So you're the Sox' GM...What's your plan?

[jung]

I have to admit that while one could excuse BC's early comments just after getting the job, he has not gotten a lick better since then. He still says nothing....does nothing. We can counter with "Management has not given him much money to work with" but would you give him much money to work with?

 

I think the only justification I can give for BC getting the Sox job was that the Sox simply did not feel that they could or would make a good choice at that specific time and simply installed BC as something of an interim GM. I believe he will be replaced by somebody that actually has a shot at doing the job. It should therefore come as no surprise when there are no big deals on the horizon. I don't believe Sox upper management has any confidence in this guy and neither do I.

 

One other player situation that I am beginning to wonder about is Kalish vs Redick. I was willing to believe that the Sox had the Kalish vs Redick thing figured out cause they were so familiar with both players. But now I am really wondering if even keeping Kalish and moving Redick was the wrong decision.

 

Redick has not really slowed down and look at where Kalish is now. I could see us fans not getting that right but how could the Sox themselves get that wrong. I did not offer a comment one way or the other at the time and said the same thing then as now....I had to believe that the Sox had seen enough of both players to make the right move...I certainly had not seen enough of both players and said so. Hard to make the case that the Sox made the right move here. We have Kalish, a guy that has had injury problem after injury problem and kept him over Redick because of his potential to be a better player than Redick. Redick is doing very well, has not exhibited the injury history that Kalish has while Kalish was both clearly not ready at least this year and has done nothing to show people that he has the potential of Redick as a hitter. How the hell did they screw this one up?

[Orange Juiced]

I have to admit that while one could excuse BC's early comments just after getting the job, he has not gotten a lick better since then. He still says nothing....does nothing. We can counter with "Management has not given him much money to work with" but would you give him much money to work with?

 

I think the only justification I can give for BC getting the Sox job was that the Sox simply did not feel that they could or would make a good choice at that specific time and simply installed BC as something of an interim GM. I believe he will be replaced by somebody that actually has a shot at doing the job. It should therefore come as no surprise when there are no big deals on the horizon. I don't believe Sox upper management has any confidence in this guy and neither do I.

 

One other player situation that I am beginning to wonder about is Kalish vs Redick. I was willing to believe that the Sox had the Kalish vs Redick thing figured out cause they were so familiar with both players. But now I am really wondering if even keeping Kalish and moving Redick was the wrong decision.

 

Redick has not really slowed down and look at where Kalish is now. I could see us fans not getting that right but how could the Sox themselves get that wrong. I did not offer a comment one way or the other at the time and said the same thing then as now....I had to believe that the Sox had seen enough of both players to make the right move...I certainly had not seen enough of both players and said so. Hard to make the case that the Sox made the right move here. We have Kalish, a guy that has had injury problem after injury problem and kept him over Redick because of his potential to be a better player than Redick. Redick is doing very well, has not exhibited the injury history that Kalish has while Kalish was both clearly not ready at least this year and has done nothing to show people that he has the potential of Redick as a hitter. How the hell did they screw this one up?

 

They needed (I guess) a replacement for Papelbon. Bailey was available. The price was Reddick. They felt that the price was worth it. Obviously that hasn't worked out since Bailey hasn't even thrown a pitch for them, while Reddick has been really solid for Oakland, but a lot of Sox fans and management felt (and still feel) that Kalish is going to be good. That ship hasn't sailed yet...maybe he will end up being good.

[Orange Juiced]

Good question, Reddick v. Kalish. Here are their minor league career numbers. Keep in mind that Kalish is one year younger.

 

Career minor league season stats

Reddick (5 seasons, 466 g): 1821 ab, 86 hr, 299 rbi, 35 sb, .278/.332/.500/.832

Kalish (7 seasons, 412 g): 1553 ab, 45 hr, 212 rbi, 95 sb, .282/.370/.436/.805

 

AVERAGE PER 162 G

Reddick: 633 ab, 30 hr, 104 rbi, 12 sb, .278/.332/.500/.832

Kalish: 611 ab, 18 hr, 83 rbi, 37 sb, .282/.370/.436/.805

 

I mean, both were good minor league players that offered the Sox a lot. Different emphases, really: Reddick with less speed and more power, more slugging and less OBP. Kalish just the opposite - more speed and less power, more OBP and less slugging.

 

Pretty similar in terms of fielding. Minor league fielding stats:

 

Reddick: .974 fld%, 2.18 RF/G, 62 assists

Kalish: .977 fld%, 2.22 FG/G, 25 assists

 

So Kalish a little better fielder, Reddick a better arm.

