OK, Is it just me, or does Alex Gonzalez remind you of Troy O'Leary?

OK, its been a couple weeks. The Sox haven't been playing great. I personally witnessed two losses (one specatcularaly bad) here in Seattle. But Buck and McCarver just got me out of my seat and to the computer:

They said: "Before game 4 in the ALCS there were Red Sox players congratulating the Yankees and wishing them luck against the Cardinals." That has got to be a TOTAL LIE! Where did they come up with that and why? To put us down again? That just would not and did not happen.

First of all, I have seen clips of Millar before the game mugging and saying "Don't *let* us win today, don't let *us* win today!" Second, no one on the Sox team was willing to quit. They won that game, and three more. No way anyone conceded ANYTHING before that game.

They didn't name names -- tell me who did it! Who? Which players "congratulated the Yankees." Those guys don't even talk to each other. Who was it you LOSERS?!?

Nice to see my buddy Halama have a strong game, after the bullpen totally *gave it away* last night.

I'm sure you've noticed: after going 19 straight games without giving up a run in the first inning, it has now been 6 out of 7 where we DID give up at least 1 in the first. 4 of them losses. Pitching is a problem, despite strong starts from the two replacement starters -- Jeremi Gonzalez and old Seattle friend Halama.

What is UP with Embree? And why not designate Blaine Neal (very inconsistent, could NOT find the plate last night) to bring up Gonzalez rather than the solid, consistent David McCarty.

David, we will miss you. Enjoy your ring, you deserve it.

Another old Seattle friend -- John Olerud  -- joined the organization today. Contrary to my feelings on Halama, Olerud is solid, and can plain hit. He is a great weapon off the bench, as evidenced by his stint with the hated Yanks last year. We all remember his All-star, batting title years with the Jays. He's lost a step since then, but, assuming he recovers from his surgery, he can still play with the big boys.

Nice to see our DH get  a Salami tonight. But tonight it wasn't Ortiz: it was Doug Mirabelli! Whatta weapon. If that guy is your backup catcher you are NOT hurting behind the plate.

Damn, its been two days since we had a game and we're now three starters down! Schilling going down was not entirely unexpected. Here's hoping he can *really* come back this time. I was about to add an entry after his last start that said: "Well, this could be the end for Schilling. He may never be the same pitcher again. Will he be able to adjust and be productive, if not dominant, for a few more years, or is this it?" Well, this very well might just be it right now. I sure hope not -- we're screwed if it is.

Well going down as a bit of a surprise -- what did he do anyway? He's out for a month? He was just getting it together too.

The moderately good news is the other three guys have been going fairly well. Wake's been no. 1 before (back when Clemens went down back in the day -- leading Duquette to beleive he was near done and getting rid of him, but I digress). Clements going good as is Arroyo. But of course we find out today we lose Arroyo for a couple starts due to the suspension for the plunkfest in Tampa.

So, two starters, plus old Seattle friend Halama. Let me tell you, the feeling I get with Halama is EXACTLY the same as the feeling I got when I saw Bob Stanley emerge from the bullpen -- and that ain't good.

Who else can start? Is Miller anywhere close? Apparenly he did OK in the rehab start. It would be nice to get him up now. My wife commented that maybe we'll get some kid from Pawtucket up who will go on a tear. Tim Bauscher, that's you dude. Let's see it.

I am scared for the next month or so, if we can emerge from that, get Miller, Wells and hopefully Schilling healthy, I think we'll be OK.......

I have to admit I feel a little guilty. Not because I am one of those guys that thinks what I do can affect the game -- I am not. But I feel guilty because I thought it was a good idea....

Bottom of the 6th. Arroyo is clearly inching toward empty. He gets a couple of quick outs and up comes Aubrey Huff. Now Huff *owns* Arroyo. He is 7 for 10 lifetime and has two hits already in the game. I'm thinking: "well he has to pitch around him, he'll likely walk him, he could just do it intentionally, but that seems kind of weak -- why not just plunk him and get it over with? Save some pitches and put him on first -- instead of him getting extra bases." Obviously Arroyo went through the same thought process and plunked him on the second pitch.

But then the flood gates opened: Lance Carter throws behind Manny. Since he missed, Manny makes him pay with a nice long HR. Both benches are warned -- and Francona rightly argues that Carter should be tossed right now. It was clearly intentional (Arroyo was a least a little more cagey, throwing at the legs, but everyone knew his was intentional too) and that means toss him. I guess the umps were hoping that would be the end of it, and since they didn't toss Arroyo they gave Carter another chance.

