Red Sox To Sign J.D. Martinez

[notin]

I was watching the Yankees play Baltimore recently and Camden Yards was empty. The weather was good and the Yankees are heading to the playoffs. Even in the Orioles' worst seasons, Camden would be full when a competitive Yankee or Red Sox team was in town. I used to make at least 1 trip there each season. The awful traffic had been the only negative, but after the horrific riots that spilled near the inner harbor trapping fans in the stadium, I would never go there again. I think many other Red Sox and Yankees fans feel the same way.

 

The inner harbor is somehow a great place and a colossal armpit all at once...

[a700hitter]

It's like Curt Schilling. I don't agree with anything he has to say politically, but I will absolutely defend his rights to have those views.

 

I'm not even sure why this quote from Martinez is supposed to be offensive. Because he quoted Hitler? He didn't do it in a way that supported Hitler, but rather he posited Hitler as the opposing point of view (i.e. taking away guns.) Have we reached a point in our society that we can't even mention history's greatest villains as opposing viewpoints?

 

Also, I would not like JD if he killed a700's dogs and cats, unless a700 himself was using JD to perform so in a medical capacity. No video required. And I also would not like JDM if he opted out in two years and signed with the Yankees. But that goes without saying. I wouldn't like Mother Theresa if she was wearing pinstripes...

The reason for requiring a video would be because i would doubt any other evidence. I would have to see it with my own eyes. As for Mother Theresa being in pinstripes, I agree that would make me sour on her too. It is just this troll culture -- people with useless lives that add nothing to society who are bent on destroying everything and everyone that is successful and popular. I believe almost none of what I read or hear and about 25% of what I see -- except for watching baseball. Everything else is destructive noise.

[harmony]

So...what, are we supposed to be outraged by this or something?

 

I feel like we're quickly reaching the bottom of the barrel in the quest to unearth "offensive" tweets from years ago.

No need to be outraged ... just another side of (a younger) J.D. Martinez:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/steve_buckley/2018/08/buckley_red_sox_jd_martinez_gets_a_for_effort_f_in_history

[a700hitter]

No need to be outraged ... just another side of (a younger) J.D. Martinez:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/columnists/steve_buckley/2018/08/buckley_red_sox_jd_martinez_gets_a_for_effort_f_in_history

Another side to (a younger) J.D. Martinez would be if he was a top pitching or SS prospect, not this garbage.

[harmony]

Another side to (a younger) J.D. Martinez would be if he was a top pitching or SS prospect, not this garbage.

No garbage.

 

Some fans want to see a baseball player as something more than a one-dimensional human being on this earth solely for our sporting entertainment.

 

http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=6395744

[a700hitter]

No garbage.

 

Some fans want to see a baseball player as something more than a one-dimensional human being on this earth solely for our sporting entertainment.

 

http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=6395744

This doesn't do it.

[mvp 78]

This just in, baseball players are dumbasses.

 

Color me shocked and surprised. Taken aback even! Confounded!

[harmony]

This doesn't do it.

I respect individual tastes.

[vegasbob]

If you would have known that JDM would be hitting .336/1.063 with 39 HR's and 114 rbi, I think most would have been very satisfied with the signing. If you then learned it was only August 31 with those numbers, you would wonder why this guy was given an out option in his deal after 2019. Incredible performance an a prime reason the Sox are 51 games over .500. Come out with guns blazing, JD.

[mvp 78]

If you would have known that JDM would be hitting .336/1.063 with 39 HR's and 114 rbi, I think most would have been very satisfied with the signing. If you then learned it was only August 31 with those numbers, you would wonder why this guy was given an out option in his deal after 2019. Incredible performance an a prime reason the Sox are 51 games over .500. Come out with guns blazing, JD.

 

He was given an out option BECAUSE JD WANTED IT.

[Kimmi]

If you would have known that JDM would be hitting .336/1.063 with 39 HR's and 114 rbi, I think most would have been very satisfied with the signing. If you then learned it was only August 31 with those numbers, you would wonder why this guy was given an out option in his deal after 2019. Incredible performance an a prime reason the Sox are 51 games over .500. Come out with guns blazing, JD.

