Boston RedSox 2010 performance/post game reaction thread.

[Rdsxmbnt]

No reason to take a flier on a bum like Laroche or prospect when Lowrie could play 3B and Rizzo/Anderson are fairly close to the majors.

 

This is way out there but here's what I'd like to see happen in the next couple years:

1) resign Martinez

2) Integrate Kalish this year and next to take over for Drew in 2012

3) Integrate Iglesias late next year to hopefully take over for Scutaro in 2012

4) Make a trade for Fielder using Kelly/Lowrie/Anderson/etc. switch Youk to 3B next year, start Fielder at 1B and then move Fielder to DH for 2012

5) Sign Werth or Crawford longterm for LF

 

2011

1) Ellsbury CF

2) Pedroia 2B

3) Youkilis 3B

4) Fielder 1B

5) Ortiz DH

6) Werth LF

7) Martinez C

8) Drew RF

9) Scutaro SS

 

2012

1) Ellsbury CF 28yrs

2) Pedroia 2B 28yrs

3) Youkilis 1B 33yrs

4) Fielder DH 28yrs

5) Werth LF 33yrs

6) Martinez C 33yrs

7) Kalish RF 24yrs

8) 3B FA/trade

9) Iglesias SS 22yrs

 

ah ya

[Dojji]

Meh, I'd rather not plug up LF if it can be avoided. I want Drew playing there next year to cut down on wear and tear in his last year.

[Palodios]

The FO is looking at the possibilities for 2011, and will not sign anyone long term for the corners, but they will sign someone. With A-gon, Fielder, and Pujols slated to be free agents after next year, and with the possibility of Lars coming along, I see them either trading to get one of those guys early, or just waiting it out. Between Pena/Huff/Ortiz/Dunn/Damon all available, I'm sure they'll find some combination that is cheap and short-term.

 

Edit: At Dojji, Werth is a RF, not LF.

[Dojji]

5) Werth LF 33yrs

[Palodios]

In the last few years, he's played RF. If they want to swap the two players, they can. Drew will play much harder since its going to be a contract year anyway.

[Will617]

Yeah, Werth is a RF. Maybe he could play left in Fenway given that there's not a whole lot of ground to cover?

Iglesias has looked promising this year, but I'd like to see him hit AAA pitching first, given that the biggest concerns were with his bat.

And I don't think that Lars or Rizzo are close to the majors yet. Lars didn't play well in AA except for short stretches, and is doing OK but definitely not impressing in AAA. This is Rizzo's first season in AA and his numbers are kinda like Lars' (in AAA) - alright, but nothing that would scream "guaranteed productive MLB player" yet.

I think it's too early to give up on Reddick yet. He's only had about 150 ABs in AAA (he barely had any time at that level before his first promotion to the majors), and it really seems like he was just suffering through an extended slump (dealing with a higher level of competition, pressing at the plate, etc) given how he's mashing the ball lately.

[Palodios]

Lars has a problem of being a very streaky player. He dominated in AA this year, so he was promoted to AAA. His first month there, he was great, then he slumped for a month and then in july he turned it up. He definitely needs more time, but he if he can get his emotions right and avoid those long slumps, that will be the difference between him being an average player or a great one.

[DirtDog]

Does anyone have that table, which compares Red Sox and Yankees winnign streaks versus slumps? Or possibly link?

[Palodios]

So apparently Lester had his first child. That's probably had some impact on his poor performance as of late.

[jacksonianmarch]

Adam LaRoche is still out there, or we could take a flier on an older prospect like Gaby Sanchez or Kila Ka'aihue.

 

or we could sign Carlos Pena.

 

I'm curious if Fenway could help Brandon Inge's bat too. Maicer Izturis has intrigued me for years too if we'd rather go for a stopgap and wait for Lars.

 

Gaby Sanchez is going nowhere. His season in FLA is solid. SO much so, the marlins moved their best prospect to LF.

[Yaz Sideburn]

kalish is a stud. i believe he had 21 outfield assists in the minors this year, he had 25 stolen bases and was caught stealing only 3 times, he can hit for average, patience and power and he can play all 3 outfield positions to boot

 

after today, he's 7-13 in the majors

[Dojji]

That was a great outing by Beckett.

 

And yeah, Kalish is good. I love the way he's built, he gets wood on the ball, he runs, he defends, I love his arm, he has significant present power and the potential for more -- this kid could have it all, very easily.

 

13 minor league homers in ~300 AB's between AA and AAA, that's a ~18 HR pace -- and that's at age 22. This guy's at least Damon if he can get his feet under him in the bigs. Certainly this guy is *not* the kind of spray hitter Ellsbury is. The power is more than just a crystal ball guess, he can put some real muscle behind the ball right now.

