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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 3:41:23 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Boston Red Sox (0-0) @ Kansas City Royals (0-0)[/shadow]
BOS: Justin Verlander (16-11, 4.16 ERA) KC: Chien-Ming Wang (13-7, 4.11 ERA)
* 2014 stats
After a long hiatus, the PBL begins back up again with the World Champion Red Sox beginning its title defense against the Kansas City Royals.
The Red Sox bring only five starters back from the team's 2014 championship following an offseason overhaul. Curtis Granderson, James Loney, Russell Martin, Kevin Youkilis, and Jayson Werth are among the veterans not returning, an impressive group of veteran talent.
However, never one to sit still, Derek Bobola brought in MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera, sweet-swinging Matt Sweeney, big slugger Rene Tosoni, and electric speedster B.J. Upton as replacements. Whether the new crop can replace last year's group will determine Boston's chances.
With a balanced schedule in place this season, Boston will face fewer AL East opponents and should benefit immensely from six fewer games with the Rays.
On the other side, the Royals will face more difficult opponents like the Red Sox and will play fewer games against the middling AL Central.
Kansas City has a talented group of power bats on its roster, with Fernando Martinez the finest of them all. The young superstar is coming off a breakout season which saw him hit .330 with 29 home runs.
Chien-Mien Wang had a solid season last year in his second year with the Royals. The sinkerballer posted 13 wins and an ERA a shade above four. However, he lost 17 games before and is facing a potent Boston attack. The Royals hope the 2015 Wang shows up in their bid to get off to a hot start.
Questions for the GM's.
For Derek Bobola, this Red Sox team is far different than your title winning squad. Why make so many changes?
Were there any position battles in Spring Training that influenced any roster decisions?
You only play Tampa Bay nine times this year. Are you relieved they're off your slate?
For Marty Lee, it looks like you have a good offense, but the pitching is a big concern. How do you feel about your staff?
You traded away Joakim Soria this offseason. What was the reasoning behind the decision to trade him?
Justin Verlander is a big time pitcher, but he gave up 30 home runs last season. What's your approach to him tonight?
Remember GM's, feel free to ask or even answer any questions even if your team isn't playing, and welcome back to the PBL Game of the Week!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 3:49:06 GMT -5
Thanks Erick, good stuff as always. Great to have GotW (and baseball) back
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 4:29:11 GMT -5
Justin Verlander has the best facegen I've ever seen.
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Aug 23, 2011 11:19:13 GMT -5
Justin Verlander has the best facegen I've ever seen. It will look better when I put the World Series patch on his jersey for you all to look at too..
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Aug 23, 2011 11:19:40 GMT -5
Can't wait to answer these questions as soon as I get a free second from work..
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Post by potentialgm on Aug 23, 2011 18:25:28 GMT -5
This is great dude nice in depth analysis. Cool feature and nicely done.
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Post by radiocranium on Aug 23, 2011 19:45:36 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]Boston Red Sox (0-0) @ Kansas City Royals (0-0)[/shadow]BOS: Justin Verlander (16-11, 4.16 ERA) KC: Chien-Ming Wang (13-7, 4.11 ERA) * 2014 statsAfter a long hiatus, the PBL begins back up again with the World Champion Red Sox beginning its title defense against the Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox bring only five starters back from the team's 2014 championship following an offseason overhaul. Curtis Granderson, James Loney, Russell Martin, Kevin Youkilis, and Jayson Werth are among the veterans not returning, an impressive group of veteran talent. However, never one to sit still, Derek Bobola brought in MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera, sweet-swinging Matt Sweeney, big slugger Rene Tosoni, and electric speedster B.J. Upton as replacements. Whether the new crop can replace last year's group will determine Boston's chances. With a balanced schedule in place this season, Boston will face fewer AL East opponents and should benefit immensely from six fewer games with the Rays. On the other side, the Royals will face more difficult opponents like the Red Sox and will play fewer games against the middling AL Central. Kansas City has a talented group of power bats on its roster, with Fernando Martinez the finest of them all. The young superstar is coming off a breakout season which saw him hit .330 with 29 home runs. Chien-Mien Wang had a solid season last year in his second year with the Royals. The sinkerballer posted 13 wins and an ERA a shade above four. However, he lost 17 games before and is facing a potent Boston attack. The Royals hope the 2015 Wang shows up in their bid to get off to a hot start. Questions for the GM's. For Derek Bobola, this Red Sox team is far different than your title winning squad. Why make so many changes? Were there any position battles in Spring Training that influenced any roster decisions? You only play Tampa Bay nine times this year. Are you relieved they're off your slate? For Marty Lee, it looks like you have a good offense, but the pitching is a big concern. How do you