A Realistic View at 2018: Part II

[mvp 78]

Melancon had two save chances in Boston. I don't think that qualifies him as a "failed closer."

 

He had one season in Boston with some injuries and an overall awful year (possibly due to the injuries?) But he's not much for validating the argument...

 

41 games, 6.20 ERA. He failed.

[Spudboy]

41 games, 6.20 ERA. He failed.

 

He, Bailey, and Hanrahan never accomplished anything positive as I recall.

 

Essentially, they sucked balls.

 

Regardless of sample sizes.

[moonslav59]

We paid heavily for Foulke and won a ring.

 

We converted Paplebon to a RP'er and stuck gold. (IMO, we letting him go was the right choice.)

 

We kind of stumbled upon Uehara as a closer after Bailey, Hanrahan and others failed or got hurt before him.

 

We paid heavily for Kimbrel, and he's done a great job. Now, all we need is a ring!

[kenmeister]

I'm pretty high on Barnes. I'm more or less done with Kelly.

 

And for the record, yes he blew a save last night, but I'm still high on Barnes.

[dgalehouse]

Well, dgale, you're definitely the front-runner for Most Confident Poster of 2018.

 

Bell , I'm not necessarily an eternal optimist. This is my honest assessment. I like Dombrowski. I like Cora. And I think this is a very talented team. Looking around , I see a lot of weak , beatable teams in both leagues. I really do think it will be a smooth ride to the playoffs.

[Slasher9]

And for the record, yes he blew a save last night, but I'm still high on Barnes.

 

at what point does he get the same wraith you oblige Joe Kelly with?

like, 1 more blown save? or would it take a dozen?

[moonslav59]

Here are some comparative numbers from 2017:

 

OPS against:

.573 Kelly

.655 Barnes

.803 Hembree

 

Late & Close

OPS against: Kelly .571/ Hembree .617/ Barnes .628

 

High Leverage

OPS against: Kelly .523 (better than anyone but Kimbrel)/ Barnes .732/ Hembree .768

 

K/BB

3.89 Hembree

2.96 Barnes

1.93 Kelly

 

WHIP

1.19 Kelly

1.22 Barnes

1.45 Hembree

 

[Slasher9]

Here are some comparative numbers from 2017:

 

OPS against:

.573 Kelly

.655 Barnes

.803 Hembree

 

Late & Close

OPS against: Kelly .571/ Hembree .617/ Barnes .628

 

High Leverage

OPS against: Kelly .523 (better than anyone but Kimbrel)/ Barnes .732/ Hembree .768

 

K/BB

3.89 Hembree

2.96 Barnes

1.93 Kelly

 

WHIP

1.19 Kelly

1.22 Barnes

1.45 Hembree

 

 

Joe Kelly will be a yuuuge part of this teams success this year. Cora knows it. that's why he put JK in a high leverage spot very soon after he imploded game 1. bad games will happen. hopefully we dont see one from JK for a little bit.....

[kenmeister]

at what point does he get the same wraith you oblige Joe Kelly with?

like, 1 more blown save? or would it take a dozen?

 

It's actually not about the blown leads; sometimes hitters manage to hit good pitches. Conversely, sometimes pitchers without control are 'effectively wild' and manage to get outs. I didn't watch the extra inning game, but I saw Kelly close out the game the night before. He didn't look like he had any control, and the game ended with a guy swinging at a pitch in the dirt. The batter pretty much got himself out. Maybe I just tune in at the wrong times. That game he took over for Kimbrel last year or the year before is etched into my brain...

 

And I think it's wrath. Wraiths are undead monsters, but that's a different forum

[mvp 78]

Here are some comparative numbers from 2017:

 

OPS against:

.573 Kelly

.655 Barnes

.803 Hembree

 

Late & Close

OPS against: Kelly .571/ Hembree .617/ Barnes .628

 

High Leverage

OPS against: Kelly .523 (better than anyone but Kimbrel)/ Barnes .732/ Hembree .768

 

K/BB

3.89 Hembree

2.96 Barnes

1.93 Kelly

 

WHIP

1.19 Kelly

1.22 Barnes

1.45 Hembree

 

 

I agree that Kelly's numbers are better. I also agree that my issue with Kelly may be irrational.

