Red Sox To Sign J.D. Martinez

[mvp 78]

his agent just dragged the entire baseball world through the muck for 3 months in his name.he will be booed and he needs to be prepared for it.hopefully he can handle it and somehow use it to play better.

 

If he hits HR's, he'll never be booed. I think he gets a loud cheer opening day.

[baseball jones]

If he hits HR's, he'll never be booed. I think he gets a loud cheer opening day.

 

i'm not talking about red sox fans.

 

many teams and there fans didnt have an offseason because of this

[mvp 78]

i'm not talking about red sox fans.

 

many teams and there fans didnt have an offseason because of this

 

Everyone had an offseason. It was just longer than usual.

 

Baseball fans won't care once the games start.

[cp176]

Bing honest though - come on guys - under performance is the biggest source of boos but this is Boston. I remember Paoi being booed. It's a tough crowd up here. Get the job done and you get revered. If you don't get it done, you probably are going to get a ration. It's how it is.

[jad]

Bing honest though - come on guys - under performance is the biggest source of boos but this is Boston. I remember Paoi being booed. It's a tough crowd up here. Get the job done and you get revered. If you don't get it done, you probably are going to get a ration. It's how it is.

 

Or if you do get the job done: among those booed the loudest (and vilified in the press) that I remember: Williams, Boggs, Clemons, Rice, Papi, (Yaz? some, but not so much) ... (I apologize to the dozens I'm leaving out, but this is not a bad start for a line-up).

[cp176]

Or if you do get the job done: among those booed the loudest (and vilified in the press) that I remember: Williams, Boggs, Clemons, Rice, Papi, (Yaz? some, but not so much) ... (I apologize to the dozens I'm leaving out, but this is not a bad start for a line-up).

 

But and I mean this seriously, Boston still is a place that is attractive to the best players in the world. We all have our own opinions about what it is like just living in the northeast. I wouldn't live anywhere else. There were times when each of those truly great players probably deserved a little booing.

[Spudboy]

Maybe they booed Papi a few time during his slump in 2009.

 

Yeah I was thinking this too.

 

Things got ugly for Ortiz for a short period.

[moonslav59]

Yeah I was thinking this too.

 

Things got ugly for Ortiz for a short period.

 

Softy "the clown" (from the old BDC) wanted Papi demoted to AAA.

[bosoxmal]

The worst part about the 11 in need of playing time is that 2 basically play only 1B/DH (Moreland & HRam) and JD should only DH to maximize his PAs and minimize his injury chances. HRam & Moreland might be the two guys I'd rather have Nunez, Beni and JBJ play instead of.

 

Of course, Vaz is likely the worst bat of the 11, but who is 10th?

 

It's probably best to look at the splits and think about platoons or pseudo platoons.

 

Career numbers by Sox players (2015-2017 in parenthesis):

 

vs RHPs

 

.838 Beni

.838 (.767) HRam

.836 (.920) JDM

.833 (.836) Betts

.792 (.787) Pedroia

.779 (.782) Moreland

.747 (.790) Nunez

.743 Devers (only 183 PAs)

.736 (.808) JBJ

.726 (.754) Bogey

 

1) Devers should not be platooned, and his 2017 reverse splits were probably a fluke.

 

2) Bogey should be moved down in the order vs RHPs and rest only vs RHPs.

 

3) HRam has been worse than Moreland vs RHPs since 2015, but it's close, so we could see HRam vs LH'd starters and some RH'd starters- enough to be close to a 50-50 split with Moreland, but since HRam can DH when JDM plays the OF, they should both get over 400 PAs.

 

vs LHPs:

1.074 Devers(57 PAs)

.921 (1.021) JDM

.897 (.843) HRam

.859 (.862) Betts

.850 (.847) Pedroia

.826 (.853) Bogey

.723 (.754) JBJ

.710 (.732) Nunez

.625 (.716) Moreland

.583 Beni(needs to be watched closely)

 

1) I do not want Beni to platoon. He's too young to not give a chance with LHPs, but we need to watch closely and act accordingly, if necessary.

 

2) Moreland should never start vs LHPs.

 

3) Nunez should siut vs LHPs.

 

4) JBJ should only rest vs LHP and maybe could sit more than just when needing rest.

