March 12, 2008

Save Beckett For Home Opener?

Josh Beckett is not going to Japan. The first regular season game on American soil -- April 1 in Oakland -- is now three weeks away. Since he couldn't pitch on Saturday and there's been no word on when he might be able to throw a side session, I'd say Beckett won't pitch against the Athletics at all. Play it real safe, have him skip the Toronto series too, and give him the home opener on April 8.

An MRI ruled out a disk problem, so that's good: the problem is muscular. Beckett said he got a good night's sleep on Monday and he was "walking somewhat gingerly" yesterday.

Terry Francona:
The one thing we're not going to do is send him over there to pitch three innings and hurt his back. We just want him to be healthy for the long haul. ... [A]nd when he feels good enough that he thinks he could pitch, then we'll probably sit him a couple more days, just because we don't want to ... start doing things that could re-aggravate it.
Mike Greenwell, on Dan Duquette:
I really thought what he did to that organization was a shame and I'll say that right to his face. What he did to that organization was a shame.
Laying the groundwork for the team's first World Series title in 86 years? Yeah, that was a damn shame.

Bill James, talking with Gordon Edes:
All research begins with ignorance. The ability to focus on what it is that you do not know is critical to doing research. ... We do not understand the world; the world is billions of times more complicated than our minds.

4 comments:

Jack Marshall said...

There's a Wall Street Journal blog that includes a "Bottom Stories of the Day" feature. "GREENWELL THOUGHT ABOUT STEROIDS" certainly belongs there. I can tell you that some of the things I think about are a lot more headline worthy than THAT, and they're not even very interesting.

Gator, you'll recall, was very bitter about not being re-signed by the Sox, then fell apart physically almost immediately thereafter(kind of like Mo Vaughn). Thanks, Redsock, for standing up for Duke,a gambler who took some gambles that blew up in his face (Offerman, Everett)and hired not one but TWO managers who undermined his efforts, but who did a great deal to make 2004 possible. Every time Tim Wakefield stops admiring the last 8 years and makes his knuckleball dance past a batter, I'll thank Duquette.

allan said...

I have always been an unapologetic Duke supporter. The man brought us Pedro! That alone should be enough.

His lifelong dream -- since he was a little kid -- was to be the GM that brought a title to the Red Sox. And to watch him be shit on by the media for years and years -- hey, it's STILL going on! -- was absolutely horrible.

Pokerwolf said...

Are you guys seeing anti-Boston (since it's not just Yankees fans anymore) fans ragging on the Sox for "whining" about having to go to Japan?

I agree with ya redsock. The Duke did a heck of a job with what he had to deal with. You and Jack haven't even brought up dealing with the Yawkey family. Yeesh.

Is there anything that Bill James could say that wouldn't make it sound intelligent and well-thought? Okay, so "Hank Steinbrenner is a genius" wouldn't work, but I imagine James would never say that.

Jack Marshall said...

Pedro,Wake,Yummy,Saberhagen,lots of smart short-term pick-ups like Erik Hanson, and myabe the best trade by a Sox GM ever, the outright robbery of picking up Lowe and Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb, on the very same night he had another ugly blown save!