Remy stated in retrospect that if it ended there, the throw behind Manny, that likely would have been it. I agree. But when Manny cranked the next pitch, well, that couldn't be the end of it. So Carter throws at Ortiz' head. Bad mistake, the benches clear, and ole Trot gets into it with Brazelton for no apparent reason. Carter, Trot and Brazelton are tossed.

Again, I think if it wasn't at Ortiz head -- if they got him in the butt or something -- it could have ended there, but headhunting just isn't done.

SOO, when Arroyo comes out for the seventh, he plunks the first guy -- again in the legs -- and is immediately tossed. The benches clear again, but nothing but a little half-hearted pushing comes of it. The managers are tossed now -- why they waited to toss Lou I don't know.

At least Arroyo can get the job done -- he hit both guys he tried to hit. And he did it in a sportsmanlike way: in the legs. The D-Rays missed in both attempts, and both attempts were attempts to hurt the batter as well, just not done. If anything, the last hit batsman by Arroyo should serve as an example of the "right" way to do it.

The next inning Jay Payton comes up in Trot's spot and cranks a Grand Salami putting the game out of reach. And of course Ortiz hits a monster two batters later.

This brings me to my next point -- and beleive me, I love Trot as much as the next guy. Trot is the living embodiment of what we love in Red Sox players. But how can they justify continuing to start him with Payton available. Trot's no longer an every day starter -- they always start Payton against lefties, presumably because Trot has trouble against them. Payton is more athletic than Trot, and after seeing the GS last night, Payton can hit against righties...

Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to see Trot on the bench, and I'd really hate to see him traded, but Payton appears to be an every day starter....

Thought they were going to do it. Damn. What's up with Manny? He needs to get it going again. Same with Ortiz and Millar. Millar is streaky, and the current streak ain't great. Still in first, hopefully Shill will get it going for real today.

Just had to comment on the game last night -- whatta win! One single unearned run in the whole game. Clement shut down the high-powered Orioles lineup one night after Wells did the same. But this time it was the D that contributed to the win rather than the O.

This was just a great game for those of us who really love the game. Great drama all the way through --  hanging on every pitch up till then end. Great pitching on both sides -- even Foulke, though he still tried to make it interesting. And great D on both sides, too. A couple great inning ending double plays, a relayed put out at home from right field, and that leaping catch by Tejada was just great to watch.

I'm watching on MLB Extra Innings, so I got the O's announcers out here in Seattle. At first I thought it would be interesting to here Jim Palmer talk about baseball, being the hall of famer he is. But he was so damn long-winded and such a homer I couldn't beleive it. True, you expect the home announcers to be somewhat homers, but Palmer was ridiculous.

The tag of Palmiero at home by Tek for instance. I called it out live (as did the ump right after). The replay, they watched over and over, clearly showed it was a good call. Nonetheless Palmer insisted it showed he was safe! And he brought it up every damn inning after that -- "if it wasn't for that missed call by Welke, the game would be tied right now..."

The other one was the double play when Renteria ran over the bag as he caught the ball. To me the replay was inconclusive, he may have caught the ball after his back foot came off the bag, but it was damn close, too close to make the federal case out of he did. Every damn day something like that happens -- is the second baseman straddling the base when he makes the turn to first? Did the first baseman pull his foot? There are TONS of plays like this all year long, and if it is reasonably close the fielder ALWAYS gets the call, that is just the way it is. But Palmer just starts going off while the play is going on -- "What is this, the 'around the bag' play?" "He clearly caught the ball after he crossed the bag." No, a-hole, it wasn't "clear" and the 'around the bag' play is called for both teams every single game.

The point is that the Rem-dog or Orsillo or Castiglione or Trupe would NOT have been so blatanly stilited to try to say that the Sox got robbed when they didn't. All of our guys honor the game -- while still rooting for the Sox of course. Our guys will be the first to say that one of our guys screwed up, or that the Ump got a call right that went against us.

Oh, and let me say, Palmer is still full of himself. He talked ad nauseum about what a great year he had in '70. He went on and on and on and on about every pitching situation and how *he* would have handled it. And every time he gave Clement or Renteria or anyone on the Sox a complement he just HAD to mention the O's counterpart, and how good they were doing too. And it wasn't even very interesting, he had a monotone voice and he repeated himself. I found myself toning it out after a while.

Anyway, great win though. 1-0, 8 complete shutout innings by starters on consecutive days, great d. And now sole possesion of first. Let's Go RED SOX!

