Wily Mo Pena

[KeepTheFaith1229]

I got to wondering during today's game. How does Wily Mo fit into our future plans? There's Manny and Crisp, now Drew locked up long term, with Ellsbury coming up to play center by 2008 or 2009. And with the prospect of signing Ichiro or Andruw Jones (maybe...) where does Wily Mo fit in? Could he be trade bait at the deadline?

[jacksonianmarch]

I think he will be traded for 50 cents on the dollar at the deadline for some bullpen help.

[riverside sluggers]

KTF, Ellsbury can play center & center only. A signing of Jones or Ichiro would negate his future plans with the Sox unless they want to lug him around as a backup outfielder.

 

Tito promised Wily Mo he would get 400 ABs... ok when will this happen? Through the first 6 games, he has had a total of 2 plate appearances. If he were to stay with the Sox, I could see him being prepped to take over for Manny after the 08 season

 

If Crisp keeps going at the pace he's at, he could find himself being shopped around to teams during the deadline

[KeepTheFaith1229]

Well if we got Jones, he'd probably be moved to left after a year or two with Manny possibly departing...Braves announcers often talk about how the Braves are considering moving Jones to a corner spot to keep him from wearing down. And if we got Ichiro, he could move to right and Drew to left when Manny goes. It could be a real logjam...

[jacksonianmarch]

Well if we got Jones' date=' he'd probably be moved to left after a year or two with Manny possibly departing...Braves announcers often talk about how the Braves are considering moving Jones to a corner spot to keep him from wearing down. And if we got Ichiro, he could move to right and Drew to left when Manny goes. It could be a real logjam...[/quote']

 

who knows what the sox will do. Jones will be available, but will the sox meet the demands? Ichiro too? Cmon now. Jones will get a Manny contract and even with his power, he is no Manny. The last thing you want is another latin player who doesnt speak to the media all that much roaming Boston's OF for the next 7 yrs.

 

I really think the sox end up with Torii Hunter. He is the cheaper version who will be the better CFer.

[a700hitter]

Tito promised Wily Mo he would get 400 ABs...

Tito didn't say with which team.

[TedWilliams101]

I don't ever want to see WMP as an everyday player on the Red Sox. Hes junk. My grandmother is a better fielder than him. He can't hit anything but a straight fastball and shows absolutely no signs of being clutch in even the slightest bit. For a power hitter, thats a problem. I much rather have a player that hits for average, puts on good at bats, gets on base, is a reliable fielder (or better a great fielder) than someone who has crazy power but thats about it. He's just a more powerful version of Adam Dunn, but without any fielding skillz. For a team like the Red Sox, thats USELESS.

[riverside sluggers]

I don't ever want to see WMP as an everyday player on the Red Sox. Hes junk. My grandmother is a better fielder than him. He can't hit anything but a straight fastball and shows absolutely no signs of being clutch in even the slightest bit. For a power hitter' date=' thats a problem. I much rather have a player that hits for average, puts on good at bats, gets on base, is a reliable fielder (or better a great fielder) than someone who has crazy power but thats about it. He's just a more powerful version of Adam Dunn, but without any fielding skillz. For a team like the Red Sox, thats USELESS.[/quote']

 

Right now Id take him anyday over Crisp

[a700hitter]

Right now Id take him anyday over Crisp

I wouldn't. Crisp is starting to make good contact, and he has the element of speed. WMP is helpless against above-average pitching. He waves at 3 and sits down.

[riverside sluggers]

Then whats the use of having him sit on the bench for probably the next 156 games of the season?

[jacksonianmarch]

WMP could be a very good statmonger if given a lot of time. Over time, he could be a monster, but he hasnt had the regular at bats to develop into the hitter he should be.

[a700hitter]

Then whats the use of having him sit on the bench for probably the next 156 games of the season?

Once they start playing every day, Tito will probably give each of the OF's a day off each week or 1 0 days. That's 3 games in the OF. Ortiz might sit against Santana or another tough lefty. Ortiz might also spell Youk at first. I could see him easily getting 300-325 ABs with no injuries. He'll get 400+ if there are one or two injuries. Also, let's not forget Manny's annual mid-season burn out/refusal to play.