 

All in all, probably six of one, half-dozen of another. Plus, keep in mind this: when they made the Bailey trade, Kalish was hurt so Oakland didn't want him. They wanted a healthy player in return. So they couldn't have traded Kalish even if they had wanted to.

[Bellhorn04]

I have to admit that while one could excuse BC's early comments just after getting the job' date=' he has not gotten a lick better since then. He still says nothing....does nothing. We can counter with "Management has not given him much money to work with" but would you give him much money to work with?[/quote']

 

Well, if they're not giving him much money to work with because they don't trust his judgment, then that would indicate they should have hired someone else. So you're saying the upper brass is either cheap, or incompetent hirers.

[jung]

I think they might have made something of a stop gap measure kind of a decision on BC. I don't know why they would have done that but it seems that they have him on such a short leash that it does not even appear that he really has a GM job. Granted LL does not appear to give anybody much rope but Holy Cow....hard to see that BC has any rope at all.

 

So I suspect that there is the possibility that BC is in something of a similar position as V, something of an interim GM much like V is in some sense an interim manager.

 

As for Kalish vs Redick, I actually thought that at the time, if you queried GM's around the league a number of them would have thought Kalish a better prospect long term than Redick so I think dangling Kalish generally would have attracted more interest than Redick would have if both were healthy but I could be wrong on that. Again I stated at the time that I had not seen enough of Kalish to rate the two players. So, I was just relying on the Sox to have gotten that one right. I think what was an eye opener was how much more time Kalish would need to truly be a ML level OF for the Sox or anybody else for that matter.

 

I think we can say with some confidence that the Sox thought for whatever reason that Kalish was ready. They had enough retread OF around to keep him in Pawtucket if they wanted to. So I have to believe the Sox thought he was ready to come up. Clearly he was not ready...maybe needing even more than another year to be ready. Maybe the amount of time he has had to spend in rehab just robbed away to much developmental time from him but clearly Kalish was not ready. I thought the Sox would have known enough about Kalish and his situation to be able to judge him accordingly.

 

So that is really what worries me about the decision making process on Kalish. It seems to me that the Sox thought he could contribute this year. There was no reason to bring him up with so many retread OFer's available to insert into the lineup unless they thought Kalish was ready.

 

On another level looking at the Sox outfielders, you would have thought keeping the guy with the better power numbers would have been a better fit for the Sox particularly if you thought either player could contribute in 2012. The Sox outfield really does not have much in the way of power. I don't think many believe Ells could repeat his power numbers from 2011 even if over a full 2012 season. Crawford is not a power hitter in the classic sense. Ross is a dead pull hitter and being platooned so you get what you get from him. Sweeney is not a power hitter and neither was dmac. Sure it is nice to have speed in the outfield but I would have thought the guy with the better power numbers would have been a better fit for a Sox team that just does not have much in the way of power overall, especially from its outfielders.

[SemperFi Sox]

I doubt many people where pounding their fists in the sand about us trading Reddick instead of Kalish. Hindsight is a heck of a thing.

[a700hitter]

I doubt many people where pounding their fists in the sand about us trading Reddick instead of Kalish. Hindsight is a heck of a thing.

I don't think Kalish was tradeable at the time. He was still recovering from shoulder and upper spinal disc surgeries. I would have preferred to trade the guy that just had a disc drilled out in his neck. That is not a simple or risk-free procedure.

[a700hitter]

Well' date=' if they're not giving him much money to work with because they don't trust his judgment, then that would indicate they should have hired someone else. So you're saying the upper brass is either cheap, or incompetent hirers.[/quote']I think it is probably the latter.

[jung]

So you're saying the upper brass is either cheap, or incompetent hirers.

 

Really I think you could read into my earlier post that I think incompetent hirers is closer to the truth.

 

Why would you sort of punt the decision if that is what they did? There must have been somebody good that would have wanted what should have been one of the truly sought after jobs in MLB.

 

With all the pub that has swirled around LL and his control over Baseball Operations, it does make you wonder if a really upper echelon GM candidate would have queried the Sox on just that subject looking for some assurances that he actually would have some elbow room in the job.

[SoxSport]

It isn't that Cherington is delusional, its he just has no money to spend or to take on salary.

Seeming delusional is the delusion.