OK, I've rationized Pedro's departure with the best of you: He is losing velocity, he can't get past the 6th inning or 100 pitches, whichever comes first, he's fragile and spends too much time on the DL, etc. etc. Truth be told, he won 16 games last year and was almost unbeatable in the playoffs and WS. He was clearly an asset to the team. If you answer the question honestly -- is the rotation better this year without him? -- I don't think anyone can say yes -- not yet anyway.

But I'm still not sad that he is gone. The reason has been lingering under the surface for sometime, but it hit me the other day when I heard the clip on the radio: "I guess the Yankees are my daddy." Such a statement was so unbeleivably horrific, and Pedro was still so important to my team that I guess I just blocked it out at the time. I ignored it.

But now, when I hear it I know that that is the reason he needed to go.

And hey, you never know, we may be better *this year* without him. Comparing AL to NL pitchers is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison, but lets see how he does. At the end of the year will David Wells have contributed more to the Red Sox than Pedro did to the Mets? I hope so.

Again, assuming everyone is healthy, the starting lineup is set (this is my projection of batting order, though):

1. Johnny Damon CF
2. Edgar Renteria SS
3. Manny Ramirez LF
4. David Ortiz      DH
5. Trot Nixon      RF
6. Jason Varitek  C
7. Kevin Millar      1B
8. Bill Mueller       3B
9. Mark Bellhorn   2B

Dropping Bellhorn down to 9 is a bit of a drag, after what he did for us last year. But it makes the most sense -- he does strike out a lot. And where else you gonna put Renteria?

Of course, the healthiness of these guys is a big assumption. I haven't heard anything negative about Trot, but back things like he has tend to crop up again and again. And Mueller has already gone through arthroscopic surgery on his knee this year, and is not a sure thing for opening day.

Which brings us to Youkilis. He is clearly a major league player, and belongs with the big club, but sitting him everyday seems like a waste. Obviously he will fill in at 3rd until Mueller is healthy. But I read today that they are working him out at 1st as well. So he can pinch hit and be a defensive replacement for Millar on occasion.

Does this mean McCarty won't make the team? Maybe, maybe not. As backups we've got Mirabellii, of course, Youkilis and likely Jay Payton as a fourth ourfielder and speed off the bench -- filling the hole left by Dave Roberts. We've got room for one more -- and Kapler is gone, so who will it be? McCarty is an obvious choice, but it is likely a youngster (Hydzu?, Petagine?) may emerge in spring training.

Well, we know who the two catchers are, for sure: Varitek and Mirabelli. The pitching list is fairly well established too. We know these guys (barring injuries) are in the rotation:

Schilling,
Wells,
Wakefield

We know the last three guys, too;

Embree,
Timlin,
Foulke

The problem is guessing the other 5-6 spots. We have too many starters (oh no!). In addition to the three above we have:

Arroyo,
Miller,
Clement,
and even Halama, and possibly Kim (but I doubt he'll make it).

Halama, at least, is slated for long relief -- two guys would likely have to go down to get him in the rotation. I live in Seattle. I've seen him start. I'm praying that day doesn't come.

So of the other three, who goes to the bullpen (assuming all are healthy and good enough to make the ML roster)? Conventional wisdom points to Arroyo -- he's come out of the pen before -- but I think that would suck. Bronson has earned his spot, already, in my mind. This could be a breakthrough year for him. He has the potential to be the 2nd best starter on the team.

Of course Wake could come out of the pen, too. Again, I'd hate to see that. Certainly Wake has earned his spot if he stays effective.

If it was me, I do the rotation this way:

1. Schilling,
2. Wells,
3. Arroyo,
4. Wakefield,
5. Miller

This breaks things up nicely: A power guy, a lefty, another power guy, the knuckler, and then another K guy.

Now we've got the pen. Halama is slated for long relief, but in my mind -- again, I've seen him, extremely inconsistent here -- there is no guarantee he makes the team.

We've got the above three for sure. Mantei is a virtual shoo-in, too. He's another short guy -- he was a closer in Arizona, but obviously he won't be in Boston. One of the six starters will be in the pen, unless someone goes down, so that's one long releiver. Halama has a chance because he is a lefty, if he is consistent. We've also got DiNardo and Malaska as LH specialist possibilities.

So it starts to look like this:

Clement Long Relief
DiNardo or Malaska? LH Specialist
Embree LH Setup
Timlin Setup
Mantei Setup
Foulke Closer

Halama is your odd man out -- If we keep 12 he likely stays, if not I don't know. Of course if someone does get injured, he comes up. Or maybe a new fireballing youngster.

At any rate, it looks good. And the lineup will be great.....