 

I don't think any of us imagined he would be as good as he is. It will be interesting to see what kind of new contract JD will get if he continues to perform at this level through next year.

[a700hitter]

I don't think any of us imagined he would be as good as he is. It will be interesting to see what kind of new contract JD will get if he continues to perform at this level through next year.

Te stats were there indicating that he could be this good. The only question is remaining healthy.

[sk7326]

I don't think any of us imagined he would be as good as he is. It will be interesting to see what kind of new contract JD will get if he continues to perform at this level through next year.

 

I think this is definitely a right tailed outcome for him - though there was no doubt he would be a 30 HR sort of guy for the early part of the contract. The question with his contract was health and the aging curve for guys like him (see Pujols, who is actually a better athlete) - if bat speed goes, there is not much of a ballplayer there. That said, the early part of the contract looked promising - and both sides should end up really happy with that.

[Emp9]

I don't think any of us imagined he would be as good as he is. It will be interesting to see what kind of new contract JD will get if he continues to perform at this level through next year.

 

I kinda did. My only question was if he’d stay healthy or not.

[cp176]

I kinda did. My only question was if he’d stay healthy or not.

 

There really wasn't any doubt about it in my mind. I agree with you about the staying healthy part. He has been one of the very best hitters in the game for a while now when healthy. No one should have been in actual doubt as to what he would likely do. It is of course great to see the numbers that he has put up. Although I would have been satisfied with less, I'm not surprised by them at all.

[Kimmi]

I think this is definitely a right tailed outcome for him - though there was no doubt he would be a 30 HR sort of guy for the early part of the contract. The question with his contract was health and the aging curve for guys like him (see Pujols, who is actually a better athlete) - if bat speed goes, there is not much of a ballplayer there. That said, the early part of the contract looked promising - and both sides should end up really happy with that.

 

I agree that this is a right tailed outcome for him, not that I'm complaining. Considering the types of contracts these players usually get, I absolutely love his contract.

[Kimmi]

Te stats were there indicating that he could be this good. The only question is remaining healthy.

 

I kinda did. My only question was if he’d stay healthy or not.

 

JD is putting up career best numbers this year in pretty much every offensive category besides SLG, at age 30 - 31, when players are typically past their peak. I'm not just talking about his counting stats, which are somewhat a product of health. His rate stats are career best as well. JD is also sporting a rather high BABIP of .387.

 

I'm not saying that I thought JD would stink or be mediocre. I knew he would be very good, just not this good. Kudos to you if you thought he was going to have his career best year because he is somewhat defying the odds to do so.

[Bellhorn04]

I think this is definitely a right tailed outcome for him - though there was no doubt he would be a 30 HR sort of guy for the early part of the contract. The question with his contract was health and the aging curve for guys like him (see Pujols, who is actually a better athlete) - if bat speed goes, there is not much of a ballplayer there. That said, the early part of the contract looked promising - and both sides should end up really happy with that.

 

I agree that this is a right tailed outcome for him, not that I'm complaining. Considering the types of contracts these players usually get, I absolutely love his contract.

 

Look, if you statmeisters are going to use terms like 'right tailed outcome', you need to explain 'em to the common folk.

[oldtimer]

I have a significant interest in horse racing, baseball and other sports. In the case of horse racing, stats reign and you can see past performances back 10 races, workout performances and many other stats. The final odds usually reflect these stats as players have gotten sophisticated enough to read and interpret these. Interestingly, this season at Saratoga the betting odds favorites have lost a disproportionate amount of races. Do past performances predict current form well enough to be reliable? The answer appears to be no and the contrarian thinks twice before setting too much store in stats reflecting past glories. It is just a precautionary story to suggest an over reliance on stats can lead to incorrect conclusions. Many here subscribe to a balanced approach to team construction including a pinch of eye test and a dollop of stats. The argument seems to continued with new terms to me anyway, such as right tailed outcomes.