[Yaz Sideburn]

That was a great outing by Beckett.

 

And yeah, Kalish is good. I love the way he's built, he gets wood on the ball, he runs, he defends, I love his arm, he has significant present power and the potential for more -- this kid could have it all, very easily.

 

13 minor league homers in ~300 AB's between AA and AAA, that's a ~18 HR pace -- and that's at age 22. This guy's at least Damon if he can get his feet under him in the bigs. Certainly this guy is *not* the kind of spray hitter Ellsbury is. The power is more than just a crystal ball guess, he can put some real muscle behind the ball right now.

 

this has been a big year for our farm system with the emergence of buchholz and bard as dominant pitchers, the contributions of nava, lowrie and kalish and the resurgence of lars anderson in the minors

[WhiskeyBreath]

this has been a big year for our farm system with the emergence of buchholz and bard as dominant pitchers' date=' the contributions of nava, lowrie and kalish and the resurgence of lars anderson in the minors[/quote']

 

To be fair, what the hell has Lowrie done this year?

[Rdsxmbnt]

To be fair' date=' what the hell has Lowrie done this year?[/quote']

 

He's had some huge games already in his short time back

[Yaz Sideburn]

He's had some huge games already in his short time back

 

this

 

in the last week he's had a game winning double and he's been involved in 2 walkoff rallies, one of he he was the tying run in and the other of which mcdonald was the winning run after pinch running for him

[WhiskeyBreath]

He's had some huge games already in his short time back

 

Meh

[Yaz Sideburn]

Meh

 

without his involvement in the 3 above mentioned late game rallies, there's a good chance that we'd be 8.5 games back of a playoff spot instead of 5.5

[WhiskeyBreath]

The guy has 9 hits this year in 24 at bats. I was just pointing out the fact the he's been absent all year because of friggin mono.

[WhiskeyBreath]

without his involvement in the 3 above mentioned late game rallies' date=' there's a good chance that we'd be 8.5 games back of a playoff spot instead of 5.5[/quote']

 

Easy now.

[Yaz Sideburn]

Easy now.

 

you're right, i'm sure eric patterson would have done just as well

[WhiskeyBreath]

Yeah, because that's what I was implying

[Yaz Sideburn]

Yeah' date=' because that's what I was implying [/quote']

 

i kid, i kid

[Yaz Sideburn]

american league era leaders

 

1. buchholz - 2.49

2. cahill - 2.50

3. lee - 2.57

4. hernandez - 2.71

5. lester - 2.80

[Will617]

Interestingly a lot of sports writers thought the Cy Young race was basically down to Lee and Price in the AL, with Lee the favorite. While Lee is probably the best pitcher out of the AL, why is Lester only mentioned as a dark horse candidate? I feel like Lester has pitched just as well, if not better, than Price this season, even if you just take the W-L, Ks, walks, and ERA.

[example1]

american league era leaders

 

1. buchholz - 2.49

2. cahill - 2.50

3. lee - 2.57

4. hernandez - 2.71

5. lester - 2.80

 

Reasons to be really optimistic about the next 4-5 years.

 

Does anyone believe this is Lester's ceiling? I don't. He had a 5.6 WAR in 2008 and 2009 and is on pace to out do that this year. He is dominating against very good teams.

 

Likewise, I think Buchholz is still figuring himself out as a pitcher. His K's have dropped with his new-found effectiveness, which makes me think that they have emphasized having him use his repetoire to get outs rather than K's. When he puts the stuff together with a deeper confidence in it, I imagine the K's to rise again.

 

Both of those guys seem to have really healthy trajectories to me and two pitchers like that at the same time is what dynasties are made of. I think that's part of Theo's thinking too.

[bsox0407]

Lester is that low in the ERA even with his 4 s***** starts right after the All-Star break. Wow. Imagine if his ERA for those four wasn't 4.50 but lower.

[Yaz Sideburn]

the replacements

 

bill hall - .238/.309/.462 in 260 at bats

darnell mcdonald - .272/.339/.437 in 254 at bats

daniel nava - .273/.368/.424 in 99 at bats

jed lowrie - .317/.438/.585 in 60 at bats

 

...i won't mention the stats of patterson, hermida, lowell or cash

[a700hitter]

The Sox will need to sweep Tampa next weekend. make sure that you have other plans for Saturday and Sunday, because if we lose on Friday night that will be the end.

[Yaz Sideburn]

The Sox will need to sweep Tampa next weekend. make sure that you have other plans for Saturday and Sunday' date=' because if we lose on Friday night that will be the end.[/quote']

 

so if we only take 2 of 3 and we're 4.5 games back, the season is over even though we face them 3 more times?