedroia thing I did check it out and while I will absolutely grant you its a bit unsportsmanlike it occured on the first at-bat of a game and was in no way as serious as when A-Rod chose to do it. Also it is far less blatant as you could argue that Pedroia went into his hands first slide late as opposed to A-Rod blatantly karate chopping a ball out of a pitchers hand in the ALCS. Lastly Pedroia has a reputation for being far more sportsmanlike and a better teammate than A-Rod who has yelled during flyballs and had fueds with his own teammates that spilled out in to the media (Jeter).
The team told him to get surgery because despite his success he was lacking some of his power even so he played through for a week or two before they figured that boston was going to run away with the division in a month. He then play through a thumb injury where as guys like haliday sat in the playoffs for similiar injuries.
Arod is a great teammate who takes younger players under his wing and helps train them, he trains with guys like melky, cano, and montero. Has pedoira ever done that? Or those he play cribbage instead. Im not sure i understand pedoira was less blatant so it was better? Cheating quitly is better than making it obvious? Yelling ha would probably be considered funny of pedoira did it…
Pedroia played with Jacoby in triple A and welcomed the guy with open arms the second he started playing on the big league club and helped him adjust just like Ortiz and numerous other players did. What goes on as far as mentoring is not known in all entirety but he sets an example of play for the team that is spoke highly of in the club house. So you can chose one equally as bad albeit less blatantly ignorant mistake Pedroia made to judge him or the fact that he carries the team year in and out like Jeter did early in his career. A-Rod is not known for leading the team, he might be friends with them all but he has never been considered the leader of that team. Jeter is the captain of that team.
Google slappyohariless
When did Pedroia slap the ball out of the pitchers hand? And yeah he had an injury the year before that he sat out half the season for like he should have. Please link me to this Pedroia slap though.
He didnt look wimpy when he had tek in a head lock at the end of that fight.
How bout here?
I was gonna say. Long live old dancer hands!
My dad could beat up your dad
Cmon these senseless back and forths can be fun
I’ve yet to see one that was “fun”
Ya i dont know what i was thinking.
David Ortiz does.
Apparently Padilla has a history of beaning Teixeira.
padilla is one ugly dude
Not as ugly as lackie
Or Youkilis. Or Pedroia.
As a Yankees fan can’t bash the signing as we were bashed for Colon and Garcia, and they did well so instead of having foot in mouth syndrome it’s a low risk signing that is all
Agreed – if the scouts are accurate, things could work out well. Can’t speak towards the club house stuff though.
True or False: Pineda + Kuroda > Padilla
What’s the measurement? Pitching rotation or drinking contest?
The thing is you can’t compare Pineda and Kuroda to Padilla. Padilla would be the Sox 5th starter. You would have to compare Pineda & Kuroda to Beckett and Buchholz. And in that instance the Red Sox 2 & 3 > than the Yankees 2 & 3. Padilla = AJ Burnett.
I think you missed the point completely. The Yankees (so far) have done alot more than the Red Sox to improve their rotation.
But it needed a lot more improvement to begin with.
You missed the point and MaineSox got it. The Red Sox already had 3 front-line major league starters in their rotation. The Yankees had CC, Freddy, AJ and Ivan. Not atrocious(other than AJ) but not close to the Sox top 3. So the Red sox didn’t have to get someone of the calibre of Kuroda. Would have been nice but didn’t need him.
Thank you! Yanks fans are acting like they got 5 great starters now. Garcia is a solid but incredibly beatable pitcher, I would bet on Bard being alot better. Nova and his amazing 57BB/90K dominance omg scary. Then AJ and his one good start for every 2 blow outs AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!Terrified. They got three great starters now just like us. Welcome to arguable equality guys….(round of applause). Ben was just waiting for you guys to catch up.
Clay doesnt have the background to be called a great pitcher, its not like his peripheals were great even before the injury last yr.
He is a ground ball guy for now so strikeouts are not what he is measured by although he does have the stuff to get them in the future. He is a great pitcher because he was on his way to repeating the prior seasons results before injury. He is a great pitcher, he isn’t a dominant phenom like Halladay or Lee but he is more than good.