[mvp 78]

Joe Kelly will be a yuuuge part of this teams success this year. Cora knows it. that's why he put JK in a high leverage spot very soon after he imploded game 1. bad games will happen. hopefully we dont see one from JK for a little bit.....

 

I hope JK becomes a shutdown 8th inning guy if that's his ceiling.

[moonslav59]

I hope JK becomes a shutdown 8th inning guy if that's his ceiling.

 

Just do what he did last year is fine by me.

[Kimmi]

http://www.weei.com/blogs/rob-bradford/why-jd-martinez-red-sox-and-giancarlo-stanton-isnt

 

Why J.D. Martinez is with Red Sox and Giancarlo Stanton isn't......................by Rob Bradford (WEEI)

 

Here's a good read on DD's pursuit/non pursuit of Stanton. I think Kimmi would like the fact that Sox did not want to empty out the farm any further.

 

Absolutely.

 

I also like the fact that we are not committed to Stanton for 10 years.

[Kimmi]

Scoreboard says - 4 - 1 , First place in the A.L. East. Not the least bit surprising. So far , I have not seen anything that is a cause for concern going forward. This is a very good team that should have a smooth ride to the post season.

 

I am on board with this post.

[Kimmi]

Why does Betts need a day off today?

 

We have an off day on Wednesday, Friday and then again on Monday.

 

We then embark on 13 straight games. Maybe he needs an off day during that stretch, not today. It's beginning of the year, he's an old man of what? 25

 

I know the season is early and Betts is young, but managers like to give players 2 full days of rest if it's feasible.

 

Cora is applying many of the philosophies that the Astros used. Frequent rest seems to have done the Astros a lot of good last season.

[Kimmi]

I need to bitch about something other than Brock Holt.

 

I think we're in good place. We need for our farm hands get another year older and get closer to contributing at major league level as all these FA come due.

 

I consider closing almost as a separate 'grouping' anymore.

 

I agree that 'bullpen' can be constructed cheaply but the 'closer' is a must and we may have to pay for it.

 

Why? Things are going well.

[Kimmi]

The closer role is a real weird one. Stat heads believe anyone can close at any time for the most part. However, we saw first hand that Melancon couldn't get the job done here, but has succeeded elsewhere. To me, we've found a guy who has thrived in BOS as a closer and I think you do whatever you can to retain him. If you don't need to reinvent the wheel, don't.

 

I don't think that is true.

[moonslav59]

I know the season is early and Betts is young, but managers like to give players 2 full days of rest if it's feasible.

 

 

Maybe, but not after just 4 games. He was rested before the season started.

 

I'm not upset with Cora, but I think the choice was wrong.

[Bellhorn04]

Cora knew there would be a lot of grousing about sitting Betts but he did it anyway. To me it shows cojones. It reminds me of Francona. He would do things that he knew would be unpopular too. Cora played for Francona and he probably learned quite a bit from him.

[Nick]

I like it that

 

1 Seemingly not doing much in spring training, Kimbrel looks pretty solid, ready to pick up last year's results.

 

2 We already have a luxury of +4 in won/loss differential after just one week.

 

3 Despite consternation about lack of starting pitching depth, our two temps look to be 'serviceable'.

 

4 This is still MLB, outcomes are never given regardless of the quality of the teams you play. 5-1 is 5-1.

 

5 Good time to have a 10 game home stand. We'll be well rested for the Yankees/Orioles series due to weird scheduling.

 

6. You never know but very encouraging with Price. He started only 11 games last year. Him starting 30+ games will be huge.

 

7. JD makes hard contacts. His defense is as advertised. I hope he sees that when he watches Beni, JBJ and Betts play. He needs to be the DH on this team.