 

So, vs RHPs, I'd rest players this often:

 

(Assuming we face 5 RH'd starters and 2 LH'd starters per week)

HRam 2 of 7 days (vs RHPs)

Nunez 2 of 7 (v L or R)

Bogey 1 of 7 (v R)

Moreland 2 of 7 (v L)

Anyone who wpuld even suggest the possibility of platooning Devers, has a serious screw loose proble.

[mvp 78]

Anyone who wpuld even suggest the possibility of platooning Devers, has a serious screw loose proble.

 

^ This 100%

[Natick to NC]

That's fine to say now, but I don't remember anyone saying "hey, let's give Chapman a chance until it's all sorted out."

 

MVP what does leaving victims of abuse out of a topic have to do with fairness ???!? Chapman ,Boggs ,Wright the list is paethetic and endless ray rice ? It crosses teams boundaries cultures it's repugnant to the core ..... I would never and I mean never want to employ such people ...I'm talking about the fans on thisssss board thissss one that could have a history with this ...can't we just leave this s*** alone ? Have some dignity for the people here ? It's painful to have to relive that s*** ....and this place is to get away from the s*** .Im done with this subject and said my peace ...I want to say this here and now Wright and who ever raises a hand to a woman or vice verse are scum and that's from my heart it kills a persons soul to be abused by someone we love .I have no earthly idea what happened with Aroldis or Steve ....I'm not perfect or a moralist either I've done some crap I'm not proud of trust me .Aroldis deserved the time to sort things out like you say Steve did ....I don't know why that is ....it's wrong too.....I also don't think the Yankee fan meant for things to go south with this ...he seems genuine to me ....we all stick our foot in it .MVP you do have my respect ...you found it disgusting to judge and that is admirable ...why look at the sliver in another's eye when there's a tree in your own ....I have trees in mine .Now back to the JD love fest .

Edited February 21, 2018 by Natick to NC

[mvp 78]

MVP what does leaving victims of abuse out of a topic have to do with fairness ???!? Chapman ,Boggs ,Wright the list is paethetic and endless ray rice ? It crosses teams boundaries cultures it's repugnant to the core ..... I would never and I mean never want to employ such people ...I'm talking about the fans on thisssss board thissss one that could have a history with this ...can't we just leave this s*** alone ? Have some dignity for the people here ? It's painful to have to relive that s*** ....and this place is to get away from the s*** .Im done with this subject and said my peace ...I want to say this here and now Wright and who ever raises a hand to a woman or vice verse are scum and that's from my heart it kills a persons soul to be abused by someone we love .I have no earthly idea what happened with Aroldis or Steve ....I'm not perfect or a moralist either I've done some crap I'm not proud of trust me .Aroldis deserved the time to sort things out like you say Steve did ....I don't know why that is ....it's wrong too.....I also don't think the Yankee fan meant for things to go south with this ...he seems genuine to me ....we all stick our foot in it .

 

All I'm saying in people on THISSSS board had no problem calling out Chapman for what he did, but are now clutching at pearls in order to defend Steven Wright.

[Natick to NC]

All I'm saying in people on THISSSS board had no problem calling out Chapman for what he did, but are now clutching at pearls in order to defend Steven Wright.

 

Point taken ...you're right .im sickened by it all .Love the AVi Devers and Mikey Lowell working together today .Mike says Rafy is waaaaay ahead of where he was at 20 ...Mike says He's very talented and going to be special .Pumped to see him play a full year ...that swing is sent from another world to rake at Fenway Park .

Edited February 21, 2018 by Natick to NC

[baseball jones]

All I'm saying in people on THISSSS board had no problem calling out Chapman for what he did, but are now clutching at pearls in order to defend Steven Wright.

 

wright will be suspended,their making examples of players who do this.you cant suspend some and not others.we just have to wait to hear for how long.

[a700hitter]

All I'm saying in people on THISSSS board had no problem calling out Chapman for what he did, but are now clutching at pearls in order to defend Steven Wright.

I believe that the Chapman incident involved the multiple discharge of a firearm. That brings it to a different level.

[Bellhorn04]

I believe that the Chapman incident involved the multiple discharge of a firearm. That brings it to a different level.

 

Exactly. And we're not talking about a rumor, we're talking about facts not in dispute.

 

With Wright, we don't know what happened at all.

[Natick to NC]

Cora saying

Mookie

Benny

Hanram

JD

 

Devers ?

Nuney ?

