Thumbs Down
The Red Sox are in a real predicament already with the injury to closer Andrew Bailey, and its all because the team failed to go out and get a starting pitcher this offseason. Bailey needs surgery on his thumb that will keep him out 3-4 months, most of the season, leaving the Red Sox with few reliable options in the bullpen.
Mark Melancon is the frontrunner and Alfredo Aceves can also step in late. But the Sox would not be in this predicament had they gone out and signed a veteran pitcher for cheap. A pitcher like John Garland or Roy Oswalt would have been perfect fits here, if only for a year and would give the team more flexibility with Daniel Bard, who is rotation bound.
Now with an injury to the oft injured Bailey, the Sox bullpen is hurting, and once again it's due to the failure of the front office.
Bobby V vs. Schilling
Who didn't see this one coming, a battle of the two biggest egos in all of sports, Bobby Valentine and Curt Schilling.
Schilling, who has an opinion on just about everything, has already weighed in on Valentine's managerial skills this year although the season hasn't started yet. Schilling said on an ESPN radio interview, ""I just feel like this is not going to go the way people had hoped. I thought there were different choices that could have been made here (to be manager), from a personality perspective, knowing some of the guys on this team. I'm not so sure that this isn't going to be an oil and a water mix early on, especially if they don't get out to a really good start."
Valentine fired back saying, "I just consider the source when I read, hear stuff like that."
Given the size of both Schilling and Valentine's mouths and egos, this does not look like a feud that will be settled any time soon. And the most pathetic thing about it is that they probably don't even dislike each other, they just want to hear their names in the headlines.
-Compiled by Nick Curcuru
