Steve,

I do think that if Hughes is really rolling and Mussina is struggling to give us 5 or 6 solid innings, Joe would go with Hughes in the playoffs. My sense is that Joe knows that he must at least get out of the first round to have any chance to keep his job.

re: Melky,

did y’all forget his D?

he leads AL CFers in assists, range factor, and is 3rd in zone rating. his FRAA of 12 is higher than Ichiro, Rowand, Andruw, Torii, Granderson, Sizemore, Wells, Beltran, Taveras, Gary Matthews.

only Coco is ahead. so according to FRAA, he’s the 2nd best CF in baseball! (while still making some ‘rookie mistakes’) at the most important non-catching D position, I’d take a .250 hitter, but the fact he is a .280/.340/.390 hitter makes him all the more valuable (AND he’s just 22, so the growth should continue).

Hit the submit button a bit too quick;

Giving credit where credit is due, Melky’s numbers are trending upward, which is a good sign.

Melky became the FT CF around 4/28. Since that time, his OBA is .364 and his SLG is .443

So, let’s talk.
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Sure. The season started 4/1. He’s been a FT player this year; he was starting in both LF & CF. So, that isn’t an issue.

How’s his RCAA looking?

Talk to me after the season.

Here’s a sobering thought. Winning tonight’s game and/or any game in this current 29 game run against sub-.500 teams is critical. Yes, the Red Sox and the Yankees both have 60 games to play this season…but the Red Sox have 15 games left with the smoldering ruins of a pitching staff that wears Tampa uniforms. Uh, time IS of the essence.

I guess my point was that the next game means nothing MORE than the rest of the games, they all have equal value and you won’t win them all, so a loss here or there on a day the Red Sox win is not something to look at right now. They just have to finish with a better record over the last 60 or so games then the Red Sox do. Until they are 6 games back with only 6 games to play, then there is no reason to look at any game as must win.

Your doomsday call for tonights game is ridiculous! Until they’re out mathematically the Yanks have a chance for the division. They could have a run of wins versus Sox losses at any time. Beside all of this you wrote the Yanks off about two months ago. I didn’t accept that then and won’t accept this now. Be prepare to eat a lot of crow !!!

~~~If Hughes comes back in top form I’m not sure that Moose even gets a post-season start.~~~

Two words: Joe Torre.

Think Joe would do that?

~~~Once Melky adds either patience (above lg avg; .336/.331) or power (below lg avg; .387/.412), then we’ll talk.~~~

Melky became the FT CF around 4/28. Since that time, his OBA is .364 and his SLG is .443

So, let’s talk.

~~~the next game means nothing..~~~

Potentially, it’s the difference between being 7 back in the LC and being 5 back in the LC – and when you only have 6 games left with Boston, and 54 other games on top of that, it’s a big difference, IMHO.