The rebuild thread.

[reYoukilis]

Buchholz is looking like he could be another Bard. If he isn't hurt then the Sox have a real problem with him. It hurt watching him pitch last night.

I agree. Im ranting but I really feel bad for him. It must be lonely on that mound.

[Spudboy]

I agree. Im ranting but I really feel bad for him. It must be lonely on that mound.

 

He has 12.25 million reasons not to be lonely. The guy ( no longer a kid ) just seems to be immature and or stupid to me.

[Behindenemylines]

I agree. Im ranting but I really feel bad for him. It must be lonely on that mound.

 

It hurt watching him pitch and blow two three run leads. The Sox could be looking at what happened to Bard happen to Buchholz. Bard went from being one of the best set up guys to not being able to get minor league hitters out. An Buchholz is heading in that same direction. If his problem is above the shoulders then they need to get some help for him. We need the beginning of 2013 Buccholz back.

[BigPapi]

He has 12.25 million reasons not to be lonely. The guy ( no longer a kid ) just seems to be immature and or stupid to me.

 

Yup he is not a kid anymore at all. He is going to be 30 in 10 days.

[Behindenemylines]

Yup he is not a kid anymore at all. He is going to be 30 in 10 days.

 

He will be another reason why the FO doesn't want to give long term contracts to pitchers north of 30. If he is healthy I don't get it. He works every fifth day and has four days to figure out what he needs to do to be better in his next start. He should be viewing tape of his starts the beginning of 2013 to try to figure out what he is not doing.

[a700hitter]

He has 12.25 million reasons not to be lonely. The guy ( no longer a kid ) just seems to be immature and or stupid to me.

 

He may be those things, but it also appears to me that his confidence is completely shattered. It is getting reminiscent of the Bard situation.

[Palodios]

I hate to say it, but Buchholz is Beckett 2.0. They used to be golf and chicken buddies, they had lockers next to each other, and they're the same player. One day they're getting hammered, the next day they're completely dominant. Buchholz doesn't do the even-odd year phenomenon as well as Beckett did, but he does something similar, with more injuries.

 

I'd give him exactly one start in 2015 to see if he's back to form, and then cut him immediately if necessary.

[Bellhorn04]

I think Buchholz is more erratic than Beckett by a significant margin. Buchholz may be the most erratic pitcher I've seen over this length of time.

[BigPapi]

I think Buchholz is more erratic than Beckett by a significant margin. Buchholz may be the most erratic pitcher I've seen over this length of time.

 

Indeed. Beckett had three solid seasons in a row from 2007 to 2009. Buchholz has NEVER had back to back close to full seasons let alone good ones.

[seabeachfred]

Indeed. Beckett had three solid seasons in a row from 2007 to 2009. Buchholz has NEVER had back to back close to full seasons let alone good ones.

 

Beckett being compared with Buchholz has to be some kind of joke. Josh was 20-7 in 2007 and 4-0 in the post season. He was as dominant in big games as any pitcher in baseball that year. In fact, he was the best pitcher in the game that season. Buchholz never has, nor never could do something like that and never will.

[reYoukilis]

I'd give him exactly one start in 2015 to see if he's back to form, and then cut him immediately if necessary.

I dont think we should just give him the rest of THIS season even if it is a wash. The prospects maybe but not Buchholz. Losing is demoralizing and we cant just count on our good players to automatically not take it to heart, all the losing. Theyre not going to say, "we wouldve won if the pitching wouldntve gave it all away, so Im ok".

[example1]

Beckett being compared with Buchholz has to be some kind of joke. Josh was 20-7 in 2007 and 4-0 in the post season. He was as dominant in big games as any pitcher in baseball that year. In fact, he was the best pitcher in the game that season. Buchholz never has, nor never could do something like that and never will.

 

I think the frustrating thing is that Buchholz could have done it but never pulled it off. His stuff was great--not as dominant as Beckett but a better variety. He just doesn't seem to have it between the ears. He doesn't have the quiet, calm, "get the hell out of the batters box" mentality on the mound. At times he does, but when he gets a little rattled even average hitters stand a good chance against him. When Pedro got a little rattled he still believed the best hitters were going to fail miserably against him.

