A Realistic View at 2019: Part I

[moonslav59]

Red Sox Select Josh Smith

By Jeff Todd | April 26, 2019 at 2:25pm CDT

 

The Red Sox have selected the contract of righty Josh Smith, per a club announcement. He’ll make a start today for the club if the scheduled contest isn’t rained out. Reliever Travis Lakins was optioned down to open active roster space.

 

Smith, 31, saw 127 1/3 innings of big-league action from 2015-17 but failed to make it back up last year. He owns a 5.30 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at the game’s highest level. (Note: another hurler by the same name also pitched in the upper minors last year with the Red Sox. He’s now with the Guardians.)

 

Though he has never posted dominating numbers in the upper minors, Smith has struck out better than a batter per nine at the Triple-A level since the start of the 2017 season. He has racked up 23 strikeouts against five walks in 16 2/3 innings in three starts for Pawtucket to open the present season.

[Kimmi]

I'm okay with Sandy catching.

 

But can we not over valuer his pitch calling? Starters still need to hit the spots.

 

You'd think Rick would be pitching a perfect game with Sandy behind the plate.

 

I think some people undervalue his pitch calling.

 

Of course a catcher is not going to make any pitcher become a Cy Young candidate. The pitcher still has to make his pitches. Don't you think that having the comfort level with and the confidence in the catcher would help the pitcher make good pitches? Leon is knowledgable beyond just what the scouting report says. The pitchers trust him and are on the same page with him.

[Kimmi]

1.46 13 0 0 6 7 12.1 9 2 2 2 2 11 .205

 

ERA G W L S SO IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG

 

Ryan Brasier ($577,500), in the starring role of CLOSER.

 

Kimmi says "How do you like them apples?"

 

I was and still am critical of Dombrowski's first 2 years here.

 

I am mostly very pleased with what he's done the last 2 years.

[Kimmi]

I was surprised DD passed on Justin Wilson an Alex Wilson, since he’s acquired both before with Detroit. Justin has been good. Alex not so much...

 

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

[Kimmi]

How about taking a flyer on this guy?

 

[h=2]White Sox Designate Ervin Santana For Assignment[/h]

 

For a minor league contract, I'm in.

[notin]

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

 

 

Disagree.

 

This is based on the myth that relief pitchers are inconsistent and therefore you can get. a good one for cheap. I think that it is true that inconsistent pitchers do become relievers, but paying for consistent relievers is acceptable.

 

And platoons are small market baseball. It’s a strategy for teams that realize they cannot pay one good player, so instead they pay 2 players who only stink part time...

[Bellhorn04]

And platoons are small market baseball. It’s a strategy for teams that realize they cannot pay one good player, so instead they pay 2 players who only stink part time...

 

What? Not even teams with the highest payroll can afford to have good players at every position.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Bellhorn04

[notin]

What? Not even teams with the highest payroll are going to have good players at every position.

 

No.

 

They have bad players, young players, or players who don’t contribute on both sides of the ball.

 

But they don’t anticipate the bad players being bad. If they did, many more would go get a platoon partner...

[Bellhorn04]

No.

 

They have bad players, young players, or players who don’t contribute on both sides of the ball.

 

But they don’t anticipate the bad players being bad. If they did, many more would go get a platoon partner...

 

Moreland isn't a flat-out bad player. But having a platoon partner for him makes a lot of sense to me.

 

I don't disagree that the money spent on Pearce mightn't have been better spent. But it doesn't mean a Moreland-Pearce platoon is a bad thing.

[notin]

Moreland isn't a flat-out bad player. But having a platoon partner for him makes a lot of sense to me.

 

I don't disagree that the money spent on Pearce mightn't have been better spent. But it doesn't mean a Moreland-Pearce platoon is a bad thing.

 

 

I thought and still think it was a waste. The upgrade from Moreland to Pearce, if and when it happens, is tantamount to a handful of runs per year and not worth downgrading the bullpen to it’s current state of a slot machine...

[Bellhorn04]

I thought and still think it was a waste. The upgrade from Moreland to Pearce, if and when it happens, is tantamount to a handful of runs per year and not worth downgrading the bullpen to it’s current state of a slot machine...

 

Maybe they wouldn't have spent the 6.25 million on the bullpen anyway. Or maybe spent it on Cody Allen or one of the other guys stinking it up.

 

DD just seemed determined not to spend a nickel on the pen.

[S5Dewey]

The point still being that you should not spend big on relievers. You can find good relievers for cheap, and spending big does not guarantee that they will be good. That money is better spent elsewhere, even if it's for a platoon 1B.

 

I agree that a team can get good relievers for cheap. The trick is being able to recognize the good ones. A team can also sign a lot of bad relievers for cheap without finding that good one and be stuck with a bullpen of bad relievers whom they're paying good money for.

