It's been a busy day in Boston as we learned earlier today that the Red Sox plan to dismiss Bobby Valentine after a turbulent season in which the club lost 90 games for the first time since 1966. Then in the afternoon, General Manager Ben Cherington told reporters that he has begun contract talks with both David Ortiz and Cody Ross. Here's more on what Cherington had to say to the press in advance of their season finale against the Yankees..
- Even though the Red Sox have begun working on new deals for Ortiz and Ross, they haven't done the same for other impending free agents, including Daisuke Matsuzaka, tweets Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal. Mike Axisa recently looked at the Japanese hurler's stock, concluding that it's hard to envision him nabbing more than a one-year, low-base salary deal.
- Cherington once again decline comment on this morning's report that Valentine will be dismissed, but he didn't exactly offer an endorsement of the skipper, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. "I'm not going to talk about it. We have a game tonight," said the GM.
- Cherington isn't sure if the Red Sox will contend in 2013 and wouldn't offer a timetable, but insists that they will get back to winning at some point, Lauber tweets.
- The GM acknowledged that he didn't do enough to "help stabilize" the starting rotation last winter, MacPherson tweets. Cherington went on to say that the team's struggles in 2012 could not simply be blamed on injuries (Twitter link).
Dice-K should look to a struggling NL team if he wants to keep pitching in the majors. Latch on with the Mets or something on a cheap, one-year deal to try to build value.
EDIT: After that pitch, I really just want Dice-K to get away from my team as quickly as possible.
I hear the Dodgers like Red Sox players.
Sure, but there’s a reason why Dice-K didn’t get included in the deal. The Red Sox are really going out with a whimper. As for Bobby Valentine, I now believe that he will be fired at game’s end.
I hear you.. Mortenson was already warming up.. pretty much when the game 1st started.. One thing Zimmer used to do when Rick Wise would always have problems in the 1st inning was to have someone warming up even when the game began as a “threat” to him he was gonna pull him if he started that garbage of allowing runners early on and expected to settle down later..
Matsuzaka should have never gotten another start after the end of July is the difference and buried somewhere, or sunk at sea and declared lost…
They should’ve re-signed Tim Wakefield to a one day contract and let him pitch tonight, why not xD
LOLOL. Right-On.. He couldn’t have done worse for a FACT.
Great final series to the season, huh? 😉
I look forward to watching your team getting obliterated by the Rangers. 😉
Rangers may not make it to my team. Orioles are no joke.
Playing the BoSox was just what we needed to get back on track going into the post season. I still think Tigers or Reds will win the WS, but hey, at least we won the division and made the post season.
it’s true that I’ve been incorrectly doubting the Orioles all year, but I’m still picking the Rangers on Friday. Some home cooking and the must-win nature of the scenario will set them straight.
Also, I’ll feel really smart if my pre-season Tigers/Reds World Series prediction ends up coming true. I guess even Sox fans and Yankees fans can agree sometimes 😉
Stabilize the pitching? Man, is that an understatement!
How about find an all but nonexistent group of starting pitchers?
They were on strike for most of the season.
Ben, you can’t “stabilize” something that is nonexistent.
Doubront was the only guy to carry his weight!
The rest, well, what do you say about guys like Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Cook, and Dice-K. Losers all….
They need to be replaced!
Every last one of them…. except, maybe, Doubie..
(Until you do, you are never going to manage a team that is not in last place at the end of the season.)
I’m sure most teams would love to have Lester and Buchholz….Lester can turn it around and Clay has already had some good stretches later in the season.. Lester Buchholz Doubront should be locks for the rotation next year.
I wonder about Lester. If you look at his stats year over year, clearly he is not the same pitcher he was. I have serious doubts he can come back….. His hits given up/9 were way up….. SO/9 way down… He cannot rear back and deliver that sharp, hard cutter anymore. Makes me think he has a dead arm…. maybe small tears in the rotator cuff area or elbow.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lestejo01.shtml
Buck was the beneficiary of many 7,8,9 run outbursts throughout the season….I can’t remember him winning tight, low scoring games, going 7 or 8 innings, more than once or twice during the entire season…. if that.
I wouldn’t put my expectations on these two guys…. to lead the Red Sox out of the cellar next season…it just isn’t gonna happen….unless they too were on strike, lIke Beckett was, this season.. To loaf through the entire campaign and expect to turn it back on next year is not realistic
Since May he has average around 6 and 2/3 innings a start and an era under 4. In that time he had around 13 starts that were 7 innings and less than 3 ER.
Oriole fan watching both games….hard to believe watching Dice K throw that he was so “hyped” at one time…..he’s done at the big league level….absolutely terrible.
I could see the Cubs trying to sign Dice-K to a cheap one-year deal with possibly a team option for a 2nd year. The Cubs need starting pitching depth, and if Dice-K could pitch well enough to increase his value the Cubs would look to trade him at the deadline.
Im not sure if Theo wants to go that route again.
Why not? The Cubs signed Maholm to a fairly cheap 1-year deal with a team option, then traded him and Reed Johnson (good 4/5 outfielder) to the Braves for Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman. If the Cubs could net at least a reliever prospect at the trade deadline, it would be worth it. It is not like the Cubs would be blocking any SP that are major league ready in their system, but this whole scenario depends on what Dice-K would sign for and if the Cubs think he has anything left in the tank.
“we’ll get back to winning at some point”
inspiring
Dice-K pretty much buried himself, first overdoing it getting ready for the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and hurting his arm and hip, then never overcoming his control problems. Talk Crawford and Lackey until doomsday, but the Dice-K signing was probably Theo’s ultimate failure.
I would say that Dice K was not the ultimate failure. He had two good years in which they won a World Series and almost made it to another one. They may not have done so well without him. Lackey on the other hand has one average year, one atrocious year, and one year completly gone. All three resulted in no playoffs. Also he was 5 years 80 million. Dice K was 6 and 52. Lackey also had never been a dominant pitcher where Dice K was the best pitcher outside of MLB. Dice K also brought huge revnue from the market in Japan.
injuries were the reason the red sox failed again. they should hire someone who can keep the team healthier. they finished FIRST in injuries!