2014 Roster Projections

[SoxFanForsyth]

Sox resign Napoli per Bradford

[User Name]

Fred's heart medication dosage immediately cut in half. Ditto for my headache medication. Win/win.

[Palodios]

I feel like Ben has done very well this offseason. He filled the crucial hole at 1B with a proven player in Napoli, he got a reliever with closer-talent and pinpoint control for a reasonable deal, and replaced Salty for low money. Very happy with how things have turned out.

[SoxSport]

Cano is a HUGE loss for the Yanks. They sign Ells, who is pretty much another Gardner. They sign McCann who is coming off the type of injury that affects your power. They re-sign Kuroda, a 39 yo pitcher who faded last year. And now they've given Beltran 3 years--a 37yo with DH written all over him. Maybe now they'll begin to address their needs. LOL.

[jacksonianmarch]

Cano is a HUGE loss for the Yanks. They sign Ells, who is pretty much another Gardner. They sign McCann who is coming off the type of injury that affects your power. They re-sign Kuroda, a 39 yo pitcher who faded last year. And now they've given Beltran 3 years--a 37yo with DH written all over him. Maybe now they'll begin to address their needs. LOL.

 

This has so many inaccuracies, I can only laugh.

 

Ells is pretty much Gardner? Really? I made the comparison after 2010 when it actually was apt. Since that time, Gardner has been a .268/.346/.393 player with 75 steals in 1080ABs. Ells has been a .303/.356/.469 player with 105 steals in 1540 ABs. I have said Gardner is a poor man's Ellsbury of late, because that is what he is. A leadoff guy who can steal a lot of bases and reach base. But he isn't Ells and it hasn't been close since 2010. And lets say we remove Ells' 2011 season, you still have a guy who had a better OPS last season in a much less forgiving park for left handers. Put him in YS and the homer total will rise. Plus, this isn't a knock on Gardner. He was a 4.2 WAR player last yr. Ells was just better at 5.8.

 

McCann is coming off an injury that saps your power? So why then did he hit 20HRs and have a nearly identical SLG to his career averages? What did drop was his batting average, and why is that pray tell? Because his BABIP dropped to the second lowest total of his career at .261. His career BABIP is .289. Should he see that again, expect his numbers to improve. And BTW, even if he repeats 2013 to a T, he'll be insanely valuable for a team that spent most of 2013 having a guy who was better off taking all pitches thrown his way in Chris Stewart. Fangraphs predictions of McCann have him with a WAR in the 4 range.

 

Kuroda faded all of last yr? He posted a miserable September, that much is true. But then again, he was on a team going nowhere, it happens. What he did manage to do was have the second best season of his career last yr. And while older pitchers eventually break down, Kuroda seems to be getting better with age, not worse. His resigning on a 1 yr deal was an easy move.

 

Beltran is a questionable move, I give you that. He's a guy who is on borrowed time who played horrendous defense in StL last yr. That being said, we have a DH in Soriano who can man RF as needed and RF in YS is easy as f*** to play. Anything over your head is a homerun and you typically play close enough to the 2b to shake his hand. Defensively it doesn't really matter. Offensively, he's been a revelation the last 3 seasons. Once again, the majority of his ABs will be from the left hand side which should see a boost in power as long as he can hold off father time.

[seabeachfred]

Of course what the Yankees do is highly important to the Red Sox. That's the way it is in business. You need to know what your main competitors are doing. Right now the Yankees are reacting to us. We have lost our starting CFer and catcher from our championship season and we are at risk of losing our SS and first baseman and only power threat besides Ortiz. The catching situation has been addressed, but the other issues have not been addressed.