[HeadOfSoxNation]

I don't ever want to see WMP as an everyday player on the Red Sox. Hes junk. My grandmother is a better fielder than him. He can't hit anything but a straight fastball and shows absolutely no signs of being clutch in even the slightest bit. For a power hitter' date=' thats a problem. I much rather have a player that hits for average, puts on good at bats, gets on base, is a reliable fielder (or better a great fielder) than someone who has crazy power but thats about it. He's just a more powerful version of Adam Dunn, but without any fielding skillz. For a team like the Red Sox, thats USELESS.[/quote']

 

A more powerful version of Adam Dunn is of no use to the Sox? Maybe you're more Moneyball than I am, but a guy who hits over 40 HRs and close to 100 RBIS (in this lineup, it'd easily be 100 if he hits that many HRs) has value on ANY team. ANY team.

 

WMP hit over .300 last year...that's not a high enough average for you?

 

When do you want him to become a better fielder? While sitting on the bench? The only thing holding WMP back is experience...once he gets that, he's going to be an absolute force. I want the Sox to be the team to take advantage of that. He may never be an outstanding fielder...but he could at least be presentable. Manny isn't winning any Gold Gloves, you know...

 

Of course WMP needs some refining...but the best thing about the whole situation is that he's still a baby and has time to learn and get better. Numerous scouts have said that WMP is the most powerful pure hitter in all of baseball. ALL OF BASEBALL...I'm not ready to give up on that just yet.

[TheKilo]

I don't ever want to see WMP as an everyday player on the Red Sox. Hes junk. My grandmother is a better fielder than him. He can't hit anything but a straight fastball and shows absolutely no signs of being clutch in even the slightest bit. For a power hitter' date=' thats a problem. I much rather have a player that hits for average, puts on good at bats, gets on base, is a reliable fielder (or better a great fielder) than someone who has crazy power but thats about it. He's just a more powerful version of Adam Dunn, but without any fielding skillz. For a team like the Red Sox, thats USELESS.[/quote']

 

You can stop talking out of your ass now.

 

Adam Dunn is one of the best hitters in baseball. Like HoSN said, he sports 40+ HRs, and 100+ RBIs per year, plus he's an OBP machine.

 

If WMP even approaches the plate discipline of Dunn, I'll do backflips.

[TedWilliams101]

I wouln't like to see Adam Dunn on the Red Sox. He nearly struck out 200 time last season. As I said, I'd much rather having a guy who is more of an over all player than one who just hits homeruns. The only thing WMP has going for him is power. He shows no plate discipline what so ever and I don't see that changing, its one of the hardest things to change. You either have it or you don't. I'm not saying no one has ever gone from having terrible plate discipline and vision to improving it to above average, but it is a very hard thing to do and is rare to be accomplished. He also is a liability on the field.

 

The reason he hit above .300 last season is because no one in our league knew him. If you noticed, by the end of the season and in the spring, pitchers started to learn how to pitch to him. If you throw him lots of offspeed pitches that break off the plate, he's done for.

 

Also, as a team, he doesn't fit in. They have Manny, Ortiz, and Drew for there big power guys. They don't need another that can't do anyting else. What they need is an all-around outfielder, like Coco. Hopefully Coco will find himself and look like the '05 Coco. He has tons of tallent. If he doesn't regain his form, then Ellsbury is waiting. I think he will be a great lead-off hitter for us, which is what we really need. Coco is fine for this year. If you want another OF to replace Manny or Coco next season (or both), look to FA and maybe Ellsbury.

[BruinsFan]

You know, as much as this is annoying, it really isn't that bad of a problem to have. Because the sox have a log jam, someone is going to have to go, and we can use one of them for trade bait for some relievers. If ellsbury lives up to his potential, then there is no need for a long term contract with hunter, jones, or ichiro. However, the x factor is manny. If manny sticks around, then we can have the 08 outfield be Manny, Ellsbury, Drew.

My prediction is that willy mo or crisp will be gone by the trade deadline. However, they are going to need to figure out center for this year, and Crisp is going to have to start HITTING!

