I betcha Cleveland has some pitching problems this year. Biggest reason: Fausto Carmona was 23 last year, and he went from 75 innings pitched in his rookie year to 230 (postseason included) in 2007. That's a great way to prematurely end a young pitcher's career. And while some of their relievers are the real deal, bullpens never remain stable from year to year. They could still win the division, given the state of the Tigers' pitching, but I doubt they're going to be as good as last year.
And how do you think Mets fans are feeling today, after Pedro left the mound with a hammy in his first start? That team could be great, and it could also be an absolute trainwreck -- Santana notwithstanding.
Is your Hughes reference also a reverse jinx thingy?
I'm still waiting for the guy to justify his hype. As far as which young pitcher on the Sox/Yanks should fare best in '08; besides Joba (who has the advantage, like Pap's, to come in and just throw heat) Lester is the most major league ready, so why not. It's not as if he's not a very talented kid.
For the whole AL I'd give the honor to Shields.
Outstanding game by Dice last night.
Yeah, Dice-K couldn't have been more encouraging. Now, do it next time, kid.
That is definitely a HUGE leap for Carmona, but I think his success will be easier to duplicate simply because of the style of pitcher that he is. He's a more overpowering version of Derek Lowe.
Hughes is going to be very, very good, and fast. No jinx, honest. But I bet Joba has a short shelf life, and Ian Kennedy becomes a journeyman.
I'm with ya' on Hughes. The kid was the #1 pitching prospect in the game a year ago then gets hurt and suddenly he's flawed? No way, he's going to be fantastic unfortunately.
The reality is that one of the three will pan out, one will get hurt and one will be a bust. It's the nature of young pitching, just ask the mid-90s Mets.
Brian Sabean must really love the late 1990's/early 00's or something because a lot of teh guys on his team are basically All Stars from those seasons. Cain and Lincecum both deserve better.
Whose next? Juan Gonzalez? Moises Alou?, Javy Lopez? I'm shocked they didn't sign Paul Byrd yet. Maybe they'll also get Larry Walker out of retirement or something. I mean the Giants are probably my NL interest, and it's just a shame to see what Sabean is doing to the team.
Part of me wants to see some super mega 3-way tie for AL Wild Card which I think can actually happen this year. I just want to see the insane tiebreaker scenarios come to life.
I took Beckett with my first fantasy league pick, (then Peavy, then Webb. I have a thing for pitching), so either I get 20 wins or the Red Sox are in trouble. I win either way.
I was a huge fan of Bo Jackson's back then--partly because I was in awe of some of his prodigious feats both on the diamond and the gridiron, and secondly because i owned a baseball card shop back then, and my faith in his ability from the get-go made me a large pile of money--cha-ching! I saw Bo play in 4 different stadiums, for around 7 games, and he never disappointed. Little did I know while watching the Angels play a night game in Anaheim that I was watching the last game before the strike, and would be witness to Bo's last Hit, Stolen Base, and Run Scored...
I agree with JohnW about Carmona's inning totals being a potential HUGE albatross on his career, it's just not healthy to increase a kid's load like that (ask Mr. Liriano over in Minny).
Dice-K did look good last night, let's all hope it's a portent of good things to come for 2008.
To broaden out my earlier thought about Carmona and apply it to the Yankees as well... young pitchers (under 25) almost always go through some tough times, no matter who they are.
This can take various forms. There's the catastrophic cases like Mark Fidrych. There's the early success followed by diminishing returns, like Barry Zito and perhaps Dontrelle Willis. There are significant injury issues, ranging from mildly impairing to recurrent to severe, like Mark Mulder, Ryan Dempster, and A.J. Burnett. And even if you avoid those pitfalls, there is often a lengthy period of massive adjustment, as in the cases of Josh Beckett and Brad Penny.
So there's a generalized warning here for the Indians with Carmona, and even more so with the Yankees, who will be sorely tempted to overuse their young stars. This is why the Sox are so careful with their pitching prospects.
There are the cokeheads like Doc Gooden . . .
Steve Avery belongs on that overworked list as well. He lost his fastball overnight.
I'll never tire of the man-love for Bo. What a man. I hope Bo knew good investments.
Are all of the cards that you show on the blog yours? Something about having a signed Jim Wright Card seems cool to me. Keep up the good work!
Elect Chris Norton (single season HR record for Portland) for the Sea Dogs Hall of Fame
When's the Larry Wolfe card from 1979 or 1980 going to get posted?
Most of the cards are from a Google image search, though I probably have most of them in my attic. Don't have a scanner, though.
Larry Wolfe. Now there's a name I haven't heard in about 29 years.
How about Bobby Sprowl or Keith MacWhorter?
By the way, Chad -- The most obscure Red Sox besides the greatv John Lickert might be Rhode Island's very own John LaRose from 1978 -- New Englander and career minor leaguer like Jim Wright and leave you all with the immortal lines - Who is Stan Papi?
Chris Norton for the Sea Dogs HOF (38 HRS in 406 at bats in 1999 -- greatest offensive year of any Sea Dog,)
Elect
Chad: If you ever want to scare the horses with your Completely Random Baseball Card, dig up an image of Don Mossi, pitcher from the 1950s.
For the true Sox aficionados, how about this comment from the Gammons article: "Toronto scout Gordon Lakey says, "He's a great player. He has almost unbelievable impact on every game he's in. But he's not yet as good a baseball player as a Kirby Puckett, Jose Canseco, Devon White or ELLIS BURKS."
I noticed that, too. It's easy to forget how well-regarded Burks was when he first came up.
I lived on Quensbury ST. when "Who is Stan Papi" was painted on the street side of the Green Monstah.Bill Lee was one of the most productive lefties to put on a RED SOX jersey,that eaphus (?) soft lob to Joe Morgan aside.Would like to see his card when he had that ZZ-TOP beard while dealing for LE EXPOS.Where have you gone Bernie Carbo? I truly enjoy your writing, any thoughts of a book?
Jim Wright had 3 shutouts in 16 starts in 1978 ,very impressive. Could not find any other information on him except for the fact he was hurt most of 1979
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