 

Having said that, I do think they can get Garza for Bogaerts and another piece or two. His market may have been diminished by his MRI.

[Jakerocker]

I trade Beckett. While he hasn't been ace like, I'm sure a team in the NL would give up a decent prospect (just don't expect like Shelby Miller or Anthony Rendon) because he's signed not only through this year, but the next two years, albeit at a good piece of money. He gets out of the AL East and Fenway, and his stats improve (hello, AJ Burnett, and I think Beckett is a similar pitcher to Burnett, but more talented) and we get a decent prospect and most of the money out of the way. I say, throw in 3 million-4million, and that's a reasonable contract for Beckett in the NL. I would have said the Pirates were an excellent spot for him to land, but with Wandy Rodriguez on board, they might be out of money.

 

I can see the Reds being an option, although forget about Billy Hamilton. Maybe Daniel Corcino for Beckett plus 4 million per the next two years of his salary?

 

The Reds get another guy they can slot into the rotation of Cueto, Latos, Beckett, Bailey, and Arroyo. We get 11 million off the books, and a promising prospect that has a shot to be a No. 2 type starter. I see Corcino as similar to someone like Ivan Nova of the Yankees.

 

I hold onto Lester, mainly because he's younger.

 

I'd deal Crawford any chance I get and just get that contract off the books somehow. Wouldn't even ask for anything back if some team took most of that contract.

 

Obviously the smaller pieces like Ross, Sweeny, Cook, and others should be available as long as someone can give us a halfway decent prospect.

[SCM33]

Trade Beckett

Trade Salty

Trade Ross

Trade Aviles

Trade the bullpen (a couple of them)

 

If Beckett is not traded, I doubt I watch many game after the deadline.

[SCM33]

I doubt many people where pounding their fists in the sand about us trading Reddick instead of Kalish. Hindsight is a heck of a thing.

 

I still don't care about the trade. I don't think hes very good. IF he were still in Boston, he would have been a platoon/backup OF or even in AAA.

[jung]

The thing of it is that the Sox seemed to have preferred Kalish to Redick and were willing to wait for Kalish to come back to health and see him remain in the Red Sox system. To me the part they really got wrong was planning for Kalish to contribute at the major league level this year. He was not ready...not by a long shot. You would have thought they would have known that.

 

To some extent it does seem that since the Sox really lack power, particularly this year and in this outfield that Redick might have been the better keep. That is really water over the dam though. I am more surprised that the Sox saw Kalish as somebody that could contribute this year when he turned out to be pretty far from ready. Maybe hindsight for us but nobody is paying us to know this stuff. Should have been foresight for Sox management.

[a700hitter]

Reddick is going to hit more than 30 HRs this year. That is not a AAA ballplayer. The ball jumps off this kids bat. It always has, and now he has found consistency. Now, he he not just a major leaguer, but a very good major leaguer. The fact that he would not have achieved this success speaks to the deficiency of the Red Sox player development capability. It does not point to the fact that the kid is not good. Anyone who thinks that he is not good has not been watching him.

[example1]

Well, you watched him for 143 games and 403 PAs in Boston. I don't remember you thinking he was a very good major leaguer at the time.

[example1]

What's my plan as the GM? Promote young players, trade their roadblocks over the next few games. I don't care about whether or not Iglesias is completely ready, bring him up. His defense will keep people watching his games. Trade Shoppach and bring up Lavarnway. Trade Sweeney and/or Ross and bring up Kalish.

 

At the very least start getting the acclamation that needs to happen one way or another out of the way now.

[jacksonianmarch]

Looks like the Rangers are all in on Josh Johnson, meaning the sox likely are stuck with Beckett. If I were Cherington, I'd be looking at teams in need of another starter, be willing to absorb all salary in 2012 and some in 2013 and 2014 and deal Beckett. Beckett's peripherals are actually good, but anyone who watches him can see that the dominating years of Beckett are over. The longer they hold onto him, the lower his value gets. He should be dealt with like a hot potato.

 

In terms of Lester, his value is so low right now, that you dont have a choice but to hold onto him. I also think that getting rid of some of the cancers in the clubhouse might open the way for Pedroia to take on a leadership role and get into Lester's face about his ******** attitude. Might help change some things for him. I also think he needs a real pitching coach, not a guy with a career record as a f***ing joke. Hell, even Curt Young for 5 months of dominance out of him last yr and he got crucified at season's end, yet McClure is escaping public ire while the rotation has crashed and burned all year.

