Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Wakefield Wants Sox Wins Record

On The Big Show this Tuesday, Tim Wakefield, like virtually everybody else on the planet,stated that he thinks the Sox have a real shot to win it all this year.

Via WEEI:

"I love our chances. I really do. Talent-wise, all around the infield, all around the outfield and our pitching depth is pretty solid," Wakefield said. "I'm very excited about who we have on our club this year, and the direction that we can take.

"I think we have all the bases covered. We've got speed, we've got defense, we've got strong hitting, and we've got deep pitching. All five of those positions that you want to be on top of are all covered with the team and the talent that we have and the players that we have."

Well, yeah.  I don't know if it's that I feel like we've been jinxed (I do), or that I like to maintain some form of humble facade, but I'd be more comfortable with a bland, "We've got the talent, but we have a long way to go before we start talking about October" quote.

But the real interesting part is when he was asked about the 13 wins he needs to catch Clemens and Cy Young for the all-time Sox wins record of 179.

"I give it a lot of thought. It's important form a personal standpoint, but more importantly, I don't it to take away from anything that has to do with us winning a World Series championship here again," he said. "With that being said, I'd like to accomplish that, but first and foremost is to try to win games for the Boston Red Sox and try to win another World Series title here.

If it happens, it happens, and if not, it's not going to make me any different of a person. … It doesn't make a better person because I am the all time [wins] leader in Red Sox history. It's a nice goal to attain and it's a nice number to have next to your name, but I think the biggest thing is to win a World Series title for the Boston Red Sox."

For the Sox sake, I hope Wakefield isn't in any type of position to grab that record this season.  If he is, that means we've been hit with one or more serious injuries. 

If he gets 6-8 wins this season, I could see him trying to hang around next year as well.  Not sure if he's going to get that chance.

Your Morning Dump... where the 2011 Regular Season starts.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Grab the parka, ski cap, mittens, and galoshes. It’s time for baseball.

From Dodger Stadium to Yankee Stadium, there was a flurry of activity as teams got ready for Opening Day today.

At Great American Ball Park, there actually were flurries. Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and the Brewers worked out as snow fell yesterday, a day before they were to play in Cincinnati. The conditions were better suited for snowballs than baseballs, too, when the Reds later took the field.

“I love it. I love the weather,’’ Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips deadpanned.

The forecast for several of the six openers today wasn’t much better, either: rain with temperatures in the 40s in Washington, New York, and Kansas City, and downright chilly in Cincinnati.

Globe: Cold, hard fact: Openers today

 

Finally, the regular season has arrived and of course there's football weather across the nation. It'll be the only time that the Nationals and Royals sell out their stadiums all season and if you read any predictions from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, this is the only chance the Yankees have in leading in the AL East.

Just for kicks, Curtis Granderson will get the first hit of the year, Jason Heyward hits the first home run, and Alex Rodriguez strikes out first.

Speaking of the Sox, it's just a day away. Hold on for a little bit longer.


Your Opening Day Links:

Globe:Notes: Beckett is zeroed in during final tuneup|City questions Sox plan for mixed drinks|For local players dreaming big, baseball proves a fickle game|Cold, hard fact openers today Herald:Tito stays the course|Sox good enough to be second to none|Now it's time to prove it|Opening Day Roster|Best rotations|Glovework should be laced in gold|Best bullpen|Bullpen recieves a depth charge|Theo gets job done|Sox definitely looking down on Yankees|Best team|Best defense|Best offense|Best manager|Time for a good laugh CSNNE:Notes: Beckett turns in around in final start|Salty ready for a fresh start|Aceves throws five perfect inningsUh oh, SI picks Sox to win World Series |WEEI:MLB Power Rankings 3/31|Wakefield: "I like our chances"|Kruk:Gonzales favorite for AL MVP

How long would JD Drew be out with this injury?

Shawn Thornton took a skate to the forehead last night and needed 40+ stitches to close the gash.

