IF (big if) the Sox are going to make a run, it's NOW

[AB_RedSox]

1. They just scored 14 runs in their last game, something we haven't seen them do much this year.

2. Lester just came off of his best start in nearly a year.

3. Johnny Pesky just passed, hopefully motivating the players to play harder in his honor.

4. We're about to start series against the Orioles and Yankees, the second- and first-place teams in the AL East.

 

If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen now.

[Laser Show]

It's now, it was 2 weeks ago, 5 weeks ago, 2 months ago, and April.

 

The glaring issue it in one-run games and extra-inning games. This is the reason the Orioles are way ahead of us in the standings.

[RedSoxNC84]

It's more than likely later.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Red Sox fans memo this year. We've been saying this since the ASB, give it up.

[youmetaxidermy]

It's over. Josh Beckett still has quite a few turns in the rotation left.

[italstallianion]

The only run they should be making is to the top of the draft.

[jung]

I know there are those that disagree but to me there is an incredible similarity between these games and games at the end of last season. All these games now look like a continuation of the same game. Then post game pressers are the same also..."just have to come out tomorrow and try to win".

 

Nothing looks different one game to the next. But, lets face it....doing the same thing each day and expecting a different result is the height of insanity.

[a700hitter]

The wheels are starting to come off. What is coming will make us long for the first half of the season. There is no hope of players coming back from injury, no hope of our starting pitching rounding into shape, no hope of acquiring reinforcements. It will spiral down the drain and the only fight will be with Toronto for the basement.

[Orange Juiced]

The wheels are starting to come off. What is coming will make us long for the first half of the season. There is no hope of players coming back from injury' date=' no hope of our starting pitching rounding into shape, no hope of acquiring reinforcements. It will spiral down the drain and the only fight will be with Toronto for the basement.[/quote']

 

I'm going to disagree with you again. They won't be fighting with Toronto for the basement. At this rate, the Sox will make it no competition for last place.

 

[a700hitter]

I'm going to disagree with you again. They won't be fighting with Toronto for the basement. At this rate, the Sox will make it no competition for last place.

 

I'd like to think that they will miss out on the last place prize. Call me a cockeyed optimist.

[Orange Juiced]

I'd like to think that they will miss out on the last place prize. Call me a cockeyed optimist.

 

Hey, maybe they'll drop so far they get a top 3-4 pick and that guy turns out to be a guy like Trevor Bauer. That wouldn't be so bad.

[Emmz]

This looks like a boxajoe thread.

[Youk Of The Nation]

I thought so too, but agon28 was actually him, not this guy. Still, the influx of new people with no understanding of how to post their thoughts is astounding.

[Emmz]

Lol, I didn't even notice that guy. 4 posts, 3 threads.

[a700hitter]

Hey' date=' maybe they'll drop so far they get a top 3-4 pick and that guy turns out to be a guy like Trevor Bauer. That wouldn't be so bad.[/quote']It would be better if they took that prospect and packaged him up with some others to get King Felix.

[Orange Juiced]

It would be better if they took that prospect and packaged him up with some others to get King Felix.

 

Just for giggles, let's talk about Felix and what it would take for the Red Sox to get him. Some things we need to understand. First, pretty much *every* other team in baseball would want a shot at him, if it was known that he was available. That's a lot of competition, and it would drive the price up considerably. And second, Seattle isn't going to take back a contract like Beckett or Lackey or Crawford or anything stupid like that. If they move Felix it's for a huge pile of future pieces or current MLB talent that is young and cheap. That rules out Ellsbury too, because he's going to get very expensive very quickly, and Seattle might not be able to keep him around anyway.

 

Fortunately, they have needs pretty much everywhere: SS, OF, SP. So here's one idea:

 

Sox give: Kalish, Barnes, Iglesias, Brentz, Bard (Seattle would hope to get him straightened out)

Mariners give: Hernandez

 

Iglesias fills their hole at SS. Barnes gives them a young potential stud SP, Kalish and Brentz move into OF positions, and Bard is there as a flier, as Seattle hopes that their ballpark and their staff can turn him around. If he doesn't pan out, fine. If he does, it's a HUGE addition to the deal.

 

Now, if you're the Red Sox, do you do that deal? I would, actually, even though it is a TON to give up and they'd be taking on an awful lot of money with Felix.

 

But then they'd have the undisputed ace that everyone wants, and around whom you can build a starting pitching staff. Suddenly Buchholz, Lester, Doubront, and Morales (or Lackey) look a lot better following Hernandez.

 

But that's the kind of deal it would take to get King Felix.

[kapsis21]

to get Felix, there has to be 3 top tier players surrounding Barnes/Bradley/Bogaerts and add Bard and another reliever... without it Seattle is not even touching this dea.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Just for giggles, let's talk about Felix and what it would take for the Red Sox to get him. Some things we need to understand. First, pretty much *every* other team in baseball would want a shot at him, if it was known that he was available. That's a lot of competition, and it would drive the price up considerably. And second, Seattle isn't going to take back a contract like Beckett or Lackey or Crawford or anything stupid like that. If they move Felix it's for a huge pile of future pieces or current MLB talent that is young and cheap. That rules out Ellsbury too, because he's going to get very expensive very quickly, and Seattle might not be able to keep him around anyway.

 

Fortunately, they have needs pretty much everywhere: SS, OF, SP. So here's one idea:

 

Sox give: Kalish, Barnes, Iglesias, Brentz, Bard (Seattle would hope to get him straightened out)

Mariners give: Hernandez

 

Iglesias fills their hole at SS. Barnes gives them a young potential stud SP, Kalish and Brentz move into OF positions, and Bard is there as a flier, as Seattle hopes that their ballpark and their staff can turn him around. If he doesn't pan out, fine. If he does, it's a HUGE addition to the deal.

