Go Sox!

Go Sox! Tough loss last night. I honestly thought they had another late inning rally in them, especially when Trot Nixon walked in the 9th. Oh well. While chatting with my dad this morning, we agreed that the Sox are built to be a second half team. They will most likely pick up a big bat before the trading deadline and then will either bring up Jon Lester/Craig Hansen and/or parlay some of their minor league gems into a starting pitcher.

As a Sox fan, you know that I always want to see the Yankees lose. So any opinion I throw about the Yankees will of course be tainted. However, I do see the Yanks running into problems in the second half. Other than Mo Rivera who is "the" uber-closer of MLB and maybe Kyle Farnsworth, the Yanks bullpen is definitely suspect. They also seem to be holding the starting rotation together with bandaids and paperclips (Msr. Messina excepted). The Sox have the same problem you say? Yes, except that the Yanks don't have much by way in bargaining chips. Bubba Crosby? Melke Cabrerera? I've heard that they have a couple of decent prospects at the Double AA level but I'm not sure that will be enough for a Barry Zito or D-Train.

My prediction for the Sox second half starting rotation (not that you'll be that surprised)? Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, somebody you don't even have on your radar from the national league, and Craig Hansen. No, they don't trade Clement. He ends up in the bullpen where he settles down and is the Sox option in the 6th or 7th inning as the bridge to Timlin, Foulke, and you guessed it, Big Papelbon.