Who is the Biggest Problem Right Now?

[jd98]

There's a lot more to being a GM than fantasy baseball style adding and dropping of players, such as media, player, and public relations, and all kinds of behind the scenes stuff I'm not aware of. As far as I can tell Ben is great at all that stuff. He was a guest for the Greenville Drive's fan appreciation day before the 2014 season, and he signed autographs, answered questions, mingled with the crowd. He seemed like a really good person, very knowledgeable and well spoken. As far as assembling a roster and giving out contracts, well that doesn't seem to be his strongest asset, and that's probably the most important part of the job.

[Bellhorn04]

Farrell has to go. Kick him upstairs. Hire Ron Gardenhire (?). Do something. The culture of losing is settling in big time.

[a700hitter]

But what can and what will he do to fix these problems?

That is his challenge. I think he realizes that his job is on the line so he will have to make some changes.

[Bigemu23]

That is his challenge. I think he realizes that his job is on the line so he will have to make some changes.

 

He really does need to do something about left field. I know HanRam was going to viewed as an average to below average fielder, but I don't think anyone thought he would be negative WAR bad. He has a -1.9 dWAR, and his offense has only been good enough to get him to -0.7 total WAR. He should be paying the Red Sox at this point.

[iortiz]

Sandoval benched for violating Red Sox social media policy.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

f*** Panda, what a bitch.

[iortiz]

Btw who is this Travis Shaw?

[a700hitter]

Btw who is this Travis Shaw?

 

Big power AAA first baseman.

[yankthis]

So Pandoval got benched for passing time on social media while he went to the restroom to take a dump. Next thing you know they'll be running somebody up a flagpole for blowing bubbles with their dubble bubble gum. Heaven forbid that somebody should get caught singing or whistling.

[Spudboy]

So Pandoval got benched for passing time on social media while he went to the restroom to take a dump. Next thing you know they'll be running somebody up a flagpole for blowing bubbles with their dubble bubble gum. Heaven forbid that somebody should get caught singing or whistling.

 

Except that Fat boy's actions were in direct violation of team rules. Farrell announced that not messing with devices after 6:40 on night games is the team policy. The idiot liked a ho'c pic on Instagram in the 7th inning with the Sox at bat.

 

 

How anyone can see this as permissible is beyond me. This guy is not going to work out in this town.

 

Largely ( pun intended ) unproductive at bats, lousy - average defense at 3rd, can't beat out a double, and now he is joking around with pussy on-line during a game.

 

But wait! He's a great WS performer!!!!!!

 

Eat about 7 mil of his annual contract and ship him somewhere his poor play and hijinks will be tolerated.

 

f*** him with a pineapple sideways.

Edited June 18, 2015 by Spudboy

[Northern Star]

Farrell has to go. Kick him upstairs. Hire Ron Gardenhire (?). Do something. The culture of losing is settling in big time.

 

Gardenhire? You must be joking.

[cp176]

Except that Fat boy's actions were in direct violation of team rules. Farrell announced that not messing with devices after 6:40 on night games is the team policy. The idiot liked a ho'c pic on Instagram in the 7th inning with the Sox at bat.

 

 

How anyone can see this as permissible is beyond me. This guy is not going to work out in this town.

 

Largely ( pun intended ) unproductive at bats, lousy - average defense at 3rd, can't beat out a double, and now he is joking around with pussy on-line during a game.

 

But wait! He's a great WS performer!!!!!!

 

Eat about 7 mil of his annual contract and ship him somewhere his poor play and hijinks will be tolerated.

 

f*** him with a pineapple sideways.

 

Agree once again - If it were possible, I would like to see all of these projected f***ing all-stars shipped as far away as possible.

they really did bring in a bunch of crap. I would much prefer to see the kids play and play hard.

[Spudboy]

And while I'm at it, Fat Boy was benched for one game because he violated rules. He should forfeit his pay for one game too. After all, the Sox derive no benefit having spent that money.

[Northern Star]

And while I'm at it, Fat Boy was benched for one game because he violated rules. He should forfeit his pay for one game too. After all, the Sox derive no benefit having spent that money.

 

A day off is a reward, not a punishment.

[yankthis]

Right or wrong or against club rules or whatever, there are bigger fish to fry than a dillydallying-while-taking-a-dump incident. It should not be headline news that consumes 2+ hours of pregame and postgame commentary on TV.

[iortiz]

Big power AAA first baseman.

 

I couldn't catch the game, was he ok? If so, keep Panda in the restroom checking his social media.

[cp176]

Right or wrong or against club rules or whatever, there are bigger fish to fry than a dillydallying-while-taking-a-dump incident. It should not be headline news that consumes 2+ hours of pregame and postgame commentary on TV.