Clay? He wasnt close to repeating his previous year, had worse numbers than nova when healthy last year.
On pure stuff alone Bard is faaaaaaaaaaaar better than Nova. All its gonna take is a couple starts and that will be up on the board for you.
Thats great on pure stuff alone and his minor league track record joba should of been left alone in the rotation good luck persuading ur media that he should fight through his struggles instead of goin
G back to the pen.
OMG we agree on something. I think Joba should have been left alone in the rotation. He struggled and NY demands results so they pulled him back. Stinks. He had shown flashes of success too. Nobody can know how we will handle it if he struggles with consistency. The stereotype says we pull him, but Pedroias rookie year, and persistance with Buc, and Lester say otherwise. Who knows. But again he has great stuff and could also just thrive so it may not be a problem. Imo he will be fine, we won’t know for a while though, but if he does go out and transitions well his stuff will be very good and make him much more than an average starer just like I thought Joba could have been if they gave him more time. Another problem with Joba’s transition was that it began mid season from what I remember so he didn’t exactly get the offseason/spring training to stretch out and prepare his body/mind for the role. Then he had that full season but had been knocked around a bit so it couldn’t have been a real positive. Bard will have that luxury to start fresh so we will see what happens.
Thats great on pure stuff alone and his minor league track record joba should of been left alone in the rotation good luck persuading ur media that he should fight through his struggles instead of goin
G back to the pen.
Aside from the open of the season Clay was still very good last season.
From (3rd Start) April 15 to June 16 (Last start) his starts were all fine except for one. Only problem with them was he had a been aggrivating a bone bruise that was forcing him out of games early that he would have gone a lot deeper into. If he is healthy he is an above average pitcher.
From the start of the yr for clay til the end he put up worse numbers than not only nova but garcia as well
I don’t know what stats your reading other than wins/loses, but WHIP has Buc ahead and keep in mind healthy he would have compiled more wins/SO had he gone more than 14 injured starts. So no I don’t see it. I don’t think anyone would argue that either projected over a whole healthy season are better than Buc.
Fip, xfip, and probably sierra as well i didnt look, clay can habee his pontential all he wants he 28 and has had one gpod year. And according to war the stat you just used it was only a bit better than novas. Getting 1 k more per 9 is that big of a deal, not to mention his lob percentage was 80 for 2 straight years which is Higher yhan avg.
Like I posted somewhere in this oddessy his War over a full season would have been better and was not that far off with just half the starts. So split stats find other ones do you, but WHIP & WAR support my claim enough for it to be valid to most of the forum I am sure. Your seriously underestimating Clays ability here. Roy Halladay has an above average LOB the last three seasons, same with Lincecum, and 5 out of the last 6 years CC. While I am in no way comparing their abilities hahahahahaha I am saying that its not uncommon for quality pitchers to leave people on base so saying his rate is above average is not really saying much seeing as his WAR indicates he is an above average pitcher when healthy and his LOB rates are like most above average pitchers.
I don’t know what stats your reading other than wins/loses, but WHIP has Buc ahead and keep in mind healthy he would have compiled more wins/SO had he gone more than 14 injured starts. So no I don’t see it. I don’t think anyone would argue that either projected over a whole healthy season are better than Buc.
And again Clay played an avg of 14 less starts and still managed a 2.2 WAR give him 14 more and he would have easily doubled it. Which would have been .8 higher than Nova the highest of the two at 3.6
Well by that token neither does Pineda. He had one great half of baseball compared to two seasons of Buc both of which included tons of quality starts. So by your deduction we both have two great pitchers.
And niether is ogando these ive never held a different opinion.