 

8. Devers is pretty much picking up where he left off last year. Just leave him alone. We got bigger problems than him.

 

9. Good to see Vazquez as the starting catcher. He's just more dynamic than Leon.

 

10. Swihart looks like a major leaguer. We just need to quick screwing with him.

[dgalehouse]

Besides just giving guys a day off , I think Cora is trying to get a good look at all 25 players on the roster.

[moonslav59]

Swihart looks like a major leaguer. We just need to quick screwing with him.

 

And, bench whom to get Swihart playing time?

 

Everyone he can replace, you just praised.

[SoxHop]

at what point does he get the same wraith you oblige Joe Kelly with?

like, 1 more blown save? or would it take a dozen?

 

It's actually not about the blown leads; sometimes hitters manage to hit good pitches. Conversely, sometimes pitchers without control are 'effectively wild' and manage to get outs. I didn't watch the extra inning game, but I saw Kelly close out the game the night before. He didn't look like he had any control, and the game ended with a guy swinging at a pitch in the dirt. The batter pretty much got himself out. Maybe I just tune in at the wrong times. That game he took over for Kimbrel last year or the year before is etched into my brain...

 

And I think it's wrath. Wraiths are undead monsters, but that's a different forum

 

Nice try....... we all know you are sending wraiths at Joe Kelly, don't act all innocent about it.

[Natick to NC]

Swihart looks like a major leaguer. We just need to quick screwing with him.

 

And, bench whom to get Swihart playing time?

 

Everyone he can replace, you just praised.

Moon your right ...I hope they trade this kid to a spot where he gets a chance ....there is no chance here .I will always be of the opinion Sandy Leon is the problem ...but I'll never get someone to agree here ...Trade the kid for his sake and soon ...I hope he makes everyone who ever doubted him throw a fit .I hope he makes the Redsox look like idiots for choosing a human weeble over Swiharts talent .

Edited April 4, 2018 by Natick to NC

[moonslav59]

Moon your right ...I hope they trade this kid to a spot he gets a chance ....there is no chance here .I will always be of the opinion Sandy Leon is the problem ...but I'll never get someone to agree here ...Trade the kid for his sake and soon ...I hope he makes everyone who ever doubted him throw a fit .

 

It's nice having a strong bench, but if Swihart is worth more to another team (GM), then maybe it's what's best.

 

We can afford to wait until Pedey returns to decide. Maybe by then someone else will be hurt or Swihart will have muscled his way to a more defining role.

[Natick to NC]

It's nice having a strong bench, but if Swihart is worth more to another team (GM), then maybe it's what's best.

 

We can afford to wait until Pedey returns to decide. Maybe by then someone else will be hurt or Swihart will have muscled his way to a more defining role.

 

Moon Your absolutely right and I really hope they trade this kid soon ...I want to finally see him get his shot .To think Sandy Leon is the reason Blake Swihart isn't the backup catcher here makes me sick .....not you folks ...me

Edited April 4, 2018 by Natick to NC

[moonslav59]

Moon Your absolutely right and I really hope they trade this kid soon ...I want to finally see him get his shot .To think Sandy Leon is the reason Blake Swihart isn't the backup catcher here makes me sick .....not you folks ...me

 

So, if they trade Leon, and Swihart hits .800, but our starter ERA jumps 1.00 higher when he catches, you'll be okay with losing Leon? (Just a hypothetical scenario.)

[Nick]

So, if they trade Leon, and Swihart hits .800, but our starter ERA jumps 1.00 higher when he catches, you'll be okay with losing Leon? (Just a hypothetical scenario.)

 

Gee, I thought there was a time you thought Swihart was a rock star.

[moonslav59]

Gee, I thought there was a time you thought Swihart was a rock star.

 

I really like him, but I have my doubts about his staff handling abilities.

 

I think Sox management feels the same.

[Larry Cook]

How many games of the 10 game homestand get snowed out?