VAfan

Here's Jayson Stark on the road/home split this year. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...&id=3435041

Here's a chart of what's left. Given the home/road split that's left (compared to our AL Central rivals), it looks like we are in very good shape to win the AL Central. After today, we'll have 7 games in Minnesota, with none in Chicago, so they are probably our chief rivals at this point. Given the way we've pounded them this week, however, that doesn't seem like much of a threat. Games Left to Play (read across for home games and down the columns for road games) |AvgOppRec|BAL BOS NYY TBR TOR|CHW CLE DET KCR MIN|LAA OAK SEA TEX Interleague Records +----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------+ BAL| 32-31 | -- 3 3 3 7| 3 4 4 4 3| 3 3 0 6|CHC:0-3,HOU:3-0,MIL:0-3,PIT:3-0,WSN:0-3 BOS| 32-30 | 9 -- 6 3 6| 3 4 0 3| 3 3 0 3|ARI:3-0,CIN:0-3,HOU:0-3,PHI:0-3,STL:3-0 NYY| 33-30 | 6 7 -- 5 3| 4 4 3| 4 3 0 3|CIN:3-0,HOU:0-3,NYM:0-3,PIT:0-3,SDP:3-0 TBR| 32-31 | 3 6 3 -- 6| 0 3 3 4 4| 3 3 0 0|CHC:3-0,FLA:3-3,HOU:3-0,PIT:0-3 TOR| 32-30 | 6 6 9 6 --| 0 3 0 3| 0 4 6 0|ATL:3-0,CHC:3-0,CIN:3-0,MIL:0-3,PIT:0-3 +----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------+ CHW| 30-32 | 0 4 0 3 4| -- 6 6 6 1| 3 4 3 3|CHC:3-3,COL:3-0,LAD:0-3,PIT:3-0 CLE| 30-32 | 4 0 4 0| 3 -- 7 6 9| 3 3 0|CIN:3-0,COL:0-3,LAD:0-3,SDP:3-0,SFG:3-0 DET| 30-32 | 3 4 4| 6 6 -- 6 4| 3 6 0 0|COL:3-0,LAD:3-0,SDP:0-3,SFG:0-3,STL:3-0 KCR| 31-31 | 0 3 0 4 | 9 3 6 -- 3| 3 7 6|ARI:0-3,COL:3-0,SFG:3-0,STL:3-3 MIN| 30-33 | 0 0 3 0 0| 7 6 6 6 --| 0 3 3 3|ARI:3-0,MIL:3-3,SDP:0-3,WSN:3-0 +----+---------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-------------------+ LAA| 31-32 | 3 3 6 3 3| 0 3 0 4| -- 6 6 7|ATL:3-0,LAD:0-3,NYM:3-0,PHI:0-3,WSN:0-3 OAK| 31-31 | 0 0 3 3 0| 3 0 3 4| 6 -- 7 7|ARI:0-3,FLA:3-0,PHI:3-0,SFG:3-3 SEA| 32-31 | 3 3 3 4 3| 0 3 4 0 6| 4 7 -- 2|ATL:0-3,FLA:3-0,NYM:0-3,SDP:0-3,WSN:3-0 TEX| 32-31 | 0 3 4 3 3| 3 3 6 0 0| 7 3 7 --|ATL:3-0,HOU:0-3,NYM:0-3,PHI:3-0,WSN:0-3

Does anyone else think this is aberational, to have only 4 teams in baseball at .500 or above on the road on June 8th? 2 of the 3 clubs at .600 or better have losing road records (BoSox, Cubs). When did baseball get such a home field advantage?

At 17-17, the Sox are one of only 4 teams in the majors playing .500 or better on the road. And with 17 victories, they rank second in total wins. Here are the others: 1. LA Angels 20-11 2. Phillies 16-13 3. Cardinals 15-14 4. White Sox 17-17 Discuss.........

QUOTE (29andPoplar @ Jun 2, 2008 -> 08:55 PM) No, the constant starting of threads without first reading all the other ones on similar topics. Plus the huge drama announcement about becoming a Nationals fan because Buehrle was getting traded. I'm member # 932 on this site, and have been a Sox fan since 1970. When did you come along? None of my threads has been a duplicate of anything on the lead page at the time I have posted it. If Fields is hurt and can't play, then obviously you can't bring him up. But if he's just hitting poorly in the minors, I would still bring him up to give us an offensive option over Konerko, Thome, and Swisher. He proved he could hit major league pitching last year, so I would give him the chance to do it again. If our scouts think Brad Eldred is a better option at this point, fine. Because other than Brian Anderson, we have no one on the bench that Ozzie can use. Do you have a better solution?

