Spring training

[Bellhorn04]

His first season in the minors.

 

Baseball-Ref shows him with 0 errors in 2004, 7 errors in 2005 and 7 errors in 2006 for a total of 14 errors in his minor league career.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=pedroi001dus

[jung]

Old Schoolers see it this way - We all know that it is just a meaningless spring training game - yada-yada-yada. the simple fact remains is that a guy we are counting on to be a mainstay in our rotation for years to come just got the crap kicked out of him by a bunch of guys who aren't supposed to hit. Unless Porcello has virtually no personal pride, which I doubt very much, at some point or another, he will actually have to start getting people out. When you look at our potential rotation after Price without Rodriguez, if it doesn't ring a small alarm even now, you must be a flat liner. Big question might be is how patient DD will be before he decides to make a big move that is going to get everybody talking?

 

I think Porcello cares a great deal. He does not leave the mound looking much like he is about to start a champagne celebration. Usually during these stretches he leaves the mound with this, "holy s***.....it wasn't there today either"....look on his face, not sure what to do next. He has got a good deal of career left. Yet if you look at the glide path of his use of the sinker, his jet liner hits solid ground in two, maybe three years...tops.

 

Not finding his sinker in the Spring really would not be that big a deal either with the exception that he did not find it last year till about mid-year and I cannot tell you whether the drop in year over year sinker numbers are serial over the course of a year or if they just represent the time within a season when he found it again or when his arm let him throw it again. It occurs to me that the sinker is not a particularly easy pitch on the arm and he has thrown a ton of them over his career when you consider this has been his bread and butter pitch forever. So while being relatively young, there is a fair amount of sinker mileage on that arm. I have not looked this year, but up till last year, you could still find the early scouting reports on Porcello as he was breaking in and they were full of glowing praise for his sinker.

[mvp 78]

Baseball-Ref shows him with 0 errors in 2004, 7 errors in 2005 and 7 errors in 2006 for a total of 14 errors in his minor league career.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=pedroi001dus

 

Get your facts outta here! That's not what TS is about!!!

[cp176]

I believe that he has a tremendous amount of personal pride. I also do not see the upside in him that many seem to see. At the very best he looks as though he could be a solid middle of the rotation guy. That is not a bad thing but if he is potentially the best we have after Price then good luck with that.

[jung]

I believe that he has a tremendous amount of personal pride. I also do not see the upside in him that many seem to see. At the very best he looks as though he could be a solid middle of the rotation guy. That is not a bad thing but if he is potentially the best we have after Price then good luck with that.

 

I agree with you completely on the upside thing. In fact, BC could have looked at the same numbers I have been looking at BEFORE he extended Porcello. What the hell WAS he looking at. A guy throwing less and less of his bread and butter pitch year over year should have sent alarm bells going off all over the place. Instead it said to BC, here let me give the guy more money than he could ever expect in FA....duh!!!!!!!!!!

 

Eddie probably has the most upside. He HAS to be able to throw slider and change in the same stint with the same relative good result. Eddie can't live on FB/Change or FB/slider. It ain't happening. It has to be FB/Change/slider. And he has got to completely slay the tipping dragon.

 

After Eddie, rating for upside only it is probably Kelly followed by Johnson followed by Owens.... followed by ......followed by........

 

IMO after Johnson its really wait for the next generation toiling down there in the minors for the next couple years and do we think Johnson can pitch without breaking down.

 

I know people will disagree with me on Owens and thats fine. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.

 

We have certainly seen the best Buch has to offer.

[sk7326]

The spring numbers don't bother me - I just don't know what he was supposed to work on. One hopes the strikeout-flyball approach he took last year is mothballed, because he has a track record of a very effective ground ball pitcher - I am fairly optimistic about him as a fringy #2, #3 sort.

 

Rodriguez has #1 stuff - sometimes there looked to be issues turning over the lineup on that third look. He definitely had that "one bad inning" issue also. Those are not the sort of things he can work on in the minors - because his stuff is good enough to conquer that without worrying about feel or adjusting.

 

Owens to me has kind of turned into an underrated prospect. He got swings and misses with big league bats - and that is much more to build on than most pitchers have. Now if I were dictator, I'd have him up here as a 100 IP kind of super-reliever where you can manage workload (twice a week, once through the lineup sort of thing), but more likely Pawtucket is the starting spot, and that's ok.

