Red Sox' relative strengths and weaknesses

[a700hitter]

A Marlins official was quoted on what they wanted from us. It was so ridiculous that it seemed more like a joke.

 

http://nesn.com/2015/12/marlins-official-reveals-huge-red-sox-package-wanted-for-jose-fernandez/

 

“We thought we might be able to piece something together with the Red Sox,” a Marlins official told Peter Gammons. “With E-Rod (Eduardo Rodriguez), Mookie Betts, Christian Vazquez, Yoan Moncada and another pitcher I thought we had something that might work.”

It's a negotiation.

[Elktonnick]

A Marlins official was quoted on what they wanted from us. It was so ridiculous that it seemed more like a joke.

 

http://nesn.com/2015/12/marlins-official-reveals-huge-red-sox-package-wanted-for-jose-fernandez/

 

“We thought we might be able to piece something together with the Red Sox,” a Marlins official told Peter Gammons. “With E-Rod (Eduardo Rodriguez), Mookie Betts, Christian Vazquez, Yoan Moncada and another pitcher I thought we had something that might work.”

 

I saw the Marlin's GM on the MLB network and I later heard him on MLB radio. He made it clear that he knows Fernandez's value and he isn't going to let him go cheaply if at all. I think the Marlins were just stirring the pot to see if anything came of it.

[jacksonianmarch]

I think he missed his chance. That DBacks deal was insane. Should have taken that for Fernandez, cause nobody else will give that up

[Palodios]

Fernandez would be great but I like the price of Kazmir or Cashner a lot better.

[User Name]

All aboard the Kazmir bandwagon.

[jacksonianmarch]

Kazmir gets no love, but he has turned around his career rather significantly. He has some velocity back, peaking at 91.3mph this past yr. His walk total has been down below 3 per 9 and he's made 92 starts the last 3 yrs. Add to that he turns 32 next month and you have a guy who used to be highly hyped who is now flying under the radar as a pretty solid #3 starter. He'd be a great pickup for you guys

[mvp 78]

Kazmir? Bah humbug...

[Palodios]

Kazmir gets no love, but he has turned around his career rather significantly. He has some velocity back, peaking at 91.3mph this past yr. His walk total has been down below 3 per 9 and he's made 92 starts the last 3 yrs. Add to that he turns 32 next month and you have a guy who used to be highly hyped who is now flying under the radar as a pretty solid #3 starter. He'd be a great pickup for you guys

 

I figured teams would be fighting over him because he doesn't have compensation tagged to him. That being said, teams have already spent big on pitching, and Gallardo/Leake/Maeda/Chen/Kennedy are still out there.

[Spudboy]

All aboard the Kazmir bandwagon.

 

He wouldn't involve losing a pick, would he?

 

Also, The Sox would be lefty heavy. Is that Okay?

[Dojji]

Kazmir would be a good investment for the lower part of the rotation. I'd trust Kazmir over Buchholz at this point.

[MJantomaso]

Sometimes I wonder how Buch has kept his job as long as he has.

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

Sometimes I wonder how Buch has kept his job as long as he has.

 

I know right? I just can't see how he can be trusted to hold down the #2 spot. Personally I think E-Rod is their second best starter already.

[cp176]

I know right? I just can't see how he can be trusted to hold down the #2 spot. Personally I think E-Rod is their second best starter already.

 

This is it for Buchholz. Put up pr shut up. When you think of him, he comes with so many ifs that it is ridiculous. He has always been about the potential that he still has. Counting on him and Kelly comes with big risks. DD knows this I think.

[mvp 78]

We say that every offseason about Buchholz. He then teases fans the following season and convinces some that he can still be great value because maybe he'll be better next year. I assume this is how a lot of abusive relationships work.

[Palodios]

July 4th, 2015. Clay Buchholz pitches a complete game and trims his ERA to a 3.27. The Red Sox are practically out of contention. Buchholz has 2.5 more years of control and many playoff teams were desperate for pitching. The next start, Buchholz injures himself.

 

I will always wonder what GMs were willing to pay for Good-Buchholz before the deadline.