Hey, I beat Ozzie's tirade by a day. Plus, I earlier penned a "trade Thome and Konerko" post. I also asked whether we shouldn't put Konerko on the DL because of his hand. Taking those three posts together, I believe we should: 1. Put Konerko on the DL. 2. Bring up Josh Fields, assuming he can actually play, and play him somewhere almost every day. 3. Play Brian Anderson nearly every day too. 4. Play either Nick Swisher or Jim Thome, but not both, until they prove they can hit again (i.e., get their averages above .240) 5. Replace Greg Walker as hitting coach. 6. Look for a bat in the trade market.

2-1, 2-0 losses to the Rays? Sure, the Rays seem to have righted their ship. But this offense is still pathetic. The only "solution" that I can see is to bring up a bat. And the only "bat" we have in our system that has proven he can hit major league pitching is Josh Fields. I think he needs to come up right now. Where will he play? He can certainly play 3B or DH. And I imagine that as a 3B that he could play 1B if he had to. Or he could play 3B and Joe Crede could play 1B. With Fields up, it allows us to sit at least two among Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, and Nick Swisher, the three worst hitters in our lineup. Who would go? Does it matter? Neither Pablo Ozuna nor Juan Uribe are offering anything to the team at this point. One or the other is all that is needed to back up SS and 2B, since Fields can back up 3B. And since Ramirez can play OF, and Fields could play there in an emergency, you don't need Ozuna. But keeping Pablo and letting go of Uribe would also be fine with me. The other option would be to put Konerko on the DL.

As I mentioned elsewhere, I think Konerko should go on the DL if he hasn't shown real progress with his hand by the end of this road trip. One poster on the Konerko thread suggested it will take 8 weeks for PK to heal. In that time, I'd bring up Josh Fields and rotate Anderson, Swish, Thome, Crede, and Fields through 4 positions, CF, 1B, DH, and 3B. The odd guy out would serve as a pinch hitter du jour. You could even throw Dye into the mix.

I'm surprised Vazquez appears to have mentally turned his game around after all those 6th-inning meltdowns that sunk our 2006 season. If he pitched then the way he pitched last year, we would have had a chance to defend our WS title. And even with his improved pitching in 2007 and so-far solid 2008, if the deal was Vazquez for Young straight up, then Arizona got the better deal. Young is already a stud and he's going to get better and better. Plus, his career is likely to last much longer than Javy's, and he's far cheaper for many years. (Which means the difference might have been invested in someone else.) But throw in Carlos Quentin and you have to say we're better off. Quentin looks like he'll have better OBP and SLG numbers than Young for their respective careers, with Young having much better speed and defense. Advantage Quentin. Plus, Quentin's youth cancels out the money difference in the deals. Problem is, we need multiple Carlos Quentins. Our team is made up mostly of old guys who've played elsewhere. We need more young talent. I want to see Josh Fields back on the field, esp. with Konerko ailing.

1. Put Konerko on the DL (see other post). Call up Josh Fields. That gives you 5 guys -- Fields, Anderson, Swisher, Thome, Crede -- to rotate through 4 jobs -- CF, 1B, DH, 3B. And if Anderson starts, the guy on the bench becomes the pinch hitter du jour. You could even throw Dye into the rotation. 2. Keep playing Ramirez at 2B. The kid seems to me to have real potential as a hitter if given some consistent ABs.

So, Ptatc, our resident doctor (apparently), if Paulie has a "Syndrome" does that mean that this is a condition that won't go away even after rest? How did this come on in the first place? If 8 weeks rest will help, then I'm for giving him the break and letting younger guys play. If that kind of rest won't make that much difference but less day-to-day wear and tear will help, then I like the idea of having him share time with Thome. But the bottom line has to be, if he can't do better than this line, which is second to worst in baseball among first basemen, then he needs to sit on the bench anyway. 26 Paul Konerko CHW 162 18 33 6 0 5 23 1 0 27 32 .204 .325 .333 .658 That line alone brings me back to DL'ing him, since at least that way we can bring up a healthy body to take his place. My vote would be Josh Fields, because he's the most likely to give us some offensive pop. I'd forget Brad Eldred. Sure, he seems like he's having a fine year, but he looks like a career minor leaguer.