[jung]

Well I watched the game. Porcello was throwing a lot of FB's AGAIN and trying to throw the Sinker. The Sinker just was not moving at all and his FB has always been terrible which is why he cannot throw it as much as he has been forced to throw it in recent years when the Sinker is not sinking. But the ineffective Sinker is really the issue. When it is ineffective, the few he throws suck and his FB sucks. So that turns out to be a lotta' sucky pitches and the ball ends up flying all over the place. That is exactly how he started last season and didn't get it sorted out until about half way through.

 

The ground balls he was getting were not on good hard Sinkers, they were so so sinkers that the hitters just did not get to with enough on them to do much. The Sinkers that didn't sink and the FB's he threw.....ugh......OFers did not have to take an afternoon run after this game. I did not notice him throwing too many curves. Honestly, he rarely got to what is a curve ball count for him. Some OFer was already trying to chase the ball down before he got there.

 

Forgot to mention that while I saw none of the Pirates game today Kelly apparently went 3 or maybe 3+ scoreless, a good sign and probably a welcome sign for Farrell. Porky apparently had a HR and an error....figures.

Edited March 14, 2016 by jung

[a700hitter]

 

Forgot to mention that while I saw none of the Pirates game today Kelly apparently went 3 or maybe 3+ scoreless, a good sign and probably a welcome sign for Farrell. Porky apparently had a HR and an error....figures.

Kelly went 4 scoreless innings, but the Pirates played their minor leaguers and scrubs. Porky also had an error.

[cp176]

You and Goose Gossage would get along well.

 

finally I get it- good one but I'm not quite at the Gossage level although I have to admit I still like looking at a good old box score. When the reported results start to change then I will change as well. I will freely admit though that my approach to the world of athletics leans toward a less academic direction then some. I'm comfortable with that.

[cp176]

still think that the Swihart/Vazquez situation won't be solved by simply sending Vaz back to Pawtucket for a little while. In addition to Price now we hear from Kelly about how much he enjoys having Vazquez behind the plate. Swihart is improving so I guess that it might not be considered a problem but with our current pitching being what it is, at some point, some time, everything will need to be done to give them the best or even any chance of having success. That might mean that very soon Vazquez becomes the everyday guy. Swihart is a talented prospect and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

[jung]

The simple truth of it is that at least at this point Vaz is a front line catcher and Swihart is well Swihart......not a front line catcher. There is so much drivel that comes out of the Sox PR machine that if you listen to that nonsense you will have no idea who is what or who is doing what. But my biggest concern for Swihart as a Catcher is that he might always play like what he is, a conversion. If there is one position on the field other than Pitcher that a player is born for, its Catcher.

 

If Swihart never can pump his BA over lets say .275 and his OPS over lets say .750 as an MLB player, is that enough to overcome his deficiencies as a Catcher. He does look a little like Salty II without the power and with more ability to at least track pop ups from behind home plate. Salty used to look like he was going on safari for a pop up. Imagine if we had Hanley at 1st and Salty behind the dish....Oh my God!!!

[cp176]

I get the stuff they feed us about not changing a players position before they have mastered their primary one. Guess I have always thought that as a player moves through the system that someone has truly investigated where each of the top prospects might actually be playing someday. For instance - Moncada will likely not be playing second base for the Sox anytime soon. If he is as good as he projects maybe he should be moved sooner. They seem to be playing a game of mumbly chuck musical chairs with many of our prospects in an attempt to get them in the lineup. I hope that they plan to keep the very athletic Swihart but if they wait for him to master his position before they move him, he may never recognize his potential.

[User Name]

It's a problem of prospect redundancy. Too deep at certain positions will force position changes to guarantee playing time for the better hitting prospects. It is what it is.

[sk7326]

Really the Sox have made a point to sign great athletes and put them in the most athletically demanding positions - at least as a starting point, and let internal competition sort the rest out. Making conclusive anythings about Swihart at the dish without considering context is a bit silly.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/blake-swihart-the-red-sox-mythical-third-prospect/

[cp176]

Really the Sox have made a point to sign great athletes and put them in the most athletically demanding positions - at least as a starting point, and let internal competition sort the rest out. Making conclusive anythings about Swihart at the dish without considering context is a bit silly.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/blake-swihart-the-red-sox-mythical-third-prospect/

 

So - What would you suggest they do in the event that Vazquez is healthy and ready to go which he will be quite soon? No one has tried to make any conclusive statements about the situation so far but eventually the Red Sox are going to have to deal with it. Eventually is apt to be sooner as opposed to later. It gives me something to discuss that actually interests me. Doesn't sound to me as though Vazquez is going to be mouselike and just simply go quietly to AAA. He wants to play.

[User Name]

So does Swihart. The best overall player will play. It's a good problem to have.

