Keith Law's general baseball chat

It's lot of questions relate to Boston players, former Boston players & some our MiLB players.
http://sports.espn.go.com...t...tESPN?event_id=22770

jeff(MD): Is there any reason left on why Jon Lester can not be a #1 starter on a good team?

Keith Law: No, I can't see one.
Mike, New York City: Keith, still not sure why so down on Dice-K? Surely no one goes 18-3 2.90 by accident.

Keith Law: Storm Davis says hello. "By accident" isn't right. He's in the right circumstance - gets tons of run support, has a good D behind him, and the bullpen has helped. I don't see why I should credit him for any of those three things, though.

Jamey Newberg (Dallas, TX): Is David Murphy your ROY?

Keith Law: $5.

Steve (NYC): Ellsbury had a quite a game, eh? What kind of player do you think he'll be at his peak?

Keith Law: That was a hell of a catch on the Teixeira bloop - I can usually tell when an outfielder is going to reach a ball (just the result of experience, not that I have some sixth sense), and I didn't think he'd get there. To move as fast as he did while also turning ... it's impressive. I still think he can be a good on-base guy (high .300s) with ++ defense in center, but we probably have to drop expectations that he'll hit for any kind of powre.

Jon (Mass): Hi Keith, What do you think of the idea of Joe Mauer for MVP... he was great at the plate this year, played a much more physically demanding position than Pedroia, and handled a very young pitching staff well.

Keith Law: I wouldn't have any real criticism of any of the following players if they won the AL MVP: Mauer, Pedroia, Sizemore, Youkilis, Lee. It's a pretty open race. Bad choices would include Morneau or K-Rod.

Jeff (NH): You said something negative about my team, so you're biased about my team, just like every else on ESPN! I hate you all! I'm never coming back, ever!

Keith Law: You're right. I am biased against the New Hampshire Weasels ... I mean, Fisher Cats.

David Ortiz (Boston): so if carlos quentin cant play defense or win an MVP...what does that make me?

Keith Law: Your inability to play defense is why you've never been the most valuable player in the AL, despite some huge offensive years.

Geoff (Boston): Keith, still high on Buccholz? Which order, long-term: Buchholz, Kershaw or Price?

Keith Law: Yes, probably Price-Kershaw-Buchholz at this point, although that's more in praise of the first two than a downgrade on Buchholz.

Alex F. Knoxville, TN: What did you think of the TBS studio show? I thought it was great to see Eck and his hair get the national exposure it has always deserved.

Keith Law: What I saw on TV yesterday, I watched with the sound off. I still want someone (DirecTV?) to offer a channel that gives me crowd noise but no announcers. I have no problem watching the game without narration when I'm at the stadium.

Steve (NYC): Dusty Brown put up some nice numbers in Pawtucket this year (850 OPS) and is apparently a solid defender. I know he's old (26) for the league, but is there any chance he could be an adequate replacement for Tek?

Keith Law: I don't think so. Might be a backup, but I don't think he's a starter, especially not on a club that always plans to be in contention.

Brian (CA): Keith, you and I had exchanged emails earlier regarding the Angels' "lousy offense". While it improved some with Tex, was it lusy last night, or did Lester just pitch well?

Keith Law: Lester was outstanding last night. I can't blame the Angels' offense (which is not "lousy," just not as good as, say, Boston's).

Guy Enfield NH: Don't you find it funny that with Beckett not starting game 1 everyone jumps off the Red Sox bandwagon when Lester had a stellar year and I think has proven that he is very good under pressure...typical "experts" out there...Thanks and love the insight...

Keith Law: My argument about Beckett going in game 3 hurting Boston's chances is twofold: One, you don't know if you're getting the healthy Beckett or if he's going to struggle because he's hurt; two, you're replacing one game of Beckett with one game of Daisuke. (Lester would have had two starts either way.) I understand that the expected value of a Beckett start is not that much higher than the EV of a Daisuke start, but the range of expected outcomes is much smaller for (healthy) Beckett, particularly on the left tail.

Jack (Salt Lake): Klaw - what do you enjoy most about your job?

Keith Law: Scouting young players, amateurs or minor-leaguers. The AFL trip is one of my favorites, because I see so many good players in a short period of time, and the weather's great, and I get to go to Phoenix Ranch Market.

dan cape cod: Good Afternoon, i was arguing with my grandfather about Dustin P. and i said he was one of the most talented 2B since biggio and he said i would compare him more to remmy(remdog) then biggio, what do you think?

Keith Law: If the question is, "Who is the most talented 2b since Biggio?" I'll again turn to Utley.

Clint (LA,CA): Simple question.... You are GM, would you want Manny Ramirez on your team? And why, or why not?

Keith Law: Yes. The offense outweighs the defense and the nonsense.

Will (LA): Are the Angels ever going to beat the Red Sox, or should I kill myself now?

Keith Law: They have to be big favorites in game 2 - Santana vs Matsuzaka, and they're home.