The Official 2010 Hot Stove Thread.

[Palodios]

In 2010, lefties had a .154 BAA and a .86 WHIP against him. For his career, those numbers are about twice that. I'm surprised they didn't go with another lefty, but maybe they're making that Doubront's job? Either way, this team is pretty amazing.

[Palodios]

It looks like they're just about done.

 

Lineup

 

1B - Adrian Gonzalez

2B - Dustin Pedroia

3B - Kevin Youkilis

SS - Marco Scutaro

LF - Carl Crawford

CF - Jacoby Ellsbury

RF - J.D. Drew

DH - David Ortiz

C - Saltamacchia

 

SP - John Lester

SP - Clay Buchholz

SP - Josh Beckett

SP - John Lackey

SP - Daisuke Matsuzaka

 

RP - Jonathan Papelbon

RP - Daniel Bard

RP - Bobby Jenks

RP - Dan Wheeler

RP - Scott Atchison

RP - Felix Doubront

RP - Tim Wakefield

 

Bench

 

Jed Lowrie

Jason Varitek

Darnell Mcdonald

Mike Cameron

 

 

f*** yeah.

[Dojji]

Between Miller and Doubront we could get at least one matchup lefty and I'd rather stock up on relievers that can get everyone out anyway. I think Doubront takes the next step as a solid 2 inning reliever out of the pen, high 3's ERA, nice middle relief guy. Those kinds of pitchers are easy to underrate and hard to find.

[italstallianion]

And we don't necessarily need that LOOGY just yet. I think that Doubront will be fine to start the season and we can alter as necessary. There'll always be some lefty with a pulse available that can step in in the event that we need it.

[italstallianion]

The Rangers have a good shot at signing Beltre too. Oh please sign in Texas Adrian. I think that Boston should slip the Rangers a few million to make sure he signs there.

[italstallianion]

Looks like it's a 1 year deal for 3 million with a vesting option for 2012 if he reaches 65 appearances.

 

Not bad at all.

[a700hitter]

Red Sox Sign Dan Wheeler

By Mike Axisa [December 18 at 10:09am CST]

 

The Red Sox have signed reliever Dan Wheeler to a one-year contract worth $3MM guaranteed. The deal includes a $3MM option (no buyout) for 2012 that can vest with 65 appearances. Another $250K can be earned with 75 appearances. Wheeler has passed his physical. He is represented by Myles Shoda of Diamond Sports Management, Inc.

 

Wheeler, 33, spent the last three-and-a-half seasons pitching out of the Rays bullpen, where he posted a 4.32 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 268.2 innings. If we remove intentional walks, his walk rate drops all the way down to 2.4 BB/9. Wheeler has a very pronounced platoon split, holding righties to a .217/.270/.365 batting line in his career while lefties tagged him for a .275/.341/.491. It's worth noting that he held left-handed batters to a .154/.227/.436 line in 2010.

 

The move is a homecoming of sorts for Wheeler, who was born in Providence and went to high school in Warwick, Rhode Island. He joins Bobby Jenks as the newest members of Boston's rebuilt bullpen. In a winter that has featured many three-year contracts for relievers, the Red Sox managed to land both Jenks and Wheeler for three contract years combined.

 

Although Wheeler was a Type-A free agent, the Rays did not offer him arbitration and will not receive any draft pick compensation. Tampa declined his $4MM option for 2011, instead choosing to pay him a $1MM buyout.

 

The agreement was originally reported by ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter link). WEEI.com's Alex Speier and AOLFanHouse's Steve Phillips added the contract details.

[italstallianion]

The best thing in my opinion (other than having an awesome bullpen) is that since Dan Wheeler is already a type A FA, if he pitches reasonably well he can still be a type A FA at the end of the season (or the following season if his option vests) which means we can either resign him or flip him for picks.

[Palodios]

This is the kind of bargain deal Theo has been looking for. The thing about the vesting option is that if he has a bad season-- they give him less opportunities, and then he's gone at year end. If he gets injured, he's gone. The only way if it vests is if he's effective, and at 3 million per year, I'd be more than happy to bring him along for another year. Plus, he's a Type A that doesn't cost picks. Win-Win-Win-Win.

[Dipre]

I'm not wrong yet. We got Jenks' date=' who wasn't a great option in my opinion. If we sign Fuentes too, then I will fully admit that I am wrong.[/quote']

 

They didn't sign Fuentes, but they got another righty and finished shoring up the bullpen.

 

So now you're supposed to:

 

A) Fully admit you were wrong.

 

Let me change your signature, as you said on one of your posts, buddy.

 

 

On a side note, this team is nothing short of a behemoth.

[lasitter]

The best thing in my opinion (other than having an awesome bullpen) is that since Dan Wheeler is already a type A FA' date=' if he pitches reasonably well he can still be a type A FA at the end of the season (or the following season if his option vests) which means we can either resign him or flip him for picks.[/quote']Until reviewing this Wikipedia article:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_Draft

 

I had thought that getting picks was a big deal. Now I don't know how to evaluate the likely impact for the club ...