X

JBJ

The VaZ

Edited February 21, 2018 by Natick to NC

[moonslav59]

Cora saying

Mookie

Benny

Hanram

JD So how about a Devers

Nuney

X

JBJ

Vaz ??? Order

 

I'm guessing Devers is the X (6 slot), but he may move up to 5th, if he rakes.

 

Plus, I doubt Cora submits an eight man line-up day one.

[Natick to NC]

Lol you're right .Man Devers after JD looks so good though WOW

[Kimmi]

Define very nice job?

 

Starting Rotation is a huge question mark after Sale. Bullpen is very questionable with 2 Pitchers returning from Injury and the Three Stooges (Kelly Barnes Hembree) still on the roster.

 

Best of seven series vs the yanks and your throwing 3 left handed starters at the moment vs murderers row...

 

Still much work to be done by way of trade (Ramirez) to lower payroll and possibly go after Cobb or Arrieta to offset the left handed dominate rotation.

 

I believe it will take until after the trade deadline to see how well of a job DD has done this season...

 

Very nice job = he signed his free agent big slugger without grossly overpaying or bidding against himself. Plus he brought back Nunez and Moreland, both on reasonable contracts.

 

Starting pitching has been my biggest concern all off season, mostly because of the health questions surrounding Price. I would have preferred that we signed another starter over a bat, but it doesn't appear that that was ever in the plans. The FO must be feeling pretty confident about Price's health.

 

I don't agree that there is still much work to be done. I think maybe adding another reliever and some depth pieces, and we're good to go.

[Kimmi]

YES SOME GOOD SOX-YANKEE BANTER! The f***ing thaw has occurred.

 

The sox have the rotation? Really? You've got a bona fide ace, I'll give you that one. Sale is a true ace. Last year, so was Severino. Clearly, Sale has the better track record, but Severino can hold his own against Sale and doesn't have the mileage on his tread like Sale does. This is advantage Boston, but if Sevy replicates 2017, then it will be more a wash than anything else

 

Your number 2 going into the season has to be Price. Well, Price was on the shelf with a "tear" in his elbow that never got fixed. He looked healthy come playoffs last yr but you haven't seen him stretched out and under workload since 2016, and btw, he was a #3 starter in 2016. Our number 2 starter is Tanaka. His first half was awful last year, his second half was his typical production. He was absolute nails in the playoffs. Both #2's have ace upside. Both have recent arm issues. Both have performance issues of late. Claiming victory here for either side is premature

 

The number 3's are Gray and Pomeranz. Pomeranz had himself a whale of a 2017, for a 5 inning pitcher. He averaged 5.4IP/start. He's been a 3WAR pitcher the last 2 seasons due to his high K rates, but a #3 that hands the ball to the pen in the middle of the 6th on average is a problem. Not to mention, Pomeranz has his injury history as well. Sonny Gray is another former ace who came off an injury plagued 2016 to post very strong numbers in 2017. Both guys had similar WAR's. Gray has proven he can be an ace before. To give anyone an advantage here is premature at best.

 

The number 4's are Sabathia and Porcello. Sabathia showed a resurgent fastball (up 1mph from 2016 and up 2.1mph from 2014) and secondary stuff to post a strong, albeit injury shortened 2017. CC showed in the post season that he can shoulder the load in big games as well. He is an old guy and who knows if he can perform as well as last year. Porcello posted nearly an exact same WAR to Sabathia's from a year ago. Porcello has more durability for sure, but production has been the issue. His HR rate was nearly 1.7 per 9IP and hence his 4.65ERA was actually spot on with his peripherals. While you can count on Porcello taking the bump every time his name is called, you can count on a mediocre to below average performance in doing so. Yes, he won a CY 2 yrs ago, but his CY was sandwiched between 2 pretty rough seasons. Sabathia has at least performed better in the time he has taken the hill. Either way, same WAR, production vs durability. This is a wash

 

The number 5's are Jordan Montgomery and E-Rod. Montgomery was a revelation with NYY last season, carrying over solid production using a mix of good but not spectacular stuff with solid deception and location to post a near 3 WAR in 29 starts. He is very Andy Pettitte like. Girardi also didn't trust him much to get beyond the 5th, so his 5.4IP/start mirrors your #3 above, not due to high pitch counts, but more due to a lack of trust. Either way, a near 3 WAR out of a rookie #5 starter is great. E-Rod posted a 2.1WAR in his 24 starts and if he was healthy, this would be another wash. Since he isn't healthy at this juncture, this looks to be the one square advantage the Yankees have at this point in the 1-5.