I didn't see last night's game. But I don't take the reports that he hit the ball hard as a good sign; I take it as a bad sign. That suggests he can nail the ball now and it still won't go out. I'm not a doctor, but if his injury turns HR power into warning track outs, then I definitely think he should be put on the DL. I'd give him this quick road trip to produce or sit and heal.

Given the Trib story below about Konerko's thumb, would we be better off with him on the DL until it heals? Will it heal with rest? http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...1,6811402.story

Living in VA, I don't get to see that many games. Just WGN and national broadcasts. But I did see some of the West Coast games, and two of the home games against the Angels, and Ramirez really looked good to me. He seems like he's starting to lay off the breaking balls in the dirt, while he's smoking the balls he can reach. The Angels made some very nice defensive plays on him. I see no need for Uribe on the team. I guess he's better defensive insurance than Ozuna if Cabrera got hurt, but is that worth a roster spot? Having a pinch runner seems more valuable.

Hey, what about a blast or two from the past? Rob Mackowiak anyone? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4718 Or Alex Cintron? http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=4814 JUST KIDDING! Frankly, for a team where the starting SS, DH, 1B, and CF are all hitting way below their career averages, and neither one of the two guys we've used at 2B is hitting .200, on base even 27% of the time, or posting an OPS of .600 or more, I'd say we have more to worry about than "bench insurance." It's hilarious to read how we need a "lefty bat off the bench" when two of the three lefties in our lineup are hitting .210, .339., .331, .670 (Swish) and .214, .352., .441, .794 (Thome). Would we settle for a bench bat hitting worse than these numbers? How about this idea? Start Brian Anderson in CF. He's at .260, .315, .380, .695. Then Nick Swisher and Jim Thome can rotate at being the "lefty bat off the bench." Both actually redeemed themselves rather well as pinch hitters in SF.

I started the season without great optimism. I thought we'd be better than last year, and would probably creep back above .500, but I didn't see us having any realistic shot at winning 90 games or competing for a division title or wild card spot. Then we start the year tearing the cover off the ball like it was 2006 again. And with Carlos Quentin and Nick Swisher in for Scott Podsednik and Jerry Owens and our big boppers back on track, I penned a thread that I thought 900 runs was possible. Of course, right about that time, our bats went into a deep freeze and the team went south. So then I penned a post that we need to dump Thome and Konerko before it's too late. Lower salary, get younger, add whatever you can in trade. Of course right about that time Ozzie finally changes the lineup, moving AJ to #2 and Quentin to #3, dropping down Thome and Konerko, and the Sox ride a 7-3 West Coast road trip back into first place! Maybe I should remain pessimistic. On the other hand, here are the lines so far of 4 of our key hitters. Their career OPS numbers follow in brackets. Jim Thome 40 138 19 28 6 0 7 55 23 27 45 1 0 .203 .341 .399 .740 [.969 career] Paul Konerko 41 143 16 30 6 0 5 51 23 25 29 1 0 .210 .335 .357 .692 [.844 career] Nick Swisher 42 149 24 31 4 1 4 49 10 29 38 1 2 .208 .339 .329 .668 [.811 career] O. Cabrera 43 170 25 37 4 0 1 44 8 14 21 5 1 .218 .278 .259 .537 [.719 career] So, there's still room for a lot of improvement. On the negative side, AJ is hitting .100 points above his career OPS, as is Joe Crede. Quentin has no history, nor does Ramirez. But more consistent hitting could make a huge difference. (We're 14th in runs scored, 12th in OBP, 11th in SLG, 12th in OPS, but 26th in BA.) On the pitching side, every starter except Buehrle is way ahead of their career ERA numbers. So what do I expect going forward? Who knows? Odds are we'll see steadily improved offensive numbers offset by more runs surrendered. The key, then, could be the bullpen. Right now, it looks pretty good. With this huge stretch of home games, can the Sox make their move?

