A Realistic View at 2019: Part I

[notin]

He wasn't fired, but he was effectively demoted. It's not surprising that he quit.

 

He would have had the same title, but DD appeared to want to be more active in some aspects of roster management than his predecessor LL was...

[cp176]

I will be so happy when the day comes that any discussion of the pros and cons of Dave Dombrowski do not prompt an immediate reply with regards to Ben Cherington. I wonder if anyone else sees what I see here. News flash - some might not like it obviously but Ben is gone and Dave is here.

[Larry Cook]

Certainly, everything DD has done cannot be traced to Ben, but a lot of it had to do with the farm Ben left him.

 

Of course, one could also argue Ben's Pablo, HRam and Castillo signings restricted DD in a major way (and still is).

 

 

Did Ben sign Hanley and Pablo or was larry the driving force behind the signings?

 

My money is on Larry!

[moonslav59]

I will be so happy when the day comes that any discussion of the pros and cons of Dave Dombrowski do not prompt an immediate reply with regards to Ben Cherington. I wonder if anyone else sees what I see here. News flash - some might not like it obviously but Ben is gone and Dave is here.

 

I'm glad we have DD, and maybe there will come a day that Ben gets his due.

[Bellhorn04]

He would have had the same title, but DD appeared to want to be more active in some aspects of roster management than his predecessor LL was...

 

For comparison's sake, Theo Epstein is the president of the Cubs and Jed Hoyer is the GM.

 

Ben didn't want to play the Jed Hoyer role.

[Bellhorn04]

Personally I think it says a lot that Ben has not taken another job as GM. It's been over 3 years now. My belief is that he prefers a lower profile position. He strikes me as a pretty low key guy.

[notin]

Personally I think it says a lot that Ben has not taken another job as GM. It's been over 3 years now. My belief is that he prefers a lower profile position. He strikes me as a pretty low key guy.

 

He definitely has his strengths that can help any ball club.

 

Also he’s like a VP of Operations now, which is hardly a sinecure role...

[Bellhorn04]

Did Ben sign Hanley and Pablo or was larry the driving force behind the signings?

 

My money is on Larry!

 

I would expect Larry was the driving force behind Pablo.

 

But if he was the driving force behind both, Ben was in such a weak position that honestly he should have quit.

[moonslav59]

I would expect Larry was the driving force behind Pablo.

 

But if he was the driving force behind both, Ben was in such a weak position that honestly he should have quit.

 

Makes you wonder what the difference would have been with DD, instead of LL.

 

[cp176]

Did Ben sign Hanley and Pablo or was larry the driving force behind the signings?

 

My money is on Larry!

 

It had to have been Larry - wasn't it somehow him with respect to any of the crappy moves made while he was anywhere in New England. woo hoo Ben !! You go Ben.

[Dojji]

Yeah, Larry gets blamed for a lot. Back in Theo's day, any move that didn't work tended to reflexively be considered a Lucchino move.

 

The one trade we definitely know was Lucchino and not Theo was the trade for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell for Hanley Ramirez. In retrospect that was actually a really good play on the market. Beckett wasn't consistent but he was hot long enough to win us a World Series trophy, and Lowell was magnificent.

[Bellhorn04]

Makes you wonder what the difference would have been with DD, instead of LL.

 

Who knows. Larry was an integral part of the front office from 2002 until his departure and he probably made more good moves than bad. He brought Theo Epstein aboard. He helped engineer the Dodgers trade.

 

Bottom line is, Sox fans should be happy the way everything has played out since 2002. There's been some weird stuff and blunders and all that, but the overall record has been fantastic.

[notin]

Yeah, Larry gets blamed for a lot. Back in Theo's day, any move that didn't work tended to reflexively be considered a Lucchino move.

 

The one trade we definitely know was Lucchino and not Theo was the trade for Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell for Hanley Ramirez. In retrospect that was actually a really good play on the market. Beckett wasn't consistent but he was hot long enough to win us a World Series trophy, and Lowell was magnificent.

