36 Views of Joe Kelly

It didn't help that Ramirez had a butcher block out there in left field, that Sandoval forgot his glove in SF for the first two months of the season, or that Napoli turned in the one he'd been using since he came to the Sox. They were also rotating Nava, Vicorino and even Craig in right. Nava doesn't have the foot speed or the arm to play there, Victorino burned through his reserves during the WS campaign and was playing hurt just about all the time, and Craig is no more than adequate and probably worse than that, someone who can't play there on a regular basis. That's before we talk about what they brought to the offense - which we don't want to talk about in public.

It was only after it became apparent to them that Ramirez' was completely lost out there and probably hurt, that they decided to throw the dice. Lo and behold they rolled a seven after calling up Bradley and Castillo. There had been a lot of calls on this board for just that, but it's a few voices in the Internet wilderness after all. Buccholz and Porcello probably needed post-season counseling after what they'd gone through to start the season. I'd also add that shine on guys like Kelly and Hill in the last month was the reflected glow from a vastly improved defensive alignment. It really does matter and it cost them wins early on and put the season on ice quickly.