 

Our new friend Hitch may have had some trouble reading between the lines Ted. While the Yankees have re-armed themselves, sans losing Cano, a big loss) we have been running in place. Two relievers and a catcher---a catcher who may be no better than the one we lost and one reliever who has good records and one who didn't do all that much in a one-horse tension free environment. We have not signed one important player for our lineup and for some reason the team does not want to offer Napoli a three year contract. If we lose him, as I have mentioned enough times, it creates a ripple effect throughout our lineup. Nava is NOT a first baseman, Gomes needs to be platooned, Vic must not move to CF and Bradley to the bench so we can get a power hitter for the outfield is not as good as Napoli is at first base. Another week has just about flown past and Mike is still not signed by us and we're hearing all this s*** talk about trading important prospects for injury ladened Matt Kemp or inept vs lefties Ethier.....and Choo is NOT a centerfielder. We have issues and THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED. I think that now time is of the essence.

[seabeachfred]

I've been rooting for the Red Sox ever since i was a toddler, and i could not give less of a s*** about what the Yankees do unless it directly affects the Red Sox. I want them to fail, and the Red Sox to succeed, but the only for that to happen is for the Red Sox to stick to their plan and not give in to the urge to make stupid reactionary moves like the Yankees did with Ellsbury. The Red Sox' margin of error is smaller financially wise, and they are also in a better position than the Yankees. Why f*** that up?

 

If we don't sign Napoli and he goes elsewhere we will be royally f***ed up. Papi will not see many pitches and there are NO right handed power hitters out there to pick up the slack unless we want to expend three top prospects f or a Matt Kemp, a injured ladened outfielder with a proclivity to loaf, and if you think Crawford was a bad match for Boston wait to g et a load of Kemp or his lodge brother Ethier.

[seabeachfred]

I'd send Webster and De La Rosa back to the Dodgers for Kemp.

 

Believe it not Ted we have people on this board who swear Delarosa is going to be a stud for us. A dud yes, but not a stud---and if Webster doesn't learn how to change speeds and use all his pitches instead of trying to overpower everyone he will get whiplash looking at all those balls whistling off the bats of those happy batters he faces. However, between you and me the Dodgers wouldn't take them back.

[Palodios]

If we don't sign Napoli and he goes elsewhere we will be royally f***ed up. Papi will not see many pitches and there are NO right handed power hitters out there to pick up the slack unless we want to expend three top prospects f or a Matt Kemp, a injured ladened outfielder with a proclivity to loaf, and if you think Crawford was a bad match for Boston wait to g et a load of Kemp or his lodge brother Ethier.

 

Fred, check the news. We got him!

[seabeachfred]

Look, If you want to replace the Rays with the Yankees as our biggest rivalry then go ahead ... it's still a free country ... at least for another 2-3 years anyway.

The Rays do not have a history of pilfering our best players. The Yankees are bullies because they have more money then anyone else. Money = power and I for one have had enough of it. I say triple the luxury tax.

 

I really think mvp believes what he says so there is no need to debate that point with him, but for most of us it is the Yankees. Hitch says I am paranoid about that team. You know what? He's right and he's right because I have despised that team longer than most of the people on this board have been alive....and maybe then some. 700 Hitter knows my background. I lived my first 14 years or so in Queens before the family moved West. The Yankees were like General Motors, uppity, disrespectful to others, conceited and lordly. And they beat up on my childhood team seemingly every time they played them in the World Series. Since 1947 when I was close to seven years old I developed a strong hatred towards them, and I was probably the only Italian-American lad in my neighborhood to hated Joe DiMaggio. All Dago kids loved him, Dodger, Giant as well as Yankee fans. The Yankees have always had this feeling of entitlement, that they were the lords of baseball and that we should eat their s*** and like it. Well I don't eat their s*** and it is always a holiday at my house when we beat them in a game, and this year we kicked the living s*** out of them. So there you have it. Some of my colleagues here have different levels of dislike of that team, but for some of us that hatred goes very deep to the marrow of our bones. If some think that's over the top, well, as they say in Russia TOUGH SHITSKY!!!!!!

