Post by Da Commish on May 10, 2006 6:40:18 GMT -5
Boston, MA - Roger Clemens and Dave Righetti, $17 million in salary and a combined 34-13, are on the disabled list and will not pitch in the playoffs for the Olde Towne Team. How much will that hurt?
Possibly not as much as you'd think. While they were responsible for 34 wins, the rest of the staff was a combined 72-43. They have the league leader in games, Maximo Hernandez (93) and the leader in saves, Mark Eichorn (35). They picked up Joey McLaughlin in July, and while he did not pitch terribly well for Boston, he was 3-2 in his last 7 starts. He is slated for a game 2 start against the upstart KC Royals.
Bobby Ojeda has won 42 games the last two seasons. He is durable and deadly in big games. He will start game 1 against Bret Saberhagen. The team will have to fall back on insurance policy Danny Jackson (8-9) who languished the last two months in the bullpen. This will be the time that he proves whether or not he was worth the cost of Don Kainer & John Cerutti.
This is one season when Boston may just have done the Yankees one better and stockpiled enough pitching in the background. Jose Nunez is a classic example. He only started 17 games, but came in with a 7-7 record.
They also kept Kenny Rogers, picked up from the Mets a week after the Yankees gave up on him (for four pitching prospects) who performed well in September, and they held Xavier Mercado who did not appear in any games in the regular season to bolster the bullpen.
The key this season will have to be the hitters. While they did not have a 100-RBI man or a 30-homerun performance this year. Jay Buhner, though, who began the year as the 4th outfielder, led the team with 28 long balls. Four other batters hit 20 or more homeruns.
Boston's team, unlike the Yanks, is poised for years of productivity. Their payroll costs are $36 million less than New York's. After a two-year absence, they were the winningest team in the league. Clemens went 22-1 in an injury plagued year. They are the 16th oldest team (29.62 years), while Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, and Atlanta are all older. Clemens is locked up on a 7-year contract, and they signed OF Andy Van Slyke through 1994. Of the playoff roster, only catcher Rick Cerone is due to be a free agent.
Boston's goal, of course, is another trophy for the case. If they pull it off this season, it would be a tremendous achievement, considering all the obstacles (injuries) beset upon them in 1990.
The future is bright, but the goal is to win now. Make no mistake, this is not a team to take the future for granted.
Possibly not as much as you'd think. While they were responsible for 34 wins, the rest of the staff was a combined 72-43. They have the league leader in games, Maximo Hernandez (93) and the leader in saves, Mark Eichorn (35). They picked up Joey McLaughlin in July, and while he did not pitch terribly well for Boston, he was 3-2 in his last 7 starts. He is slated for a game 2 start against the upstart KC Royals.
Bobby Ojeda has won 42 games the last two seasons. He is durable and deadly in big games. He will start game 1 against Bret Saberhagen. The team will have to fall back on insurance policy Danny Jackson (8-9) who languished the last two months in the bullpen. This will be the time that he proves whether or not he was worth the cost of Don Kainer & John Cerutti.
This is one season when Boston may just have done the Yankees one better and stockpiled enough pitching in the background. Jose Nunez is a classic example. He only started 17 games, but came in with a 7-7 record.
They also kept Kenny Rogers, picked up from the Mets a week after the Yankees gave up on him (for four pitching prospects) who performed well in September, and they held Xavier Mercado who did not appear in any games in the regular season to bolster the bullpen.
The key this season will have to be the hitters. While they did not have a 100-RBI man or a 30-homerun performance this year. Jay Buhner, though, who began the year as the 4th outfielder, led the team with 28 long balls. Four other batters hit 20 or more homeruns.
Boston's team, unlike the Yanks, is poised for years of productivity. Their payroll costs are $36 million less than New York's. After a two-year absence, they were the winningest team in the league. Clemens went 22-1 in an injury plagued year. They are the 16th oldest team (29.62 years), while Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, and Atlanta are all older. Clemens is locked up on a 7-year contract, and they signed OF Andy Van Slyke through 1994. Of the playoff roster, only catcher Rick Cerone is due to be a free agent.
Boston's goal, of course, is another trophy for the case. If they pull it off this season, it would be a tremendous achievement, considering all the obstacles (injuries) beset upon them in 1990.
The future is bright, but the goal is to win now. Make no mistake, this is not a team to take the future for granted.