The 2007 opening roster is set

The Red Sox today have officially announced their 25-man roster today for Monday's opener in Kansas City, and if you've been following the team you will quickly notice that there are no surprises.

In other words, Papi, Manny, Dice K and Schill all made the team (whew!)

The only omission of note is reliever Craig Hanson, who after allowing 5 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning yesterday saw his spring ERA blossom to a robust 15.43, earned a trip back to Pawtucket to "work on his control", i.e. get his shit straightened out.

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, without further ado, I present to you the roster for your 2007 AL East champion Boston Red Sox:

Pitchers (12)- Schill, Wake, Gopher, Dice-K, Paps, Gascan Tavarez, The Black Donnelly, Hideki Okijima, Joel Pineiro, JC Romero, Kyle Snyder, and Javier Lopez

Infielders (5)- Lugo, Pedroia, Lowell, Cora and Youk

DHs (1)- Big Papi

Catchers (2)- Tek & Belli

Outfielders (5)- ManRam, Coco, JD Drew, Hinske, WMP

Like I said, no big shockers there. But with a roster like that there is no need to mess around.

Other notes: Pitchers Maddog Timlin (strained oblique), Jon Lester (cancer recovery) and Matt Clement (head case) will start the season on the DL...MattppanManny Delcarmen joined Hanson on the PawSox express, presumably for the same reason as his compatriot; 3rd string catcher Kevin Cash and reliever Bryan Corey will also start the season in Pawtucket...backup backup backup catcher Alberto Castillo was traded to Baltimore for outfielder Cory Keylor in a deal that rocked the Grapefruit League to its very foundation.

Here's how the opening day lineup should look, barring any last minutes changes/MBM flareups:

POS./PLAYER/'06 STATS (key stat in red)
1. Lugo - 122 G, .278, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 69 R, 39 BB, 76 K
2. Youk-147 G, .279, 13 HR, 72 RBI, 100 R, 91 BB, 120 K
3. Big Papi-151 G,.287,54 HR,137 RBI,115 R,119 BB,117 K
4. Manny-130 G, .321,35 HR,102 RBI,79 R,100 BB,101 K
5. Drew-146 G, .283, 20 HR, 100 RBI, 84 R, 89 BB, 106 K
6. Lowell-153 G, .284, 20 HR, 80 RBI, 79 R, 47 BB, 61 K
7. Tek-103 G, .238, 12 HR, 55 RBI, 46 R, 46 BB, 87 K
8. Coco-105 G, .264, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 58 R, 31 BB, 67 K
9. Pedroia-31 G, .191, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 7 K

That right there is a lineup that should a.) score a ton of runs b.) drive opposing pitchers/ managers batty c.) score a ton of runs. Lugo is going to have to raise his walk total and his OBP (.340) in order for that to happen, and Coco and Pedroia are going to have to find ways to get on base to keep turning the order around, but as long as those things happen this team is poised to (say it with me now) SCORE A TON OF RUNS!

Combine that deep, solid lineup with a deep, solid pitching staff and what you have is the makings of a division champion. Yes, you heard it here first (well, probably not, but I have to stick by it since it's in writing) the Sox will break the Stankee stranglehold on the division crown and take home its first AL East Championship since 1995.

Wonder how long it will be before I eat those words. The over/under is July.

Go Sox!

Read More......

A "shaky" Dice-K gives up zero hits and fans 6 in 5 innings

After the Sox finished its game against the Reds late this afternoon, a 5-0 loss thanks to Craig Hanson's implosion in the 8th that turned a shutout into a blowout, a disappointed Daisuke Matsuzaka spurned the American & Japanese media assembled at Ed Smith Stadium and issued this statement:

"This time of the year I think the content of my pitching is more important than the result on paper. I am not happy with the content of my pitching today. I threw a lot of walks and wasted balls. And it was tough for my fielders to defend and to get into a good rhythm on offense. It's something I'll want to pay attention to in the regular season."

What's the big deal, you say? Major leaguers often take this type of stance after a rough, particularly troubling outing.

Oh yeah, did I mention the guy threw 5 innings of no-hit, 6-strikeout ball?

And so begins the first "controversy" of the Dice-K Era, as media outlets are already trying to blow this story up into the next Anna Nicole fiasco because it was the first time since joining the team that the calm, cool Diceman has shown any signs of impoliteness or refused to speak with members of either media contingent.

I say "good for him." He's obviously showing his dissatisfaction with having a rough start and he didn't want to convey those feelings with members of the press- so what? I think it shows how focused and driven the kid is to feel disappointed with a performance that 300 MLB pitchers would kill to have, spring training or otherwise.

Dice-K was most definitely not in top form like he was last Wednesday when he gave up 1 hit and no runs with 1 walk and 7 Ks vs. the Pirates. He started by getting behind hitters and ended up walking 5 Reds batters while throwing 102 pitches and never really had total command over his full repertoire of pitches. Yet for all this hand wringing Dice-K still gave up zero hits, fanned six Reds in 5 innings, including Ken Griffey Jr. three times, and would have gotten a win under normal circumstances. The line score for his last 2 starts: 10.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 6 BBs, 13Ks.

But the media has found something to pounce on and now they're going to run with it, at least until Dice-K's next start, when he'll probably pitch 6 innings of 1-run ball with 7 strikeouts and no walks.

If they really want a story, how 'bout focusing on Hanson. The kid the team has been high on for years and was envisioned as this year's closer got lit up like a celebutard at an after party, lasting just 2/3 of an inning while racking up this horrific line score: 2H, 5ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HBP-L.

As for Dice-K, if he wants peace & quiet after a start when he strikes out 6 and allows no runs and no hits, for crissake let the guy have some peace & quiet. It's stupid situations like these-creating controversy where there is none- that help perpetrate the myth that players don't want to come to Boston.

Read More......