Fireside Chats #34: Where we take some Hacks with Haggs and channel the supernatural ability of Gary Tuck

Fireside Chats is bringing you live reports from Fort Myers, FL and Boston Red Sox Spring Training with Joe Haggerty on location (as long as he doesn’t piss off Gary Tuck and get thrown back to Boston). Who does Joe think could surprise and disappoint Red Sox fans this season? His answers might surprise you.

Once Joe leaves, Paul and Tim are back to their own accord talking about all the breaking news coming out of Spring….wait….there’s no breaking news coming out of Spring Training and there’s none on the horizon? In that case, we’ll just riff until Opening Day. Come along for the ride.

Will Yankees make playoffs?

Today’s “Great Debate” at MVN Outsider asks if the Yankees will make the playoffs. Money quote:

Don’t get me wrong — they will contend. It’s just not a lock that
they’ll finish in second in the AL East. The Red Sox are arguably one
of the most complete teams in baseball, and it would be a massive
disappointment if they were to miss the postseason…Despite the spending spree, the Yankees do still have a fair amount of
questions left to answer. They’ll be in the running for a playoff spot,
just as they were last year, but a second place finish in the East is
by no means guaranteed.

Red Sox top MVN’s preseason Power Rankings

The first edition of the MVN Power Rankings are out and guess who claimed the top spot? That’s right, the Boston Red Sox.

1. Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox did not sign a top-tier free agent this offseason, but they did manage to assemble a pitching staff as deep as any in baseball through the low-risk, high-potential additions of John Smoltz, Brad Penny, and Takashi Saito. The health of David Ortiz and Mike Lowell remains a concern, as both of them will be key for Boston’s offense to keep up with the Yankees’ and Rays’, but Terry Francona’s squad is as deep as any in baseball entering Spring Training.

2. New York Yankees

3. Chicago Cubs

4. Tampa Bay Rays

Pulled from the comments: Sean O on Mike Lowell

We all know that Sean O has, what can best be termed, his anti-binkies; Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell. I couldn’t pass up his perspective on Mike Lowell without “pulling it from the comments”.

1). He shouldn’t have been WS MVP, since Jacoby was the real offensive force. 2). He is consistent at the plate and in the field, but sadly it’s consistent mediocrity. 3). He doesn’t “deliver under pressure” any differently. 4). “plays the game with class” doesn’t mean a damn thing. Dustin plays the game like his life depends on it, Manny played the game like he forgot he got paid for it, but the difference is they helped us win.

I don’t think that you can call Lowell’s performance in Boston consistent mediocrity (at least not without defining your level of mediocrity first). Does Sean O take his appraisal of Lowell to far? or is it justified criticism?

Jason Bay: For Better or Worse 2009

Jason Bay entered Boston in 2008 under anything but the most normal of circumstances.  To his credit, he acclimated himself to the opportunity quickly and help propel the Boston Red Sox into the playoffs. 

While 184 at bats over 49 games, plus another 11 playoff appearances, may have been enough to grant him the 2009 Fire Brand of the American League award, it might not be enough of a sample size to garner a true expectation of 2009.