 

I know Cherries thinks he needs to be a buyer because they are "all-in" for this yr, but they need to stop following their marketing people and start following their personell people. If they play this thing right, they might be able to actually be competitive next season.

[Thunder]

I'm the GM, huh? I would resign immediately.

[SoxSport]

Doing the little things is what the Red Sox management does poorly. For example, not getting Papi ready for the Yankee series."He looked good in batting practice" last night, somebody tweeted. He should have been DHing. And then keeping Crawford playing in the minors during the weekend series against Texas.

 

Was Cook the proper guy to start last night in Yankee stadium? Hell, no. Not with the sharp left Morales sitting in the bullpen.

 

Aviles still playing SS in slow motion--with an all-star defensive player rotting in Pawtucket.

 

Last night, V sounded pretty foolish spouting the company line. I can feel a streak coming, he said.

He is sounding like Cherington.

 

This is a sleepy team, with sleepy leadership. Cherington reminds me of the walking dead. There is no sense of urgency.

 

All those disastrous moves made the last few years are now biting them in the ass--and they are in a state of denial. To top it off, they have stubbornly resisted injecting young talent from Pawtucket until forced by injuries (Aviles--please get hurt; Salty--please get hurt).

 

In the meantime, Pawtucket has had one of the best records in AAA this year. One wonders if they would be doing better in the AL east than the Boston team. They'd be playing with a greater sense of urgency--for sure.

[SoxSport]

You know, the irony of the trading deadline is the top teams that don't need much help--the Rangers, Angels, Tigers and Yankees--are the teams that go out there and try to improve themselves--dealing prospects for players they can win with now. Looking for an edge. Call it greed, if you like. That makes it difficult for the teams that really need help to do anything. The top teams behave as though they are more desperate than the lesser teams! They are the aggressors. In the meantime, the also rans like the Red Sox are left with the leftovers. And even the leftovers might not be there for an organization hopelessly hamstrung with bad contracts and poor judgement.

[Thunder]

Aviles still playing SS in slow motion--with an all-star defensive player rotting in Pawtucket.

 

If you mean Iglaesis, he can't hit.

[SemperFi Sox]

If you mean Iglaesis' date=' he can't hit.[/quote']

 

neither can Aviles

[Thunder]

neither can Aviles

Very true, last night while watching YES, they said on the broadcast that the Sox were going after Jose Reyes in exchange for maybe Crawford. No joke.

[Bellhorn04]

Very true' date=' last night while watching YES, they said on the broadcast that the Sox were going after Jose Reyes in exchange for maybe Crawford. No joke.[/quote']

 

Well, since we're not going to make any actual moves, we might as well at least get some entertaining fantasies out there.

 

Who knows, maybe Henry and Lucchino will snap while watching the bloodbath in NY and do something wild.

[mvp 78]

Well' date=' you watched him for 143 games and 403 PAs in Boston. I don't remember you thinking he was a very good major leaguer at the time.[/quote']

 

With hindsight, everyone wanted to keep Reddick.

[Designated Hater]

Roll up in a ball and cry, wondering why I took this job in the first place.

[Thunder]

With hindsight, everyone wanted to keep Reddick.

 

Now look at him go. It's been a good year for some bad teams of the past. A's, Pirates, Orioles.

[jung]

They may or may not be able to get a deal done, Crawford for Reyes....Aviles does not hit either and costs the Sox outs and runs almost every game now. He was a defensive disaster last night, making so many mistakes at SS that even with a Salami topping things off, he had already made enough gaffs to have allowed the first four Yankee runs home, enough to have lost the game.

 

It no longer matters what Iggy hits. Get him up here and get Avlies the hell off the field.

[a700hitter]

They may or may not be able to get a deal done, Crawford for Reyes....Aviles does not hit either and costs the Sox outs and runs almost every game now. He was a defensive disaster last night, making so many mistakes at SS that even with a Salami topping things off, he had already made enough gaffs to have allowed the first four Yankee runs home, enough to have lost the game.

 

It no longer matters what Iggy hits. Get him up here and get Avlies the hell off the field.

They are not going anywhere. They need to give up thos mantra that "sooner or later they are going to go on a run." Ain't gonna happen. To go on a sustained run, you need solid reliable starting pitching. That's Baseball 101- a course that Benny the Boob either failed or skipped. They need to take whatever they can get for Salty and Aviles and get Iglesias and Lavarnway up here to see once and for all whether they have what it takes to play at this level.