Red Sox sign John Lackey (Dear God please make it stop)

[Mr. Happy Sock]

Yeah, he has a D-Bag face that you just want to punch. Hard.

BUT the fact is that he is a damn good pitcher and will give the Red Sox a damn good rotation. Beckett, Lester, Lackey, Wake, Buchholz?!!?!??!!?!?!?

WOW

Something tells me that the Sox aren't done dealing either. The Sox gave up nothing but $$$$ to get Lackey.

[NSPatsFan]

http://www.soxplanet.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

[Deus Irae]

They paid too much for him, and that's a bad thing moving forward.

[Mr. Happy Sock]

Originally Posted by Deus Irae

They paid too much for him, and that's a bad thing moving forward.

I'm not paying his salary, and he upgrades their pitching staff. It's a win IMO

[Deus Irae]

Originally Posted by Mr. Happy Sock

I'm not paying his salary, and he upgrades their pitching staff. It's a win IMO

Ok, and just to keep it within this year, rather than pointing to Beckett's contract needs....

Is it really a win if this means that they can't/won't bring in a quality bat and keep/replace Bay?

[NSPatsFan]

I'm glad to hear it looks like Roy Halladay isn't going to the Sox or Yankees, hope he gets his ring next year.

[The Gr8est]

So now the Sox have lessened their need to deal with any Scott Boras clients....coincidence?

[One-Be-Lo]

good signing, but the Sox NEED a bat. They didn't get swept because of pitching last season. The offense is in serious need of an IMPACT bat if they want to win a title. Ive heard Buchholz+ for Adrian Gonzalez which I would do in a second.

[The Gr8est]

Originally Posted by One-Be-Lo

good signing, but the Sox NEED a bat. They didn't get swept because of pitching last season. The offense is in serious need of an IMPACT bat if they want to win a title. Ive heard Buchholz+ for Adrian Gonzalez which I would do in a second.

So the Sox get the top FA starter in a down year for FA bats for cash. NOW they can use their prospects for someone like Adrian Gonzalez or Miguel Cabrera.

[One-Be-Lo]

Originally Posted by The Gr8est

So the Sox get the top FA starter in a down year for FA bats for cash. NOW they can use their prospects for someone like Adrian Gonzalez or Miguel Cabrera.

Yea there has to be more in the works. Cameron in nice, but he can't be it.

[Beer]

Cameron is 'Mr. Fallback'. Although upgrading defense in left and short and possibly third aint a bad thing either. They get plus plus offense at second and catcher and now shortstop so a falloff at a power position doesnt hurt so much.

[TommyD420]

Cameron's here so Ellsbury can be traded.

[DarrylStingley]

Originally Posted by TommyD420

Cameron's here so Ellsbury can be traded.

Don' think so. I don't see them wanting to start Jeremy Hermida.

If anyone is going to be traded, it will be Clay.

Jacoby is your CF unless they acquire another OFer.

[gomezcat]

So presumably this guy has a strong arm, is accurate, makes decisions under pressure and so on. Well, when Brady retires, they can hand him over for the Pats' "rotation".

More on-topic:

My boss (who is British) and a colleague from Boston both play baseball. My boss plays at 3rd base. They tell me that some pitchers throw balls that dip at the last second. How do you play a ball that dips at the last second? Also, do batters ever work out what pitch is coming next?

[Deus Irae]

Originally Posted by gomezcat

So presumably this guy has a strong arm, is accurate, makes decisions under pressure and so on. Well, when Brady retires, they can hand him over for the Pats' "rotation".

More on-topic:

My boss (who is British) and a colleague from Boston both play baseball. My boss plays at 3rd base. They tell me that some pitchers throw balls that dip at the last second. How do you play a ball that dips at the last second? Also, do batters ever work out what pitch is coming next?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-finger_fastball

There's also the sinker, but it's lost favor at the major league level, and some pitchers throw a curve ball the basically drops from 12-6. I loved that pitch, myself, but it can really wear on your elbow if you're not careful with the mechanics.

As for knowing what's coming next, batters can figure that out in different ways. Some pitchers have tells, which can warn an observant hitter. Also, when a runner is on second base, he can try stealing the signals. That's why you frequently see catchers giving a series of signals with runners at second instead of just dropping 1 finger for fastball, 2 for curve, etc.... Also, the count can sometimes be a pretty good tipoff. A pitcher isn't likely to be throwing off-speed pitches to a weak hitter if the count is 3-0.

I hope that helps!