What Does Amalie Know?

The Red Sox will count on nothing of the sort. Instead, with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka ahead of him in the rotation and Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden getting ready behind him, the Sox will not be relying on Penny. They will, though, take what they can get, especially if that resembles at all the Penny of 2006 and 2007 rather than 2008.

Tim Wakefield's name is conspicuously absent from today's story on Brad Penny by Amalie Benjamin.  Is this just an oversight?

Comments

[dc]

i heard somewhere that wake was being traded with ellsbury to the mets for carlos beltran...coulda just been a rumor though, or rampant speculation...

[SF]

Hell, this may be a micro-parsing of Benjamin's story, which is good winter filler, but based on all the talk of Wake's supposed injury, rumors about his retirement, Bard coming back, Tek's ambiguous status, it seems like Wake's exclusion is a little, well, odd. But it could just be simple oversight as well. Nothing insidious implied here.

[Anand]

Ah, so baseless theorizing from Sherman is obscene. But when you do it, it's just putting the pieces together. Got it.

[Anand]

At there is one bit of news in the paper - Gregg Zaun actively lobbying to be a Sock. He's better than Varitek or Bard - that's for damn sure.

[jvwalt]

As attractive as conspiracy theories can be, I suspect this was a simple oversight on Benjamin's part. She just did a lengthy mailbag column on boston.com, and she mentioned Wakefield as part of the Sox rotation in 2009.

[Anand]

"The Marlins made it very clear to the inquiring Red Sox that Ramirez was not available. According to a source familiar with the talks, the Sox were quickly rebuffed and word is there was never mention of players the Red Sox could offer to entice the Marlins."

So of course Sox management let it leak because they haven't done a damn thing to improve the team. But at least they got free publicity based on exactly nothing!

[dc]

get up on the wrong side this morning anand?

cut sf a break...the beltran trade to the sox speculation piece was clearly different than amalie's apparent oversight...sherman was being silly, while amalie was merely passing along information that we already knew...penny's not the #1, 2, or 3 starter...she loses a letter grade for not at least mentioning the longest tenured redsock, perhaps the most popular of his era, whether she knows his status or not...neither piece was worth reading by the way...

[Atheose]

It may not even be an oversight; she merely mentions that Lester, Beckett and Daisuke are all "ahead of him in the rotation", which implies that Wakefield is around the #4 slot. That's how I read it, at least.

[louis navarro]

Wake is so reliable he gives you close to 200 innings every year and 12-15 wins every year a great number 5 plus he is cheap, he will never be an afterthought if you know anything about baseball.

[Atheose]

Ah, so baseless theorizing from Sherman is obscene. But when you do it, it's just putting the pieces together. Got it.

SF is a blogger speculating about his team. Sherman is a professional reporter who should be held to higher standards, as his writing has an assumption of credibility.

[SF]

Don't feed'em, guys.

[Nick-YF]

So are Sox fans satisfied with the way the rotation is set up for 2009? We don't know Wake's status--he could be hurt, he could be fine, etc. As it stands, the top three are set, Wake might or might not be ready, Penny was just signed and Buchholz and Bowden are contenders as well. I think the Sox would do well to add another pitcher to this mix, given the uncertainty at the end of the rotation, but that involves tapping the free agent market and that's never cheap. Anyway, what do you guys think? Should the Sox be going for another starter?

[Atheose]

I'd love to add another lower-cost pitcher into the mix, like Sheets or Pedro. Both are injury prone so they could be affordable options for the next year, like Penny or Colon.

As things are though, I feel good going forward.

[SF]

More
Pitching
Please

(oh, and more offense. and a catcher)

I want it all!

[AndrewYF]

SF - come over to the dark side! You can have it all.

[Dirty Water]

"(Zaun) He's better than Varitek or Bard - that's for damn sure"

Bullshit. I'd take Tek's 'intangibles' and Bard's bat in a heartbeat over Zaun. For that matter, the only reason he's lobbying for a job is because he can neither hit or catch.

"SF is a blogger speculating about his team. Sherman is a professional reporter"

Funny shit, and I agree.

"Don't feed'em, guys"

When are you people going to make up yer fucking minds? Either you remain this blog of, what, 10 participants? or you become more than that. Whatever. I'll check the tone here again in a couple of months to see if y'all have found inspiration. Not that I would expect so with such a hyper-sensitive, anti-confrontational group.

Oh, and the Skanks still SUCK!

[Paul SF]

The problem, DW, is I would eat my hat if all these sudden "visitors" with the same exact tone and writing style weren't the exAct sAme person. It's kind of a compliment though -- you and he seem hate the site so much, yet you still keep coming right back!

To answer Nick's question, I think there's room for a Schilling or Smoltz signing, which would be more like the Colon flier than Penny, who I think can actually provide some value. Heck, I'd still like to see a Sheets or Lowe signing.

[Cambridge YF]

Better hitter in 2008?

Zaun: .237 .340 .359; 87 OPS+
Bard: .202 .279 .270; 53 OPS+
JTek: .220 .313 .359; 73 OPS+

Intangibles?
Zaun: 40 SB / 14 CS = 26%
Bard: 53 SB / 10 CS = 16%
JTek: 56 SB / 16 CS = 22%

That's okay, even a village with only 10 members (heh!) needs an idiot.

[TJ Sox Fan]

JTek has called 4 no hitters.... how many has Zaun called?

Varitek is considered one of the best game callers in baseball? Zaun as he proudly admits spent most of his career on the bench.

Also, lets no use one seasons stats to compare guys... Bard was injured last season.