Ok while then to finish this discussion on rotations the Yanks/Red Sox have three above average starters when healthy with all the info we have at this very moment. Hair splitting aside on just how good Clay/Pindea our and will be. Meaning the point that we started at about not having to improve to be a match with NY’s SP was correct. Health has been a negative thing for us as of the last couple seasons but it can/will happen to any team. I think our offenses cancel each other out and your bullpens better, though I think ours will be solid and reliable. I just like our question marks more than your current 4-5’s. If Bard can adjust which imo he can I think we are looking at another above average pitcher who could be a 2-3 on other teams. Guy won’t throw 100 every pitch but he will likely command a 95-98 MPH fastball, a nasty slider, and a solid changeup pretty well. Then we got the 5 spot which could go a million ways either someone from the org or a FA we signed. I see us having an above average four when its all said and done. I am not impressed with Nova, and we can/have smashed on Garcia so solid as he may be against low offense teams he isn’t quite a threat.
It be a stratch to suggest that Bard can match up with nova or that they should even be considered equals.
Clay is not a frontline starter yet.
ERA+ of 112, 187, 122 the last three years, 8.2WAR over the last three years isn’t bad. Admittedly he has only had one full season in those three years but when he has pitched he has shown himself to be at least a very capable #2 and a well above average #3 starter. I see no reason why you couldn’t call him a frontline starter.
He showed he was a number 3 last year? I wonder what that says about nova…
That says nothing about Nova. I was talking about Clay. Nova did have a good year, but it was his first and he only had a 57/98 bb/k ratio and didn’t miss many bats with a 5.3 k/9. With that in the AL East his era and wins may be tough to duplicate.
Clay had a significatly worse year last year am i supposed to ignore that because clay had a good yr the yr before
Nova:Whip: 1.331
ERA+ 119
K/9: 5.3
ERA: 3.70
H/9: 8.9
Buchholz: Whip: 1.294
ERA+: 122
K/9: 6.5
ERA: 3.48
H/9: 8.3
The only thing that stopped Clay from having a year equal to 2010 was health. It is a big thing but Clay still beat Nova in pretty much every category.
Nova had a better fip, sierra, and xfip last year, also has more ground ball outs so it doesnt matter that he lacks ks, like its so imp as a stat
Wouldnt it make sense to just do it player bu player kuroda is better than clay.
That’s a tough call to make so definitively. Kuroda has been pitching in the NL West and is moving to the AL East (probably the most extreme move possible for a pitcher) while Buchholz has been pitching in the AL East all along.
IDk he has a knack for missing bats that i dont understand i can see him making the transition fine, i dont really see the need for clay to play because of his injury it’s a non factor for me but i would of wanted to see how his stats would have looked like a full year after his great year.
His SwStr% is pretty decent, but his 6.5-7.0 K/9 and his 18-19 K% don’t exactly show a knack for missing bats.
7.23 K/9 and 19.4 K% last two years) is pretty good especially with that walk rate. His homers should go up, and the switch may infact effect him but in the meantime he has shown the ability to repeat his past performances on a level that clay hasnt.
League average in the NL has been 7.34 K/9 and 19.1 K%, so he has been decidedly average at missing bats. He has been considerably better than average when it comes to walk (2.19 BB/9 vs 3.22 average BB/9), but that doesn’t relate to missing bats.
Hes also was second in the league last year in highest fastball miss rate at 22 percent, only behind beachy, and is decidly above average at making people chase his pitches outside at a 32 percent rate. While this has led to an extremly high k count its still important to get ahead of batters and is one reason for his low bb count. No one in the league has a higher chase rate with their sinker than kuroda.
Maybe true but arguable. Clays pitched well against American league lineups like Detroit, Yankees, Rangers, Toronto ect. So jury is still out if those extra innings he pitches, and strikeouts he gets will be happening against the Sox/Walk machines and HR teams like Texas and Toronto. No more pitchers to get out in this league.
And Lester and CC are a wash. Beckett is better than Pineda.
CC is better then Lester and of course Beckett is better than Pineda, the dude is 22 years old. Stick to the World Series of dice Leonard.
Decent signing if his arm is where the scouts say it is. At the very least he gives them depth.
Nobody thought a lot of the Bartolo Colon signing last year, so who knows what they potentially could get out of Padilla.
Stay Classy, RedSox
what does “headhunter” mean? Like bad in the clubhouse?
He throws at people and isn’t afraid to go upstairs.