I was skeptical of this team to begin the year. Then, when the offense seemed to be reminiscent of 2006, I even got kind of excited. That excitement has now passed. I'm ready to conclude that KW's tweaking plan is not going to work, and the sooner we get on with building a team that might work, the better. I would start by trying to trade Jim Thome and Paul Konerko before the trading deadline. My prime goal would be to dump salary and open slots for two young players we already have -- Brian Anderson and Josh Fields. But it's also possible we could get something in return. Would the O's give us Brian Roberts for Paul Konerko? Paulie would appear to be an upgrade for them at 1B, plus he's signed long term, which Baltimore might like. (I don't know if Konerko is untradeable yet -- has he passed the veto stage? -- but if not, that's all the more reason to move him NOW.) Call this idea crazy if you like, but it's the "leaders" of this team that upset me the most.

I think one of the problems is that players never pay any consequences for not hitting. Thome has not hit lefties since we got him, yet he still hits 3rd against most lefties. And he's still hitting third into the second year of a "slump." Konerko has also been in an extended "slump" of months yet he's our cleanup hitter. I thought we traded for Cabrera so we could get Juan Uribe out of the lineup. Instead, there he sits killing the end of the order, just at a new position. Dye helped us win the World Series when Ozzie moved him to third in the order. But how many times has Dye hit third since the 2005 Series? Has it even been 5 games in 2+ seasons? At this point, the no-hitting culture has firmly taken hold of the Sox, and I'm not sure much can be done to shake them out of it. Certainly Greg Walker should be fired immediately. I'd be happy with Harold Baines there. Then I'd demote Thome and Konerko and move up Quentin, Crede, and Dye. But you still need a lefty, so I'd probably go with: Anderson 343 OBP Swisher .341 OBP Quentin 990 OPS Crede 833 OPS AJ 780 OPS Dye 792 OPS Thome/Konerko platoon at DH Cabrera Ramirez -- there's at least hope he might hit If guys hit, they move up. If they don't, they move down. At least there would be consequences.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Apr 20, 2008 -> 02:33 PM) The Sox will be the envy of the league if both Danks and Floyd prove to be for real. Not only that, but if Danks and Floyd continue pitching the way they have, the Sox will be very competitive factors in the AL Central race.

Yes, lots. But you should really look beyond the 1-2 slots to see why the Sox look like they can return to and improve upon the solid offense of 2006. I have a separate post on that topic. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63847 The biggest problem in 2007 was that we had 4 positions -- LF, CF, SS, 2B -- that didn't hit a lick all season. Add in Joe Crede's horrible start (before he got hurt for the year), as well as Jermaine Dye's, and you can see why we dropped off the planet in terms of offense. This year, there is only one bona fide "out" in the lineup -- Juan Uribe in the 9 hole. And, with his power, he's averaged more than 70 RBI/year for the last three years. So, look for this year's offense to exceed what we put up in 2006, which should keep us in the race the entire year.

Thought I would come back to this after the 7-0 and 11-0 pastings of the Tigers over the weekend. Sox are now at 70 runs after 11 games, or 6.4 runs/game. Over 162, that would end up at 1030 runs. Periodically I plan on returning to this thread to see our progress. But the way we scored in those two games reemphasizes my points. On Sunday, we hit two grand slams. We had a 4-run and a 6-run inning. Each was fueled by walks. On Saturday, when the weather was miserable, we had only scratched out two hits and a run (solo HR by Cabrera) into the bottom of the 8th. But then we broke through for 6 runs without the benefit of a long ball. The fascinating thing is that we've morphed into the Red Sox/Yankees offense. OBP + SLG. Not much speed. I heard Hawk say Cabrera has our only stolen base. And Ozzie keeps praising this style?? Even more amazing. GO SOX!

