What Jim said.

The article could use a little editing, too.

Lester has been like this for a year. I don't know what Beckett's problem is, but he's highly paid and that money coming off the sheets could help elsewhere.

There are 65 games left but if they don't lose 4 out of the next 5, I will be surprised.

Wildly trading away talent in a panic maneuver makes no sense to me.

The writer of the sentence obviously is not in a position of power within the Marlins.

You know what always brings me great comfort whenever I find myself stuck in a state of denial? You guessed it: beer and fried chicken.

Speaking of obvious and tired jokes, why doesn't the Bleacher Report address why so many of their articles read like a high school newspaper?

bkuz they don't gots no editors and lots of the writers ARE in skool which teach you to rite good my kid teacher's tole me the best thing to get a job with is you can write good in a sentence that is got the grammer and don't use no text abbrevs.

like bleacher report told i could post my entries there if i wanted to but i don't write good anuff to be a reglar riter to represent the astros like anybody reads about them anyhow

I am very glad the writer of the article is not in a position of power within the Sox

Most Bleacher Report writers aren't even in a position of power within the fast food restaurant that employs them.

It isn't the SABR guys that live in their moms basement, its the Bleacher Report cretins.

bkuz they don't gots no editors and lots of the writers ARE in skool which teach you to rite good my kid teacher's tole me the best thing to get a job with is you can write good in a sentence that is got the grammer and don't use no text abbrevs.

The Derek Zoolander School for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Want to Do Other Stuff Good Too?

bkuz they don't gots no editors and lots of the writers ARE in skool which teach you to rite good my kid teacher's tole me the best thing to get a job with is you can write good in a sentence that is got the grammer and don't use no text abbrevs.

eggslnt :)

Lester looks like a guy who could put things back together quickly.

I know there was a recent argument that his peripherals were ok, but I think something's wrong with the guy. Maybe an injury? He hasn't been right for a while.

Lester's problem is fastball command. Being able to put your fastball consistently on the edges of the strike zone is what makes most elite pitchers elite.

I know there was a recent article that his peripherals were ok, but I think something's wrong with the guy. Maybe an injury? He hasn't been right for a while.

My theory is he is dumb as a box of hammers and stubborn as a mule. He seems to throw the same pitch over and over and over again in the same spot and then is surprised when it gets lined to the Mass Turnpike. Going through the MLB.com GameDay for Sunday he threw 20 of 23 pitches as fastballs or sinkers in the 2nd inning. Fundamentally all the same pitch (the "sinkers" and "4 seam fastballs" weren't a lot different from each other) and that all culminated with a home run by noted slugger Rajai Davis. Finally he threw a couple of curves to Snider as part of a four pitch strikeout.

Maybe he's trying to do different things and just not executing, but it seems to me that he pitches like a little leaguer, whip it as hard as you can while still having it be a strike. When I watch games I love (like I imagine a lot of folks here) to guess at pitches and I never find myself off balance in a Jon Lester start. FanGraphs doesn't really support my theory but I'm not sure how precise their pitch type info is.

My theory is he is dumb as a box of hammers and stubborn as a mule.

I had never really heard this about a pitcher until about five years ago. And then it was about Beckett. So:

Is it inaccurate, some sort of Red Sox canard?
Is Beckett really like this, and it is contagious?

I would assume that if Lester is even a little bit intelligent, he would not emulate his rotation-mate's stubbornness when Beckett has never been a year-in-year-out consistent performer.

I had never really heard this about a pitcher until about five years ago.

Is it inaccurate, some sort of Red Sox canard?

Really? Most of the articles about Glavine seemed to note his stubbornness though as a positive trait. I can't imagine that anyone ever really described guys like Carlton and Gibson to name a couple as particularly flexible either. Being stubborn does not have to be bad, you shouldn't bail on a plan at the first sign of trouble but you've got to adapt when necessary.