But yes, he is bad in the clubhouse because he puts his players in harms way.
Supposedly he was really good in the Dodgers clubhouse, but that’s probably because of Manny/Belliard/Raffy. I still hate him. He looks like he he keeps a shank in his back pocket…
so he’s an a**h**e?
this is great! I predict a lot of beaned Yankees when this guy is on the mound. should make baseball tonight even more entertaining
I call Padilla the Nicaraguan Roger Clemens. Well, except he’s not quite as talented. And he considers tequila a PED. But other than that it’s a fair comparison.
inexcusable garbage if cook/silva/padilla are taking oswalt’s place
if oswalt were asking the 2/22+ most assumed he would when the season began, that would be one thing. he wants 1/$8M. there is no sensible excuse for taking this large a risk with the rotation after spending so much on the club already. penny wise & pound foolish
It really make no sense at all. Not only is Oswalt a perfect fit as a pitcher, but his contract is beyond perfect for what the Sox have said they are attempting to do. A one year deal for a very good pitcher is too perfect not to happen for the Red Sox.
What do they think the outcome will be if their penny pinching “depth,” throw it at the wall and see what sticks method, crashes and burns and they end up in third place for a third straight year?
I’m not saying this in hater type of sense, but I’ll be straight with you and say, third place may be a stretch. The Orioles could surprise a lot of people and the Jays are no chumps either. The AL East will be very interesting this year. While it’s highly unlikely, I wouldn’t rule the Sox out of finishing dead last. I’m not saying they’ll lose 90 games. I’m implying we could see a final AL East something like:
Yankees 93-69
Rays 89-73
Jays 88-74
Sox 86-76
Orioles 82-80
We’re talking a few game difference swing. If the Red Sox depth doesn’t improve, finishing last isn’t so far fetched.
if you’re not saying it as a hater, you’re saying it as a dunce. just stick with the hater thing
That’s not very funny and you’re smart enough to know that I’m actually right.
you’re not even close to being right and even other sox-hating yankee fans could explain it to you
Or that you’re actually not
Uhh, you’re not right.
The Sox are NOT an 86 win team. They’re easily 90+. They’d be running away or the frontrunner with most other divisions.
It’s just that 90+ doesn’t guarantee a playoff spot in the AL East, so Oswalt is a necessity.
Seriously we run the league 80% of the season and have better overall players than 98% of the league. We have one bad month and injuries and we might finish last hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha OMG Century your officially nominated for the worst post of the year award.
You do realize that if I were to start a team from scratch today, I’d pick one, only 1 player from the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury. I am not sure how the Red Sox have better overall players than 98% of the league, because they don’t. That’s the reality and neither do the Yankee’s in some cases, so…
A top four second basemen. A top three four first basemen. When healthy one of the best overall hitters in the game at 3B. An above average power hitting catcher, with another to take his off days. A serious bounce back candidate of a LF with great hitting, solid power, and a ton of speed. An amazing combo of speed/power/defense/average in CF. A solid SS. A solid average/defense RF. One of the best front threes in the game. A solid potentially above average pen. How many teams in the league got all that? Please i’ll wait. It might not be 90% of the league without that but its a steep majority who don’t got all that.
Wow! Indeed. Reality will hit you the hardest soon.
Well that is reality. Sorry we can’t go along with your assertions that everything will just happen to go wrong with us, while the opposite happens all over the league. Sorry our team is stacked so until teams match the overall talent they can never be considered locks to beat us in anyway other than hypothetically.
These things get hard to read the further along they go.
That is kind of a silly argument because the best player isn’t always the player you would chose to start a team with (age plays a huge part in that decision). But I would think that starting a team from scratch most people would have to at least seriously consider Ellsbury, Pedroia, Gonzalez and Lester.
Who would they chose from the Yankees though? CC is an outstanding pitcher, but they wouldn’t likely build a team around him because he is at the end of his prime. Gardner is a great player but you’d probably want more power out of left field. Cano is good and might get consideration, but you would likely go with a more well rounded player (he has good power for a 2B, but he doesn’t get on base enough and his defense is meh). Pineda maybe, but there are other young pitchers who are already as good as Pineda might become, so probably not. And all of their other good players are either past their primes, or overshadowed by other players.
