Vegas Has "Lots" of Confidence in John Smoltz

[robby_morini]

The difference this year is health. Just like in '06

I was hoping for a last minute deal for Halladay. Time to get creative with the bullpen. Smoltz 3 innings, Manny D 2 innings, Okajima 2, Bard 1, and Papelbon finishing.

Extreme, but any combination would work until Dice K or Wake come back. I can't remeber who, but recently one manager filled a starting slot by using his pen as a starter

[wayne1218]

beckett lester and wake have been good the first half and penny who sucks always got good run support. the weak spot has been the pen. i love youk. but he was terrible for a month not saying he isnt an all star and a great player just saying the teams struggles are definitely on the offensive side not in the rotation especially not starting pitching. just look at tonight. IMO jaba sucked ass tonight and the sox couldnt do shit. they have to have DD LOB and that is brutal 6 hits come on.

Starters Era's After Beckett & Lester

Penny 5.20
Buchholz 6.05
Smoltz 8.32

Hurting
Wakefield 4.31
Dice-K 8.23


What am i missing Bryan? Their starters suck after 2 guys man and i'm just not sure how you can say otherwise. You say the offense has been bad but even when they score 6, they give up 8.

[wayne1218]

Starters Era's After Beckett & Lester

Penny 5.20
Buchholz 6.05
Smoltz 8.32

Hurting
Wakefield 4.31
Dice-K 8.23


What am i missing Bryan? Their starters suck after 2 guys man and i'm just not sure how you can say otherwise. You say the offense has been bad but even when they score 6, they give up 8.

and on top of all of this, they signed Paul FUCKEN Byrd last night. Are you fucken kidding me Theo? Are you??

[wayne1218]

and on top of all of this, they signed Paul FUCKEN Byrd last night. Are you fucken kidding me Theo? Are you??

Fuck it, where is Jack Morris. Let's give him a try too!

[frankb03]

In Theo we trust

[savage1]

Fuck it, where is Jack Morris. Let's give him a try too!

How about letting the Eck put the uniform on and try his luck.
Byrd reminds me of Penny;he might be good for a few games like last year, and then reality sets it.

[savage1]

In Theo we trust

I guess I should say at this point: In God we trust to HELP Theo make the right decisions. lol

[frankb03]

I guess I should say at this point: In God we trust to HELP Theo make the right decisions. lol

On a serious note! What have you done for me lately? When you're winning you look like a genius. When you're losing the same media/fans are looking for your look head on a platter.

Do genius GMs or coaches forget how to GM or coach? No! Much of it has to do with timing as well as skill and luck. A few years ago Minaya was an up and coming genius. After two September blown division leads and this seasons debacle people want him fired. It's true with every GM and coach that tasted success then fell on hard times. What have you done for me lately?

[savage1]

On a serious note! What have you done for me lately? When you're winning you look like a genius. When you're losing the same media/fans are looking for your look head on a platter.

Do genius GMs or coaches forget how to GM or coach? No! Much of it has to do with timing as well as skill and luck. A few years ago Minaya was an up and coming genius. After two September blown division leads and this seasons debacle people want him fired. It's true with every GM and coach that tasted success then fell on hard times. What have you done for me lately?

I pretty much agree.
Also, lets face it, as much as I still think Theo is a good GM, he was probably given more recognition than he might have got simply because under his reign the Sox won a WS after 86 years of waiting(and then another in 2007).
Now that the worm has turned a bit, a lot of fans and especially Red Sox fans(including me to some extent) have to recognize that they have to temper their enthusiasm a bit.
Obviously there would be a lot more fans calling for his head because of his perceived lack of inaction pitching wise at the trade deadling now than are doing so had he not been at the helm during the two WS championships.

[frankb03]

As the Red Sox transformed the Rivalry in their favor over the last five years, establishing uncharted superiority over the Yankees, GM Theo Epstein earned and received credit as the savvy architect who made all the right moves.

