A Realistic View at 2016

[User Name]

Overall playing time factors heavily into the WAR calculation. That same production extrapolated over a full season probably eclipses 1.0 WAR, not to mention WAR is not very effective at measuring catcher defensive values.

[Dojji]

Ortiz has spoiled us because he is close to the best DH ever. The Sox traded to get him and maybe should try that again although I prefer not to. Moonslav has it about right.

 

Actually we picked Big Papi up off the scrap heap as a pretty unheralded veteran 1B free agent, neither awful not spectacular, and put him into the first base mix along with Kevin Millar and someone else (forget who) to see who could win the position.

 

And then we stopped screwing with his swing the way the Twins were (they wanted him to stop being so pull happy and hit to all fields, we didn't care as long as he hit). The result was magical. One of those "Best signings of all time" things.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Dojji

[Slasher9]

Actually we picked Big Papi up off the scrap heap as a pretty unheralded veteran 1B free agent, neither awful not spectacular, and put him into the first base mix along with Kevin Millar and someone else (forget who) to see who could win the position.

 

And then we stopped screwing with his swing the way the Twins were (they wanted him to stop being so pull happy and hit to all fields, we didn't care as long as he hit). The result was magical. One of those "Best signings of all time" things.

believe it or not that was a Giambi. not the cheating good one.

[Dojji]

Oh yes, Jeremy Giambi, how could I ever forget him.

[sk7326]

Ortiz' legacy to me has to be the greatest non-tender FA in the history of free agency. His last season in Minnesota was .272/.339/.500 which is quite good, but given 2002 offensive norms (1.3/1.1 bWAR/fWAR and 118 rc+) it was a fairly disposable performance. Just remarkable.

[Spudboy]

And it all happened because of Pedro.

[sk7326]

Also underrated was Ortiz' remarkable revival - if you remember 2008 (where he was borderline useless against the Rays) through 2010 there was a decline which raised legitimate questions as to whether the party was over.

[Kimmi]

I think teams have learned to pitch him up in the zone, which is where his hole is. He is not going to be a .900 OPS guy; I expect more like .780 or so. And at least his defensive metrics don't suck. In any event, he has been better than Sandoval would have been.

 

From the file marked "Give Pablo a Chance",

 

Shaw has made plays on balls hit to him 64.5% of the time (20th/28 qualified 3B), Sandoval was at 67.8% last season.

[Kimmi]

He'll be the first platinum glove winner in league history.

 

Hanley has a -6.4 UZR/150 to date.

[User Name]

From the file marked "Give Pablo a Chance",

 

 

Can we please give the Sandoval thing a rest?

[a700hitter]

From the file marked "Give Pablo a Chance",

 

Pablo has no chance.

[Dojji]

travis Shaw is our starting 3B for the forseeable future. I don't think even if Pablo returned to form he'd be a clear bet to outperform Shaw at this point.

[mvp 78]

And it all happened because of Pedro.

 

Never forget.

[moonslav59]

Travis Shaw was my "sleeper prospect" pick years ago, but then I pretty much gave up on him becoming a significant force at bat. I also thought his defense would be unacceptable at 3B, but he's looked better than I expected on D. I'm still not sold on his defense, but he's winning me back on my offensive projections.

 

Keep it up TS!

[Dojji]

Shaw's above replacement level defensively, that's all i ask of him. A lot better than relying on a guy who can't actually play the position anymore.

 

We are so lucky that we have Travis Shaw. Him just being on the roster averted a major disaster thanks to Pablo's inability to take care of himself, and turned a huge liability into a potential major asset.

[moonslav59]

Imagine if JBJ begins to hit at a level somewhere near the halfway point between last August and this year;s numbers.

[Spudboy]

Shaw's above replacement level defensively, that's all i ask of him. A lot better than relying on a guy who can't actually play the position anymore.

 

We are so lucky that we have Travis Shaw. Him just being on the roster averted a major disaster thanks to Pablo's inability to take care of himself, and turned a huge liability into a potential major asset.