[sk7326]

Look, if you statmeisters are going to use terms like 'right tailed outcome', you need to explain 'em to the common folk.

 

LOL

 

(in case this wasn't snark) ... assuming a bell curve, this was decidedly a better than average outcome for his season. That said I think an "average" outcome for him this season was still pretty good.

[sk7326]

I have a significant interest in horse racing, baseball and other sports. In the case of horse racing, stats reign and you can see past performances back 10 races, workout performances and many other stats. The final odds usually reflect these stats as players have gotten sophisticated enough to read and interpret these. Interestingly, this season at Saratoga the betting odds favorites have lost a disproportionate amount of races. Do past performances predict current form well enough to be reliable? The answer appears to be no and the contrarian thinks twice before setting too much store in stats reflecting past glories. It is just a precautionary story to suggest an over reliance on stats can lead to incorrect conclusions. Many here subscribe to a balanced approach to team construction including a pinch of eye test and a dollop of stats. The argument seems to continued with new terms to me anyway, such as right tailed outcomes.

 

But have the betting favorites still finished in the money at all? This could easily just be a random cold streak. Past performance guarantees nothing - but past performance can inform probability of stuff happening. That's all statistics (the academic discipline, not simply listing of box score data) is: Given past performance, what is likely?

[mvp 78]

Player of the Month for August

 

@ByChrisMason

 

Martinez slashed .373/.453/.686 in August. That'll get the job done.

[Emp9]

JD is also sporting a rather high BABIP of .387.

 

As opposed to .389 in ‘14? Still a high .378 in ‘16, so it wasn’t really unthinkable.

 

He was still 30 yrs old for most the year (his b-day is late Aug).And i’d say peak years usually start declining around age 32. (28-32 is peak range last time I cared to check).

[mvp 78]

JD is putting up career best numbers this year in pretty much every offensive category besides SLG, at age 30 - 31, when players are typically past their peak. I'm not just talking about his counting stats, which are somewhat a product of health. His rate stats are career best as well. JD is also sporting a rather high BABIP of .387.

 

I'm not saying that I thought JD would stink or be mediocre. I knew he would be very good, just not this good. Kudos to you if you thought he was going to have his career best year because he is somewhat defying the odds to do so.

 

When you hit the ball around the park the way JD does, you expect to have a high BABIP.

[Bellhorn04]

When you hit the ball around the park the way JD does, you expect to have a high BABIP.

 

JDM career BABIP .348

JBJ career BABIP .296

 

Hey, I think we're onto something here...

[mvp 78]

JDM career BABIP .348

JBJ career BABIP .296

 

Hey, I think we're onto something here...

 

JBJ is easy to scout and resistant to adjust his swing. Sad!

 

JDM hits it where they ain't! Good! Strong! Ok!

[Kimmi]

As opposed to .389 in ‘14? Still a high .378 in ‘16, so it wasn’t really unthinkable.

 

He was still 30 yrs old for most the year (his b-day is late Aug).And i’d say peak years usually start declining around age 32. (28-32 is peak range last time I cared to check).

 

When you hit the ball around the park the way JD does, you expect to have a high BABIP.

 

Fair enough.

[oldtimer]

But have the betting favorites still finished in the money at all? This could easily just be a random cold streak. Past performance guarantees nothing - but past performance can inform probability of stuff happening. That's all statistics (the academic discipline, not simply listing of box score data) is: Given past performance, what is likely?

 

Many times they have been completely out of the money> Is there something nefarious going on or is there so much chaos involved that past performance (stats) aren't all that reliable.

[sk7326]

Many times they have been completely out of the money> Is there something nefarious going on or is there so much chaos involved that past performance (stats) aren't all that reliable.

 

Absent evidence of something environmental, I always defer to "fluke"

[Kimmi]

Absent evidence of something environmental, I always defer to "fluke"

 

I like the word 'randomness' myself.