[jacksonianmarch]

Napoli was a good re-sign, especially for 2 yrs. I am shocked nobody went harder. That being said, that 3 yr $39 mil deal a year ago looks better and better, lol. Now, they have to shell out $45 mil for the same time span

[seabeachfred]

It is a nice thought Hitch but unfortunately it does not work this way. To have a good chance at a World Series Championship it helps to win your division. If you get in as a wild card team with the new 1 game playoff it becomes even more of a crap shot. The way games are scheduled a team plays 19 games each season against the teams in their own division. So when you win or loose a game against the Yankees it is a big swing. If you come out ahead in each series against the teams in your division you increase your changes of winning the division outright. For example. Boston 11 wins - NYY 8 wins, Boston 10 wins - Tampa 9 wins, Boston 13 wins - Toronto 6 wins. etc. Also the American League East has been the toughest division in Baseball for a long long time. It is not uncommon for the Teams in the Eastern Division to have winning records against the Central or Western Divisions. The American League teams also play the National League teams during the season now ... (this was not always the case) ... I think that the American League has bettered the National League overall. Anyway ... over time the Red Sox have tried to keep up with the Yankees with respect to payroll but it really is not practical to do so. The Yankees always pay the most for the best available players because they can. If the Sox were placed in the AL Central Division they would be able to compete with a much lessor payroll.

Also to your point ... when you create a team that competes against the Yankees you are creating a team that competes against all MLB teams. One is not exclusive of the other.

 

Just for the record Mark, we were 13-6 against the Yankees this season.

[seabeachfred]

Anyone know if there are any good 1B on the market in 2015? Our system is bare at that position... I'd be willing to go with Carp/Nava stopgap for a year over committing to Napoli for 3 or 4

 

I wouldn't. Napoli is worth three years and we cannot afford to lose him. And please my friends no more s*** talk about Nava at first, or platooning with Carp. Nava can't play first well enough and Carp is not a regular player but a spot starter. And we have no one on the farm who can play first base. Sign the guy. Also please no talk about signing Hart. Milwaukee doesn't want him, he is not a first baseman and he missed all of last season. That, plus he most likely cannot handle the Boston pressure. His only flirt with the post-season with Milwaukee was a near disaster. Napoli!!!!!!

[Palodios]

I wouldn't. Napoli is worth three years and we cannot afford to lose him. And please my friends no more s*** talk about Nava at first, or platooning with Carp. Nava can't play first well enough and Carp is not a regular player but a spot starter. And we have no one on the farm who can play first base. Sign the guy. Also please no talk about signing Hart. Milwaukee doesn't want him, he is not a first baseman and he missed all of last season. That, plus he most likely cannot handle the Boston pressure. His only flirt with the post-season with Milwaukee was a near disaster. Napoli!!!!!!

 

Fred, we got him.

[iortiz]

Napoli was a good re-sign, especially for 2 yrs. I am shocked nobody went harder. That being said, that 3 yr $39 mil deal a year ago looks better and better, lol. Now, they have to shell out $45 mil for the same time span

 

6M?, nahhhh no big deal for our FO, they have wasted tons more, and at least this contract seems that is going to work it out.

[seabeachfred]

Haven't thought of full roster but the lineup i have here offensively should equal last years(even with JBJ in CF with WMB and Xander all year at ss/3b i think that should = Ells,Drew and 3rd base last year.

Slight downgrade at ss defensively but OF should be at least same and catching should be better

Vs righties

1.Victorino

2.Pedroia

3.Ortiz

4.Napoli

5.Nava

6.Xander

7.Pierzynski

8.WMB

9.JBJ

 

Vs lefties

1.Victorino

2.Pedroia

3.Ortiz

4.Napoli

5.Gomes

6.Xander

7.WMB

8.Ross

9.JBJ

 

I would say maybe resign Carp and get a solid utility infielder and as long as the pitching holds holds up it's playoffs again. Need Napoli big time though.

 

Thank you my friend. That's exactly what I want to do to the letter. Now how is that asking the team to do too much. It's doable and should prove to be very effective if the pitching is solid.