 

This is a good point.

[Spudboy]

Imagine if JBJ begins to hit at a level somewhere near the halfway point between last August and this year;s numbers.

 

That would be Yuge.

 

But I will be happy if he settles somewhere .240 -.250

[moonslav59]

Yeah, I'm not expecting JBJ to hit .280 with 20 HRs, but .275 15 would be Youuuuge

[Dojji]

I'm really encouraged by the rotation at the moment. When we get E-Rod back our rotation is going to feature Price as the ace, Porcello, Wright and E-Rod in some order in the middle (likely Porcello-Erod-Wright), and Buchholz as the fifth starter. With average luck and everyone staying healthy, that's actually quite a rotation, especially if Buchholz ever gets going on one of his tears like he's capable of.

[cp176]

travis Shaw is our starting 3B for the forseeable future. I don't think even if Pablo returned to form he'd be a clear bet to outperform Shaw at this point.

 

I am just happy that the right guy got the chance to play third base. He had outplayed Sandoval from the onset of spring training. Whether he is the third baseman of the future or not, I will give credit to Farrell for dong the right thing with him. It would have been an absolute shame if he had not been pencilled in as the starting third baseman on opening day.

[Emp9]

I'm really encouraged by the rotation at the moment. When we get E-Rod back our rotation is going to feature Price as the ace, Porcello, Wright and E-Rod in some order in the middle (likely Porcello-Erod-Wright), and Buchholz as the fifth starter. With average luck and everyone staying healthy, that's actually quite a rotation, especially if Buchholz ever gets going on one of his tears like he's capable of.

 

I'm rooting for Wright big time, although ideally I'd like our rotation configured a bit better with Wright starting right before Price's start, not after (but one after the other in the same series as much as possible). What's Kelly's deal? Any word on Kelly?

[sk7326]

I'm rooting for Wright big time, although ideally I'd like our rotation configured a bit better with Wright starting right before Price's start, not after (but one after the other in the same series as much as possible). What's Kelly's deal? Any word on Kelly?

 

Hopefully he is not hurt too bad. Hopefully he never starts.

[Emp9]

Hopefully he is not hurt too bad. Hopefully he never starts.

 

I love to see a Taz, Hembree, Kelly, Smith, Koji, Kimbrel BP. I'm hoping Wright wins the #5 slot.

[sk7326]

I love to see a Taz, Hembree, Kelly, Smith, Koji, Kimbrel BP. I'm hoping Wright wins the #5 slot.

 

That would be a workable pen for sure. Way pitching staffs are conducted these days, add Barnes (for a 12 man staff which is the norm these days)

[Emp9]

That would be a workable pen for sure. Way pitching staffs are conducted these days, add Barnes (for a 12 man staff which is the norm these days)

 

Yeah Barnes or Light it seems to be a toss up, but that's to be expected. No slight on Kelly either. With his stuff he could really make a name (and a career) for himself if he could condense his repertoire to one inning of relief (if he can keep his control in check). Work his way to being a Closer if things go right.

[cp176]

I love to see a Taz, Hembree, Kelly, Smith, Koji, Kimbrel BP. I'm hoping Wright wins the #5 slot.

 

I'm not quite ready to eliminate tommy lane from the mix just yet.

[cp176]

I'm not quite ready to eliminate tommy lane from the mix just yet.

 

 

layne

[Kimmi]

Can we please give the Sandoval thing a rest?

 

I made that post tongue in cheek. For one, Pablo will be on the DL for a long time, so it's really a moot point. For two, I love the way Shaw is playing on both sides of the ball. At this point, I want Shaw playing everyday, even if Pablo were healthy. For three, the defensive metric that I posted really means nothing without more context, particularly in such a small sample.

[User Name]

Shaw's shortcomings are fair game, it's the Pablo thing in and of itself. As you said yourself, he'll be gone for a while.