 

DD has been very adroit and finding those good ones and I appreciate that. However, the philosophy of signing a bunch of pitchers and hoping one of them works out doesn't seem like a good approach.

[Bellhorn04]

Just imagine if we took Pearce's 6.25 mill, added another 2.75 mill plus tax and signed Allen. Oh yeah, we'd be much better off right now.

[Bellhorn04]

Or we could have re-signed Joe Kelly for a mere 25 mill. That'd look great right now.

[mvp 78]

Or we could have re-signed Joe Kelly for a mere 25 mill. That'd look great right now.

 

The only one who wanted Kelly back was jacko.

[Slasher9]

The only one who wanted Kelly back was jacko.

 

I’m guilty of this too...

[notin]

Just imagine if we took Pearce's 6.25 mill, added another 2.75 mill plus tax and signed Allen. Oh yeah, we'd be much better off right now.

 

 

Are you saying the Sox would be in worse shape with Allen’s 6.00 ERA/1.88 WHIP than with the 7.45ERA/1.96WHIP of Colten Brewer? Or the 7.59ERA of Tyler Thornburg? In a couple more days, Heath Hembree might be in this list.

 

Bear in mind anyone the Sox sign replaces the back end, not Barnes and Brasier...

[notin]

Or we could have re-signed Joe Kelly for a mere 25 mill. That'd look great right now.

 

 

So are you now defending the signing of Pearce and saying the Sox were right to ignore the bullpen? And doing so by citing a few bad reliever contracts, several of whom are still actually outperforming pitchers (plural) in our current bullpen?

 

At least you have that (-11) OPS+ from Pearce to justify everything...

[Bellhorn04]

Are you saying the Sox would be in worse shape with Allen’s 6.00 ERA/1.88 WHIP than with the 7.45ERA/1.96WHIP of Colten Brewer? Or the 7.59ERA of Tyler Thornburg? In a couple more days, Heath Hembree might be in this list.

 

They'd be in no better shape. And Allen is on the IL now.

[Bellhorn04]

So are you now defending the signing of Pearce and saying the Sox were right to ignore the bullpen? And doing so by citing a few bad reliever contracts, several of whom are still actually outperforming pitchers (plural) in our current bullpen?

 

At least you have that (-11) OPS+ from Pearce to justify everything...

 

I am defending the signing of Pearce, yes.

 

It remains to be seen whether DD has done his job with the pen or not.

 

But one thing seems abundantly clear, even if he signed some pricy free agent relievers it would have been a total crapshoot. It was like that last year too.

[Bellhorn04]

Ty Buttrey is pitching well so far. That one might hurt.

[notin]

The

I am defending the signing of Pearce, yes.

 

It remains to be seen whether DD has done his job with the pen or not.

 

But one thing seems abundantly clear, even if he signed some pricy free agent relievers it would have been a total crapshoot. It was like that last year too.

 

Some relievers are crapshoots. Some are not. But even the ones who are crapshoots are that way in varying degrees. Adam Ottavino, for example, is much less of a crapshoot than Colten Brewer.

 

And signing Pearce over any sort of bullpen activity does look now like it did then - a mistake. And similar to the ones that plagued DD in Detroit.,,

[notin]

Ty Buttrey is pitching well so far. That one might hurt.

 

 

But an acceptable one, as at least it lead to a title. I’d trade 7 Ty Buttrey’s for a ring...

[Bellhorn04]

And signing Pearce over any sort of bullpen activity does look now like it did then - a mistake. And similar to the ones that plagued DD in Detroit.,,

 

I fail to see how signing Pearce over Joe Kelly looks like a mistake.

[notin]

I fail to see how signing Pearce over Joe Kelly looks like a mistake.

 

 

That’s just one reliever who was available. There were lots of other options.

 

And can we stop pretending Pearce has done anything of note? His OPS is 111% below league average...

[moonslav59]

That’s just one reliever who was available. There were lots of other options.

 

And can we stop pretending Pearce has done anything of note? His OPS is 111% below league average...

 

It's way too early to call it a mistake, but it doesn't look good, so far.

 

Most of the free agent signings this winter look as bad as the Pearce signing, so far, as well.

[Bellhorn04]

That’s just one reliever who was available. There were lots of other options.

 

And a lot of them are sucking. It looks like a lottery, with pretty bad odds.

[notin]

And a lot of them are sucking. It looks like a lottery, with pretty bad odds.

 

 

But plenty of them will also have fine seasons, You can’t make the “still early” argument for Pearce and ignore that it alsomm

[Bellhorn04]

But plenty of them will also have fine seasons, You can’t make the “still early” argument for Pearce and ignore that it alsomm

 

It's still early for our bullpen too. So we're nowhere on this.

[dgalehouse]

Nothing against Pearce specifically , but when you are reaching the limit in your budget , it may not be the smartest thing to spend the available money on a platoon at first base . The bullpen seemed to be a much more pressing need .