The Official 2010 Hot Stove Thread.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Either way you look at it, Pedroia - Crawford - Gonzo - Youk - Ortiz, or swap Pedey and Crawford, either way, that's probably the toughest string of 5 consecutive hitters in the MLB.

[DirtDog]

I'm wondering if there is an advanced baseball metric I'm missing that states whether a putout looked smooth or not. Maybe they will introduce this down the line.

 

And if you made it look that smooth in little league, why are you sitting on a message board at 9:30 in the morning on a Tuesday?

 

This is a question that you asked but I fear don't think really want a real answer. I'll give you a short answer:

 

I have my own personal reasons why I chose not to pursue baseball after high school even though I had opportunities. I see no reason why I would need to share these to some random on a website.

 

There's more skills involved in playing baseball professionally or even on the collegiate level than just fielding a semi-routine ball towards the middle. I'm just stating Iglesias has probably made many better plays than that and is much more skilled than I ever was. That video you posted was the only thing you could find on MLB.com of him and I'm sure you were just somehow trying to relate it to your point about his elite defensive abilities. I just thought it was funny. I read your posts on this site and generally agree with most of the things you point out. No hard feelings.

[SoxFanForsyth]

You're right. That was literally the only video of him making a play on mlb.com, so it's the only one I could post.

 

You have to admit, though. While it's a routine play, he makes it look pretty.

[Dojji]

You're right. That was literally the only video of him making a play on mlb.com, so it's the only one I could post.

 

You have to admit, though. While it's a routine play, he makes it look pretty.

 

So can Jeter. He can make routine plays look very pretty indeed.

 

Not that I doubt that Igelsias will be a great defensive SS in time, just saying, I'm certainly not going to say one thing or the other based on video of one routine play.

[SoxFanForsyth]

The video wasn't meant to show that he is an elite defensive player.

 

There are plenty of scouts who can vouch for that.

[Dipre]

So can Jeter. He can make routine plays look very pretty indeed.

 

Not that I doubt that Igelsias will be a great defensive SS in time, just saying, I'm certainly not going to say one thing or the other based on video of one routine play.

 

In time?

 

He's a great defensive SS now. Every possible scouting report and everyone who has ever saw him play says the same thing.

 

The only question is how much is he going to hit.

 

Defense is not like hitting. If you're a great defender, you're a great defender anywhere. "Learn the difference".

[DirtDog]

Scouts are saying his defense is at a major league elite level right now. His problem and this goes for most young players that they really need to develop at the plate to be able to hit major league pitching. Depending on how he does we might see him in September this year. I'll be looking forward to it.

[Will617]

Not related, but still funny...

http://angels.ocregister.com/2011/01/22/trade-in-one-word-cash/71674/

 

Horrible, horrible trade. I want to see the Red Sox do some more business with the Angels. I thought they were a good organization when they got Dan Haren for peanuts, but I guess they got lucky...

[Dojji]

Meh, the Angels have always been too much in love with 5 tool outfielders. 's why I thought Crawford was going there.

[bsox0407]

Blue Jays Trade Napoli to the Rangers for Fransisco.

[a700hitter]

Blue Jays Trade Napoli to the Rangers for Fransisco.

That's surprising.

[Will617]

...What? I understand that Francisco is not a bad reliever, but Napoli hits for power and can play catcher, and is not expensive at all...

[Dojji]

OK that made no sense at all. I had Napoli figured for their starting 1B, you don't trade a full time starting power hitter for one over-30 reliever unless you're a lot closer to contending than the Jays are.

[Will617]

I still think that the Wells trade was a worse deal (for the Angels, of course), but the Blue Jays wiped out a bit of the value they got by moving Napoli. The only explanations that I would have are 1. They don't expect to contend or keep Napoli, and want a reliever they can move for prospects midseason - something that a lot of teams seem to be going for, see Billy Beane, or 2. AA is not that smart after all. Maybe he's just a sweet talker.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Brian Cashman: The Red Sox are better than the Yankees right now.

 

True story.

[diony]

Brian Cashman: The Red Sox are better than the Yankees right now.

 

True story.

 

He said they look better than the Yankees right now. IMO the teams are even.

[Will617]

IMO the teams are even.

 

No.

[bsox0407]

So is Naopli the Mike Pizza of this century?

[SoxFanForsyth]

He said they look better than the Yankees right now. IMO the teams are even.

 

Isn't that all they can do right now?

 

I haven't seen any games played yet, so right now it's paper vs paper, and the Sox look better. So they are better. Today.

 

And the teams are even?? That's not even debatable. The Red Sox have a clearly better team. The only place where the Yankees have a notable advantage is at closer. Set up guys, Bard and Soriano are a wash, and middle relief is a wash as well.

 

Sox have a huge, huge advantage in SP, and have a better line up.

[Dipre]

The teams are even?

 

Wow what a f***ing homer.

 

It's impossible for some Yankee fans to admit that right now, the Sox are simply a better team on paper. Specially from a guy who''s always so quick to pronounce the Yankees' on-paper superiority. Double-standard much?

