I'm looking forward to it. The start is 3.35am out here, I might get up for it.

edit - Hansen did look good today. Threw one bad pitch and Kotchman hammered it.

This biological warfare S!@# is just low

To answer a question posed in Game Chatter: Boston currently has 37 players on the 40-man roster. They don't need to DFA nor outright anyone to make room for Masterson. They will need to make room on the 25-man roster, with presumably Hansen the victim, so to speak.

This biological warfare S!@# is just low

Between the stiff necks/stiff backs/hamstrings and the flu, they were playing with an 18-man roster tonight.

Anyone know when Dizzy will make his next start?

Between the stiff necks/stiff backs/hamstrings and the flu, they were playing with an 18-man roster tonight.

Multitude of Casualties...

I'm excited to see Masterson pitch, but disappointed that this probably means Hansen gets optioned back to AAA.

Why don't they just DFA Timlin?

Boston currently has 37 players on the 40-man roster. They don't need to DFA nor outright anyone to make room for Masterson.

Aha! Well, that makes that easy, doesn't it? I'll echo others about Hansen; it sure would be nice if he actually has that slider we heard so much about when he got drafted. We certainly could use one more good arm in the bullpen.

Why don't they just DFA Timlin?

Because he is a dirt dog!!!!

Third True Outcome - his slider tonight looked great

Yeah, Hansen's slider was good. His FB was good too, other that the one that tailed right back over the heart of the plate to Kotchman. He was throwing harder than I thought he threw.

Hansen was indeed optioned out to bring Masterson on-board. Tito said they told him he probably would have stayed longer if it wasn't for the need for a starter.

Frankly, given the that the Sox clubhouse is currently reenacting Outbreak, Hansen was probably happy to get the hell out of there and back down to presumably non germ-ridden Pawtucket.

Hansen was probably happy to get the hell out of there and back down to presumably non germ-ridden Pawtucket.

Bartolo Colon has the flu.

I had to add his first name to that sentence to avoid confusion.

And it could get worse. From the Globe:

Francona was appreciative he had a team to field and one that could compete. What he's dreading, after Justin Masterson makes his major league debut this afternoon, is the flight to Tampa. The last thing he wants is for a team that's already spreading germs like wildfire to be on a plane together.

Despite that the whole article makes it sound like Cafardo is worried more about Cafardo getting sick than about the health of the players, this is a real concern. 25 planes for 25 players?

Yesterday I was hoping to be able to go to the Sea Dogs game tonight to watch Masterson. I guess I'll settle for "watching" him on gamecast.

I saw Hansen pitch the other day at Pawtucket. He was regularly hitting 95 with his heater. Going back to his old mechanics seems to have brought back the zip on his fastball and the bite on his slider. We'll have to wait and see about his command and his ability to shoulder the load of his funky delivery.

Hm, no chatter for today?

Annoying game, but I thought Masterson was impressive. He has an excellent sinker, and the slider and change both looked a lot more advanced than advertised. Obviously there are some command issues, but Masterson looked very close to ready. That's exciting.

Masterson was sent down and Corey was brought back up.

Masterson looked a lot different than I was expecting. Didn't realize his delivery was so funky, and I expected him to just throw a big fastball with lots of downward movement over and over again. He reminded me more of Arroyo than Lowe. His slider is pretty sweet. I think he defiently has the stuff to be a big-time starter.

Corey? Ew.

Arroyo? The one with the pin-straight fastball? I don't see it.

The movement on the sinker was very reminiscent of Lowe.

Similar height, too, which may contribute to that.

I was not aware Masterson was Jamaican.

I agree that he's not as much like Lowe as I expected - the sinker looks like Lowe's, and he's like eight feet tall, but everything else is different. They both throw sinker/slider/change, but Masterson's slider is much more 3-to-9, and he uses his straight change a lot more. And as JBH noted, he's got a funky delivery - I can't think of a good analogue.

I agree that Arroyo, who throws a bunch of different kinds of sliders and doesn't work off a sinker, isn't right either, but I'm not feeling the Lowe comparison.

