Quiz time

Are you ready for a Red Sox quiz from the Big O on WEEI? He had 30 questions to ask, but I missed the last dozen or so. What are your thoughts?

1) Will Schilling win more than 15 games?
2) Will Lowell be the starting 1B on June 1st?
3) Will Damon or Coco Crisp have a better year?
4) Will Foulke have more than 30 saves?
5) Will Alex Gonzalez brilliant defense allow us to ignore his poor offense?
6) Will Trot Nixon play in 125 games (not necessarily start)?
7) Will Josh Beckett land on the DL? (Blister or shoulder?)
8) a) Kevin Youkilis, will he go over 18 HR?
- b) KY, over 80 RBI?
- c) Will KY be a regular 3B (not just appear there a few times)?
9) Wily Mo Pena over 300 AB? 400 AB?
10) Post all star wins at 7 for Matt Clemente?
11) Will Tavarez be suspended again by August 1st?
12) Will the Sox bullpen be in the top 7th or bottom 7th for ERA?
13) Josh Bard catching Wakefield -- does it affect him?
14) Will a writer blame the changes on homeruns on the structural changes?
15) Will the pitching staff be affected by the absence Dave Wallace?
16) Will the Sox lead the Yankees at runs scored? (they have the past few years)
17) The Sox will have over 200 HR this year?

My answers:
1) Schilling will win more than 15 games (I'd guess 19).
2) Yes -- they are paying him too much to sit on the bench.
3) Damon will have a better year
4) Yes -- but not much more than 30.
5) Yes -- If Renteria had played with the defensive skill we were promised last year, I wouldn't have cared about his hitting.
6) No -- definitely under.
7) Duh.. Yes. Beckett will land on the DL for a blister.
8) a) Yes, Kevin will have over 18 HR.
- b) Under 80 RBI... he'll be batting at the bottom of the order.
- c) Yes... Eventually they will remove Lowell and move Youkilis over there.
9) Yes, No.
10) No -- Under 7 wins.
11) Yes... He can't handle the pressure.
12) top 7th.
13) I don't think so... but how would you know if Bard affects Wake?
14) Yes, some writer will talk about it, but is it true? The HR will be lower because of the position player changes.
15) Yes, they will be affected by the absence of Wallace, but how?
16) No, the Yankees will have more runs this year.
17) Yes, they will have over 200 HR this year.

Ortiz may be signing four year extension

Extension may be for 2007 - 2010 at about 50 million, for an average of 12.5 million per year. Wrapping up Ortiz for the next five years (including this one) is, of course, a very important step for the Red Sox in the future.

Ortiz has been 'the' clutch player for the Red Sox. He hit 47 homeruns, had 148 RBI, and batted .300. Ortiz was released by the Twins Dec, 2002 and picked up the Red Sox as a free agent in Jan, 2003.

According to ESPN last year, Ortiz ranks:
2nd in AL in HR (47) - 1st in AL in RBI (148)
3rd in AL in R (119) - 2nd in AL in BB (102)
4th in AL in OBP (.397) - 2nd in AL in SLG (.604)
3rd in AL in OPS (1.001)

His salary has increased exponentially in the past few years. He started at just over 1 million in 2003, and last year he was paid a little over 5.

Tavarez gets 10 day suspension

I thought the Sox would get Tavarez to appeal his suspension, but the Sox are encouraging Tavarez to take his suspension right from the beginning, rather than appeal it. With two days off, he would only miss 8 games. But the Red Sox would start the season with only 24 players, not the 25 they are entitled to.

Why did they pick this guy up? Is his arm worth the hassle, the attitude and his overall demeanor? Tavarez has been suspended from MLB 5 times before this. If you want to read about his problems, read my post on the acquisition of Tavarez. 6.7 million for this guy?

Orien Greene suspended

The Celtics suspended Orien Greene for one game with the possibility of more to follow. According to Rivers, the indefinite period will be determined today (radio interview). He will speak to Greene again today, after both sides have had a chance to cool off and make a less emotional decision.

Doc was extremely upset to hear that Greene was out at 3 AM driving at high speeds. "To me, breaking the law is one thing. That’s something you just shouldn’t do. Everyone’s gotten a speeding ticket, but the fact that he got it at 3:30 in the morning bothers me, too. I think athletes at times believe they’re invincible, but you have to have respect. Orien violated the rules, and he has to pay the consequences for it."

Green was arrested for failure to stop for an officer in Waltham after speeding at over 90 mph on Main Street. Police have stated neither drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident. The charges were dismissed after Green paid fines on each.

According to Doc: "I want these guys to be great players, but I also want them to learn how to be professional, to just be good people. I don’t know if that comes under my job title or not, but I believe it does. So when that stuff happens you have to take an action that you really don’t want to take."

NFL preseason schedule announced

Of the primetime games being televised, New England has two. The first will be August 11th against Atlanta. The second will one week later and will feature Arizon at New England on Aug 19th.

The NFL presesason starts on Aug 6 in Canton, Ohio with the Hall of Fame game.

The Cardinals-Patriots and Texans-Broncos will be shown on NFL Network, which begins live coverage of regular-season games on Thanksgiving.

Read more at ESPN.

In other scheduling news (from way back in February):
In 2006, the Patriots will play each of the other AFC East teams twice and one game against each of the teams from the AFC South and the NFC North. The Patriots will also play the firstplace teams from the AFC West (DEN) and the AFC North (CIN).

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