With blood pouring out of his face, Thornton stopped to mix it up with some goons on the BlackHawks who apparently made some distasteful comments.

Thornton has already said he'd like to play tomorrow night vs Toronto.

My question is.... How long would JD Drew be out if this happened to him?

I've placed the over/under at 6 months.

ESPN <3s the Red Sox in 2011

Folks outside of New England/New York surely make that argument all the time, but this year it's especially true. ESPN analysts really like Boston. Like, a lot.

The Worldwide Leader posted division, league, and World Series championship predictions made by 45 of its analysts. Guess how many like the Red Sox to win the AL East. FORTY-FIVE.

In addition, 42 have them winning the AL, and 33 have them going on to win the whole shebang. Seventy-three percent of ESPN analysts think the same thing is going to happen.

Now I kind of think we're going to lose.

As far as individual awards, I expected to see lots of love for Adrian Gonzalez, and there was: 14 pick him for the AL MVP. Three predicted Carl Crawford would win it, while two brave (and probably OBP-minded) souls said Kevin Youkilis would take home the hardware. No Sox were projected to be AL rookie of the year.

But this surprised me -- nearly half the field, 22 analysts, picked Jon Lester as the AL Cy Young winner. I know it's not exactly a shot in the dark. He's in his prime, on the best team on paper, and will get run support. He appears fully healthy. I just can't believe that many people went the same way.

BREAKING NEWS: Clemens Claims He's Innocent

Hey! Look!  Roger Clemens is running his mouth again.  This is going to end well.

Via WEEI:

Roger Clemens continued to assert his innocence regarding performance-enhancing drug use during an interview at the Houston Open golf tournament, where he is serving as a caddie for PGA Tour player Ryan Palmer in Wednesday's pro-am event.

"We've had to take it on the chin a little bit, but we'll have our chance to talk," Clemens told ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning."

The former Red Sox, Yankees and Astros star has been charged with lying to Congress about his use of PEDs. His trial is set to start in July, but Clemens said he doesn't plan to go into hiding until then.

"We don't like it. But I'm not going to run around and hang my head. I'm going to be the person I've always been," he said.

Clemens then proceeded to pull a steroid-filled syringe out of a golf bag and inject himself in the buttocks.

No matter how many times you stomp your feet and say you never took steroids, it doesn't make the allegations not true. 

Like most other baseball fans, I've become numb to the whole steroids debacle.  And Roger Clemens mere existence sickens me.  I wish both of them would just go away forever.

Time to learn another unwritten rule

So you are at the plate, your team is up by 10 with no runners in scoring position, and you are ahead in the count 3-0. What do you do when you see a tasty fastball coming your way?

DON'T SWING!!!

Jake Fox, Catcher for the Orioles swung at a 3-0 pitch in that situation and pissed everyone off, even Buck Showalter.

via The Baltimore Sun

It certainly qualified as a breach of baseball etiquette. Swinging 3-0 in a 10-run game with no outs in the eighth inning with a minor league pitcher on the mound is a decent way to make sure you get a fastball in the ribs in your next at-bat. The average fan may not think it was a big deal but Orioles manager Buck Showalter and Tigers manager Jim Leyland certainly did.

Showalter angrily yanked off his hat, and was seen yelling in the home dugout to anyone in particular. His hat off the whole time, he kept shaking his head and muttering throughout the rest of Fox's at-bat, which resulted in a walk Leyland, meanwhile, yelled at Fox from the top step of the dugout.

When Fox was removed for a pinch runner, Showalter made sure that he was one of the first people to meet him in the dugout and he gave him an earful. The Orioles manager was still fuming about it after the game as it apparently wasn't the first time this spring where Fox ignored a clear take situation.

I might have to side with the managers on this topic.  There is no reason to swing at that pitch during a spring training game. Fox is going to make the Orioles roster so he has nothing to prove.

Just remeber kids...if you don't want to get plunked in your dome, don't swing at a 3-0 pitch when you are up big.