 

"Unlike top draft picks in the NHL, NBA and NFL, all of whom are expected to make immediate impacts, top MLB draftees are nearly always assigned to the minor leagues for several years to hone their skills.

 

"The entire 2007 first round (64 players) totaled one inning of major league playing time as of the end of the 2008 season; as of the 2009 season, the vast majority of 2008 first-rounders were still assigned to minor league organizations. In contrast, every first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft had played in the league by the end of the 2008 season.

 

Can someone recap what early draft picks have meant for the Sox?

[Dipre]

Until reviewing this Wikipedia article:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_Draft

 

I had thought that getting picks was a big deal. Now I don't know how to evaluate the likely impact for the club ...

 

"Unlike top draft picks in the NHL, NBA and NFL, all of whom are expected to make immediate impacts, top MLB draftees are nearly always assigned to the minor leagues for several years to hone their skills.

 

"The entire 2007 first round (64 players) totaled one inning of major league playing time as of the end of the 2008 season; as of the 2009 season, the vast majority of 2008 first-rounders were still assigned to minor league organizations. In contrast, every first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft had played in the league by the end of the 2008 season.

 

Can someone recap what early draft picks have meant for the Sox?

 

Not "early picks" but "picks" in general:

 

Clay Bucholz, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Dan Bard, the prospects used to acquire Martinez and Gonzales were all drafted and developed by this team.

 

This team has an excellent track record of translating draft picks into either productive major leagues or trade bait. Teams that have a good talent evaluation system value draft picks highly because of the likelihood of acquiring talent that will feed the ML club or be used in deals to acquire outside talent.

[italstallianion]

They didn't sign Fuentes, but they got another righty and finished shoring up the bullpen.

 

So now you're supposed to:

 

A) Fully admit you were wrong.

 

Let me change your signature, as you said on one of your posts, buddy.

 

 

On a side note, this team is nothing short of a behemoth.

 

 

I will admit that I was wrong, but I didn't say anything about letting you change my signature. You said something about making a "choose the other person's signature" bet to see how the Red Sox 25 man roster will look (13 position players and 12 pitchers) and I declined that bet because I never said or hinted that the Red Sox would do otherwise. You just assumed that I thought the Red Sox would do something different because I said that the Red Sox could use 5 RH bats that could hit lefties instead of only 4.

 

So I fully admit that I was wrong to doubt Theo fixing up our bullpen. Whatever problems the Red Sox team has this season, I will not blame on Theo. I may blame Tito, the players themselves, the strength and conditioning coach, trainers, and even some other fans, but as far as I'm concerned, Theo and the ownership are immune to my criticisms. For this year at least.

[italstallianion]

They didn't sign Fuentes, but they got another righty and finished shoring up the bullpen.

 

So now you're supposed to:

 

A) Fully admit you were wrong.

 

Let me change your signature, as you said on one of your posts, buddy.

 

 

On a side note, this team is nothing short of a behemoth.

 

 

 

Not to mention that you already made me change my signature to advertise your damn baseball redraft.

[Dipre]

For the offseason though' date=' I wanted 2 good relievers, I just think we only had the money to sign one. I think Jenks is ok, but he wasn't what I was looking for. Who knows if he really wants to put us under the pressure of making him close. I still think the jury is out as to what our bullpen would be like, but I'm happy that Theo actually signed someone when many other options were being signed. Does it look like I will be wrong? Certainly, but not yet[b']. If we sign Fuentes or a good lefty of some sort, I'll change my signature to something admitting that I was wrong.[/b]

 

It wasn't a lefty, but it was a quality reliever. Come on now, be a man of your word.

[Palodios]

Can someone recap what early draft picks have meant for the Sox?

 

The best reference for this can be found at http://www.soxprospects.com/dh0605.htm

 

It shows you which top picks have gone where. The sox have used quite a few first 1st rounders for big trades, ie Jason Bay, Vmart, and just recently A-gon took two first rounders.

 

Big name 1st and 2nd rounders for the Sox-- 1st-- Bard, Ellsbury, Buchholz, Lowrie, Bowden

2nd-- Masterson, Pedroia, Lester.

 

1st and 2nd round draft picks have been huge for this organization.

[italstallianion]

It wasn't a lefty' date=' but it was a quality reliever. Come on now, be a man of your word.[/quote']

 

 

I said Fuentes or a good lefty. Wheeler is a good righty. I don't have to do anything.

 

And furthermore, I said that (if Theo signed Fuentes or a good lefty reliver) that I would change my signature to something admitting I was wrong and supporting Theo. I never said anything about letting you change my signature.

 

For someone who claims to be so good at law, you should know better than that.

[Dipre]

I said Fuentes or a good lefty. Wheeler is a good righty. I don't have to do anything.

 

And furthermore, I said that (if Theo signed Fuentes or a good lefty reliver) that I would change my signature to something admitting I was wrong and supporting Theo. I never said anything about letting you change my signature.

