This Week In Spring Training.

by Allen Chace on Mar 4, 2007 2:02 AM EST in Open Thread

The Sox are now 0-3 in Grapefruit League play.

We've beaten Northeastern and Boston College. Lost twice to Toronto and once to Philadelphia.

And of course, that awful tie to the Twins. But who cares about records and wins and losses in ST? Exactly.

Want the bad news first?

Bad News.

Any way you slice it, Manny Delcarmen, Joel Pineiro, and J.C. Romero pitched poorly. Two of these guys are basically guaranteed roster slots. Still, it's probably/hopefully too early to tell anything conclusive.
Runelvys Hernandez showed nothing good, getting smacked around for 6 runs in 1 inning.
I know it's only ST, but should Chad Spann still be getting this much work? I think I saw this tidbit on Bradford's blog last week, about the organization having internal discussions about moving Natale to 3B? Let's give it a try.
My buddy Hansack was not good in his outing.

Good News.

Julian Tavarez hasn't injured anyone.
Beckett, Papelbon, Schilling, and Daisuke all pitched well.
Brendan Donnelly is pitching like he wants the job. Which is good, because no one else is.
We're only a few games in, and it's ST. None of this means anything.
Alex Ochoa's arm in the OF.

Disjointed and inconclusive enough for you? What's been the best part of ST for you so far? Matsuzaka? Daisuke? Daisuke Matsuzaka? Roasted Peanuts? Dice-K? D-Mat?

Bonus question: Where is Dice-K's oversized pip? What is a pip? And why do I assume his must be oversized?

Hint: It has something to do with me finally using the nickname for Daisuke that I promised I never would.

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Re: This Week In Spring Training.

Pips are the dots on dice and I really don't want to know about any dots on Matsuzaka's body.
As far as nicknames, why don't we use his Japanese one "Kaibatsu". Easy to say and it sounds cool

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by jsnvaritek33 on Mar 4, 2007 4:07 AM EST reply actions

Re: This Week In Spring Training.

I think everyone is pretty settled on "Dice-K." I prefer "Dice Man," but that's just me.

OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Mar 4, 2007 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

Re: This Week In Spring Training.

I worry about the pitching, namely Wakefield and the bullpen. Wakefield's start was pretty mediocre, but hopefully he'll get better. Wakefield already has a low margin of error - his non-knuckleball pitches are very hittable, and having Belli in the lineup lowers his run support. If he has a poor season, it might be wise not to bring him back.

Much of the middle relief corps looks atrocious, and this is against minor-leaguer-filled ST lineups. We'll need more than just Donnelly. Watching Pineiro yesterday, he seemed shaken up after he started giving up runs, and his control deteriorated. I'm looking for MDC to step up, and hopefully Hansen will have something to contribute by midseason.

The best part of ST for me so far has been Jonathan Papelbon's 2 innings. Unlike Daisuke, he faced dangerous hitters in the NL's most productive offense, and blew them away. His fastball looked great, and he was dominant without exceeding 95. I'm looking forward to seeing him work on his secondary pitches. The biggest question I have is not whether he'll be good, but whether he can reliably go 7 innings in his starts. Last season we had many games where the starter only went 5 innings and the bullpen sucked.

by 0157H7 on Mar 4, 2007 12:22 PM EST reply actions