Wow, the little I saw of Masterson was exciting. Heck, he can put up a 1:1 BB:K ratio as well as Lester can, only with a bunch of groundball outs. Let's put him in the rotation and make Lester a reliever.

I think the best comparison for Masterson is a far, far better Brandon Webb.

I assume you're saying that Webb is far, far better than Masterson, yes?

I was not aware Masterson was Jamaican.

He's not really Jamaican. His parents were missionaries in Jamaica when he was born. The more you hear from him the more you'll realize that he's probably the most religious person in baseball. At least he's good natured about it though.

No, I'm saying that Masterson is better. It's my way of poking fun of our tendencies to compare young prospects favorably to established stars.

They both throw sinker/slider/change, but Masterson's slider is much more 3-to-9,

Watching Lowe pitch last night, he had a 3-9 slider that he never had with the Red Sox.

It's clear to see that with some extra command, Masterson's stuff could definitely dominate on some nights, and be a very good big-league starter overall. He has a sinker that could get him out of ten-thousand jams in his career, and at least has fairly big movement on his slider and enough mix-up in that change to give him a good rounded repertoire. And he looks cool when he pitches. And wears his socks up. And he has gangly long arms. And he was born in Jamaica.

There's been a bunch of talk about him probably ending up a reliever eventually, IIRC. What's the general consensus on that idea around here?

Masterson reminds me of Mike Smithson, but better. I think the idea behind using him as a reliever is probably that these sinker/slider guys with low three-quarters/sidearm motions almost never work out as starters for very long. You might get a Jeff Weaver or someone who has a few good years, but eventually managers start stacking their lineups with left-handed hitters, and then these pitchers struggle a bit more. Why it takes two or three times around the league to figure that out, I don't know. I think Masterson can be one of the rare exceptions, like El Duque, who will be able to get lefties out, because he has that nice change-up in addition to the sinker/slider.

What this team really really needs right now is a LONG reliever. Somebody has to step up and eat more than 1 IP at a time. Because Timlin is probably dead.

Re: Masterson - I think I underestimated his stuff, but overestimated his command. That's gonna need some work.

Hansen up due to Moss's appendectomy.

Seriously, we have THREE players on the bench. THREE.

Also, MDC is broken right now. needs to be fixed.

Seriously, we have THREE players on the bench. THREE.

And that counts Kevin Cash as a "player".

Hansen up due to Moss's appendectomy.

Does it seem like there have been more appendectomies lately? Maybe Beltre started a trend.

Who's our backup at first right now if Youkilis isn't in the game? Cash? Drew? Lowell?

Probably Lowrie. But I mean, really, anyone can play 1B in a pinch.

Heck, Tim Wakefield was drafted as a 1B.

I'll play as long as they promise not to throw it too hard on pick-offs.

Steve Buckley was saying something about Delcarmen having a new workout/diet regime this offseason and that he may be getting used to it. He was also pretty sick and lost some weight.

Who's our backup at first right now if Youkilis isn't in the game? Cash? Drew? Lowell?


Darren McCarty *ducks*

David McCarty. I know Whitey all looks the same to you, but c'mon. The Big Stupid Swing put up a 214 OPS+ in his last season in Boston. Show a little respect.

I think Wok meant a platoon between Darren and Dave McCarty. McCarty would bring the offense and defense, while Darren would bring the disrespect for Francona that Sean Casey is lacking.

It would be nice to see the Red Sox get something interesting from the Rockies for Tavarez. In my wildest dreams they get Iannetta or something interesting. Tavarez seems like he could be easily replaced by like 5 different guys, but I think he's done a better job as a swingman than he's generally given credit for.

That said, I cringe every time he comes into a game.

No way the Rockies part with Iannetta, he seems to be getting a hold on the starting job. That said, I really have no idea what the Rockies would offer. Spillborghs maybe? Or Cory Sullivan?

Scratch Sullivan, he's a LHH, I had mistakenly misremembered him as a RHH.

I bet they'd give up Helton straight up.