That brings me to the second question. I really think the loss of John Farrell has proven to be much bigger than we realized. My guess (and let's be honest, that's all it is) is that the Sox pitchers are not getting the guidance or having the sounding board that any professional needs. No matter how good you are at a task you need someone who can tell you "hey, try this" that you will listen too. Every Jon Lester start just looks the same to me right now.

Is Beckett really like this, and it is contagious?

I don't think Beckett is like this at all. I think a big part of Beckett's issues this year is that he is trying to adapt to the fact that he no longer throws 95-96 consistently. When it works it works but when it doesn't he hasn't figured out what "Plan B" is yet. Schilling went through a similar evolution in his later years with the Sox.

bkuz they don't gots no editors and lots of the writers ARE in skool which teach you to rite good my kid teacher's tole me the best thing to get a job with is you can write good in a sentence that is got the grammer and don't use no text abbrevs.

Since 90% of Bleacher Report's content is lists of the "17 Hottest Tennis Upskirts" and the like, not being able to write or spell really isn't much of an obstacle to success.

It isn't the SABR guys that live in their moms basement, its the Bleacher Report cretins.

I wonder if the SABRE guys ever worry that there are Bleacher Report cretins in the SABRE guys' moms' basements.

Since 90% of Bleacher Report's content is lists of the "17 Hottest Tennis Upskirts" and the like, not being able to write or spell really isn't much of an obstacle to success.

This is nothing but a scurrilous and offensive lie. I have searched Bleacher Report and the entire internet, and have not yet been able to locate said list, or any accompanying photographic evidence.

But still I search on..

"17 Hottest Tennis Upskirts"

That Russian girl was robbed.

Since 90% of Bleacher Report's content is lists of the "17 Hottest Tennis Upskirts" and the like, not being able to write or spell really isn't much of an obstacle to success.

Has the site improved at all since King Kaufman was put in charge? The only time I read it is when I come across a linked article somewhere.

I really think the loss of John Farrell has proven to be much bigger than we realized. My guess (and let's be honest, that's all it is) is that the Sox pitchers are not getting the guidance or having the sounding board that any professional needs.

Should we cross out John Farrell and replace it with Jason Varitek? Not being snarky, I'm legitimately asking.

Generally I agree with a "no pants-pissing" argument, and this team has talent, but for whatever reason...they stink. Something needs to be done.

I'd love to see them sign Ellsbury to a 5 to 7 year deal.

Should we cross out John Farrell and replace it with Jason Varitek? Not being snarky, I'm legitimately asking.

No snark taken. Obviously there is some merit in the ability to call a game and a pitcher's comfort level with whoever is behind the dish. I would liken it to a rally car driver and his navigator. There needs to be some element of trust I suppose behind the signal calling and if some of these starters are not the best "thinkers" in the game, then maybe they find comfort in knowing they can trust the catcher to call for the right pitch all the time.

Varitek caught 4 no-hitters? I know the element of luck is substantially high there, but there must've been some influence from the signal calling...even if minor, it needs to be acknowledged.

What Jim said.

So let's see -- Jim found an article about the Red Sox which he believes says nothing of merit -- and felt compelled to share its lack of merit with the rest of us.

Misery loves company? "By god, if I wasted 3 minutes of my life reading this dreck, I am damn well not going to be alone!"

And let's not forget the metronome is swinging in the 'bad year' direction for Beckett. He has never had consecutive down or up years in terms of ERA+.

dumb as a box of hammers

Nooo! This is not the expression! It's "box of rocks" or "bag of hammers"! You're screwing up the rhyme & assonance!

Sorry.

I'm crazier than a sack of mashed cats.

Really? Most of the articles about Glavine seemed to note his stubbornness though as a positive trait. I can't imagine that anyone ever really described guys like Carlton and Gibson to name a couple as particularly flexible either. Being stubborn does not have to be bad, you shouldn't bail on a plan at the first sign of trouble but you've got to adapt when necessary.

Is it one of those irregular verbs? I am persistent, you are stubborn, he is mule-headed.