1. For all the reasons you bring up I wouldn't cut Buchholz loose yet. Remind me of this around 9:30 on Wednesday when it's 5-1 in the 3rd inning. There also aren't really any alternatives at the moment. I won't be shocked if he hits the DL when EdRod comes back but that's a couple of weeks away (two more rehab starts minimum).

2. Ortiz is a gimme, Bogaerts deserves it, if any outfielder goes it's going to be Mookie. My sense is he is extremely well regarded around the league and he is the kind of dynamic player people want to see in action. Pedroia is the other guy with a decent shot. He's off to a great start, he's a name and second base is kind of a lot of unknown guys. Altuve is probably the starter but I won't be surprised to see Pedroia in there.

3. I think the Sox staying in first place is more likely. That's not because I think that highly of the Sox but more because I think the Yankees are a lot better than this. The rotation is better than it's been and so is the offense. Eventually guys like Ellsbury, Headley and A-Rod will improve. Anecdotally I think old players tend to be slower starters.

re all stars. ...

by bref war, shaw, bogaerts, pedroia, ortiz, porcello, and wright are all at 1.0 or above. shaw has to keep it going to get hte nod, and wright is probably a long shot, but i could see the other 4 getting in. and if mookie heats up, everybody loves mookie.

Pedroia is the other guy with a decent shot. He's off to a great start, he's a name and second base is kind of a lot of unknown guys. Altuve is probably the starter but I won't be surprised to see Pedroia in there.

Lawrie and Cano will make it tough for him as well.

3. I'm with vi. I think the Yankees stay in last. The Sox could stay in first, but they're in a race with three other teams that don't look a lot different than them.

4th question: who wears a Yankees pullover in church?

Clay is very worrisome. Usually his bad streaks are injury related or he is underperforming his peripherals. Right now he is just bad. Between his tendency for streakiness and cheap option, the team might let him pitch badly for a long time before they give up. Thats the only thing that scares me right now, though. They have a couple dead spots in the lineup that will hurt them eventually, but overall this is a pretty good team that can fix it's holes as the season progresses.

Clay is very worrisome. Usually his bad streaks are injury related or he is underperforming his peripherals.

not really. he's been "just bad" for long stretches before.

i've worn this beat out before, but his issue is that he's never ironed out his mechanics from the stretch. if he's good enough that he doesn't have many baserunners, he can be really good for long stretches. if his falls to the point where he has to work from the stretch a lot, it all goes to ####.

4th question: who wears a Yankees pullover in church?

Pray for him.

i've worn this beat out before, but his issue is that he's never ironed out his mechanics from the stretch. if he's good enough that he doesn't have many baserunners, he can be really good for long stretches. if his falls to the point where he has to work from the stretch a lot, it all goes to ####.

He's been in MLB for long enough now that we should assume he will never improve that part of his game. But I think he's still (on the whole) better than their other options.

He's been in MLB for long enough now that we should assume he will never improve that part of his game.

agreed

But I think he's still (on the whole) better than their other options.

he might be. but he's not a guy i want to be counting on for a good performance in october.

We are a looooooong way from worrying about October. I would love to have that problem.

fair enough. just saying that if i'm running the team, he's not in my long term plans.

Three Questions: May 2016

1. Think he has a few more starts to turn it around with E Rod back in about 3 starts as per Pedro last week . But honestly , its silly now how bad he's become . His FIP is pretty freaking bad . At least Porcello is half decent though . I'm convinced he is hiding a serious injury .

2. I can see Xander and Papi . Porcello and Wright if they keep it up , Koji as well

3. Not commenting for fear of jinxing both outcomes ....


Good to be back here on Therapy , I really need to smash out some chatter with everyone on games . I get lazy and basically text some mates and tweet .

Hope everyone is well

Good to have you back, Phil!

If there's anything I accomplish in Sox Therapy it will probably be a jinx or two. Jose can stick to ruining careers while I focus on ruining entire teams.

