I must say that last night before the game, I went to Taco Bell.  No need to harass me, I'm already ashamed of myself.

Notice his defensive miscue wasn't in Fenway. Also notice that if he was as terrible as advertised, his defensive miscue would have come up prior to game 4. Also note I said that Ortiz, although he is much maligned in the field, is really not that bad except for his lack of range.

As you may or may not have noticed, there are many things that are considered common knowledge about the skill sets of major league players that are not necessarily 100% accurate. It is the case with Rox players as with Sox players. Unfortunately, these common knowledge stereotypes get perpetuated by the poor media coverage. That is why scouting reports from the fans of the respective teams can be useful, and learning about your players was the whole reason I came here in the first place.

ICKIMORE

However, he's given the Rockies two opportunities with a runner in scoring position that we failed to cash in on.  It's sad, but oh so predictable right now.

9-1 GB/FB ratio for Cook right now

Welcome back Aaron Cook!

If you guys don't want him, you know where to send him.

I think Hurdle the "player's manger" is pretty good.

Hurdle that strategen is in the bottom tier of MLB managers.

Just shows how little manager strategy matters, I guess (Manuel and Wedge also had good runs, go figure).  However, a good GM is infinitely more important, and while Theo is my all time fave, I'm a big fan of our current one (Macri trade notwithstanding).

we'll see if the Yankees are in fact done with him, but if so, does anyone think they would entertain an Atkins/prospect for Cano deal?

As for Timlin, he's 41 years old and missed much of the season due to injury and looked horrible when he first came back. I'm not so sure he has much left in the tank, so I wouldn't be sorry to see him go either.

Schilling is worth bringing back, but if he leaves the Sox rotation will still be in good shape barring injury (in case you haven't noticed, the Sox have decent pitching). At 40 Schilling has lost his 95 mph fastball and needs to rely on location. He also missed much of the season due to a shoulder injury. I don't know as he will give that much to the team next year, but his veteran leadership and postseason experience are good to have to go along with enough skill to still get the job done in the big games.

Lowell needs to be re-signed. Period. I don't want ARod, and I don't see any other free agent 3B out there any better than Lowell. Plus, Lowell is one of the leaders in the clubhouse and is beloved by the hispanic members of the team.

ICKIMORE

Barring injury, it's tough to see how next year's Sox will be any worse than the current ones, and that's scary for the AL.

Since Youk can play 3B the only reason to have gotten Helton would be if the Sox didn't intend to re-sign Lowell, which I also believe would be a poor decision.

So, as far as Todd Helton goes, good player but not a good fit on the Sox due to the existing lineup. So I'd rather have Delcarmen.

ICKIMORE

It could be worse, though.  Our prospects have to pitch at Colorado Springs without a humidor.  Talk about a confidence booster, "Here, take this dried out cue ball and throw it with no break or consistency with other AAA baseballs, and no, this isn't anything like what you'll epxerience in the majors..."

The Sox did the same thing with Royce Clayton. They historically do this on a regular basis. Bring in veterans that are released for one reason or another just for their veteran experience on the bench. The Sox hate to use kids on the bench because they feel the young players are better served by playing every day in AAA. In most cases, the veterans are thrilled to be part of a winning team right at that point in time that they thought their baseball career might be done. Gabe Kapler was a good example of this practice quite a few years ago.

ICKIMORE

I'd even throw in Speier to get Garland.

If I wasn't rocking my Ellsbury jersey, believe that I'd have Okajima strapped across my back.