[Spudboy]

July 4th, 2015. Clay Buchholz pitches a complete game and trims his ERA to a 3.27. The Red Sox are practically out of contention. Buchholz has 2.5 more years of control and many playoff teams were desperate for pitching. The next start, Buchholz injures himself.

 

I will always wonder what GMs were willing to pay for Good-Buchholz before the deadline.

 

You are correct. You will always wonder.

[Behindenemylines]

For the Sox to have success in 2016 they need the vets to stay healthy and the younger guys to not take giant steps backwards. 1B and 3B are weaknesses until proven otherwise. The strengths are the bullpen outfield defense.

[cp176]

Beginning the New Year, it really is starting to look like the Ramirez at first experiment might be a go. Scares the hell out of me. Not only does the footwork issue come in to play, he also has to pay attention on every pitch. A real experiment. A bigger one than throwing him in the outfield. I realize that he is an infielder. I still have very limited confidence in him being able stay focused on every pitch. If he can't get it done, the Sox will have a major issue right out of the gate. What do you do with him?

[Elktonnick]

Beginning the New Year, it really is starting to look like the Ramirez at first experiment might be a go. Scares the hell out of me. Not only does the footwork issue come in to play, he also has to pay attention on every pitch. A real experiment. A bigger one than throwing him in the outfield. I realize that he is an infielder. I still have very limited confidence in him being able stay focused on every pitch. If he can't get it done, the Sox will have a major issue right out of the gate. What do you do with him?

 

Reportedly they are trying to trade him but who would want him? And, at what price?

[cp176]

One positive thing that we could have going for us is depth. Now, it might not be great in certain places, we could be at least adequate in just about every position on the field if someone goes down. No pressing need to hurry a player like Pederoia along when he gets hurt. It gets tricky with Ramirez, if he just can't play the position. He is easily replaceable by better first basemen but what do you do with him. If no one wants him that is a huge bad contract to eat. If this scenario plays out, which I hope that it doesn't, we will really find out some things about the whole franchise going forward. So far everybody is speaking the company line. Stay positive - not a big transition - he is working hard as we think spring thoughts.

[Kimmi]

Beginning the New Year, it really is starting to look like the Ramirez at first experiment might be a go. Scares the hell out of me. Not only does the footwork issue come in to play, he also has to pay attention on every pitch. A real experiment. A bigger one than throwing him in the outfield. I realize that he is an infielder. I still have very limited confidence in him being able stay focused on every pitch. If he can't get it done, the Sox will have a major issue right out of the gate. What do you do with him?

 

Hanley at first base scares the heck out of me too. I don't think it's a matter of physical ability, but the ability to stay focused and not make mental errors. The good thing is that we have Travis Shaw who can play a decent first base if needed. I have a feeling that Hanley will get a fair share of bats as DH, giving both him and Ortiz a breather.

 

If Hanley is as bad at first base as some of us fear, I think Dombrowski is the type who won't hesitate to bench him, regardless of his price tag.

 

All that said, until he shows me otherwise, I am going to hope that Hanley can at least play at a level where he won't be a liability.

[Kimmi]

One positive thing that we could have going for us is depth. Now, it might not be great in certain places, we could be at least adequate in just about every position on the field if someone goes down. No pressing need to hurry a player like Pederoia along when he gets hurt. It gets tricky with Ramirez, if he just can't play the position. He is easily replaceable by better first basemen but what do you do with him. If no one wants him that is a huge bad contract to eat. If this scenario plays out, which I hope that it doesn't, we will really find out some things about the whole franchise going forward. So far everybody is speaking the company line. Stay positive - not a big transition - he is working hard as we think spring thoughts.

 

The team really has no choice but to speak the company line. What else can they say?

 

I still think Hanley gets a bum rap on the whole attitude/lazy thing. I seriously think with him, he is just a big flake, for lack of a better word.

 

Hanley was first of all willing to learn a new position to come to this team. By all accounts he worked very hard prior to the season preparing for that new position. He hit very well until he hurt his shoulder running into a wall.