 

Now, if you're the Red Sox, do you do that deal? I would, actually, even though it is a TON to give up and they'd be taking on an awful lot of money with Felix.

 

But then they'd have the undisputed ace that everyone wants, and around whom you can build a starting pitching staff. Suddenly Buchholz, Lester, Doubront, and Morales (or Lackey) look a lot better following Hernandez.

 

But that's the kind of deal it would take to get King Felix.

 

I don't know a lot about the farm system, but I would do that. I doubt Seattle would, though.

 

I'd do it just so I didn't have to listen to people talk about Iglesias anymore. Everyone wants to bring him up because "His defense is so good, it doesn't matter that he can't hit worth a damn". The thing is, if he has an historic defensive season, the best anyone has ever had, but bats .200, the same people who clamored to replace Aviles or Ciriaco with him will spend every gamethread posting nothing but "f*** Iglesias" "oh, another strikeout, what a surprise", and so on.

 

I have no problem with promoting guys from the minors, but not until they are hitting there like they really want to play here. If getting rid of Iglesias and pretty much any other minor leaguers gets the Sox Hernandez, I'd say do it.

[jung]

a) Seattle does not go for that deal

 

Iggy does appear to be hitting good enough but it is pretty clear the Sox do not want him up here. They will trade him at some point. Read Mike Hazen's recent comments on Iggy. Now they acknowledge that he has made great improvements as a hitter but while also acknowledging that he is always going to be a contact hitter they want to see him utilize more power....they want more line drives in the gaps....the guy is a game changing innings changing....defensive SS who they acknowledge will always be a contact hitter and now they want more gappers

 

Well, how many more gappers would that be Mr. Hazen.....for a guy you acknowledge is always going to be a contact hitter how many gappers are you looking for? Is there a sabremetrics for gappers that will work for you? Why not ask James to gin one up for you. Then you can look at it and wait for Iggy to get to the right number.

 

They will trade Iggy. I almost hope they trade him to a AL team so that he can come back and turn rally innings into nothing right before their eyes because this is one time they deserve it. Any team that could "think" its way to Mike Aviles as an everyday SS has no idea what their expectations should be for an everyday SS and certainly has no way to understand what Iggy is or could be.

 

For his own good it would be better for Iggy to go to a national league team where even with pitchers hitting, they would likely have more appreciation for what Iggy can be.

[Bellhorn04]

Personally jung, I hope you're wrong about the plans for Iggy...I hope he gets a shot at the starting job.

[jung]

I hope I am wrong too Bell. I just don't see it though. They seem destined to not being satisfied until they do with him what they seem to do so often...leave him down there until he finally injures himself trying to satisfy their desires to turn him into something he is not going to be. This nonsense about him needing to exhibit more power is just that...nonsense....more rationalizing for why he needs to stay in Pawtucket.

 

The next kid in line for the job is in double AA and appears to be much more of a Sox typical SS. He will likely hit better but never be the innings changing defender that Iggy can be at SS. The Sox are more likely to stumble and bumble along at SS, ultimately trading Iggy and likely waiting for the next kid in line to make his way up the ladder.

 

God help them though if they end up with more pitchers like Lackey or Cook. These guys seem bound and determined to build teams that just shoot themselves in the foot at every turn.

[kapsis21]

I want to know what prospect A's were willing to offer for Aviles. anybody has any details?

[a700hitter]

Our guys will be running home after the regular season. That is the only run that we will see the 2012 squad make.

[Emmz]

And people thought last offseason was bad at Talksox? If they don't make big changes, it's going to suck. That awful offseason thread will be nothing by comparison.

[a700hitter]

And people thought last offseason was bad at Talksox? If they don't make big changes' date=' it's going to suck. That awful offseason thread will be nothing by comparison.[/quote']That off season thread was the only thing that was interesting about the off season, because our GM Bumbling Benny barely threw us crumbs. He gave us nothing to chew on the entire off season.

[a700hitter]

And people thought last offseason was bad at Talksox? If they don't make big changes' date=' it's going to suck. That awful offseason thread will be nothing by comparison.[/quote']Here's how it will go. We'll all start the offseason with something close to a consensus of what the Sox needs are. Last year, everyone pretty much agreed that we need pitching. We waited and waited and waited, and we got Bailey and several bags of garbage. Once it became obvious that there would be no major moves, many of us were stunned and believed that the team would have a rough go of it in 2012. Others came to the conclusion that good health would pull us through. That was really when the thread got ugly.

[Emmz]

That off season thread was the only thing that was interesting about the off season' date=' because our GM Bumbling Benny barely threw us crumbs. He gave us nothing to chew on the entire off season.[/quote']

 

Yeah, that's my point, and it got ugly because of that. Most boring offseason ever witnessed. We got Punto, essentially.

[Emmz]

Here's how it will go. We'll all start the offseason with something close to a consensus of what the Sox needs are. Last year' date=' everyone pretty much agreed that we need pitching. We waited and waited and waited, and we got Bailey and several bags of garbage. Once it became obvious that there would be no major moves, many of us were stunned and believed that the team would have a rough go of it in 2012. Others came to the conclusion that good health would pull us through. That was really when the thread got ugly.[/quote']

 

There needs to be health and pitching improvements. This team is fortunate to have the record they have with all of the injuries. The rotation is currently a joke, because Beckett and Lester are playing like complete s***.

[youmetaxidermy]

Felix isn't going anywhere unless he finally requests to be traded to a contender like Ichiro.

[Thunder]

Tonight is Morales vs Hughes. They might have a chance, past that though, good luck.