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Apr 9, 2008 -> 11:34 AM) Its been 7 freaking games!!! Yes, it is very encouraging the start they are on, but that does not mean Joe is back. He hadnt played for 10 months before this and he had an awful spring. I would love if he came back and he has started off well, but lots of people can go on a 7 game streak in thie league. And to say they are ahead of their 2006 pace is ridiculous. Its been 7 games. As someone said, Crede is on pace for over 200 RBI. I'm not gonna lie and say i'm not excited or optimistic about this team, because I am. They are playing great to start the year and i am thoroughly enjoying it. However, to get too excited because of 7 games to start the year is irresponsible. So what if it's been 7 games? I'm not giving Crede an OPS of 1.098 for the year. But it seems to me he's already shown enough to suggest he could post something as good or better than the .829 OPS of 2006. He's 29 -- right in the prime of his career. And even if he went down or is traded, I would expect Josh Fields to provide an OPS close enough to Crede's 2006 totals to conclude that our 2008 offense is better overall. (As a rookie, he came in at .788 OPS on a bad team last year.) Let me add a little side-by-side here using OPS numbers (some current, some estimated): 1. Swisher (.904) v. Pods (.684) 2. Cabrera (.732 career) v. Iguchi (.774) 3. Thome (est. .950) v. Thome (1.014) 4. Konerko (est. .880) v. Konerko (.932) 5. Dye (est. .980) v. Dye (1.006) 6. AJ (est. .800) v. AJ (.769) 7. Quentin (est. .830) v. Crede (.829) 8. Crede/Fields (est. .840) v. Anderson/Mack (combo roughly .700) 9. Uribe (.715) v. Uribe (.698) The biggest improvement in this lineup is what has happened in the 8-9-1 group. Instead of 3 guys in a row with below-.700 OPS numbers, which puts stops on long innings and gives pitchers a kind of NL break, we have 3 guys who can all mash the ball. Crede will certainly hit at least 25 HRs if he's healthy, Uribe hits 20 HRs a year, and Swisher should approach or exceed his 35 HRs from 2006. And the on base improvements in the 8 and 1 spots should also be huge. Otherwise, I see the 2-7 spots being nearly as productive as the 2006 group. Cabera's in for Gooch, and Quentin's in for Crede, with the other guys the same. If you look overall, I'm suggesting only two spots in the lineup -- Cabrera and Uribe (2 and 9) -- will fail to exceed an .800 OPS. Again, that's HUGE. Plus, I'm not calling for a huge improvement over 2006 -- just 32 runs, or less than 4%. And, sure, we might not get there. But it doesn't look like that much of a long shot to me.

QUOTE (WilliamTell @ Apr 9, 2008 -> 10:58 AM) I would say no because to me, it seemed like nearly everyone except Thome was having a career year at the plate in 2006 if I remember right anyways. I think we have a much better shot at 900 than the Tigers do at 1000. I can't remember who said they would, but someone from ESPN said they were going to score a 1000 runs. What I think you miss is how better hitting accumulates to lift all boats, so to speak. If you take away the "outs" in the lineup, it fatigues the opposing pitcher, making it easier for everyone to hit. So, it's not that unusual for guys to have career years together. (I still remember the 1977 Sox -- the South Side Hit Men -- where every member of their lineup hit his career high in HRs (to that point) in the same year. Check them out. There's a book about them. http://books.google.com/books?id=wLnW18psYCMC ) The opposite was true last season, when the key guys were down and the automatic "outs" filled several places on the field the entire year -- LF, CF, SS, 2B. This year, there is only one "out" in the lineup -- the 9 hole of Juan Uribe -- and he probably isn't going to last the year there. But, even if he did, his power has allowed him to average more than 70 RBI/year over the last 3 seasons. And if Quentin and Crede and AJ hit the way they have been ahead of him, he could drive in even more runs.