[ORS]

We need more Coco Crisps and less Adam Dunns? It is amazing some of you are able to tie your shoes.

[EvilDonut]

I wouln't like to see Adam Dunn on the Red Sox. He nearly struck out 200 time last season. As I said, I'd much rather having a guy who is more of an over all player than one who just hits homeruns. The only thing WMP has going for him is power. He shows no plate discipline what so ever and I don't see that changing, its one of the hardest things to change. You either have it or you don't. I'm not saying no one has ever gone from having terrible plate discipline and vision to improving it to above average, but it is a very hard thing to do and is rare to be accomplished. He also is a liability on the field.

 

The reason he hit above .300 last season is because no one in our league knew him. If you noticed, by the end of the season and in the spring, pitchers started to learn how to pitch to him. If you throw him lots of offspeed pitches that break off the plate, he's done for.

 

Also, as a team, he doesn't fit in. They have Manny, Ortiz, and Drew for there big power guys. They don't need another that can't do anyting else. What they need is an all-around outfielder, like Coco. Hopefully Coco will find himself and look like the '05 Coco. He has tons of tallent. If he doesn't regain his form, then Ellsbury is waiting. I think he will be a great lead-off hitter for us, which is what we really need. Coco is fine for this year. If you want another OF to replace Manny or Coco next season (or both), look to FA and maybe Ellsbury.

 

 

Ok, to simplify this, i'll turn Power hitters into Cookies.

 

Whats better, 3 cookies, or 4 cookies?

 

Also, referring the WMP being figured out by opposing pitchers, his BA dropped maybe 20 points in from ths AS break. From a .325ish to .301 by the end of the season. You can't say it's because he was figured out, it could of been lack of consistant at bats or just genuine fatigue.

[jacksonianmarch]

I wouln't like to see Adam Dunn on the Red Sox. He nearly struck out 200 time last season. As I said, I'd much rather having a guy who is more of an over all player than one who just hits homeruns. The only thing WMP has going for him is power. He shows no plate discipline what so ever and I don't see that changing, its one of the hardest things to change. You either have it or you don't. I'm not saying no one has ever gone from having terrible plate discipline and vision to improving it to above average, but it is a very hard thing to do and is rare to be accomplished. He also is a liability on the field.

 

The reason he hit above .300 last season is because no one in our league knew him. If you noticed, by the end of the season and in the spring, pitchers started to learn how to pitch to him. If you throw him lots of offspeed pitches that break off the plate, he's done for.

 

Also, as a team, he doesn't fit in. They have Manny, Ortiz, and Drew for there big power guys. They don't need another that can't do anyting else. What they need is an all-around outfielder, like Coco. Hopefully Coco will find himself and look like the '05 Coco. He has tons of tallent. If he doesn't regain his form, then Ellsbury is waiting. I think he will be a great lead-off hitter for us, which is what we really need. Coco is fine for this year. If you want another OF to replace Manny or Coco next season (or both), look to FA and maybe Ellsbury.

 

 

I would love it if your offense turned into the twins circa the turn of the century. All slap hitters, no power and no RBI men.

[ksushi]

Strike outs really aren't that terrible a way to get out. I would rather have a power hitter who can hit around .280 and drive in a lot of runs and strike out than a contact hitter that doesn't drive the ball as much but strikes out much less. If you have guys on base, you want to see a big swinging power hitter at the plate, not the contact guy. The contact guy might not strike out, but might hit into a DP. A big power guy like Adam Dunn who has a .5something slugging percentage has a better chance to drive in more runs and if he gets out, it will most likely be a K, taking down only himself and keeping the rally alive.

[TedWilliams101]

We dont need another big slugger, we already have 3. Ortiz and Drew are going to be here for a while and Manny could be here another 2 years. I said that WE don't need Willy Mo. We need a great fielder and all-around player. We need a lead off hitter. If WMP learned better plate discipline and became an average fielder, than I'd love to have him. But unless that happens, I want him on the bench or on another team.