 

It's such a minor thing but its huge. I think that mentality is exactly the difference between Webster and Workman/RDLR. The later guys seem more intense and confident in themselves, even against adversity. Even with nobody out and nobody on Webster looked like he was hoping to get outs, rather than certain he would.

 

It's a big stage, I can understand how it could disrupt performance. Some guys charge right through that and others never get over it.

[seabeachfred]

I think the frustrating thing is that Buchholz could have done it but never pulled it off. His stuff was great--not as dominant as Beckett but a better variety. He just doesn't seem to have it between the ears. He doesn't have the quiet, calm, "get the hell out of the batters box" mentality on the mound. At times he does, but when he gets a little rattled even average hitters stand a good chance against him. When Pedro got a little rattled he still believed the best hitters were going to fail miserably against him.

 

It's such a minor thing but its huge. I think that mentality is exactly the difference between Webster and Workman/RDLR. The later guys seem more intense and confident in themselves, even against adversity. Even with nobody out and nobody on Webster looked like he was hoping to get outs, rather than certain he would.

 

It's a big stage, I can understand how it could disrupt performance. Some guys charge right through that and others never get over it.

 

Couldn't have said better myself at my very best. You laid it out perfectly. Now if we could only get RDLR to learn to pitch well on the road we may have something there. I was the one who was really down on him when we got him from the Dodgers but he has done enough, save bad road games, to make me think he could be a solid No. 3 or 4 starter for us. Webster? No way Jose.

[example1]

Couldn't have said better myself at my very best. You laid it out perfectly. Now if we could only get RDLR to learn to pitch well on the road we may have something there. I was the one who was really down on him when we got him from the Dodgers but he has done enough, save bad road games, to make me think he could be a solid No. 3 or 4 starter for us. Webster? No way Jose.

 

Just keep in mind that we just traded a guy in Andrew Miller who had, if I remember correctly, an Allen Webster-esque presence on the mound when he was brought up to the majors and tried it as a starting pitcher. He wasn't a good starter but he reinvented himself as a truly nasty reliever. I can easily see Webster doing the same--he wouldn't have to own the entire game, just an inning or a batter. I wouldn't write him off as useless, just perhaps needing to be used the right way.

 

I'm hopeful that a combination of RDLR, Workman, Ranaudo, Barnes and Owens will produce 2-3 legitimate AL East starting pitchers. Webster could, but he'll have to develop a much stronger spine if he wants to be great.

[a700hitter]

If Webster gets to the point where he washes out completely as a starter, he probably gets dropped from the 40 man roster and some team grabs him in the rule V draft.

[jacksonianmarch]

The problem is that the sox promote too quickly. Mollie started in A ball. Very few position player prospects reach the bigs after starting in A ball. Pitchers do it all the time if they have back end pen stuff and are blowing people away, but hitters usually traverse two levels at most per year. That means Mookie probably should have stayed in AA or at most seen AAA by the time the season ended. Finishing in Boston is too much too soon for a hitter.

[jacksonianmarch]

And there was a pre-game show earlier this yr that cemented my thoughts on Jackie Bradley. They interviewed him in April and they asked him about his preparation. They asked if he watched tape, broke down pitchers tendencies or studied the opposition and he said "Nah man, I'm a see the ball, hit the ball kind of player". If you aren't a student of your craft, then you won't be successful

[Spudboy]

I found this article which explains the rules regarding trading players after July 31.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/08/explaining-august-trades-2.html

 

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Sox will do.

[SoxFanForsyth]

The problem is that the sox promote too quickly. Mollie started in A ball. Very few position player prospects reach the bigs after starting in A ball. Pitchers do it all the time if they have back end pen stuff and are blowing people away, but hitters usually traverse two levels at most per year. That means Mookie probably should have stayed in AA or at most seen AAA by the time the season ended. Finishing in Boston is too much too soon for a hitter.

 

You do realize that Mookie started in AA this year, no?

[Bellhorn04]

The problem is that the sox promote too quickly.

 

Nice blanket generalization!