 

For someone who claims to be so good at law, you should know better than that.

 

This isn't a court room. This is a matter pertaining a gentleman's agreement. You know, the kind you hold up when your word means something. Oh, how the gentlemen from England have degraded.

[italstallianion]

This isn't a court room. This is a matter pertaining a gentleman's agreement. You know' date=' the kind you hold up when your word means something. Oh, how the gentlemen from England have degraded.[/quote']

 

 

My word does mean something. I said that if Theo signs Fuentes or a good lefty reliever, that I will change my signature admitting that I was wrong and praising Theo. He hasn't done so yet, so I don't need to do so yet. There's no breaking of promises or one's word.

 

In addition, I already admitted I was wrong and praised Theo for his efforts and said that I won't blame any of the Red Sox problems (if they occur) on Theo. I already happily admitted I was wrong. So you can take your "how the gentlemen from England have degraded" trolling and fornicate yourself with it.

[Dipre]

My word does mean something. I said that if Theo signs Fuentes or a good lefty reliever, that I will change my signature admitting that I was wrong and praising Theo. He hasn't done so yet, so I don't need to do so yet. There's no breaking of promises or one's word.

 

In addition, I already admitted I was wrong and praised Theo for his efforts and said that I won't blame any of the Red Sox problems (if they occur) on Theo. I already happily admitted I was wrong. So you can take your "how the gentlemen from England have degraded" trolling and fornicate yourself with it.

 

I'm not sure if this is a porn category, but if it is, i'm sure you're the right person to find some videos that feature it.

[alphilip77]

Besides Fuentes, what other decent options do we have in regards to LHP via FA or trade?

[Dipre]

Besides Fuentes' date=' what other decent options do we have in regards to LHP via FA or trade?[/quote']

 

None that i can think of.

 

They're probably expecting one of Rich Hill (who's been pretty good against lefties in his career) or Andrew Miller (and his unfulfilled potential) to step up and become another left handed option.

[italstallianion]

Besides Fuentes' date=' what other decent options do we have in regards to LHP via FA or trade?[/quote']

 

 

I can't speak for the trade market because I don't know who's available, although if the right offer comes around, I'm sure that most people would be available.

 

Of the FA lefties, they are all pretty much the same (other than Fuentes). Joe Beimel, Will Ohman, Ron Mahay, Mark Hendrickson and a few others. But they are only decent if they are used correctly, against lefties ONLY.

[example1]

It is quiet as hell around here. Interesting. Probably a good sign.

 

The team is just about complete at this point, I think. The pen has been sufficiently addressed, there is decent depth at the pitching position with AAAA guys like Rich Hill and Andrew Miller, and obviously the offense is in good shape. Defensively I think they will be tremendous, especially in the OF on the road. Their OF defense will improve in 2012 when Kalish takes over in RF. He's going to be the perfect complement to Ellsbury and Crawford.

 

The era of Ryan Kalish can't start soon enough in my mind.

[EXman369]

Since our offseason seems about complete anyone have any ideas what we do when Dice K leaves after the season don't seem to be any body great coming out of the minors and not sure if we will have the money to sign a big name pitcher.

 

The only arm i can think of is drubont but it seems like the sox will turn him into a reliever and i dont want to see him turn into joba going back and forth between roles

[Palodios]

Dice-k is around two more seasons. Plenty of time to figure it out.

[EXman369]

Oh yeah well hopefully the world classic isnt within the next 2

[BSN07]

It is quiet as hell around here. Interesting. Probably a good sign.

 

The team is just about complete at this point, I think. The pen has been sufficiently addressed, there is decent depth at the pitching position with AAAA guys like Rich Hill and Andrew Miller, and obviously the offense is in good shape. Defensively I think they will be tremendous, especially in the OF on the road. Their OF defense will improve in 2012 when Kalish takes over in RF. He's going to be the perfect complement to Ellsbury and Crawford.

 

The era of Ryan Kalish can't start soon enough in my mind.

 

LOL I mentioned earlier I was trying to pace myself because this place usually turns into a ghost town a week before X-mas until right after the new year.

 

Then everyone starts to trickle back in. Jacko will make his usual attention grabbing posts. The new people who don't get him will start ensuing fights. The regulars will come back in and laugh and by that time it's almost time for pitcher's and catcher's to report. Sprinkle in a little over analyzed posts about AAAA players that probably won't matter anyways and that about covers what we have left to discuss. Well all that and any Yankee move I'm sure will become a hot topic. Although I believe they make a deal later in the year. I think they will go with what they have for the most part. If I was them I'd try and get Webb or someone like that to try and assume the 5th spot.

[lasitter]

The best reference for this can be found at http://www.soxprospects.com/dh0605.htm

Very informative, many thanks.

[BSN07]

The Red Sox have been listening to offers for Jonathan Papelbon. When the team made a three-year, $51MM offer to Mariano Rivera, the assumption was that, on the off chance Rivera accepted, Papelbon wouldn't be back next season.

 

Would have to be for a Catcher if anything right?