7/27 Sox v Sox

[SoxHop]

Wow..... this game is still going on....

[Douglas616]

What a shitfest of a game. The offense comes alive, the pitching still blows. Ugh.

[Spudboy]

Maybe Castillo will rake?

 

Or maybe he will s*** the bed.

 

Most likely he will become injured before either happens so we can all be in suspense about his all world powers until next spring.

[Bellhorn04]

Maybe Castillo will rake?

 

Or maybe he will s*** the bed.

 

Most likely he will become injured before either happens so we can all be in suspense about his all world powers until next spring.

 

By next spring optimism will abound again about this marvelous athlete.

[Kimmi]

It's possible that his bullpen strategy is even harder to defend than the rotation strategy.

 

There was nothing wrong with Ben's BP strategy. I could defend it, but I won't bother.

 

All I will say is hindsight is 20/20.

[Kimmi]

wait....what just happened? I know they didn't just pinch hit for the $72 million man with a 4th OFer......

 

This move was kind of puzzling. If the team were in the middle of a pennant race, then sure, pinch hit for Castillo. But at this point, Castillo needs to play everyday and stay in the games so that he can get the ML experience and hopefully develop to the point where he can be an everyday OF for us next year.

 

I understand the reasoning of still trying to win every game despite our chances, but keeping Castillo in there in that situation in no way jeopardizes the integrity of the game.

[Kimmi]

It would be a disheartening loss if the game mattered.

 

The losses are always disheartening.

[Kimmi]

By next spring optimism will abound again about this marvelous athlete.

 

Optimism still abounds in some of us. Okay, maybe only one of us.

 

Remember that Castillo is not projected to be a Puig or an Abreu. I can't remember who was mentioned as his comps. Victorino? If he comes close to that, he'll be worth his contract, this year aside.

[Bellhorn04]

There was nothing wrong with Ben's BP strategy. I could defend it, but I won't bother.

 

All I will say is hindsight is 20/20.

 

What was the BP strategy?

[a700hitter]

Optimism still abounds in some of us. Okay, maybe only one of us.

 

Remember that Castillo is not projected to be a Puig or an Abreu. I can't remember who was mentioned as his comps. Victorino? If he comes close to that, he'll be worth his contract, this year aside.

How does his contract compare to Puig's or Abreu's?

 

Castillo's contract was larger than either Puig's or Abreu's. So, was the strategy to pay more for a known lesser quantity? That's not a good business strategy.

Edited July 28, 2015 by a700hitter

[Kimmi]

What was the BP strategy?

 

Anchor the BP with good 8th and 9th inning guys, then collect as many other BP arms as is practical, and hope someone sticks. Relievers are so unpredictable that spending a lot of money on the BP isn't the best strategy. As it is, I think Koji's contract was too large, not that I'm complaining. The best relievers often come out of nowhere.

[a700hitter]

Anchor the BP with good 8th and 9th inning guys, then collect as many other BP arms as is practical, and hope someone sticks. Relievers are so unpredictable that spending a lot of money on the BP isn't the best strategy. As it is, I think Koji's contract was too large, not that I'm complaining. The best relievers often come out of nowhere.

So basically, the strategy was the bolded part of my prior post below.

 

There was zero effort put into building the pen. He stayed with Uehara, Taz and Breslow and add Ogando and a couple of buckets. Gee that must have taken up a full couple of hours of his winter. I put more effort into my Fantasy teams.

[Bellhorn04]

It would have been nice if we got some bullpen help from the farm. But every guy they brought up has failed so far.

[Kimmi]

It would have been nice if we got some bullpen help from the farm. But every guy they brought up has failed so far.

 

That's why I said "hindsight". They all failed, and hence, it's easy to say the Ben did not plan for the BP. There were enough pieces that you hope and think someone will be a solid contributor. I remember all the talk about Barnes being someone who had the potential to be so good in the BP that many of us hoped that he would be kept stretched out as a starter instead. Teams do not go out and sign expensive or big name middle relievers. Those guys, and some of your best closers, typically come out of nowhere.

[yankthis]

Give up just one run, lose 1-0. Get 8 runs, lose 10-8. File under "You know your team sucks when..."

 

The bright side is that just one solid player could make a 10-or-more-games difference in the wins column over the course of the season.