In some ways he flat schooled Brian Cashman on matters of drafting and developing home-grown talent, transitioning the Sox from old to young while ending the Curse of the Bambino and winning two championships.

But with the Yankees on the verge of burying the Red Sox deep in the standings with a four-game sweep, the Rivalry has taken a rather stunning turn back to more familiar Yankee dominance.

And it's at least partly because the Yankees, for a change, are winning the battle of the front offices. Going back to the winter when he swooped in to steal Mark Teixeira from the Red Sox, Cashman this year is outmaneuvering Theo.

In fact, if the Sox, whose 5-0 loss Saturday was their third straight to the Yankees and fifth straight overall, freefall all the way out of playoffs, Epstein will have a lot to answer for.

Mostly he'll be asked to explain why he didn't make a deal for either Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee, both pitchers whose presence would have been uplifting enough to help overcome injuries and a slumping lineup, while giving the Sox a 1-2-3 punch at the top of the rotation to make them World Series favorites.

Just before the trading deadline, in fact, Yankee players were saying privately their only real fear was the Sox getting Halladay.

Instead Epstein got Victor Martinez, who should help a sagging offense but also creates delicate lineup decisions for Terry Francona. It even gives him the flexibility to play Kevin Youkilis in left field, which didn't look like such a good idea yesterday, as he played one fly ball into an error and another into a double.

Of course, the way the Sox are swinging the bats, maybe nothing else really matters. Then again, the power pitching of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, both brilliant the last two days, have reestablished an identity and confidence the Yankees lacked in missing the playoffs last season.

Adding Halladay, in particular, to the duo of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester surely would have made the Sox feel bulletproof again.

And even if Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi demanded a premium for trading his ace to a team in his division, the Sox had the prospects to do it. What the heck, they were ready to give up five players for Felix Hernandez, as Epstein very quietly tried for days before the deadline to pull off a shocker.

Getting Hernandez, at 23 nine years younger than Halladay, obviously would have been quite a feat, but you have to wonder if in this case Epstein wasn't too obsessed with youth. At the very least, Halladay would have given the Sox two great chances at a championship before they had to decide whether to re-sign him.

As such, baseball people are puzzled by Epstein's course of action, most believing the Mariners had no real intention of trading their young ace.

"I think Theo got too cute for his own good," was the way one AL executive put it yesterday. "Anybody would want Felix, but the Mariners weren't shopping him. It seems like Theo wanted to make the trade nobody else thought of, the genius-type trade, instead of getting the obvious guy.

"Now Theo better hope that (Clay) Buchholz turns into something, or he'll look even worse for not getting one of those pitchers."

Buchholz, who turns 25 this week, did give the Sox a solid start yesterday, pitching nicely out of trouble to allow the Yankees only two runs over six innings, but is he going to be a difference-maker for this team?

For all of their hitting woes at the moment, the Sox need pitching, and everyone knew it before the trading deadline. Injuries to Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka had thinned out the starting rotation, and Epstein's cost-efficient gambles on John Smoltz and Brad Penny weren't paying off.

Then there is the matter of shortstop, which has been a problem all season, and is especially glaring now that they put Jed Lowrie on the disabled list yesterday after he aggravated the wrist injury that already forced him to miss most of the season.

Making a deal for Jack Wilson from the Pirates seemed like an obvious solution, but instead it seems they'll have to rely on career backup Nick Green down the stretch.

None of this means the Red Sox can't still get healthy and make the playoffs, but at the moment they don't look like a team that has a chance to win a championship.

For that matter, consider how dramatically circumstances have changed. Cashman spent his money wisely last winter while Melky Cabrera and Phil Hughes are providing at least some vindication for his decision not to trade for Johan Santana.

It remains to be seen if the Yankees can regain firm control of the Rivalry, but one thing for sure, nobody in Boston is calling Epstein a genius at the moment.

[savage1]

Good article Frank-I certainly cannot question any of its validity at the moment.
ps Who wrote the article?