Player preview: Adrian Gonzalez

Baseball is finally here. Everyone is ready to dedicate themselves for the grind that is the baseball year. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. May we suggest some player previews to help you cope until then?

2010 stats:

693 PA, 87 R, 31 HR, 101 RBI,.298/.393/.511, 4 BMC (blind men cured)

2011 PECOTA projections (via Baseball Prospectus, based on math):

685 PA, 98 R, 34 HR, 100 RBI, .283/.379/.513, 4.1 WARP

2011 Ted's Army projections (based on nothing):

596 PA, 90 R, 26 HR, 95 RBI, .274/.411/.485

What is there to say that hasn't already been said about Gonzalez?

I won't bore you with a rehash of the trade, or with some sort of "He's going to be the 21st-century Ted Williams" kind of love fest.

Adrian is awesome. He's going to be awesome for us. We're going to sign him to a long-term deal very soon, and he's going to be the franchise cornerstone for years. He is as safe a signing as you can make among elite players, and appears to be happy not to break the bank, but to "just" bring in $150-ish million and be on his way.

We know all this. The only thing we don't know this year is how his shoulder is going to be. As you can see from my projections, I think he could miss some time this year -- it just seems like a safe guess. I still think his performance is going to be incredible -- and I expect his OBP to be awesome in this lineup -- but I don't think he'll hit some of the power projections people have for him.

I also think he'll see some criticism. If he starts slow from a power standpoint and is just walking a lot, some short-sighted naysayers might start throwing around JD Drew comparisons, but I think reasonable fans know this guy is something special, even if his shoulder (or just the new situation) causes him to start slow.

Game of the year

July 10 vs. Baltimore. Going into the All-Star Break, there is some Adrian criticism afoot. He missed three weeks with an extended DL stint in May to rest his shoulder, and going into this game he has just eight home runs. Gerry Callahan suggests we trade him back to San Diego for Heath Bell. Bob Ryan leaves a huffing voice mail on Theo's phone asking "What's...the fascination...with Adrian Gonzalez?" But Adrian shows us the fascination in this game, hitting three homers, driving in eight runs, and putting Sox fans in the right frame of mind going into the summer classic.

Biggest question

Can he handle the pressure? He's got all the talent in the world, he's surrounded by talent, and he's in a better park than he was. The only way things go south long term (and again, the shoulder could be an issue this year, but it doesn't seem like it's a long-term concern) is if he has some kind of mental hiccup. 

Your Morning Dump... Where 2012 Is The Year of Iglesias

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

According to team sources, the Red Sox are still debating whether to have top prospect Jose Iglesias open the 2011 season in Double-A Portland or Triple-A Pawtucket. The team wants to assign Iglesias to a level that will maximize the likelihood of his being big league ready for the 2012 campaign.

Because the shortstop -- already considered a defensive star -- lost a couple months of his 2010 season with Portland due to a broken finger, the team might want him to get more at-bats in Double-A before an early season promotion to Triple-A. That said, the team might also decide that Iglesias is better served by a challenge at a more advanced level.

WEEI - Sox still deciding where Iglesias will play

Whether he plays in Portland or Pawtucket really is of little significance at this time (unless you frequent one of those team's games).  I have no doubt that the Sox are going to give him the best road to be prepped when the time comes.

I'm ready for the Jose Iglesias era.  We're a few shortstops removed from having a player that can make jaw-dropping catches, dives and throws on a regular basis.  Say what you will about his bat, but he's no joke in the field. 

What's interesting is how this will all play out for Jed Lowrie.  Scutaro is gone after this year, regardless.  He was signed to be a stop-gap until Iglesias was ready.  What the Sox weren't sure about was what type of player Jed Lowrie was going to become.  And really, we still don't know.  He was pretty damn good in those 55 games last year.  Good enough that he doesn't deserve to play the utility role. 

