2013 Red Sox predictions.

[seabeachfred]

To hit 25 homers is one thing but to strike out the enormous amount of times Salty does, and to have such a miserable OBA, and to play such shitty defense, and to call such a crappy game----he is more a liability than an asset. He would have to hit 35 dingers, get his OBA over the .320 mark and finally learn how to handle a pitching staff for him to be called a solid catcher. Maybe this season he will surprise but with our starting rotation I would like to see someone catching who could be a much more solid defensiveman and handler of pitchers. We can only hope that with two years under his belt Jarrod is finally going to get his stuff totally together and give us the complete season we need from him.

[NZSox]

Don't have time to fully elaborate, but the 2013 Red Sox are gonna surprise some people.

Predictions:
Lester will bounce back and look like an ace
Lackey will pitch an ERA between 3 and 4
Nap will hit 30 bombs
Ells will put up numbers similar to 2011
The Sox will get a wild card spot into the post-season

[mvp 78]

No
No
Maybe
No
No

[seabeachfred]

No
No
Maybe
No
No

PESSIMIST!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::t humbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[reYoukilis]

To hit 25 homers is one thing but to strike out the enormous amount of times Salty does, and to have such a miserable OBA, and to play such shitty defense, and to call such a crappy game----he is more a liability than an asset. He would have to hit 35 dingers, get his OBA over the .320 mark and finally learn how to handle a pitching staff for him to be called a solid catcher. Maybe this season he will surprise but with our starting rotation I would like to see someone catching who could be a much more solid defensiveman and handler of pitchers. We can only hope that with two years under his belt Jarrod is finally going to get his stuff totally together and give us the complete season we need from him.

I agree with you more or less. I want at least good defense or pitch calling attached to some offense. My prediction is nothing but a gut feeling. I think Salty realizes who he is and what he is capable of and is saying to himself, "I need to do alot more offense to make me worth it, thats my only true talent".

His defense at least in throwing out base runners will never b that good, he doesnt have the body. His pitch calling also seems to be bad but Im willing to throw all of last year away and call it an anomaly and give him and everyone a new start.

[jung]

What about Salty's last year was an anomaly. His last year was entirely typical for him. He is what he is.

As for his offense, his HR's come as a result of swinging for the fences on every swing...which also leads to monster K's. He is what he is.

[Orange Juiced]

What about Salty's last year was an anomaly. His last year was entirely typical for him. He is what he is.

As for his offense, his HR's come as a result of swinging for the fences on every swing...which also leads to monster K's. He is what he is.

And I think they should move him on that basis. He is an intriguing power bat for a C that might interest other teams that have holes at that position. The Sox have a solid veteran in Ross, and a couple of very interesting young catchers in Lavarnway, Swihart, and now, apparently, Vazquez.

Salty is a poor defensive catcher and has, over the course of his career, a bad era (you know what I mean...pitchers pitch to a bad era with him catching), so maybe he calls a bad game, etc. All he gives you is home run power. Now that might be enough to entice a needy team to give up something valuable, and if so, I'd move him in a heartbeat.

[rjortiz]

Don't have time to fully elaborate, but the 2013 Red Sox are gonna surprise some people.

Predictions:
Lester will bounce back and look like an ace
Lackey will pitch an ERA between 3 and 4
Nap will hit 30 bombs
Ells will put up numbers similar to 2011
The Sox will get a wild card spot into the post-season

If this happens, the Red Sox will win the division.

[polelover44]

Sox will win between 85-90 games, but will not make the playoffs.
Lackey will pitch better than 2010, but only slightly.
Ellsbury will stay healthy, and be gone by the deadline, at which point Jackie Bradley will come up.
Lester's ERA will be around 3.50 - probably a bit higher.
Buchholz: see Lester.
Doubront will take a step forward and get his ERA on the right side of 4.50
Dempster's ERA will be around 4.15.
Pedroia will suffer a minor injury in May, play through it, play badly, aggravate it, and hit the DL in mid-late June.
At some point, the Sox and Rays will get into a brawl, and Joe Maddon will whine about it like the little bitch he is.
Saltalamacchia will lose his job around the All-Star break when his OBP is still under .300. Lavarnway, given a chance to start, will finally play like he's capable of.
Mike Napoli's hip will finish disintegrating (or whatever the hell it's doing), and 2012 International League MVP Mauro Gomez will be called upon to save the day.
Joel Hanrahan will lose the closer job to Andrew Bailey, who will pitch like he did with the A's.
Someone will hit Youkilis with a pitch (accidentally) on Opening Day; Youk will take exception; the media will have a field day.