 

I agree with you about how newsworthy something like this is. But it is about as important as a lot of things we get shoved down our throats by the news media. He is a fool - he got benched - it's over. he is a rich fool sadly.

[Kimmi]

Right or wrong or against club rules or whatever, there are bigger fish to fry than a dillydallying-while-taking-a-dump incident. It should not be headline news that consumes 2+ hours of pregame and postgame commentary on TV.

 

Just like always, when things are going bad, these little incidents get blown way out of proportion. Now we're hearing about how Pablo is a selfish, terrible teammate and Farrell has lost the clubhouse, etc. I would venture to guess that players check things on their phones all the time during the games when they go into the clubhouse for whatever reason. Most just don't get caught.

 

Pablo made a stupid mistake. Benching him for one game was a reasonable punishment. But all this stuff about how the team is running amok and how Farrell needs to come down harder on his players is nonsense, if you ask me.

[Kimmi]

Yup. Even radical moves can't turn this around.

 

In the mean time I'm going to continue to watch the young nucleus of this team. Aside from Castillo who is most likely going to be the next bust du jour, the rookie types are very fun to watch.

 

As much criticism as Ben gets for the Hanley and Panda signings, which I personally think is unwarranted, he deserves credit for holding steadfast about not trading Betts, Bogaerts, and Swihart. After losing out on Lester, it would have been all too easy for Ben to panic and trade one or more of these guys for Hamels or some other top pitcher. We are starting to see why these guys were "untouchables". Sometimes non-moves are the best moves.

[a700hitter]

I couldn't catch the game, was he ok? If so, keep Panda in the restroom checking his social media.

 

He made a very nice play.

[curiousd]

As much criticism as Ben gets for the Hanley and Panda signings, which I personally think is unwarranted, he deserves credit for holding steadfast about not trading Betts, Bogaerts, and Swihart. After losing out on Lester, it would have been all too easy for Ben to panic and trade one or more of these guys for Hamels or some other top pitcher. We are starting to see why these guys were "untouchables". Sometimes non-moves are the best moves.

 

Maybe the nerd/computer projection part of being a GM is more important than one would think.....In Political projections I have been hugely impressed by the accuracy of Nate Silver, and his programs for running Monte Carlo projections. And now the Cards are caught poaching the Astro's trade secrets; Cards one of two top performing teams in recent years...coincidence? I think not. From the way Ben was thrown into this, is there a possibility he does not understand or use Carmine, the software that Theo left behind? Maybe Carmine would have spit out a "No" on Panda, Hanley and Ben was in sheer blind luck for 2013.

[mvp 78]

I believe Ben doesn't have 100% say in roster moves. Signing Panda AND Hanley felt like a 2011 move to me. My guess is Lucchino/Werner/Vlad Dracul have more say in roster creation than we would like.

[User Name]

I believe Ben doesn't have 100% say in roster moves. Signing Panda AND Hanley felt like a 2011 move to me. My guess is Lucchino/Werner/Vlad Dracul have more say in roster creation than we would like.

 

This post is worth its weight in online gold.

[Kimmi]

Maybe the nerd/computer projection part of being a GM is more important than one would think.....In Political projections I have been hugely impressed by the accuracy of Nate Silver, and his programs for running Monte Carlo projections. And now the Cards are caught poaching the Astro's trade secrets; Cards one of two top performing teams in recent years...coincidence? I think not. From the way Ben was thrown into this, is there a possibility he does not understand or use Carmine, the software that Theo left behind? Maybe Carmine would have spit out a "No" on Panda, Hanley and Ben was in sheer blind luck for 2013.

 

There is no doubt that the nerd/computer projection part is a very important part of building a team. My impression was that Ben was very much a Theo protege, and that he has a good understanding of saberstats. I might be wrong though.

 

Everything computer related projected this team to be good, including Panda and Hanley. The fact that it hasn't been is mind-boggling. A couple of years ago, Henry acknowledged the importance of such projections by stating that Bill James would be given a larger voice in the baseball ops department. I would think that if Carmine were that set against Panda and Hanley, they wouldn't have been signed.

 

Unless, of course, Larry stuck his nose in where it didn't belong again.

[mvp 78]

This post is worth its weight in online gold.

 

I'd like to cash out on that zero dollars please!

[Flint]

Part of me wants to blame the front office for ignoring the rotation, but then again, they didn't. Cherington definitely over-rated the additions of Masterson, Porcello, and Miley. At the same time, many were optimistic Buchholz could stay healthy and emerge as a serviceable Ace. At least long enough to make a July trade for a Cueto, Hamels, or Zimmerman.