 

Then, when the team at first said that they were committed to keeping Hanley in LF, Hanley said that that is where he wanted to play. When the team then said that they were going to move him to 1B, he was very willing to move to yet another new position. In other words, I have not read anything that makes me believe that he has been a problem with regard to any of this.

 

Also, Hanley wanted to play winter ball to better prepare himself for the coming season. It was the team who nixed that idea, and Hanley accepted their decision with no problem.

[cp176]

I hope that you are right about Dombrowski. If he is healthy, sitting him down would be a power move. I found it interesting, that one of the projections for 2016 that I read the other day, even had Sam Travis getting an opportunity in Boston this year. Travis Shaw is ready to step in at either third or first. They have good contingency plans I think if things turn sour with respect to either first or third. If Hanley can't get the job done at first, we will find out quickly whether of not he wants to stay in Boston at all. Although, i think that we could do better, the potential for him to the dh going forward exists. A lot of this is really up to him.

[jung]

All the reports were that Hanley did not work at all to become a LFer and frankly that is exactly how he looked.

 

DD does not decide who plays. The Manager decides who plays and the Sox have chosen to leave this Manager a lame duck. Farrell has no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team exactly as he sees fit and if DD does not like it he always has two options someone in his position always has....get rid of a player or players he feels are being misused or fire the Manager. Option one is not quite as available as it usually is because nobody wants some of these guys, at any price. Option two is a very likely scenario. In fact, DD is helping it along as the very fact of TL being there is going to undermine Farrell to some extent.

 

The biggest danger to the Sox this year is getting off to one of those stumbling around 500 starts. Farrell may not have much in the way of tools with a team with proven disdain for lame duck Managers.

 

DD's move with TL was brilliant but only to the extent that he anticipates Farrell not making it through the 2016 season. Leaving him a lame duck and overpaying TL to remain bench coach will not be lost on these players, not in the highly monetized environment of Fenway. Some of these guys would actually prefer TL to Farrell and we would have our heads firmly stuck in the sand to think otherwise.

[Elktonnick]

All the reports were that Hanley did not work at all to become a LFer and frankly that is exactly how he looked.

 

DD does not decide who plays. The Manager decides who plays and the Sox have chosen to leave this Manager a lame duck. Farrell has no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team exactly as he sees fit and if DD does not like it he always has two options someone in his position always has....get rid of a player or players he feels are being misused or fire the Manager. Option one is not quite as available as it usually is because nobody wants some of these guys, at any price. Option two is a very likely scenario. In fact, DD is helping it along as the very fact of TL being there is going to undermine Farrell to some extent.

 

The biggest danger to the Sox this year is getting off to one of those stumbling around 500 starts. Farrell may not have much in the way of tools with a team with proven disdain for lame duck Managers.

 

DD's move with TL was brilliant but only to the extent that he anticipates Farrell not making it through the 2016 season. Leaving him a lame duck and overpaying TL to remain bench coach will not be lost on these players, not in the highly monetized environment of Fenway. Some of these guys would actually prefer TL to Farrell and we would have our heads firmly stuck in the sand to think otherwise.

 

I've said before that Farrell has to know that he is in a very uncomfortable( tenuous) position. I wouldn't put it past a character such as Hanley to try and take advantage of the situation and he may not be the only one. That's why it is imperative that the Red Sox have a good spring training and get off to a good start once the season gets under way. If they don't it could get ugly in that clubhouse real quickly. I'd feel a whole lot better if neither the Panda nor Hanley were around.

[Kimmi]

All the reports were that Hanley did not work at all to become a LFer and frankly that is exactly how he looked.

 

DD does not decide who plays. The Manager decides who plays and the Sox have chosen to leave this Manager a lame duck. Farrell has no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team exactly as he sees fit and if DD does not like it he always has two options someone in his position always has....get rid of a player or players he feels are being misused or fire the Manager. Option one is not quite as available as it usually is because nobody wants some of these guys, at any price. Option two is a very likely scenario. In fact, DD is helping it along as the very fact of TL being there is going to undermine Farrell to some extent.