“Cano is good and might get consideration, but you would likely go with a more well rounded player (he has good power for a 2B, but he doesn’t get on base enough and his defense is meh).”
this may be the most idiotic thing i have ever heard… there is not onne person that knows anything about baseball that wouldnt take cano everytime over pedroia and probably every other 2b in the league people are so hung up on his”lazy” play 3 years ago ..your a redsox homer your entire arguemennt makes no sense to anyone here beside the other homers
Right, whatever you say. Don’t let silly things like stats and facts cloud your impeccable judgement.
And it really is just those crazy Red Sox homers like Dave Cameron at fangraphs and Kevin Goldstein at baseball prospectus.
ok buddy i know your little dream teams got cano at second…dont lie to yourself
Since 2008 Pedroia has had a higher OPS, wOBA, wRC+, WAR, UZR, DRS, and TZL, and also steals way more bases. So he’s better offensively, defensively, and is more of a threat on the bases.
Like I said, Cano hits for more power though, so there’s that.
Since 2008 Pedroia has had a higher OPS, wOBA, wRC+, WAR, UZR, DRS, and TZL, and also steals way more bases. So he’s better offensively, defensively, and is more of a threat on the bases.
Like I said, Cano hits for more power though, so there’s that.
I fail to see how the Sox are a guaranteed 90+ win team when they’ve won 89 and 90 consecutively, two years straight. David Ortiz is a year older, just to single out one player, they lost their star closer, their bullpen is weaker without Bard or Aceves, even with the addition of Bailey and Melancon. They are down two starters, albeit not so great ones and they have a patchwork RF situation, which all things considered, Drew for his many flaws, I think would be a better bet than the Avilies/Sweeney platoon.
You contradict yourself in your comment:
“The Sox are NOT an 86 win team. They’re easily 90+.”
“It’s just that 90+ doesn’t guarantee a playoff spot in the AL East
That’s kind of the point, everyone else in the AL East continues to improve, which the Red Sox have not coming into the season. With regards to your comment, you’re talking about a 4 game swing 86 vs. 90, it’s very easy that this goes one way or another in favor of the Jays or even the Orioles. Who knows, but to still seed the Red Sox #2 or #3 in the division is a bit too quick. The Jays are going to finally surprise a few people this season, I can just feel it and who knows, maybe the O’s have a good month or two, which keeps them on pace with everyone else.
Thats the problem though. Baltimore did improve POSSIBLY, but they are still sooooo far behind the Sox its hilarious. Tampa has a nice rotation but thats about it, hittings got way more to be desired than ours. Yankees improved their pitching to our level congrats. They get another great starter and we will talk about improvements. Toronto is the same boat they have a solid but unspectacular pen the same above average offense, and the same rotation with only one real consistently great starter in it. The Yankees are the closest to having as strong an overall team as us. The rest have way more holes whether they improved or not.
Your rotation: A guy in Lester who has superb talent, but still to this date has not been that true #1 despite coming close. Beckett who is inconsistent. One season good, next season bad and so on. That means he’s due for a bad season. Buchholz and Aceves both have had back issues, nothing to be taken lightly and can go out on a moments notice. And set up guy who’s never thrown more than 75 innings in a season, an inning at a time.
I’m trying to help you accept the reality buddy.
Your rotation: A guy in Lester who has superb talent, but still to this date has not been that true #1 despite coming close. Beckett who is inconsistent. One season good, next season bad and so on. That means he’s due for a bad season. Buchholz and Aceves both have had back issues, nothing to be taken lightly and can go out on a moments notice. And set up guy who’s never thrown more than 75 innings in a season, an inning at a time.
I’m trying to help you accept the reality buddy.
Sox has lost too much to win 90 games the thrill is gone, I say 85-77 at best good for 3rd place maybe fourth
Anything could randomly happen but I know for sure Baltimore isn’t finishing anywhere but last unless whole teams hit the DL.