[GomesBeard]

Interesting discussion on Buchholz. I agree that the issue seems to be above the shoulders. He never battles or grinds though an inning. If the stuff ain't there, it's more like, hey, too bad, maybe next time.... There aren't a lot of guys that have both the stuff and the psyche. If we could combine the grit of a Peavy with Buchholz's stuff, man, you'd have... Pedro! I think what Buchholz needs, in the short term, is a catcher that will kick his ass when his stuff isn't there and keep him focused, not allow him to wuss out. Vazquez can't do that, he's too new, and Ross, maybe he could but he's out now. Not sure that's really his personality anyway. So the lack of a tough-minded catcher is hurting him right now, too. Where is Crash Davis when we need him?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Marlins DFA'd Jacob Turner today.

 

I'll be pissed if the Sox don't pick him up. 4.01 FIP, 3.93 xFIP this year. .368 BABIP & 64% strand rate = unlucky.

 

Was a top 25 prospect just a couple years ago. Could be a great change of scenery guy, or at the very least a really nice bullpen arm.

[Spudboy]

Victorino will have back surgery

 

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11312314/shane-victorino-boston-red-sox-back-surgery

 

I posted a while back that I did not think that he would be back to contribute this season. But my assumption was based on what I knew of his hamstring injury.

 

Now the MRI shows a significant disc problem.

 

I have no idea how long rehab from such surgery is. I kind of doubt that he will contribute in 2015 now.

 

This sucks because the outfield continues to be a mess.

[a700hitter]

Victorino will have back surgery

 

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11312314/shane-victorino-boston-red-sox-back-surgery

 

I posted a while back that I did not think that he would be back to contribute this season. But my assumption was based on what I knew of his hamstring injury.

 

Now the MRI shows a significant disc problem.

 

I have no idea how long rehab from such surgery is. I kind of doubt that he will contribute in 2015 now.

 

This sucks because the outfield continues to be a mess.

Losing Victorino this season has been a major contributing factor to the team's downfall.

[Spudboy]

Losing Victorino this season has been a major contributing factor to the team's downfall.

 

Yes indeed. I hope that there is some way that he returns next year but I have serious doubts that he will or that he will be able to play effectively if he does.

 

Aside from Bradley the Sox don't have really good defensive outfielder on the 40 man ( to the best of my knowledge ).

 

I don't know if Bradley will be the starting center fielder for the Sox next year. If he is and we see Craig in left and Cespedes in right I see the Sox defense in the outfield as horrible. I can't remember seeing much of Craig playing defense so maybe he will be something more than average if he is no longer hampered by ankle problems. Cespedes is about as functional as Gomes was defensively from what I have seen in the past three years.

 

Of course we are all concerned about the rotation being the priority over the off season. The outfield will be a need as well. And the left side infield!!

 

Ben sure has his work cut out for him.

[Spudboy]

Allen Craig Headed to the Disabled List With Ankle Injury

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2014/08/allen_craig_headed_to_the_disabled_list_with_ankle.html

 

Lol. Unbelievable.

[GomesBeard]

Allen Craig Headed to the Disabled List With Ankle Injury

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2014/08/allen_craig_headed_to_the_disabled_list_with_ankle.html

 

Lol. Unbelievable.

 

Sheesh, I was just thinking that with Victorino out, at least we'd get to see Craig play every day....

[Palodios]

Allen Craig Headed to the Disabled List With Ankle Injury

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2014/08/allen_craig_headed_to_the_disabled_list_with_ankle.html

 

Lol. Unbelievable.

 

The Lackey trade may end up being a historically bad trade. Fortunately, this means we will see more Mookie.

[jd98]

The Lackey trade may end up being a historically bad trade. Fortunately, this means we will see more Mookie.

 

Guess who's not in the lineup again tonight.

[reYoukilis]

Allen Craig Headed to the Disabled List With Ankle Injury

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2014/08/allen_craig_headed_to_the_disabled_list_with_ankle.html

 

Lol. Unbelievable.

Well we got him that way and it may be the reason for the dropoff in production so we SHOULD let him rest.