feel about your staff? You traded away Joakim Soria this offseason. What was the reasoning behind the decision to trade him? Justin Verlander is a big time pitcher, but he gave up 30 home runs last season. What's your approach to him tonight? Remember GM's, feel free to ask or even answer any questions even if your team isn't playing, and welcome back to the PBL Game of the Week! Great write-up! As for the pitching staff, it's definitely our weak spot but with my budget as it is I don't have the luxury to compete for the big-time starting pitching I'd need and will look to develop it from the minors. Juan Gonzalez will join the bullpen this year and Pig Pen Wallace will soon follow, so losing Soria (while a big loss) is one we can absorb. The chance to get Cabrera solidifies my middle infield and gives me a solid #2 hitter behind Kalish - setting up Martinez and Bulter. We should score a lot of runs and will obviously need them!!! Just hope it's good enough to squeak by in the Central.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 19:56:38 GMT -5
Prediction:
Wang gets shelled. Verlander also gives up five runs, but gets a no decision with a Boston reliever picking up the win.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 20:37:11 GMT -5
Prediction: Wang gets shelled. Verlander also gives up five runs, but gets a no decision with a Boston reliever picking up the win. I think Wang surprises with a mediocre outing and the Royals win a 6-4ish type game.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2011 13:56:07 GMT -5
Possible Headlines coming:
- Kansas City's Wang explodes during an impressive showing from the Red Sox - Boston strokes KC's Wang for 7 Runs - Kansas City's Wang Loses Mojo & Head at the hands of the Red Sox
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Aug 24, 2011 14:36:36 GMT -5
"Boston strokes KC's Wang for 7 Runs"
LOL - hysterical.....
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2011 15:02:25 GMT -5
How much is Wang's endorsement deal from Viagra?
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Post by radiocranium on Aug 24, 2011 17:48:42 GMT -5
Wang creams Boston!!
Wang thrusts KC into first place!
Wang comes up huge in season opener!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2011 17:49:39 GMT -5
KC's Wang Untouched in Boston
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Post by Derek _ Red Sox on Aug 24, 2011 18:01:53 GMT -5
This Red Sox team is far different than your title winning squad. Why make so many changes?
Our goal has always been the same, to field the best team possible each season but also stay mindful of the future. Its tough to see players go, especially the original Red Sox cast like Lester and Youkilis.
We always felt that Youkilis' strength was at 1B and with Miguel Cabrera and Wang-wei Lin in the majors, we simply ran out of room. At 36 years old, I'm not quite sure how his body can hold up playing third for a full-season. The last two seasons he has been at 3B and he has seen a significant decline from his 2012 numbers, and also struggled to stay healthy last season so we felt making a move was the right thing to do.
Lester was extremely difficult to move but we had the chance to bring in a young pitcher who pitcher who has the chance to be very productive for us. Lester's contract was a bit concerning for us in terms of length so we are more comfortable long term.
As a whole, the Twins deal was the one that changed our roster significantly. Besides Youkilis and Lester, we also moved Brandon Lyon who is 35 this year and 28 year old outfielder David Dinatale.
We were able to get back Scheppers, who is generating more trade interest not being on the block than Lester was on the block. Miguel Cabrera who is only 31 years old and one of the leagues best hitters to pair with Hanley Ramirez. Rene Tosoni and Matt Sweeney will see plenty of action this season and Matt Daley looks to have secured a spot in the pen.
Were there any position battles in Spring Training that influenced any roster decisions?
We always go into camp letting players battle for positions. I don't think its healthy to tell a certain player no matter what your guaranteed anything. I want that player to be hungrier than the players trying to take those positions.
That being said, there are always certain positions that are more open than others. This year we went into Spring Training with enough healthy pitchers to have some good battles for the #4 and 5 spots in the rotation as well as a few situational spots in the bullpen. Catcher and Shortstop was also a little tougher battle this spring.
You only play Tampa Bay nine times this year. Are you relieved they're off your slate?
There are two answers to this question. The first is of course! Tampa is going to continue to be Tampa and that means one of the best teams in the game. Its never easy when your playing these guys and even though we had good success last year against them. The big thing that often goes un-noticed is sometimes the mental stress of these type of big series are not recognized during the series but often times its the series after where players try to catch their breath again and you never want to take a series from Tampa just to turn around and lose the next series to a team you probably should of beaten.
The second answer to this question is no, but that's easy for me to say since I'm not out their on the field. My opinion is these games last season helped show what kind of makeup we had as a unit and all those game experiences better helped us for the post-season and our even World Series victory.
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