[jacksonianmarch]

We dont need another big slugger' date=' we already have 3. Ortiz and Drew are going to be here for a while and Manny could be here another 2 years. I said that WE don't need Willy Mo. We need a great fielder and all-around player. We need a lead off hitter. If WMP learned better plate discipline and became an average fielder, than I'd love to have him. But unless that happens, I want him on the bench or on another team.[/quote']

 

if you had no prototypical leadoff hitter and 9 power hitters, you'd be pretty damn good. If your lineup had no power hitters but all 9 prototypical leadoff hitters, your team would be crappy. If WMP reaches his potential, he could be a force.

[HeadOfSoxNation]

We dont need another big slugger' date=' we already have 3. Ortiz and Drew are going to be here for a while and Manny could be here another 2 years. I said that WE don't need Willy Mo. We need a great fielder and all-around player. We need a lead off hitter. If WMP learned better plate discipline and became an average fielder, than I'd love to have him. But unless that happens, I want him on the bench or on another team.[/quote']

 

Are you aware that we're talking about baseball? That's a serious question. I'm honest to God thinking that you must be confusing our sport with another. Since when can a team have TOO MANY power hitters? WMP has never gotten the consistent at-bats needed for him to DEVELOP plate discipline. You're right in saying that it's difficult to develop...but it's surely NOT something that can be developed in the cage. Guys need to get in the box in game situations, see pitches, take pitches, and swing away at pitches in order to develop from a free-swinger. The same goes for development in the field...my dad and I used to go to the fields all the time and he'd hit me fly ball after fly ball all over the outfield and I could track them all down...does that mean I cound play a competent outfield for the Sox? Of course not. He needs to get in there and see what it's like and get some experience. To hold him to any kind of standard when he hasn't had the same opportunities as other guys is completley unfair. IMO, WMP has taken the few opportunities he's been given and ran with them. When a guy can't count on playing everyday and, when he is going to play, doesn't know WHERE he's going to play...and then he comes out and hits over .300 with a lot of pop? I like what I see. He's a diamond in the rough...we need to give him the opportunity to be dug out and refined.

[adam123]

Willy mo pop up needs to go he sucks in the field ,strikes out all the time . I really think we can get more for him than crisp .. plus crisp is cheaper

[jacksonianmarch]

Willy mo pop up needs to go he sucks in the field ' date='strikes out all the time . I really think we can get more for him than crisp .. plus crisp is cheaper[/quote']

 

corner, now. Crisp is more expensive by far and yeah, um, s*** you are seriously making me dumber.

 

Adam and Teddy should be pitted against each other in an IQ battle royale. And no, the lower numbers are not good.

[adam123]

corner, now. Crisp is more expensive by far and yeah, um, s*** you are seriously making me dumber.

 

Adam and Teddy should be pitted against each other in an IQ battle royale. And no, the lower numbers are not good.

 

dude go start s*** with someone else .. give it a rest your views are not the best either so lay off the rest of us we come here to have fun not to hear you rag everyone that does not share your view .People have opinions go talk about wakee s*** like how there team sucks dick

[adam123]

Come on man willy mo stinks .. lets see how good any of us does with broken finger and tons of pressure .. not to good its still first week of season .. so hes still got time to shape up

[jacksonianmarch]

dude go start s*** with someone else .. give it a rest your views are not the best either so lay off the rest of us we come here to have fun not to hear you rag everyone that does not share your view .People have opinions go talk about wakee s*** like how there team sucks dick

 

 

Adam, I'm not gonna lie to you, but that post is inconceivably stupid. I want you to place your hands off the keyboard, press the power button on your computer and think about how dumb the above post is. Once you come to some sort of peace with your inner retard and make a promise that he wont show up any time soon, you can log back on and share some thoughts that dont need a secret decoder ring to uncover. I swear the s*** I left in the toilet this morning has clearer thoughts than you do.

[jacksonianmarch]

Come on man willy mo stinks .. lets see how good any of us does with broken finger and tons of pressure .. not to good its still first week of season .. so hes still got time to shape up

 

http://www.myxertones.com/tn/c/15523/big/

 

I GOT MAIL!

[TheKilo]

Come on man willy mo stinks .. lets see how good any of us does with broken finger and tons of pressure .. not to good its still first week of season .. so hes still got time to shape up

 

How the f*** can you have a valid opinion of WMP if he never f***ing plays?