I'm starting to get into hairy territory with previewing Sox players, with most of those remaining good candidates to either start the season in Triple-A, get injured or get traded. But if John Danks didn't return to Triple-A during the second half last year, I doubt he's doing to do it again. Thus,
Danks makes Preview No. 13 for the 2008 Sox, as we crack into the second half of the 25-man roster.
I'm not a big Danks fan, or at least a fan of his ability to keep the ball in the park, so I'd be interested in hearing from those more optimistic about his future success than I am.
UPDATE: Along with Danks' struggles against batters facing him the second and third time in a game,
the Cheat also compares numbers between Danks' success against a team the first time around, and his problems with them in the following starts.
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Now here's good news: Palehose 8 has begun.
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Some fun questions in
Scott Merkin's mailbag, such as:
- Why didn't the Sox sign Livan Hernandez?
- Why can't the Sox trade Josh Fields?
The first one is understandable, if someone were not up to date on Hernandez's career arc. He's a better name than he is a pitcher -- though I'd love to see how those 34 homers allowed in Arizona would translate to the Cell, factoring in a smaller park, better league with a DH, and another year into Hernandez's 30s. We'll get some idea watching him in the Metrodome.
Thankfully, Merkin's first response to the second question was "Trading Fields doesn't make any sense." He's nicer than I am.
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Spring training grab bag:
*Jim Thome is in camp, and
like everybody else, he's not just in great shape --
he's in phenomenal shape.
*Ozzie Guillen likes the cut of Gavin Floyd's jib so far.
*Javier Vazquez appears to be the frontrunner for starting opening day. Whoever it is, let's just hope he's better than last year's.