A Realistic View at 2019: Part I

[Slasher9]

I don't know if he actually asked that . But I have said many times that my top choices would have been Kimbrel , Britton and / or Ottavino . Obviously, it's not my money . I don't think relievers are any more of a crap shoot than third basemen . It's just a myth that is repeated until people believe it. And just about every close game these days comes down to a battle of the bullpens. Ours has been pretty good so far .

 

always good to go on record with what you would have done.

Otta has been good, britton has sucked, and kimbrel is in purgatory.

the first 2 are at the beginning of 3 year expen$ive contracts. the 3rd one wants an even more expen$ive contract.

i dont think JH was going to do a $300MM payroll.

[Kimmi]

It's a crap shoot. No wonder DD chose not to play a game where the odds are stacked against you.

 

'You get what you pay for' might be true with position players or starting pitchers, but it's not the case with relievers.

[Kimmi]

We have a decent bullpen at little cost. Looks to me like DD deserves some credit.

 

I am 100% on board with Dombrowski's BP strategy this offseason.

 

IMO, he deserves a lot of credit for the moves he has made the past 2 years.

[Larry Cook]

I am 100% on board with Dombrowski's BP strategy this offseason.

 

IMO, he deserves a lot of credit for the moves he has made the past 2 years.

 

Have you seen brewer and Thornburg pitch? They are uglier than a Steinbrenner family reunion on Halloween!

[Nick]

Have you seen brewer and Thornburg pitch? They are uglier than a Steinbrenner family reunion on Halloween!

 

Current bullpen group is paid in aggregate slightly over $8M. I'd say they're doing damn good job. Kelly is making $25M over 3 years.

[moonslav59]

Current bullpen group is paid in aggregate slightly over $8M. I'd say they're doing damn good job. Kelly is making $25M over 3 years.

 

Sooo glad we said no to Kelly.

[oldtimer]

Last night we saw a case where JBJ's fielding did save a run on a catch that very few CF's would have made. A combination of athleticism and timing. Saved the game for us. Also we saw Benintendi pull a ball for a HR. Something we have encouraged him to do, especially at ball parks that have shorter distances in right field. Tough game for us to win as our main guys were unable to hit effectively.

 

Sale had a great outing and our relief pitching held up. all good on the pitching side although Brasier may either be tipping his fastball or they are just sitting on it.

[Bellhorn04]

Chris Freakin' Sale is back, I daresay. Hard to ask for much better news than that.

[Maxbialystock]

Last night we saw a case where JBJ's fielding did save a run on a catch that very few CF's would have made. A combination of athleticism and timing. Saved the game for us. Also we saw Benintendi pull a ball for a HR. Something we have encouraged him to do, especially at ball parks that have shorter distances in right field. Tough game for us to win as our main guys were unable to hit effectively.

 

Sale had a great outing and our relief pitching held up. all good on the pitching side although Brasier may either be tipping his fastball or they are just sitting on it.

 

All true, all good, but I’m pissed it took 12 innings to score that 2d run. Sox are finally at .500, but they are not like last year’s team despite returning almost all and adding Chavis.

 

Agree with Kimmi bullpen moves were good. Hard to blame DD for the rotation. Ditto the lineup, almost all of whom are below last year in OPS, etc.

Edited May 9, 2019 by Maxbialystock

[Bellhorn04]

All true, all good, but I’m pissed it took 12 innings to score that 2d run.

 

Baltimore pitchers had a good night, simple as that. It happens.

[Maxbialystock]

Baltimore pitchers had a good night, simple as that. It happens.

 

True, but they weren’t throwing great stuff, especially that guy in the 10th or 11th who only threw 92 mph fastballs.

[Bellhorn04]

True, but they weren’t throwing great stuff, especially that guy in the 10th or 11th who only threw 92 mph fastballs.

 

Maybe he was locating well.

[moonslav59]

22 Ks and no BBs for our staff last night!

 

K/9

10.25 WSH

9.99 BOS

9.97 CLE

9.77 TBR

 

(We are 14th in BB/9 at 3.46 and 7th in K/BB at 2.89.)

[kenmeister]

22 Ks and no BBs for our staff last night!

 

K/9

10.25 WSH

9.99 BOS

9.97 CLE

9.77 TBR

 

(We are 14th in BB/9 at 3.46 and 7th in K/BB at 2.89.)

 

Wow I didn't even notice that! 22 strikeouts is a LOT, even for a 12 inning game. Go Sox!

 

Most shocking is Heath Hembree's striking out the side in the bottom of the 12th.

[Bellhorn04]

Wow I didn't even notice that! 22 strikeouts is a LOT, even for a 12 inning game. Go Sox!

