I know Foulke has been dropped in a few my leagues, and I'm sure he has been in many others. It might be time to swoop him up. The fact that he's looked solid lately (1 2/3 inning scoreless today with 3 K's) and that the DiNardo struggled as the 5th starter, makes me think that it won't be long before the Sox move Papelbon into the rotation and put Foulke back in as the closer.
I too have been keeping an eye on Foulke, stat-wise at least. He's starting to get his groove on a little, but what I'm more interested in is his velocity, which isn't available in the stats. Once that is back up, and his knees are fine, he should be solid.
How's his velocity - in the 90s yet?
[quote:4fef447375="Geek"]The odds of the AL MVP coming from the American League are looking pretty good.[/quote]
The Jury wrote:I too have been keeping an eye on Foulke, stat-wise at least. He's starting to get his groove on a little, but what I'm more interested in is his velocity, which isn't available in the stats. Once that is back up, and his knees are fine, he should be solid.
How's his velocity - in the 90s yet?
His velocity was never in the 90s. And it's been upper 80s for the most part which is right around where he wants to be. I still think he is pitching pretty well and he has a real shot at getting his job back.
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that." ~George Carlin
The Jury wrote:I too have been keeping an eye on Foulke, stat-wise at least. He's starting to get his groove on a little, but what I'm more interested in is his velocity, which isn't available in the stats. Once that is back up, and his knees are fine, he should be solid.
How's his velocity - in the 90s yet?
His velocity was never in the 90s. And it's been upper 80s for the most part which is right around where he wants to be. I still think he is pitching pretty well and he has a real shot at getting his job back.
Yoda said it for me . He's never been a big velocity guy, it's all about the separation between his fb and his change. That's looked good lately, as evident in the 3 K's today.
On the one hand, they need someone with Wells down because it's obvious that DiNardo's not going to cut it. Moving JP to that slot would fill a MAJOR void.
On the other hand, removing JP as the closer is risky because he's excelled in that spot, and you're putting Foulke in there who granted has looked pretty good as of late but I'm still not sure I trust him fully. If the differential isn't there between his fastball and change, he's meat.
Of course this could all be a moot point in a month or two if Roger comes home but that's another conscious-tearing argument for another time.
On the one hand, they need someone with Wells down because it's obvious that DiNardo's not going to cut it. Moving JP to that slot would fill a MAJOR void.
On the other hand, removing JP as the closer is risky because he's excelled in that spot, and you're putting Foulke in there who granted has looked pretty good as of late but I'm still not sure I trust him fully. If the differential isn't there between his fastball and change, he's meat.
Of course this could all be a moot point in a month or two if Roger comes home but that's another conscious-tearing argument for another time.
I'm sure the Red Sox FO is just as torn as you are. But in this case, I think the tipping point will be that they see starting as a better way for Papelbon to develop.
Pokey wrote:I'm sure the Red Sox FO is just as torn as you are. But in this case, I think the tipping point will be that they see starting as a better way for Papelbon to develop.
Right, JP was really only thrown into the bullpen mix because of the depth they had in the rotation and then thrown in as closer out of necessity because Foulke wasn't getting it done.
As I've said before, the long-term plan is for JP to be a starter. It's just that with the way he's thriving as closer right now, I'm not so sure removing him from that spot at the moment is the best move to make.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by Pokey » Sun Apr 23, 2006 4:09 pm 
. He's never been a big velocity guy, it's all about the separation between his fb and his change. That's looked good lately, as evident in the 3 K's today.
