bruce@godot.UUCP (Bruce Nemnich) (06/25/84)
Yes, Buckner has already contributed a lot here. I'm very happy with
the trade. It's funny though: the big weakness (as always) about Boston
going into the season was their pitching, yet the two trades they have
made have been pitching for hitting (Buckner/Eckersley and
Easler/Tudor). Easler has been performing very well, too, but I haven't
gotten over my skepticism about that one.
I am very optimistic about the future, though. All of a sudden, we have
a very good very young starting staff. Bruce Hurst has been excellent all
year. Bobby Ojeda has been excellent about half the time and mediocre the
rest. Mike Brown and Oil Can Boyd (love that name) show good stuff, but they
could use more AAA time. And then there is Roger Clemens.
Roger Clemens is going to be a great pitcher. I think he is a great
pitcher now, but only time can prove it. He has the best stuff of
anybody I have seen in a long, long time (Carlton?). A power pitcher
with a great curve and exquisite control. In his last two starts, his
stats are 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, and 16 K in 13 innings. Only 3 balls pulled
off him in those two starts, both against a good-hitting Toronto team.
He is 21, but already extremely poised.
Besides the pitching, they are finally making some moves to go with some
good young talent in the infield (Gutierrez and Barret). No, I'm not
predicting they will win the division or anything like that. But I
think they will finish a little over .500, and maybe even challenge for
3rd, which is a lot more than I expected (6th) going in to the year.
They may even contend next year.
--
--Bruce Nemnich, Thinking Machines Corporation, Waltham, MA
{decvax!cca,ihnp4!mit-eddie,allegra!ias}!godot!bruce, BJN@MIT-MC.ARPA