With Clay, what are the chances that Owens will be better? And how much better? Owens walked 10 in 19 innings in Pawtucket, and so far 7 in 9.1 in Boston. The results were nice in his last start, but when a guy gets more DPs than strikeouts, it's hard to believe it's sustainable. I think Owens is better than the peripherals of his first two starts, but if his ceiling for this year is '12-'13 Doubront, I don't think that's worth throwing Clay over the side for just yet, especially when Owens has options.

That said, before E-Rod gets back Owens will get a couple more starts, Clay will get a couple more starts, and Johnson will get closer to being stretched out and possibly ready for a callup. So I don't think we give up on Clay yet, not with the uncertain nature of the alternatives.

I'd be more worried about that Yankee team sucking. I haven't even been able to detect any Pinstripe Magic (patent pending) in that bunch.

I agree with Mudpout, I don't see where we'd get much improvement over Buc, so I'd keep giving him chances to get back on track.

And CFBASS says Ortiz, Bogaerts, Mookie, Pedroia, Shaw, Wright, and JBJ will all be starters.

And CFBASS says Ortiz, Bogaerts, Mookie, Pedroia, Shaw, Wright, and JBJ will all be starters.

CFBASS would find a way to name both Wright and Porcello as starters.

The renoobulation keeps outputting "I will never love again!" when I ask about Porcello.

Great to see both you guys running this blog. Thanks and keep it up!

1. I'm still on the "selling low is a bad idea" side with Buchholz. I personally find him kind of icky, and he's a maddeningly inconsistent player, but I don't think you can ditch a guy who routinely pitches poorly in April after yet another poor April.

2. Ortiz is a freebie. I still think Betts is the best player on the team, though it's been a bit of a rough patch. I wouldn't be shocked to see Price put it together enough to get picked for the pitching staff.

3. The Yankees are pretty bad, and I still think the Jays are the best team in the division. I'd say the Yankees finishing last is more likely, though either and/or both could happen.

Did #18 sound sarcastic? I hope not. It was meant sincerely.

I took it as sincere. When you are as fabulous as vi and I how could it be anything else? :-)

I read it as sincere, and awarded 3 Therapoints to you. But sarcasm could've earned you 5 Therapoints. [/sadtrombone]

I don't know how much running I'll do. I've offered my services to help Jose, and in all honesty this entire thread was generated in about a half hour just to see if I could actually post something. It's that level of carefully-crafted analysis you can expect to see from me.

But if it means we have Sox Therapy running again, I'll be glad to do what I can. By now you know what to expect from me. I have a Posnanskian tendency to look for the good in people, except without the writing skill. I do my best to remain calm in pants-pissing moments. I perpetuate running gags no matter how tiresome, which means Therapoints - which I just made up - could become A Thing. And I will ramble incessantly about something tangential before making my point. You've been warned.

Therapoints are absolutely becoming a thing if I have anything to do with it.

2. Ortiz is a freebie. I still think Betts is the best player on the team, though it's been a bit of a rough patch. I wouldn't be shocked to see Price put it together enough to get picked for the pitching staff.

Betts is awesome. But he also plays a position where Bautista will win the fan vote while Springer and Trumbo, and possibly Nelson Cruz, will get significant consideration as alternates, at least at this point in the season. And it's that last phrase that's the key. If we were deciding All-Star rosters today, Mookie is unlikely to be on the team, and there's no way Price makes it.

Therapoints are absolutely becoming a thing if I have anything to do with it.

I award this statement one (1) Therapoint. That's 4 for enthusiasm, and -3 for sucking up. Can't reward that kind of behavior.

I do my best to remain calm in pants-pissing moments.

You're going to lose all your Therapoints the first time you fail to react properly to a five game losing streak.

You're going to lose all your Therapoints the first time you fail to react properly to a five game losing streak.

I'm a Sox Therapist. I need to remain rational when everyone else is going nuts.

May: Price still hasn't figured things out. Tell me, how does that make you feel?