[sk7326]

So - What would you suggest they do in the event that Vazquez is healthy and ready to go which he will be quite soon? No one has tried to make any conclusive statements about the situation so far but eventually the Red Sox are going to have to deal with it. Eventually is apt to be sooner as opposed to later. It gives me something to discuss that actually interests me. Doesn't sound to me as though Vazquez is going to be mouselike and just simply go quietly to AAA. He wants to play.

 

That's what Hazen, Farrell and Dombrowski get the big bucks for. There is a solid case for starting him in extended spring - if the Sox want to make it. You could also argue that he could use some more at-bats. I feel bad that injury problems put Vasquez a little behind in the competition but that happpens.

[jung]

Price second outing tonight. Threw all FB's but looked very good doing it.

[cp176]

That's what Hazen, Farrell and Dombrowski get the big bucks for. There is a solid case for starting him in extended spring - if the Sox want to make it. You could also argue that he could use some more at-bats. I feel bad that injury problems put Vasquez a little behind in the competition but that happpens.

 

I will feel bad as well if his injury puts him behind in the competition. The Red Sox have historically been able to make solid cases for whatever they have wanted to do.

[cp176]

So does Swihart. The best overall player will play. It's a good problem to have.

 

Agree - It does sound like a good problem to have right now.

[Spudboy]

Hanley actually looked pretty decent at 1st from what I saw tonight.

[a700hitter]

Hanley actually looked pretty decent at 1st from what I saw tonight.

He made a pick on a throw in the dirt yesterday.

[wyo-sox]

Hanley, a life long SS will be just fine for us at 1st I believe. Our third baseman is going to be the problem. Not only will Shaw force his way onto the field... Panda will force his way off..... but because of the huge money Panda is making it will take way to long for that to actually happen

[a700hitter]

This sucks

 

[h=2]Eduardo Rodriguez Likely To Open Year On DL[/h] By Steve Adams | March 15, 2016 at 9:07pm CDT

Though the Red Sox haven’t made any sort of formal announcement or roster move, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez appears headed for the disabled list to begin the season as he recovers from a dislocated kneecap in his right knee. Manager John Farrell acknowledged to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that Rodriguez won’t be ready for the opener, telling reporters that Rodriguez is slated to throw off a mound tomorrow. Rodriguez, though, will require three bullpen sessions before he’s even able to get into a spring game, Abraham notes.

Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal takes a stab at a projected return date, noting that if Rodriguez is to follow the same criteria as other Red Sox starters — making six multi-inning appearances in a game setting before his regular season debut — he’d be unlikely to be available before April 26. The Sox, then, could be without their promising young lefty for the majority of the season’s first month. Fill-in candidates for Rodriguez’s rotation spot would include fellow left-handers Henry Owens and Roenis Elias as well as right-hander Steven Wright. (Left-hander Brian Johnson has been slowed as of late by a sprained toe.) The 31-year-old Wright had an inside track on making the Opening Day roster anyway, due to the fact that he is out of minor league options, but the an injury to Rodriguez could further open the door for him, at least for the season’s first month.

When he returns, Rodriguez will join David Price, Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly in Boston’s starting five, barring any injuries. The 22-year-old Rodriguez recorded 121 2/3 innings if 3.85 ERA ball out of the Sox’ rotation in his rookie season last year, averaging 7.2 strikeouts and 2.7 walks per nine innings to go along with a 43 percent ground-ball rate.

 

[mvp 78]

This sucks

 

But not unexpected.

[User Name]

Hopefully Wirght can be competent for a couple of starts.

[mvp 78]

Hopefully Wirght can be competent for a couple of starts.

 

I think you mean Roenis Elias?

[jung]

I doubt Elias will get the starts. I think Wright will get them. In fact early in the season is the best time to unleash a knuckler on hitters that barely have their timing. If Elias gets the job IMO it will be because he is really impressive here in the spring.....last stint....not so much.

[mvp 78]

I doubt Elias will get the starts. I think Wright will get them. In fact early in the season is the best time to unleash a knuckler on hitters that barely have their timing. If Elias gets the job IMO it will be because he is really impressive here in the spring.....last stint....not so much.

 

So all the reports stating that Farrell has said he thinks Elias will get the nod are wrong? Ok.

 

Every roster projection I have seen has Wright in the bullpen, not in the rotation.

[Station 13]

Castillo booted yet another ball last night, a single into a double. This will be his 3rd taste of major league tour, I f***ing hope he isn't caught off guard like he was the previous times. 29 and should be his peak years, not development and trial. There's zero excuses for it anymore.