[Station 13]

Theo was looking to trade for Bautista. Jays probably have him locked down now with them dumping Wells.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

He said they look better than the Yankees right now. IMO the teams are even.

 

Wow, you really are a homer.

[BSN07]

Toronto sent $5MM to the Angels as part of the Vernon Wells trade, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Ilustrated.

 

LOL @ Angels

[SoxFanForsyth]

Anyone think the Sox should offer Vlad a 1 year/4mm contract this year? Platoon with Ortiz at DH. The guy can absolutely rake vs lefties, .338/.395/.536/ .932 last year in 151 PA.

 

I know, I know. We already have Cam and D-Mac who can also play the OF and it would be a wasted roster spot because we would have two guys who can't play the field, but damn, an Ortiz/Vlad platoon at DH would be sick.

 

I'll come out of dream land eventually.

[BSN07]

Anyone think the Sox should offer Vlad a 1 year/4mm contract this year? Platoon with Ortiz at DH. The guy can absolutely rake vs lefties, .338/.395/.536/ .932 last year in 151 PA.

 

I know, I know. We already have Cam and D-Mac who can also play the OF and it would be a wasted roster spot because we would have two guys who can't play the field, but damn, an Ortiz/Vlad platoon at DH would be sick.

 

I'll come out of dream land eventually.

 

A Vlad/Ortiz platoon would be nice. Not sure it's worth it considering some of the intangibles. The wasted roster spot you spoke of. Ortiz reaction to being platooned. I know he is probably going to be platooned to some extent anyways this season. But as it stands he will probably see some AB's Vs LHP this season. And that maybe be enough to coddle Ortiz's ego enough to where he's not bitching about not being in there everyday. If it's obvious he will be seeing very little to no AB's against LHP and might very well piss Ortiz off. And why piss in his Cheerios before ST? It's not like if they need a RHH at some point this season there won't be any available.

 

I don't know maybe I'm looking into Ortiz's possible reaction. On the surface I think adding Vlad wouldn't be a bad thing for this team.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Ortiz would s*** a brick if we signed another DH to platoon with him.

 

Would it make our team better, talent wise? Sure. Anytime you add a big bat like that you're going to get better.

 

But I think it would be a hit to the clubhouse. Right now - I love our team as constructed, and I think, with Cam, Lowrie, and D-Mac, we should do fine vs LHP. Our line up won't look so beastly in those games, but it will still score 4-6 runs.

 

But man. If we added him.

 

Vs LHP

Ellsbury

Crawford

Pedroia

Gonzo

Youk

Vlad

Lowrie

Cam

Varitek

 

That'd be a nightmare for LHP.

[Dojji]

I don't think we need to spend 4M on a situational hitter. If we really need some oomph against one hand or the other for a stretch we have guys we can call up from the minors. Or we could bring up a guy like Nava who while he can't hit for Vlad's kind of power regularly can hit situationally from either side of the plate. With the kind of monsters we have in the regular lineup that strikes me as something we're more likely to need.

[BSN07]

I don't think we need to spend 4M on a situational hitter. If we really need some oomph against one hand or the other for a stretch we have guys we can call up from the minors. Or we could bring up a guy like Nava who while he can't hit for Vlad's kind of power regularly can hit situationally from either side of the plate. With the kind of monsters we have in the regular lineup that strikes me as something we're more likely to need.

 

Any excuse to get Nava's name in there

[BSN07]

No.

 

It's not a stretch to say the teams are even. The offense's should be comparable. The rotations are mirror images of each other almost. Stud LHP Ace, young up and coming SP, innings eater(Lackey, Pettitte if he comes back) and then 2 ? marks. The Sox question marks have better upside, but they are still ? marks.

 

The BP's are both strong, but a slight edge to the Yankees. The bench's are a wash IMO.

 

So right now as it stands it looks pretty equal, the Sox have 1 more established SP. The Yankees BP is probably a little better then the Sox. Don't be a homer and fool yourself into thinking the Yankees won't be right there in it with the Sox all the way till the end.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I disagree. When you look at it, the teams aren't even.

 

Martin vs Salty - Wash

 

Gonzo vs Tex - Gonzo

 

Pedroia vs Cano - Cano

 

Jeter vs Scutaro - Wash. Jeter's 2010 campaign is a wash with Scutaro's 2010 campaign, but if Jeter bounces back, he has an edge.

 

Youk vs ARod - Youk. Youk has similar power numbers, yet much higher OBP than A-Rod.

 

Crawford vs Gardner - Crawford

 

Ellsbury vs Granderson - Ellsbury. Granderson is a glorified platoon player. He hits lefties about as well as Ortiz. Going by Ellsbury's 2009 numbers vs Granderson's 2010 numbers, we give up 15 HR and 7 RBI's, but we get 70 more hits, 20 more runs scored, 50+ more stolen bases, and a guy who hits lefties as well as he hits righties.

 

Drew vs Swisher - I'll give Swish the nod since he had a great season last year.

 

Ortiz vs Posada - Ortiz.

 

SP:

 

CC = Lester

Buch > Hughes

Beckett > Burnett

Lackey > Nova

DiceK > Mitre

 

Bullpen is all square other than closer, so slight edge to Yankees.