 

The only real sox advantage is Sale vs Sevy and that isn't very big. The only Yanks advantage is JMont vs ERod and that is mostly health. But where we make our hay is our depth. We can roll out top prospect after prospect after prospect in the rotation in the event of injury or ineffectiveness. The sox have Brian Johnson, who has proven to be more a AAAA arm and Steven Wright, who has hit more wives than pitching mounds over the last 9 months. In the end, I think this is a far more evenly matched rotation than sox fans care to realize and one that could shift strongly in the Yankees favor should the depths be challenged.

 

Put it in the chart Jacko.

 

I wasn't afraid of the Yankees before we signed JD. I'm certainly not afraid of them now that we've signed him.

[Kimmi]

Just heard a very good (in my estimation) interview with Tom Caron. Sounds like players and coaches and all things management agree that having that big bat in the middle of the lineup will mean more hittable pitches coming to the guys in front of him. If all of our underachievers have bounce back years, I think that this will be one of the reasons for that.

 

Ha. I knew this was coming. I just didn't think it would be coming so soon.

 

Line up protection is largely a myth. If our underachievers have bounce back years, it will be due to the fact that they were likely to regress.

 

Having JD certainly lengthens the line up, which is how his presence will be felt.

[Kimmi]

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/02/20/red-sox-david-price-warns-jd-martinez-you-will-get-booed-in-boston/

 

I just find it very interesting that Price said "prepare to be booed" to JD. If he mashes, he'll rarely get booed.

 

Price said that he heard Papi get booed at some point. I find that hard to believe.

 

This is not something Price should have said publicly.

 

If he pitches poorly, he will hear it even louder now.

 

He seems awfully sensitive to criticism.

 

All that said, I am pulling for the guy to have a great season. Not just for the team's sake, but also for his personal sake.

[Kimmi]

Bing honest though - come on guys - under performance is the biggest source of boos but this is Boston. I remember Paoi being booed. It's a tough crowd up here. Get the job done and you get revered. If you don't get it done, you probably are going to get a ration. It's how it is.

 

Some fans were extremely tough on Papi in 2009. I don't specifically remember anyone booing, but I remember what it was like on the forums.

[Kimmi]

But and I mean this seriously, Boston still is a place that is attractive to the best players in the world. We all have our own opinions about what it is like just living in the northeast. I wouldn't live anywhere else. There were times when each of those truly great players probably deserved a little booing.

 

Here is what Porcello had to say about playing in Boston:

 

“It's honestly a pleasure playing in Boston,” he explained. “Yeah, there are tough times if you're not playing well. You're going to hear about it. But what's wrong with that? Who doesn't want to hear about it? Because when you are playing well, it feels like you've got the entire world behind you, and that's all you can ask for as a player. That's fair.”

 

To that, I say Amen brother. Makes me like him even more than I did before.

[Kimmi]

^ This 100%

 

Mike Lowell has spoken very highly of Devers. That's a good enough endorsement for me.

[MADSTORK]

How is Price a concern but not Sonny Gray? Or, other Yankee DL wonders?

 

Our pen turned into a strength last year, and now we have Smith and Thornburg returning and Workman & Maddox all year.

 

Kelly & Barnes are not bad and will now be our 4-7 RP'ers instead of 2-3.

 

 

Price had an arm injury last season, correct? You had reports of the injury being a ligament tear.

 

Any pitch thrown by Kelly Barnes at any time is cause for concern

[a700hitter]

Some fans were extremely tough on Papi in 2009. I don't specifically remember anyone booing, but I remember what it was like on the forums.

The forums aren't the real world, but i think he might have been booed a few times in 2009 before he started hitting HRs.

[a700hitter]

This is not something Price should have said publicly.

 

If he pitches poorly, he will hear it even louder now.

 

He seems awfully sensitive to criticism.

 

All that said, I am pulling for the guy to have a great season. Not just for the team's sake, but also for his personal sake.

A lot of that criticism that he perceives is in his own head.

[a700hitter]

Ha. I knew this was coming. I just didn't think it would be coming so soon.

 

Line up protection is largely a myth. If our underachievers have bounce back years, it will be due to the fact that they were likely to regress.

 

Having JD certainly lengthens the line up, which is how his presence will be felt.

Wrong.