Your not right redsox wont finish last next year.
You’re jumping into this way late and please go back and re-read what I said in sequence, before you write this.
The Red Sox ditching the 7.00 ERA of Lackey and the 5.50 ERA of Wakefield and replacing them with Bard/Aceves/et al is going to make them worse? Going from getting almost zero production out of LF and RF to almost by default getting better production out of those spots is going to make them worse? Getting a healthy year out of Buchholz is going to make them worse? Lester returning to form is going to make them worse?
The Red Sox won 90 games last year despite losing 3/5 of their rotation, their right fielder, their 3rd baseman, and an impossibly poor year out of left field. They were the best team in the game on Sept 1st, and now they might finish in last place behind the Orioles? The Red Sox still have the talent to contend for the division; they aren’t coming in last place.
I just get a kick out of how everyone thinks its only a three team race btw the Sox, Rays and Yankees when the Jays are a legit challenger and have good management all around. All it takes is one spark and let’s face it, it could be the difference of two games that decide who comes in 4th or 3rd or 2nd, even 1st this coming season. The Jays are stacked with 3 times the useable prospects of the Red Sox. The Jays could turn around tomorrow and trade for another ace to go along with Romero. In a matter of minutes, the Jays could become one of the best teams in the AL as they have both prospects and a lot of payroll flexibility, should they choose to use it.
I’m not holding my breath on Buchholz. Replacing two established starters, albeit no so good ones with two bullpen arms has disaster written all over it. Crawford should improve, but likely only a marginal improvement. He’s a year older, not a year younger, so we’ll see.
Now you’re dealing in complete hypotheticals and there’s no point in even continuing the conversation.
“If everything goes wrong for the Red Sox and everything goes right for everyone else in the division, and if the Jays make moves to bring in 3-4 more star players, and the Orioles find a bag of magic pixie dust the Red Sox are screwed.”
But this is what I don’t understand, why are the Sox considered the 3rd best team? Why not the Jays? I don’t get it?
I think the Sox are better than 3rd best actually, but to your specific question, it’s because the Sox have more talent than the Jays. It’s that simple.
aside from Bautista, the Red Sox have a better player at literally every position on the diamond as well as on the staff
edit: and i’m actually a huge fan of new Jays management and general direction of the franchise. but are we not talking 2012?
I see no evidence that Crawford can not return to normal. The Blue Jays are the same as last season minus a slight upgrade at closer. They’re offense is nice but ours is better overall. The rest is speculation on an off season that isn’t over yet for anyone.
We will likely be alot better than last year but all they can see is one month of baseball and the fact that we haven’t spent 100M dollars yet.
Every team over .500 huh? Not a very smart prediction.
The teams from the East get to play a certain number of games against Seattle, Oakland, and the AL Central too. While I don’t see the Orioles finishing over 500, the other four are likely (Jays in fourth place finished exactly 500 last year), and it is mathematically possible for all five to do so.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if four of them were over .500, but the Orioles aren’t 13 games better this year than last year. And the Red Sox aren’t 10 games worse.
I’m still laughing at the fact that you think the O’s will win 82 games. You make me embarrassed to be a Yankee fan.
As a jay fan, I laugh at this.
both rotations have holes, but sox have more top end talent with lester and beckett.
bullpen edge I might give to the jays if bard cracks the rotation, but its marginal at best
offense, it isn’t even close. The sox easily have the best offense in the division.
There is some solace is seeing the smarter Red Sox fans being upset with management decisions. Pretty much what I’ve been saying all along, that every move going back to November has made little sense and now it’s catching up to them. A lot of mediocre redundancies on the team. While it’s one thing to be an arm chair GM on here, I think many of us could have spent the $25mm in unwise spent money much better. At this point, there is little that can be done, but to role with it. I haven’t gone to the Boston Globe in a while and I just read some comments and some think Buchholz will be the defining factor for 2012. It is interesting to note that people label Hughes as a bust, but both Buchholz and Hughes numbers, outside of ERA, are virtually the same, including innings pitched. Let’s just keep in mind, Hughes was out of shape last year, which is easy to fix. Buchholz had back issues, not so easy to fix. I think the Sox are in for a bumpy ride this year again. I just don’t know at this point.