 

The biggest danger to the Sox this year is getting off to one of those stumbling around 500 starts. Farrell may not have much in the way of tools with a team with proven disdain for lame duck Managers.

 

DD's move with TL was brilliant but only to the extent that he anticipates Farrell not making it through the 2016 season. Leaving him a lame duck and overpaying TL to remain bench coach will not be lost on these players, not in the highly monetized environment of Fenway. Some of these guys would actually prefer TL to Farrell and we would have our heads firmly stuck in the sand to think otherwise.

 

The reports that I've read are that Hanley, per a gentlemen's agreement, arrived in camp 2 weeks early to work out in left field. He did not take a lot of extra fielding practice during the season, but my understanding was that was because the coaches were more concerned with keeping him healthy. It is also my understanding that Hanley willingly did practice anytime the coaches asked him to do so.

 

Dombrowski has the final say on who plays and who doesn't. While GMs will almost always leave that to the manager, if Dombrowski wants somebody to be played (to be showcased, for instance) or wants somebody to be benched, the final decision is his.

[jung]

Actually if the two are at loggerheads, then the Pres of Baseball Ops just fires the Manager. Again, Farrell is being left a lame duck. There is no line he has to toe managing this team. He can and should manage it for wins all the way up until the point where wins in this championship season no longer mean anything. That is the point generally where Baseball Ops can offer who should play. Up until then, he is a lame duck Manager and Managers are judged on wins within the Championship season. As far as he knows, he is looking for a job for 2017.

 

If they want to exert some pressure on Farrell to toe some line, throw another year on the table, and just pay him for it if you fire him anyway. If they are not going to do that, then they have a lame duck with no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team for wins as he sees fit up until they fire him or very much less likely but possible, extend him.

[Bellhorn04]

Actually if the two are at loggerheads, then the Pres of Baseball Ops just fires the Manager. Again, Farrell is being left a lame duck. There is no line he has to toe managing this team. He can and should manage it for wins all the way up until the point where wins in this championship season no longer mean anything. That is the point generally where Baseball Ops can offer who should play. Up until then, he is a lame duck Manager and Managers are judged on wins within the Championship season. As far as he knows, he is looking for a job for 2017.

 

If they want to exert some pressure on Farrell to toe some line, throw another year on the table, and just pay him for it if you fire him anyway. If they are not going to do that, then they have a lame duck with no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team for wins as he sees fit up until they fire him or very much less likely but possible, extend him.

 

Farrell is under contract through 2017.

[jung]

Farrell is under contract through 2017.

 

Did I ever miss that. They must have extended him at some point but I sure don't know when.

 

oh wait...now I remember. This must be the contract extension that had some people wondering why the Sox did not wait till part way through 2016 although I don't ever think you want to wait that long to extend a manager in this town. But if people were talking about it in that context, it must have been before 2015 started.

Edited January 3, 2016 by jung

[Kimmi]

Actually if the two are at loggerheads, then the Pres of Baseball Ops just fires the Manager. Again, Farrell is being left a lame duck. There is no line he has to toe managing this team. He can and should manage it for wins all the way up until the point where wins in this championship season no longer mean anything. That is the point generally where Baseball Ops can offer who should play. Up until then, he is a lame duck Manager and Managers are judged on wins within the Championship season. As far as he knows, he is looking for a job for 2017.

 

If they want to exert some pressure on Farrell to toe some line, throw another year on the table, and just pay him for it if you fire him anyway. If they are not going to do that, then they have a lame duck with no incentive to do anything other than Manage the team for wins as he sees fit up until they fire him or very much less likely but possible, extend him.

 

Sorry, but this post doesn't make any sense to me. Dombrowski (or any GM) will provide Farrell with scouting reports, stats, etc. collected by his FO team. He will then allow Farrell to manage the way he sees fit, for the most part. That's the way it usually goes.

 

However, if Hanley really stinks at 1B to the point where he is a liability, Dombrowski has the power to direct Farrell not to play Hanley.