Hit 'Em All Curt

I love the way Curt Schilling is throwing the ball, and I love the fact the he is now proclaiming his willingness to throw inside. Let's face it, for a baseball player, Schilling is old, and he's been throwing the same way for a lot of years. Coming off an injury, he needs every edge he can find, and if that means a few scrubs get dusted in Spring Training as he establishes his new reputation, so be it.

Other Sox Notes:

• Don't look now, but the bullpen looks like it could be a mess again this year. David Riske has an ERA over 10 in his four outings, and Rudy Seanez's mark is nearly 16. Throw in Bronson Arroyo's hideous 19.64 ERA, Keith Foulke's continued absence, and Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez both being out with their World Baseball Classic teams, and suddenly the entire projected bullpen is either missing or throwing poorly. Color me nervous...
• On the positive side, it looks like there may be two viable options to platoon with Trot Nixon in right field. Adam Stern was just sick for Team Canada in the WBC (.667/.727/1.333), and he has to stay on the major league roster for a few days anyway to start the season due to his Rule V status. And Dustan Mohr has been destroying the baseball this Spring. He's hitting .500/.588/.929 so far, including two homers, and he apparently loves to hit in Fenway Park, posting a career OPS of 1.140 in five games there. And, oh by the way, Trot himself is raking the ball this Spring, too (.500/.600/.833). I love Gabe Kapler, but if these guys can keep this up when the season starts, I don't know if Gabe will have a spot when his Achilles is healed...
• To expand that thought, for those of you who were nervous about the offense this season, pay attention to what's going on this Spring. Trot is raking the ball. Papi and Varitek have been huge in the WBC. Manny came into camp in spectacular shape, and stroked an RBI single on the first pitch he saw. Three newcomers, Coco Crisp (.615/.667/.923), Mark Loretta (.455/.500/.455), and J.T. Snow (.417/.417/.500), have all been hitting lights out. Only Alex Gonzalez and Mike Lowell have struggled. Kevin Youkilis has too, but Snow is there to back him up, and frankly I worry less about him than the others. He's a patient hitter, and when you are patient, you're helping your club offensively even when you don't get many hits (see Bellhorn, Mark). I'm telling you now, this team will score. They will have one of the top three offenses in terms of scoring in the entire league. That means, with the vastly improved defense, that it all comes down to the pitching again this year.