June: They've lost their 7-game lead in one week. Why do you think yelling so much will help?

July: They acquired Carl Crawford again, this time for Mookie and JBJ, and threw in Brian Johnson to get the deal done. You seem troubled. Why do you suppose that is?

August: They've decided to convert Hanley Ramirez into middle relief. Do you fear change?

September: Ortiz has acted like a child the last month of his career. You seem angry. What is it about your own childhood that angers you?

Betts is awesome. But he also plays a position where Bautista will win the fan vote while Springer and Trumbo, and possibly Nelson Cruz

Do fans vote for LF, RF, CF, or just outfielders?

Outfielders as a group...you can vote now!

So last night about 8:45 I was ready to shoot Clay Buchholz into the sun. Man did he settle in. Hopefully he has taken a turn because that was one hell of a performance.

Do fans vote for LF, RF, CF, or just outfielders?

Outfielders, but I think there is more adherence to OF role when the backups are named.

This is a fun team to route for. The mix of veterans and youth is awesome. So nice than Panda is done for the year. Completely, unlikable. Hopefully, the back of the rotation keeps it up and the front turns it around. Could be a nice year.

I'm auditioning for Sports Jeopardy in Boston next month. Can I get any Therapoints for that?

Yes. Unfortunately getting on the show is the Daily Double, if you don't make it you lose the points you've earned.

So last night about 8:45 I was ready to shoot Clay Buchholz into the sun. Man did he settle in. Hopefully he has taken a turn because that was one hell of a performance.

this is normal for buchholz. when he's healthy, he can really settle into the groove if he can limit baserunners. when he's in a groove and can pitch from the windup, he's as good a pitcher as there is in baseball.

I'm not even sure it's a "pitching from the stretch" mechanics issue honestly. It seems like an unhealthy preoccupation with baserunners to the point of distraction. It almost reminds me of Lester's yips in throwing to first base. We've all seen the ridiculous throws to first base from Clay. I really think it's a psychological thing where he can't focus when there are men on base, which causes the mechanical issues.

I'm not even sure it's a "pitching from the stretch" mechanics issue honestly. It seems like an unhealthy preoccupation with baserunners to the point of distraction.

sure. could be anything. i'm just saying it seems to be a pattern that when he allows a few baserunners, things tend to spiral out of control, and he loses his groove. i think mechanics are part of it though. he's a bit of a gangly freak, but when he's on, he can really command his pitches. last night he had a cut fastball that barely caught the lower inside corner for a called third strike that left lyons speechless, and he had a pair of curveballs that he bounced for swinging strikes that were identical. the way he commands all his pitches when he's on is freakish. i can see losing his mechanics even a little would destroy that super elite command that he relies on.

he's so good when he's on, though. it's pretty amazing to watch.

So last night about 8:45 I was ready to shoot Clay Buchholz into the sun.

FWIW, when I wrote question 1 my first impulse was to say YES. I was going to gloss over the "obvious" that he should be cut loose, and focus mostly on the timing of doing it. But that's when I saw the pattern of the cold start to each season. April can't be undone, and the rest of the way he's either better than the alternatives or injured in which case the alternatives* are pitching anyway. Trading him would dispose of the upside.

I think I had overlooked that pattern each year because by the time he started doing well he'd get injured, and I would focus my frustration on that instead.

* The Sox Therapy house band will now be renamed Clay And The Alternatives.

Well, if you were going to trade Clay Buchholz... a month ago would have been a good time to do it from a value-in-return perspective. But looking back it seems like they didn't have another pitcher quite ready. Kelly needed to rehab; Rodriguez needed to rehab; Elias wasn't yet kicking AAA butt. Kelly is back and did well in his first start; Rodriguez seems ready; and Elias is pitching better than we should expect Clay will pitch.

From some of his early work last night it seemed like Buchholz had good movement and location for his pitches. But when he had a runner on, BOOM! he gave them something to hit.