Here's a link to the batting stats of the Sox from 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/battin...=2&type=reg Here's how the Sox have started 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/battin...=2&type=reg Compared to 2006, when we finished third in runs with 868, the first thing I notice is that both Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede are back to their 2006 form. That was Jermaine's best year in the majors offensively. It was also Crede's. Both are way ahead of that pace, which suggests they can come back to earth and still outpace their 2006 numbers. Second, we now have Nick Swisher and his .904 OPS in CF, not the 2006 duo of Brian Anderson/Rob Mackowiak at .649/.769. That's a huge upgrade. And while Swisher might not keep up that pace, he also might, given the cozy confines of the Cell. .904 is not that much above his best year in Oakland, which was also 2006 (.865). Third, we have young stud Carlos Quentin and his .988 OPS in LF instead of 2006 Scott Podsednik of the .684 OPS. Sure, Quentin will not keep it up, but given his minor league track record, he's likely to finish somewhere in the .800-.900 range, which is another huge improvement over 2006. Fourth, I would expect the 2008 double-play combo of Cabrera/Uribe to hit about as well as the 2006 combo of Uribe (.698 OPS)/Iguchi (.774 OPS). Cabrera is off to a slow start, but his career OPS is .723. He'll hit only half as many HRs as Iguchi's 18, but he's otherwise about as good. Meanwhile, Uribe is hitting slightly better than he did in 2006 (.715 OPS so far) despite his horrible BA and OBP. Plus, it's possible A. Ramirez or D. Richar will replace him and do better. Fifth, AJ is tearing the cover off the ball, so it is easy to see him improving on his 2006 .769 OPS. His career rate is .762. So, even as he tails off, he's almost certain to stay ahead of his 2006 numbers. That leaves Jim Thome and Paul Konerko. Both are off quite a bit from 2006, but does anyone expect that to remain the case for the entire year? I don't think they'll match 2006, when Thome's OPS was 1.014 and Konerko's was .932, but between them they should be able to match 2007, when Thome was .973 and Konerko was .841. (I expect Thome to slide a bit more, to below .950, but Konerko to balance that in the high .800s.) Notice that the team OBP so far is .372 compared to .342 in 2006. SLG is also up .30 points, from .464 to .494. I don't expect either of these to hold for a full year, but I expect both to remain well above 2006 levels. The net effect of that is going to be more runs. With fewer outs, you end up a lot more big innings. There is a wild card here -- Ozzie Guillen. He could always blow things by inserting Jerry Owens and his .636 OPS for Quentin's .900+ OPS. But there's hope that won't happen. The biggest indicator is using Swisher as lead off man because he's an OBP machine. Maybe Ozzie is starting to get it??? (Nah... But we can hope.) So, if we continue to have good health, and Quentin gets most of the time in LF, I think the Sox could score, in 2008: 900 runs GO SOX!

At the start of the year, I was definitely a pessimist, even if I didn't post on that other thread. I'm not ready to pronounce us WS champs, but I've been really encouraged so far. Here are some huge reasons for optimism for me. 1. Carlos Quentin. I didn't know much about this guy until his early performances started to open my eyes. He's got 3 huge things in his favor. OBP, mashing ability, and Ozzie is playing him. I'm sure he'll show some kinks. But he's the best LF we've had since Carlos Lee, and already appears to be better than Lee at fielding (despite the ball that hit him in the face) and drawing walks. Putting an OBP masher in the lineup in the 7 hole is going to do wonders for our offense. 2. Joe Crede's back. A few errant throws notwithstanding, it's great to see the Joe Crede back who can hit the ball. With a hot Dye, AJ, and Quentin ahead of him, Crede hitting at his 2006 clip makes the 5-8 slots in our lineup better than 1-4 (or at least as good). That should yield a lot of big innings that win games. 3. Dye's bat has returned. This is HUGE. I have long thought that Dye is the best hitter on our club. There's a reason he won WS MVP hitting in the 3 hole. In 2006, he was clearly our best player, as Thome faded (and couldn't hit lefties) down the stretch. Then last year, he was in a year-long funk. It looks like that is over. And if the guys ahead of him actually start to hit, our lineup will be very good. 4. Jerry Owens got hurt. Sorry to put this up here, but many of us whooped a cheer when Owens took away Ozzie's option to play him ahead of 3 guys who are way better than he is -- Quentin, Anderson, and Ramirez. 5. Nick Swisher hitting lead off. Never thought Ozzie would do this, but it makes perfect sense given Swisher's OBP. 6. The bullpen. I was worried that Linebrink and Dotel were not going to be the answers to our setup woes. And I think the jury is still out. But, so far, other than the opening day loss to Cleveland, the bullpen has done pretty well. We may not have to have the best bullpen in baseball, esp. if our offense continues to take off as it has. But it has to be solid; above average. I think it meets that standard. 7. Energy. We have missed Aaron Rowand more than we have known. Not for his hitting, which was always mediocre. But for his hard-nosed play and enthusiasm. From the comments of Ozzie, Joe Morgan and John Miller, it's apparent that the club has way more energy than it did last season. We may not be there in terms of talent -- I have concerns about our starting pitching -- but if we've got fight it at least makes the season enjoyable. GO SOX!!!