Hanley Ramirez

[cp176]

I explained why. It's okay to disagree, and there's a significant chance he will do well for some or most of his remaining 2-3 years here, but his history is the epitome of a roller coaster career and he's now on the wrong side of prime.

 

I'm glad he's doing well this year, and we may not have a chance without him continuing so. I don't really want to talk bad about him in the middle of a championship run, so let's talk more this winter and certainly next year after we see which HanRam shows up. If he's herre and doing great, I'll be glad to admit I was wrong, But I think $22M for DH is too much.

 

 

You explained why. That says a lot. i'm glad that you are able to justify your own positions. I'm also very happy that DD and John Henry and company are running the franchise and not you. You are assuming that Ramirez will be moved to the dh position. I actually somewhat doubt that that is likely to happen. You are also assuming that EE will want and get 5 plus years at an extraordinary amount of money to be someone dh. I'm not sure that I believe he will get that type of offer from anyone.

[S5Dewey]

You explained why. That says a lot. i'm glad that you are able to justify your own positions. I'm also very happy that DD and John Henry and company are running the franchise and not you. You are assuming that Ramirez will be moved to the dh position. I actually somewhat doubt that that is likely to happen. You are also assuming that EE will want and get 5 plus years at an extraordinary amount of money to be someone dh. I'm not sure that I believe he will get that type of offer from anyone.

 

Only time will tell on the EE situation. IMO he's worth more to the Sox than to any other team because of his swing/spray chart. If he uses what he expects from the Sox as his benchmark for what he'll take I think he's going to be disappointed. OTOH, if he signs with the Sox for what some other team would pay him he could be a bargain for the Sox. But I don't want him at 5-6 years and $20+/year. I'd rather use the money to try to sign/extend some of our youth for the future.

[mvp 78]

Well, AGon was suppsed to be a monster at Fenway due to his spray chart...

[cp176]

Only time will tell on the EE situation. IMO he's worth more to the Sox than to any other team because of his swing/spray chart. If he uses what he expects from the Sox as his benchmark for what he'll take I think he's going to be disappointed. OTOH, if he signs with the Sox for what some other team would pay him he could be a bargain for the Sox. But I don't want him at 5-6 years and $20+/year. I'd rather use the money to try to sign/extend some of our youth for the future.

 

I agree with you. I'm just guessing like everybody else is here but I don't think that the Red Sox would go to 5/6 years with him. Wouldn't seem to make any sense. If he is actually on the radar for the Sox, I bet that they will make a very creative offer for him that he would have to consider. Who are the dh's out there who are being offered 5 and 6 year contracts at that type of money? I'm giving the organization credit enough to realize that that would be a ridiculous offer for an aging dh no matter how good he might be. 3 years makes more sense to me. No one on here has any idea what he is going to be asking for. If he can get a better deal to be someone's dh for a longer period of time, he better jump on it when the time comes. This time around I think that the Sox get to somewhat dictate what the terms of their offers will be and not simply what the market seems to suggest what they should or could be. Being in a position of strength for once is a good place to be.

[Bellhorn04]

Well, AGon was suppsed to be a monster at Fenway due to his spray chart...

 

True, although the more important diagram might have been his shoulder X-rays...

[S5Dewey]

Well, AGon was suppsed to be a monster at Fenway due to his spray chart...

 

AG's Boston #'s (.300/.812) are nothing to sneeze at, although they'd be quite pedestrian for this year's Sox team. But I'd sign EE for the $6.3M AG was getting while he was here in a heartbeat, for as many years as he wants (within reason). However, I wouldn't do it for the $22M the Dodgers are paying AGon.

[Bellhorn04]

AG's Boston #'s (.300/.812) are nothing to sneeze at

 

Actually .321/.895 for his Red Sox career.

[Emp9]

Why isn't anyone talking about Mike Napoli? He's got 34 HRs on the year, with a big OPS. He'll cost a comp pick, but 2015 is looking more and more like an aberration.

 

Probably because his swing and misses in 2015 are still setting off currents that are growing into a much larger storm as we speak somewhere. Have some mercy for the good people of Rio de Janeiro, would ya?

[Nick]

Probably because his swing and misses in 2015 are still setting off currents that are growing into a much larger storm as we speak somewhere. Have some mercy for the good people of Rio de Janeiro, would ya?

 

Or his cavalier attitude about the 'new' strike zone. He was sticking to his principle, damn the team so what if I'm striking out looking. For that, he can stay in Cleveland forever where Tito is willing to kiss his ass every day. No f***ing thanks.

[Bellhorn04]

Or his cavalier attitude about the 'new' strike zone. He was sticking to his principle, damn the team so what if I'm striking out looking. For that, he can stay in Cleveland forever where Tito is willing to kiss his ass every day. No f***ing thanks.

 

LOL WTF with the Tito ass-kissing part...sounds like you just wanted to work in a diss on Francona there.

[Spudboy]

I, for one, have nothing bad to say about Napoli.

[User Name]

....or Francona.

[a700hitter]

You explained why. That says a lot. i'm glad that you are able to justify your own positions. I'm also very happy that DD and John Henry and company are running the franchise and not you. You are assuming that Ramirez will be moved to the dh position. I actually somewhat doubt that that is likely to happen. You are also assuming that EE will want and get 5 plus years at an extraordinary amount of money to be someone dh. I'm not sure that I believe he will get that type of offer from anyone.

I agree with you on both counts.

[a700hitter]

Well, AGon was suppsed to be a monster at Fenway due to his spray chart...

True, but EE has played a lot more games at Fenway. More important than his spray chart is his performance at Fenway.