If Lowrie has a solid first half, and Iglesias is progressing nicely (whether it be in AA or AAA), I don't think it's a stretch to see Theo flip Lowrie somewhere for whatever the Sox most pressing need is at that time.  I don't want to see him go, but that infield isn't big enough for the both of them.

On Page 2, the Sox finally rid themselves of that pesky Turpen

Player Preview: Daniel Bard

Baseball is finally here. Everyone is ready to dedicate themselves for the grind that is the baseball year. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. May we suggest some player previews to help you cope until then?

2010 Stats: 74.2 IP, 1-2, 3 SV, 76 K, 1.93 ERA,1.004 WHIP

2011 PECOTA Projections (via Baseball Prospectus): 71 IP, 3-1, 1 SV, 76 K, 3.85 ERA, 1.38 WHIP

2011 Ted's Army Projections: 82 IP, 4-2, 5 SV, 89 K, 1.99 ERA, 0.952 WHIP

Daniel Bard is the closer of the future and that is no secret. Papelbon will likely get more money somewhere else, and not many Sox fans will miss him.

Bard has a ton of talent and is intimidating on the mound. Unlike Papelbon, Bard has learned to use a few pitches effectively early in his career.

Daniel Bard can top 100 on the gun and throw some mid-80's breaking pitches to buckle knees at the plate. His slider has great movement and if he can master it, he will have an ERA under 1.

There are some faults to Bard that people may overlook. He knows very well that he has one of the fastest fastballs in the game and he sometimes tries to make it travel a little faster. When he over throws his pitches, he can get a little wild and start playing the aiming game.  The good thing is that he doesn't make it a habit and he can gather himself after a few tough batters.

It will be nice to have a closer in the future that is not a complete head-case. He won't lose his cool quickly and is a smart pitcher. Expect a great performance all season long from Daniel Bard.

Game of the year:

May 16, 2011: Daniel Bard comes in for the 8th inning against the Orioles and successfully switches out a ball from the mound with one with the face of Theo Epstein on it. Daniel Bard overthrows a fastball the goes sailing over Vlad Guerrero's head, benches clear. Theo then comes charging out of the first row, and the brawl with Showalter begins. Okajima laughs while watching from the Pawsox clubhouse couch.

Biggest Question:

Will Daniel Bard rely on his fastball too much? It is a very effective fastball with some movement, but it is the off-speed stuff that will complete the punch. Bard needs to avoid overthrowing the fastball and work in the breaking pitches effectively.

Papi Settles With Jay-Z

For the six of you that care even the tiniest bit, the Jay-Z v Papi legal battle has come to an end.

Via NY Daily News:

"The case has been settled in principle," said attorney Peter Raymond. "We have agreed on the outlines of a settlement and need to reduce it to writing."

The dispute began last April when Jay-Z, a die-hard Yankee fan, sued the Red Sox star for $5 million, claiming he stole the name of his 40/40 Club sport bar.

After visiting the Flatiron District club, Ortiz allegedly started his own "Forty-Forty" club in his native Dominican Republic.

Federal District Judge Richard Berman had urged a settlement and said both superstars would have to appear in court Tuesday.

"Sounds like a sensible outcome," Berman wrote in a memo filed in Manhattan District Court.

The lawsuit will be dismissed within 30 days after it's put in writing.

I'm happy about this for one simple reason: It no longer has to weigh on Oriz's mind.

He's already stated this spring that the key for him is getting his mind cleared (and leaving his cell phone at home), so to not have a potentially million dollar lawsuit hanging over his head can only be a positive.

And for the record, I just want to point out how idiotic this lawsuit was.  These two clubs are in different countries.  It's not as if anyone is going to stumble into Forty-Forty thinking they were heading into 40/40, causing Jay-Z to lose patronage and money. 

It'd be like us suing http://www.tedsmilitarysurplus.com for stealing our page views.

Anyway, at least it's now over and we can all move forward.  Friday is just 3 days away.