 

LL was an easy scapegoat, because he was never very likable. But attributing every bad move to him and labeling him as a star-driven incompetent has to be wildly inaccurate. The man was not only part of the front office of three World Series champions in Boston, but also another one in Baltimore as well as part of the front office of a Super Bowl champion in Washington. He’s one of the most successful executives in American sports’ history. It’s a safe bet he knew what he was doing...

[notin]

Makes you wonder what the difference would have been with DD, instead of LL.

 

 

Probably not as good. I’ll take history as it played out...

[kenmeister]

The bottom line is that other than 2003 and 2008, I don't think we could have won any other championships recently, so all of this is water under the bridge. Well except the fact that we are still paying Sandoval and Castillo.

[notin]

The bottom line is that other than 2003 and 2008, I don't think we could have won any other championships recently, so all of this is water under the bridge. Well except the fact that we are still paying Sandoval and Castillo.

 

As far as luxury tax goes, Castillo is a non-factor. And at least this is the final year of Sandoval...

[Bellhorn04]

The bottom line is that other than 2003 and 2008, I don't think we could have won any other championships recently, so all of this is water under the bridge. Well except the fact that we are still paying Sandoval and Castillo.

 

The Castillo situation is so bizarre. The Sox can't let him even play one game for the big team without it costing them millions in tax. So instead they have to keep paying him about 11 mill a year to play in Pawtucket until the end of 2020.

[notin]

The Castillo situation is so bizarre. The Sox can't let him even play one game for the big team without it costing them millions in tax. So instead they have to keep paying him about 11 mill a year to play in Pawtucket until the end of 2020.

 

He’d probably be in the majors if not for Dombrowski. He’s an extremely good defensive outfielder whose biggest problem is he plays with such reckless abandon, he often injures himself. While he is an impatient hitter, he does have some pop and excellent line drive gap power. But his playing days in Boston are marred by attempts to hit through shoulder injuries (caused by diving for fly balls) that resulted in a crazy high and ultimately ineffective ground ball rate.

 

But reportedly during his audition for the MLB executives, Dombrowski left with the impression he was nothing more than a fourth outfielder. While probably a bit harsh overall, his tendency for injury does relegate him into roles like that. He’s basically Jarrod Dyson with more power...

[Dojji]

The bottom line is that other than 2003 and 2008, I don't think we could have won any other championships recently, so all of this is water under the bridge. Well except the fact that we are still paying Sandoval and Castillo.

 

Every team is going to wind up with dead money on the payroll now and again. The difference between the big markets and the small markets is that a big market can cope with dead money and still string a winner together.

[cp176]

He’d probably be in the majors if not for Dombrowski. He’s an extremely good defensive outfielder whose biggest problem is he plays with such reckless abandon, he often injures himself. While he is an impatient hitter, he does have some pop and excellent line drive gap power. But his playing days in Boston are marred by attempts to hit through shoulder injuries (caused by diving for fly balls) that resulted in a crazy high and ultimately ineffective ground ball rate.

 

But reportedly during his audition for the MLB executives, Dombrowski left with the impression he was nothing more than a fourth outfielder. While probably a bit harsh overall, his tendency for injury does relegate him into roles like that. He’s basically Jarrod Dyson with more power...

 

There he goes again - that damned Dombrowski! lol

[cp176]

The Castillo situation is so bizarre. The Sox can't let him even play one game for the big team without it costing them millions in tax. So instead they have to keep paying him about 11 mill a year to play in Pawtucket until the end of 2020.

 

 

I would be very surprised if Castillo was not good enough from a talent perspective to play in the bigs. It really is a bizarre situalion. For the last couple of years he has produced well enough for sure to at least get a chance somewhere.

[notin]

There he goes again - that damned Dombrowski! lol

 

You do realize that post said nothing detrimental about Dombrowski, right?