As far as reports go we are healthy. Buc had a bone bruise not a broken back or any kind of major back ailment. Hughes is much more likely to be in the pen than a starter. AJ is getting paid and unless something changes they are trotting him out there. Garcia was signed to a deal to be a starter.
Just Curious, didn’t management believe that Clay’s issues might be structural though? If they were right then that can be problematic. That being said the race this year will be fun, and I hope that the Red Sox lose, but due to poor playing not injuries cause I’m not a jerk. Also I really think that Cash is going to trade AJ and eat the salary to get him off the roster, and so I think 5 spot will be Hughes/ Garcia pending on Hughes condition at the beginning of the season
Aj being moved is possible. As far as I know they initially thought Clay could have structural damage, but that the results came back as a back bruise.
It is possible that Oswalt just doesn’t want to pitch for the Sox. His asking price from Boston may be higher than the 1/$8M being reported.
Keep in mind that he is trying to reestablish himself as a viable starting pitcher following injury. Fenway isn’t exactly a pitchers park, and five starts against the Yankees hasn’t been shown to lower your ERA.
That being said, at any reasonable price, he’s a better option than what they’ve gotten instead.
It’s a fair point and something I’ve thought about also. I’ve been adamant that Oswalt is not the right fit for Fenway and perhaps that feeling is mutual. Problem is all the Sox decisions have been somewhat backwards this offseason, that not many other options are available.
At this point, I could see Edwin Jackson getting a 2 year deal for $24mm-$26mm. Not ideal for the Sox, but what else can they do?
I am bummed that Padilla will not be back with the Dodgers. You beantowners are going to fall in love with the eephus pitch he throws. (Vin Scully would call it the “soap bubble”) If he has that 95-96 mph fastball working, he can dominate. I never saw the “bad clubhouse character”.. He seemed to be a good teammate in LA. I will never forget when I saw him in spring training. I watched him stand and sign autographs for over an hour, and was even picking up little children for photos with their parents. He signed for everybody that asked, and I came away quite impressed by him. I hate the red sox, but I will be secretly rooting for Padilla.
With all the talk about Padilla’s fastball I’m surprised that nobody mentions his real killer pitch, that weird knuckle curve, or whatever it’s called. It wouldn’t violate the speed limit in a school zone but it moves all over the place. He throws it maybe five times in a game.
Ball players are like real people. They have personal problems that they either address or don’t. Padilla seems like he has. So give the man a break. The Dodgers had no problems with Padilla, except his continued fragility.
What do you make of the reports of him throwing 94-95? From what I can tell he was always around 91-92, but that is going from his pitch data on fangraphs which is an average velocity. Was hitting 94-95 something he would do frequently with the Dodgers?
I don’t chart pitches, but yes, he was capable of hitting the mid-90s, when healthy. Which wasn’t often unfortunately.
He had a good rep with the Dodgers because there was no DH and he had to bat. Couldn’t throw at guys knowing there’d be payback.
Yeah, because nobody throws at batters in the NL…
“Aside from his injury history, Padilla brings the baggage of a 2006 DWI and a reputation as a headhunter.”
But the Choke Sox have such an illustrious history of having stand-up citizens in their clubhouse!
Let’s hope it pays off.
I am a Pirate fan. At one point a couple of weeks ago there was a rumor that the Pirates were going to scout him in winter ball, which turned out not to be true. I remember thinking, “Why in the world would the Pirates want to look at Vicente Padilla?” Yes, me, the fan of the team with not nearly enough pitching. This signing to me screams, “You had better look great in spring training, because you either make the opening day roster or hit the road.”
Hopefully he makes the team. Can’t remember the last time I saw someone throw an eephus pitch.
Place your bets on who the first player Padilla beans as a Red Sox!
New Red Sox management is doing their best to return the club to its historical losing form.
beckett and padilla
red sox’ 1-2 punch headshot…