[seabeachfred]

Sox resign Napoli per Bradford

 

NO NO NO----You can't mean that. You can't be telling the truth. You're trying to put one over on me. If you are I swear I'll find out where you live and strangle the s*** out of you. You may just have made my day.....or week.

[RedSoxNC84]

I was beginning to wonder how many "Fred, we got him" posts were gonna come before he'd notice.

[Palodios]

Fred, he's a Red Sox.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/red-sox-to-re-sign-mike-napoli.html

[seabeachfred]

Fred, check the news. We got him!

 

Just went on CNN-SI---WE GOT HIM; WE f***IN' GOT HIM. That is all I really wanted Pal. He fills out our team nicely and sets the stage, if the Red Sox are imaginative enough we can also set the state for getting Cecchini and Middlebrooks in the lineup together---one of them moving to first base or left field. No need to trade our young prospects anymore. If we could make a trade for a utility infielder and a solid starting pitcher I say we are then good to go. We now should be set.

[Palodios]

Just went on CNN-SI---WE GOT HIM; WE f***IN' GOT HIM. That is all I really wanted Pal. He fills out our team nicely and sets the stage, if the Red Sox are imaginative enough we can also set the state for getting Cecchini and Middlebrooks in the lineup together---one of them moving to first base or left field. No need to trade our young prospects anymore. If we could make a trade for a utility infielder and a solid starting pitcher I say we are then good to go. We now should be set.

 

Fred, you and I both said that he was the key piece they needed to resign. The team has depth at other positions, and is in a position to test out some of their young guys, but 1B was not a place they could fill internally, and Nap was the best chance, and a proven piece.

[iortiz]

Fred, you and I both said that he was the key piece they needed to resign. The team has depth at other positions, and is in a position to test out some of their young guys, but 1B was not a place they could fill internally, and Nap was the best chance, and a proven piece.

 

This.

[seabeachfred]

I was beginning to wonder how many "Fred, we got him" posts were gonna come before he'd notice.

 

Well I start reading posts where I left off and just got to what I need to hear about five minutes ago. Unlike my pal User I'm not on here all day because I am not an independent multi-millionaire.

[seabeachfred]

Fred, you and I both said that he was the key piece they needed to resign. The team has depth at other positions, and is in a position to test out some of their young guys, but 1B was not a place they could fill internally, and Nap was the best chance, and a proven piece.

 

Right Pal---and what was so unreasonable about that? True, I was over the top with my droning on and on about resigning him but first base is where we needed to get settled. And you are spot on about our young players.....we need to give Bradley, Bogey and Will full shots at playing for us and you know what? I think if we are patient we will get good performances out of them. I just hope Ben now realizes what you and I do.....that we don't have to make a big splash and expend a ton of money or prospects to land a big fish. I really think if we could get another real solid starting pitcher that would be fine but aside from a utility infielder and an outfielder who could spell Jackie IF and only if he struggles, we are good to go. Let the other teams in our division scramble. Good way to end the evening.

[RedSoxNC84]

Well I start reading posts where I left off and just got to what I need to hear about five minutes ago. Unlike my pal User I'm not on here all day because I am not an independent multi-millionaire.

 

I just thought it was funny because the we got him posts were packed between your we need napoli posts haha

[Jasonbay44]

2 years $32 million? Awesome, we get Napoli back at a position thats a big need and don't have to commit long term to him. Love it.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Has anyone mentioned that the Sox got Napoli yet?

[RedSoxNC84]

Hey since the Yankees are signing a ton of outfielders, maybe detroit can make Hunter available?

[RedSoxNC84]

He'd have more opportunities to tumble into the bullpen at Fenway

[User Name]

Well I start reading posts where I left off and just got to what I need to hear about five minutes ago. Unlike my pal User I'm not on here all day because I am not an independent multi-millionaire.

 

mark is the independent millionaire. I'm just bored.