[kenmeister]

I would be very surprised if Castillo was not good enough from a talent perspective to play in the bigs. It really is a bizarre situalion. For the last couple of years he has produced well enough for sure to at least get a chance somewhere.

 

I hope they find a trade partner.

[mvp 78]

He’d probably be in the majors if not for Dombrowski. He’s an extremely good defensive outfielder whose biggest problem is he plays with such reckless abandon, he often injures himself. While he is an impatient hitter, he does have some pop and excellent line drive gap power. But his playing days in Boston are marred by attempts to hit through shoulder injuries (caused by diving for fly balls) that resulted in a crazy high and ultimately ineffective ground ball rate.

 

But reportedly during his audition for the MLB executives, Dombrowski left with the impression he was nothing more than a fourth outfielder. While probably a bit harsh overall, his tendency for injury does relegate him into roles like that. He’s basically Jarrod Dyson with more power...

 

5 Hr's in 2018 is "some pop"? His ground ball rate has been exceedingly high going back to 2014. It has nothing to do with injuries. A 31 year old OPSing 776 in AAA shouldn't be expecting a call up anytime soon. His defense isn't THAT good.

 

He's just not worth it to any team at that price point. Don't cry for him. He's making bank.

[notin]

5 Hr's in 2018 is "some pop"? His ground ball rate has been exceedingly high going back to 2014. It has nothing to do with injuries. A 31 year old OPSing 776 in AAA shouldn't be expecting a call up anytime soon. His defense isn't THAT good.

 

He's just not worth it to any team at that price point. Don't cry for him. He's making bank.

 

AAA or not, Castillo is going to have a good life.

 

But in 2017 he hit 15 HRs in 369 ABs and slugged over .500. His ground ball rates are high, but at the expense of his fly all rates, as he has been hitting line drives at a very good rate.

 

While I do know Dombrowski is not a fan, Castillo is a borderline MLB player who could startt on a second tier team., at worst.

 

And his defensive metrics in limited MLB action are actually outstanding. Give him credit where he deserves it. I compared him to another borderline MLB starter in Jarrod Dyson. I stand by that. Teams don’t consider Dyson the key missing piece.

 

If not for his contract, Castillo could be traded and possibly become a starter for some team somewhere.

 

Sadly for the Sox, he does remain the best MLB-ready outfielder in the system, something that was not changed with the signing of Gorkys-mania...

Edited December 18, 2018 by notin

[mvp 78]

AAA or not, Castillo is going to have a good life.

 

But in 2017 he hit 15 HRs in 369 ABs and slugged over .500. His ground ball rates are high, but at the expense of his fly all rates, as he has been hitting line drives at a very good rate.

 

While I do know Dombrowski is not a fan, Castillo is a borderline MLB player who could startt on a second tier team., at worst.

 

And his defensive metrics in limited MLB action are actually outstanding. Give him credit where he deserves it. I compared him to another borderline MLB starter in Jarrod Dyson. I stand by that. Teams don’t consider Dyson the key missing piece.

 

If not for his contract, Castillo could be traded and possibly become a starter for some team somewhere.

 

Sadly for the Sox, he does remain the best MLB-ready outfielder in the system, something that was not changed with the signing of Gorkys-mania...

 

He's borderline, but paid like an All Star. He's not going anywhere.

[notin]

He's borderline, but paid like an All Star. He's not going anywhere.

 

I’d be hesitant to say he’s paid like an All Star. He’s making Zack Cozart/Tyler Chatwood money. But he is borderline and he should probably at best be paid Steve Pearce type money.

 

(That doesn’t mean Pearce is a borderline player. But his pay is about what the Sox have paid bench players like Gomes and Nunez and Chris Young.)

[moonslav59]

If we release Castillo, and someone else takes him at min wage, and he makes their ML roster, are we then taxed on his salary?

[notin]

Probably. It would explain why he hasn’t been released...

[mvp 78]

Probably. It would explain why he hasn’t been released...

 

I think he's a "break glass in case of fire" guy. If they really needed him (injury or whatever), he'd get called up.