 

I blame the players on this. Pablo and Hanley aren't working out but that's the fault of their own. 2011-2013 taught us the importance of a cohesive clubhouse. We ditched the chicken and beer environment, won a title with a group of gritty role-players, only to take a step back. Granted we needed the offense, but we certainly didn't need Hanley's lazy LF and Pablo's eating habits. There's lots of talk about Pedey and Hanley friction in the clubhouse...and we're waiting for Papi to swallow his pride and start looking for way to beat the shift instead of hit homeruns.

 

Its been a lot of uninspiring baseball from the bigger names on this team. All the while, guys like Xander, Mookie, and Brockstar are grinding. I want to salvage the season, make a run, and win....but I'm afraid that'll take selling our younger grinders in an effort to acquire the big-name SP we need to make any winning possible. I say find a way to shed Pablo and/or Hanley. Hanley's bat is nice but his LF is not. Papi isn't going to move away from the DH spot anytime soon. Pablo will look like Yokozuna in another season from now. Get Brock into the starting lineup everyday and lets begin to clear a path for the other studs we've got on the Farm.

[User Name]

Part of me wants to blame the front office for ignoring the rotation, but then again, they didn't. Cherington definitely over-rated the additions of Masterson, Porcello, and Miley. At the same time, many were optimistic Buchholz could stay healthy and emerge as a serviceable Ace. At least long enough to make a July trade for a Cueto, Hamels, or Zimmerman.

 

I blame the players on this. Pablo and Hanley aren't working out but that's the fault of their own. 2011-2013 taught us the importance of a cohesive clubhouse. We ditched the chicken and beer environment, won a title with a group of gritty role-players, only to take a step back. Granted we needed the offense, but we certainly didn't need Hanley's lazy LF and Pablo's eating habits. There's lots of talk about Pedey and Hanley friction in the clubhouse...and we're waiting for Papi to swallow his pride and start looking for way to beat the shift instead of hit homeruns.

 

Its been a lot of uninspiring baseball from the bigger names on this team. All the while, guys like Xander, Mookie, and Brockstar are grinding. I want to salvage the season, make a run, and win....but I'm afraid that'll take selling our younger grinders in an effort to acquire the big-name SP we need to make any winning possible. I say find a way to shed Pablo and/or Hanley. Hanley's bat is nice but his LF is not. Papi isn't going to move away from the DH spot anytime soon. Pablo will look like Yokozuna in another season from now. Get Brock into the starting lineup everyday and lets begin to clear a path for the other studs we've got on the Farm.

 

Just an excellent post all around.

[mvp 78]

I'd pay good money to see Pablo get body slammed on an aircraft carrier.

[cp176]

I believe Ben doesn't have 100% say in roster moves. Signing Panda AND Hanley felt like a 2011 move to me. My guess is Lucchino/Werner/Vlad Dracul have more say in roster creation than we would like.

 

Wait wait wait - Was that Renfield? I remember this. The Count and his little sidekick. All good stuff boys. Got my attention.

[cp176]

Part of me wants to blame the front office for ignoring the rotation, but then again, they didn't. Cherington definitely over-rated the additions of Masterson, Porcello, and Miley. At the same time, many were optimistic Buchholz could stay healthy and emerge as a serviceable Ace. At least long enough to make a July trade for a Cueto, Hamels, or Zimmerman.

 

I blame the players on this. Pablo and Hanley aren't working out but that's the fault of their own. 2011-2013 taught us the importance of a cohesive clubhouse. We ditched the chicken and beer environment, won a title with a group of gritty role-players, only to take a step back. Granted we needed the offense, but we certainly didn't need Hanley's lazy LF and Pablo's eating habits. There's lots of talk about Pedey and Hanley friction in the clubhouse...and we're waiting for Papi to swallow his pride and start looking for way to beat the shift instead of hit homeruns.

 

Its been a lot of uninspiring baseball from the bigger names on this team. All the while, guys like Xander, Mookie, and Brockstar are grinding. I want to salvage the season, make a run, and win....but I'm afraid that'll take selling our younger grinders in an effort to acquire the big-name SP we need to make any winning possible. I say find a way to shed Pablo and/or Hanley. Hanley's bat is nice but his LF is not. Papi isn't going to move away from the DH spot anytime soon. Pablo will look like Yokozuna in another season from now. Get Brock into the starting lineup everyday and lets begin to clear a path for the other studs we've got on the Farm.

 

100%!!! I might even say add Bucholtz as possible trade bait with either Chubs or Hanley. His trade potential could not be higher. Not sure that I would do that but it is possible.