[a700hitter]

True, although the more important diagram might have been his shoulder X-rays...

Good point. We should draft better MDs

[a700hitter]

I, for one, have nothing bad to say about Napoli.

His resurgence has been remarkable this season. He looked like he was cooked at the end with us. He is having the best season of his career.

[Emp9]

I was actually going to list Napoli as an honerable mention if we wind-up going the cheaper route to fill in our DH/1B for next year, but I was running out of time. He's put up some nice #'s this season. I loved his initial signing in 2013 and figured there wasn't going to be that much of a drop off between AGone & Nap ... Along with the Vic signing. But even those "short" contracts (Nap's extension included) weren't short enough evidently. I'd take Nap back on a reasonable contract if that meant extending Betts, Bogey, & JBJ.

[Dojji]

I too would be happy to see Napoli returning. I've always liked him. And IIRC he was one of the people that put the team on his back in 13 at several key points. Definitely a guy to have in the lineup when you're in a playoff run.

[a700hitter]

I like Napoli, but he has been an all or nothing guy in his career. We would be buying high on him, and that is never good when dealing with a streaky player.

[S5Dewey]

Actually .321/.895 for his Red Sox career.

 

Ok. I must have picked those numbers up someplace else. My bad.

[Bellhorn04]

Ok. I must have picked those numbers up someplace else. My bad.

 

Yours were the 2012 numbers.

[S5Dewey]

Yours were the 2012 numbers.

 

I like yours better anyway.

[Spudboy]

....or Francona.

 

Of course.

 

Tito is my man.

[Spudboy]

I too would be happy to see Napoli returning. I've always liked him. And IIRC he was one of the people that put the team on his back in 13 at several key points. Definitely a guy to have in the lineup when you're in a playoff run.

 

And I will bag lap Dojji once again by reiterating that he was the one person suggesting and advocating that the Sox acquire Nap.

 

This was spot-on.

[moonslav59]

I don't think there's any doubt in anyone's mind that losing Papi is going to negatively affect our offense, and I don't think there's any way we're going to "replace" him. EE might do the job, but at what price? Let's remember that there are other ways to win besides bashing the ball.

 

I like your pitching staff going forward and I believe it'll be overall better than this year's. I'm not expecting 20 from Porcillo again but I wouldn't be surprised to see Price pick up whatever wins Porcillo doesn't get. Don't forget, Price has 8 losses this year and I'm expecting better from him in 2017.

 

I like your team as constructed, but I notice that HanRam is in the middle of it. Does this mean that you've softened on trading him?

 

I think my position on 'solid up the middle' has been pretty well documented here and I see the 2017 team as being solid up the middle defensively, and our entire OF (all four of them) may be the best 4-man outfield in baseball, defensively and cumulatively, offensively too. A bit short on power but they'll pick that up in OPS.

 

My only concerns about 2017 at this moment are 3B and the bullpen. 3B is what it is and it probably won't sort itself out until Spring Training - when anyone we might want to pick up for that position has already been signed by someone else. But, as I said, it is what it is, and worse things have happened than being "stuck" with Shaw or Moncada at 3B. And bullpen arms are a crap shoot and always have been. They need to make intelligent signings and hope for the best there.

 

In some ways this year reminds me of 2013. So many players are having their best years all at once. That could change next year, and not just with Porcello, but we have so many young players still in front of prime, so I think the chances are good most continue doing well or even better.

 

I have not softened on trading HanRam, but I want to wait to discuss that this winter.

 

The problem I see at 3B is difficult to deal with. We can't really spend large and long on a 3Bman, since we may end up blocking Moncada, but we can't count on Moncada as our FT 3Bman next year either. It's hard to find a great player for just one year other than through a trade.

 

Shaw and to a much lesser extent Pablo are also both possible solutions to the 3B problem, even if as just platoons (too bad they both can't hit lefties).

 

Although acquiring pen arm is always in some ways a crap shoot, it is the easiest and cheapest position to fill, even if mid season

[Palodios]

His resurgence has been remarkable this season. He looked like he was cooked at the end with us. He is having the best season of his career.

 

I am surprised to see this myself, but... He's having a very average Mike Napoli season. 2016? .838 OPS. Career? .837 OPS.

[a700hitter]

I am surprised to see this myself, but... He's having a very average Mike Napoli season. 2016? .838 OPS. Career? .837 OPS.

His OPS was down more than 100 points from his career average last season, and he has not played this much since 2013. This is his career high in PA.

[oldtimer]

Trumbo is a free agent to be. Why not go for him. He is what, 31 and could be an OF/DH for us for years to come. Getting a 40 HR guy and weakening a major competitor would be good to do. Probably cost a bundle but at the same time we could leave Hanley at 1st.

[Spudboy]

Trumbo is a free agent to be. Why not go for him. He is what, 31 and could be an OF/DH for us for years to come. Getting a 40 HR guy and weakening a major competitor would be good to do. Probably cost a bundle but at the same time we could leave Hanley at 1st.

 

I like this idea so far.

[moonslav59]

Trumbo is a free agent to be. Why not go for him. He is what, 31 and could be an OF/DH for us for years to come. Getting a 40 HR guy and weakening a major competitor would be good to do. Probably cost a bundle but at the same time we could leave Hanley at 1st.

 

I'm not one to worry about K's but Trumbo is a lot like Napoli in that way.

 

He'll be very expensive, but being able to play 1B and LF would help when we face NL teams away.

 

I think we need to look for a 1-2 year stop-gap 3Bman or corner IF'er.

 

I think Beni and Young have LF covered better than Shaw/Moncada/Pablo have 3B covered.