Sox Thawts - 28 August, 2009 (barely)

OR..... "Angels" in the outfield ????

I start with a BRIEF recap of last night's contest.. The highlight of the night for me was Lenny Clark and Dennis Leary in the booth...

Taz was out of wind from the get-go.... giving up 9 runs overs 4 innings.... JD, Gonzo and Papi did their best to break out the brooms... Nick Green ???? pitched 2 scoreless innings... Jacoby tweaks an ankle sliding into home....NUF CED

Sox lead in the wild card??? 1-1/2 games as the Rangers were roughing up AJ Burnett... "WHY, WHY, WHY?????"

Beckett's on the bump tonight in the opener of a weekend series with the Blue Jays... HOPEFULLY atonement for his recent demise will be had.... Nuf Ced


NOW, August 28th.... a couple of days from September 1st... SO ?!?!?!?! you ask.... SOOOOOOOOO, on September 1st rosters expand from 25 to 40.... hmmmm... 15 more players (pitchers?????)

In scouring the Sox's currently published 40-man, I can't help but be concerned.... it's been my belief for quite some time that they are light in..... NOOOOOOO, not the loafers !!! that I know of at least.....the OUTFIELD... Anyway, they continue that trend... and with Jacoby tweaking his ankle last night..... there just may be a big problem arising....

The team used last off-season to put the deepest patching staff in baseball together.... to what avail????

Dice-K was horrible out of the blocks and got cut... well, sent down the stairs to the Gulf Coast League for "rehab". I hear he's been pitching well on the comeback road to Boston and will most likely rejoin the club on the 1st.... BUT, in the heat of a pennant race, is it really fair to the team and the Nation to "experiment" with Dice-K???... I think not...

John Smoltz proved to be ineffective in the American League and was subsequently released - although he seems to have found love in Philly.... Sources report that he was tipping off his pitches while in Boston... NOT something you want to do, by the way...

Brad Penny garnered the most patience by the club, but thankfully they released him.... at HIS request... but ONLY because they signed Billy Wagner.... Penny would have been sent down to the farm to make room on the 25-man roster.... and most likely been called back up next week anyway..... well, we don't have to worry about THAT now...

Billy Wagner... 15 months off of Tommy John surgery.... is signed amidst "controversy" from Jonathon Papelbon - cat fight ensues... I'm not sure of this move, especially at $2+ mil this year and over $8 mil next year... hopefully the big picture includes dumping him for some back-up in the outfield... and WAIT, doesn't Paps only make like $750,000.... hmmmmmm

Pitching, pitching, pitching..... granted it takes good pitching to win (OBVIOUSLY) but at what expense to the overall performance of the club ??? CERTAINLY, constantly shaking up the staff can be detrimental.... in more ways than one.

What about catching ????? Tek is old and banged up, VMart has been awesome offensively and mediocre as a back-stop - ESPECIALLY throwing - and our 3rd catcher is.... is.... RIGHT, Dustin Pedroia..... ALL STAR, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR and reigning MVP 2nd BASEMAN, Dustin Pedroia !!!! Hmmmmm, but I imagine we'll see George Kottaras return from the DL next week....

And outfield.... there are 9, YES NINE, positions on a baseball field... THREE, uh, ONE THIRD.... of which are outfield positions... YET, our current active roster lists 4... FOUR ?!?!?! and Rocco isn't proven as an everyday player... WHAT IF SOMEONE GETS HURT ???? Wait... Jacoby tweaked an ankle !!!! NOW WHAT???? Certainly Nick Green isn't a fulltime outfielder... OR pitcher for that matter....

Surely we'll see Josh Reddick and Chris Carter on the big club next week for outfield support... definitely a help.... but do we REALLY want to drive for a World Series trophy with rookies in the outfield???... good move letting Kotsay go ... NOT !!! (he looks comfy in a WHITE Sox uniform, don't he ???)...

I have no comprehension why more focus hasn't been put on acquiring experienced outfielders.. I guess that's why I'm here bitching instead of running the club.....

No doubt we'll also see "Psycho" and "Beavis" (uh, Aaron Bates and Jed Lowrie) back with the big boys next week too... but I'm not seeing the need for more infield help... we NEED outfield help.....

Needless to say, I'm more than a bit concerned and confused... although that's not the hardest thing in the world to accomplish... I've always, and continue, to have faith in Theo and the gang.... perhaps the success over that last 5 years has this Nation member spoiled.. I REALLY don't want to digress to.... "There's always next year".....

-Nuf Ced