Brad Penny Passes His Physical...He Is A Member Of the Boston Red Sox

It's official on this Saturday morning. What's official? Brad Penny, the projected number four starter of the Boston Red Sox 2009 rotation, passed his physical and is officially a member of the Sox. He is part one of the two part "shot in the arm" for the rotation with John Smoltz soon to join him. Brad's best season came in 2007 while he was a member of the LA Dodgers. Check out these numbers...he went 16-4 with a great ERA of 3.03. He was healthy, but not the next year, 2008. He was 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA and was on the disabled list three separate times. But those days are over and his offseason conditioning has been going well. Here is a snippet of what he had to say...

“I was trying to push something I should have rested,” said Penny, who passed a physical for the Red Sox on Thursday. “Even when I was on the DL I was throwing. I was a little stubborn and tried to push myself."
“That’s not the Brad Penny last year. I know that, and hopefully the people in Boston, they know that. I’m real excited. I can’t wait to get out there.”

And of his off season conditioning preparation...

“I’ve had no problems. I’m feeling pretty strong,” he said. “I feel good right now, so hopefully it’s cool."

Peter here, and that sounds "cool" to me. A healthy Brad Penny would be a tremendous addition to the Boston pitching rotation. His turn in that rotation will come after Daisuke Matsuzaka and before Tim Wakefield. The number four slot will suit him just fine, and the Fenway Faithful will cheer for him with an enthusiasm unlike anything else he has ever seen or heard with not a "tomahawk chant" in the park. But you might ask this...when late May or early June arrives, where will John Smoltz fit in, the rotation or the 'pen? Here's my honored and wise (NOT!) opinion. I think the Sox want him to be a part of the starting five even if that means moving Wakefield to the bullpen, which I think would be a disaster waiting to happen. Another way of thinking (I have at least two, maybe more) would entail Wakefield staying in his number five rotation spot and use Smoltz out of the bullpen, where he has
154 career saves. I think that would be a waste. I ask you this...who would be more valuable to the team in the starting five...a .500 Wakefield or a completely healthy John Smoltz. Imagine the rotation that would result...Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka, Penny and Smoltz. I like that sound of that quintet. But we'll have to wait for early June, if then, for that scenario to materialize. Until then, let's see Timmah strut his dancing knuckleball stuff.

OK, ok, I've gone on long enough. It's a still dark Saturday morning and the weather forecast calls for snow starting between 3pm est and 5pm est here in north central Connecticut. If you go south a little bit, let's say New York City, they might end up with more than a foot of the white stuff. If you take a 90 mile step to the north, you must be Superman. That was an attempt at humor, but what I meant was that the more north you are from the upper midpoint of Connecticut, the less snow you will get. This is a storm sliding east from the near midwest and when it reaches the Atlantic, it will take a slight turn to the east northeast, brushing the easternmost tip of Cape Cod. That's a classic snow track for inland Connecticut, and I'm prepared. I'll write a later post when I see the first flakes fly. Until then, have a great Saturday, stock up if you live in southern New England, and as always, BE WELL. Click on the title of this post for more Soxy stuff. I want to thank you for stopping in once again and I always welcome and answer your comments. Always. Be safe out there. Shalom. Aloha. L'chaim (to life).