 

Most shocking is Heath Hembree's striking out the side in the bottom of the 12th.

 

Hembree has pitched 4 perfect innings over his last 5 outings. There's a reason he's still with the team. He's one of those guys who is generally mediocre but can sometimes be very good.

[moonslav59]

Hembree has pitched 4 perfect innings over his last 5 outings. There's a reason he's still with the team. He's one of those guys who is generally mediocre but can sometimes be very good.

 

Kinda like kelly without the $25M price tag.

[Bellhorn04]

Kinda like kelly without the $25M price tag.

 

Yes.

[dgalehouse]

With roughly one fourth of the season played ; MLB has been defined by injuries, strikeouts and empty seats . None of that is good. Something for the commissioner and the owners to think about.

[Bellhorn04]

With roughly one fourth of the season played ; MLB has been defined by injuries, strikeouts and empty seats . None of that is good. Something for the commissioner and the owners to think about.

 

How much is attendance down?

[mvp 78]

How much is attendance down?

 

Isn't attendance always down in spring due to bad weather?

[sk7326]

I think winning 6 of the last 8 might show we have already "started" playing better baseball. We've also gone 11-6 in the last 17. If we win at an 11-6 pace the rest of the way, we'll be fine.

 

the big thing has been the turnaround in starting pitching. After a 2 week trashfire, it has been among the best in the league. going forward, we'll be okay. the hope is we didn't blow too many games in the process of getting here.

[moonslav59]

the big thing has been the turnaround in starting pitching. After a 2 week trashfire, it has been among the best in the league. going forward, we'll be okay. the hope is we didn't blow too many games in the process of getting here.

 

Losing Eovaldi and Johnson along the way made it worrisome, and hopefully Price only misses 2 starts, but our starting staff was always very good: they were just all having a bad stretch at the same time.

[kenmeister]

Losing Eovaldi and Johnson along the way made it worrisome, and hopefully Price only misses 2 starts, but our starting staff was always very good: they were just all having a bad stretch at the same time.

 

I'm really curious how strong a start Wright would have had if he hadn't been suspended.

[mvp 78]

I'm really curious how strong a start Wright would have had if he hadn't been suspended.

 

Isn't he still dealing with injuries too?

[notin]

How much is attendance down?

 

Well, the Rays and Diamondbacks just played a 3 game series that drew 24,000. For all three games combined. 24,000 isn’t a great attendance for one game, let alone three...

[notin]

Isn't attendance always down in spring due to bad weather?

 

 

Actually April is typically MLB’s best month per game, since no one is out of it yet. That’s why some of those cold weather cities still play their share of early April games at home despite the very real risk of snow...

[vegasbob]

Well, the Rays and Diamondbacks just played a 3 game series that drew 24,000. For all three games combined. 24,000 isn’t a great attendance for one game, let alone three...

 

Overall attendance to date is down from 2018 by 271,000, with a total of 14,336,000+- to date, based on 546 games played. An average of 26,548.

 

Fewest Home Games to date: Diamondbacks @ 14, Red Sox and Mets @15.

[mvp 78]

Actually April is typically MLB’s best month per game, since no one is out of it yet. That’s why some of those cold weather cities still play their share of early April games at home despite the very real risk of snow...

 

I see a lot of empty seats when I watch.

[mvp 78]

Actually April is typically MLB’s best month per game, since no one is out of it yet. That’s why some of those cold weather cities still play their share of early April games at home despite the very real risk of snow...

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/april-attendance-matters-for-mlb/

 

Attendance in April isn’t likely to make or break a team’s season at the box office. Numbers generally trends upwards from the beginning to the end of a season. Nor is that surprising: the weather gets better, kids get out of school, and the games generally have greater playoff implications.

 

April’s attendance numbers are more often based on a combination of expectations and tradition. Teams that are expected to be competitive — the Cardinals, the Dodgers, the Giants — are going to sell a lot of tickets. As the season progresses, of course, clubs that fall out of a playoff race can expect a decline in attendance relative to their more competitive seasons. Conversely, teams that have surprisingly good years can see increases.

[harmony]

Overall attendance to date is down from 2018 by 271,000, with a total of 14,336,000+- to date, based on 546 games played. An average of 26,548.

 

Fewest Home Games to date: Diamondbacks @ 14, Red Sox and Mets @15.

Come Sunday at Fenway Park, barring rainouts, the Red Sox and the Mariners will each have played 18 home games (with Seattle at 25 road games).

 

Despite outscoring their opponents 32-20, the Mariners are 2-4 six games into the current 10-game road trip against 2018 postseason qualifiers.

 

Seattle's run differential so far has nearly flipped from last year's 77-85 Pythag record.