[Lucienbel]

To hit 25 homers is one thing but to strike out the enormous amount of times Salty does, and to have such a miserable OBA, and to play such shitty defense, and to call such a crappy game----he is more a liability than an asset. He would have to hit 35 dingers, get his OBA over the .320 mark and finally learn how to handle a pitching staff for him to be called a solid catcher. Maybe this season he will surprise but with our starting rotation I would like to see someone catching who could be a much more solid defensiveman and handler of pitchers. We can only hope that with two years under his belt Jarrod is finally going to get his stuff totally together and give us the complete season we need from him.

Well put. I've always enjoyed a good defensive catcher more than pure offense, but Salty doesn't give enough defense or offense to justify his time here anymore to me. Watching him in Spring Training Saturday was interesting because from what I saw nothing had really changed. As Jung said, he is what he is. I honestly wonder if he has hit the point in his career where this is all we'll see from him too. If that is the case (and it certainly seems like it is) they'd probably be better to move him sooner rather than later.

[jung]

This is really jumping the gun and all opinion but I think Salty is not going to show much year over year improvement in a year where I suspect the MLB FO guys are probably at the end of their rope with him. If he gets to the end of 2013 without having made a marked improvement over 2012, I think the interest really diminishes around baseball and you will not find as many GM's willing to consider his upside as a significant piece to consider in a trade negotiation.

I suspect the Sox want to give Salty more time. However I also suspect that if the year is wearing on and looking like one where he is not going to show much over 2012, I think they will have to see if they can move him. It might be the last opportunity to cobble something together for Salty alone or Salty "&" ???? that brings something worthwhile back.

[a700hitter]

Someone will hit Youkilis with a pitch (accidentally) on Opening Day; Youk will take exception; the media will have a field day.

I can definitely see this happening.

[seabeachfred]

Well put. I've always enjoyed a good defensive catcher more than pure offense, but Salty doesn't give enough defense or offense to justify his time here anymore to me. Watching him in Spring Training Saturday was interesting because from what I saw nothing had really changed. As Jung said, he is what he is. I honestly wonder if he has hit the point in his career where this is all we'll see from him too. If that is the case (and it certainly seems like it is) they'd probably be better to move him sooner rather than later.

I take it Lucien that you have a pretty fair judge of what's going on and as such all you do is confirm my belief that we aren't going to see much improvement from Satalamacchia this year behind the plate, nor much in the way of a better OBP or a cutdown on his enormous strikeout total. It stands to reason that under these circumstances our starting rotation, questionable as it already is, will be at a further disadvantage having a below average receiver calling their games and handling their pitches. I only hope Lavarnway gets a chance in ST and just has a helluva good Spring and forces the Red Sox to trade Salty. Someone or some people in the front office are totally sold on this guy and have developed a severe blind spot for Jarrod. That does not bode well for us this season.

[iortiz]

Sox will win between 85-90 games, but will not make the playoffs.
Lackey will pitch better than 2010, but only slightly.
Ellsbury will stay healthy, and be gone by the deadline, at which point Jackie Bradley will come up.
Lester's ERA will be around 3.50 - probably a bit higher.
Buchholz: see Lester.
Doubront will take a step forward and get his ERA on the right side of 4.50
Dempster's ERA will be around 4.15.
Pedroia will suffer a minor injury in May, play through it, play badly, aggravate it, and hit the DL in mid-late June.
At some point, the Sox and Rays will get into a brawl, and Joe Maddon will whine about it like the little bitch he is.
Saltalamacchia will lose his job around the All-Star break when his OBP is still under .300. Lavarnway, given a chance to start, will finally play like he's capable of.
Mike Napoli's hip will finish disintegrating (or whatever the hell it's doing), and 2012 International League MVP Mauro Gomez will be called upon to save the day.
Joel Hanrahan will lose the closer job to Andrew Bailey, who will pitch like he did with the A's.
Someone will hit Youkilis with a pitch (accidentally) on Opening Day; Youk will take exception; the media will have a field day.

Hopefully your crystal ball is wrong on this :lol:

[Lucienbel]

I take it Lucien that you have a pretty fair judge of what's going on and as such all you do is confirm my belief that we aren't going to see much improvement from Satalamacchia this year behind the plate, nor much in the way of a better OBP or a cutdown on his enormous strikeout total. It stands to reason that under these circumstances our starting rotation, questionable as it already is, will be at a further disadvantage having a below average receiver calling their games and handling their pitches. I only hope Lavarnway gets a chance in ST and just has a helluva good Spring and forces the Red Sox to trade Salty. Someone or some people in the front office are totally sold on this guy and have developed a severe blind spot for Jarrod. That does not bode well for us this season.

Agreed. I think if Lavarnway starts making some good contact and can show a little pop in his bat he may force them to do something. It's really too bad Napoli won't be catching at all, it seems like the more factors (people) we could put into the equation the better a chance that we'd see Salty moved.