2019 Spring Training Thread

[dgalehouse]

The Sox took the " standing pat " thing to a new level this off season . While usually not a good idea , it is understandable considering the woeful state of the A.L. A wild card spot , at the least , is all but certain. It would take a monumental collapse to fail to reach the playoffs / play in . Spring training has been less than impressive, but the early schedule is very winnable. Should get off to a good start , but probably not as good as last year . Winning the division has to be the goal . It will not be easy .

[moonslav59]

The Sox took the " standing pat " thing to a new level this off season . While usually not a good idea , it is understandable considering the woeful state of the A.L. A wild card spot , at the least , is all but certain. It would take a monumental collapse to fail to reach the playoffs / play in . Spring training has been less than impressive, but the early schedule is very winnable. Should get off to a good start , but probably not as good as last year . Winning the division has to be the goal . It will not be easy .

 

Well, we improved the team a lot from last April with the mid season Eovaldi and Pearce moves and re-signings. (We also did not have Brasier on the ML roster in the first half of 2018.)

 

True, one could argue losing Kimbrel, Kelly & Pom cancel out the above points.

 

We may be able to count Pedey and Thornburg as additions.

[harmony]

Nope.

 

We'll win 60%+ in April.

Does that include the potential 1-3 regular-season record in March?

 

Opening the regular season with an 11-game West Coast trip, the Red Sox will be hard-pressed to finish April at .600.

[moonslav59]

Does that include the potential 1-3 regular-season record in March?

 

Opening the regular season with an 11-game West Coast trip, the Red Sox will be hard-pressed to finish April at .600.

 

I was including March, and I'm sticking to my .600+ projection.

 

Sweeping the M's will be a nice start.

[harmony]

I was including March, and I'm sticking to my .600+ projection.

 

Sweeping the M's will be a nice start.

Anything is possible but the Red Sox have not swept the Mariners in Seattle since 2010 (and have never swept a four-game series in Seattle).

 

Over the the past decade the high-flying (and low-flying) Red Sox have left Seattle with a series win only twice.

 

But, again, anything is possible.

Edited March 15, 2019 by harmony

[jung]

OK, I have seen all of this guy DeLaGuerra I can stand for awhile. He can't play Short. He can't play 2nd. Where is this guy supposed to be playing because from what I have seen, the Sox don't know. Does anybody on the board know?

[notin]

OK, I have seen all of this guy DeLaGuerra I can stand for awhile. He can't play Short. He can't play 2nd. Where is this guy supposed to be playing because from what I have seen, the Sox don't know. Does anybody on the board know?

 

 

Pawtucket

[Kimmi]

It looks like the Sox having a "World Series hangover" and getting off to a slow start is a real possibility.

 

We stink.

[Bellhorn04]

We stink.

 

Fred must be having a fit.

[FredLynn]

14-1 loss today to the Yankees.....now 6-12 I believe. Not exactly going to enter the regular season with a full head of steam like last year, are we.

[notin]

14-1 loss today to the Yankees.....now 6-12 I believe. Not exactly going to enter the regular season with a full head of steam like last year, are we.

 

That the rotation has only thrown 9 innings might be a factor in that record...

[fxkatt]

That the rotation has only thrown 9 innings might be a factor in that record...

 

Not encouraging since the season begins in like 11 days.

[jung]

That the rotation has only thrown 9 innings might be a factor in that record...

 

IMHO, Cora is holding the guys who are obvious 25 man roster guys out or at the least very slowly bringing them into preparation for the 162. Good catch on the lack of ST innings for the rotation. I do think it is just indicative of how little Cora is working what will likely be the 25 man.

 

Maybe he wants them to bust down the door to the clubhouse on day 1 of the regular season to get to the playing field. Maybe he just knows how rugged 2018 was and how short the period between such a long season and the next ST. I just don't know. We shall see I guess.

[moonslav59]

Last spring's IP by our starters:

 

22 ERod

21 Sale

14 Porcello

13 Wright

12 Pom

11 Velazquez

7 Johnson

 

(33 K Kendrick, 7 H Owens, 3 RElias & 5 SHaviland)

 

[Kimmi]

Fred must be having a fit.

 

LOL Fred has actually not commented on our spring training W-L record. He is fretting a bit over our bullpen, though.

[Kimmi]

IMHO, Cora is holding the guys who are obvious 25 man roster guys out or at the least very slowly bringing them into preparation for the 162. Good catch on the lack of ST innings for the rotation. I do think it is just indicative of how little Cora is working what will likely be the 25 man.

 

Maybe he wants them to bust down the door to the clubhouse on day 1 of the regular season to get to the playing field. Maybe he just knows how rugged 2018 was and how short the period between such a long season and the next ST. I just don't know. We shall see I guess.

 

Cora does not want our regular 25 players going all out. He has seemingly been holding them back somewhat, probably due to the extended season last year. Cora showed last year that he knows exactly what he's doing. He often sat players when virtually the entire world disagree with him. In Cora We Trust.

[Jack Flap]

The Sox took the " standing pat " thing to a new level this off season . While usually not a good idea , it is understandable considering the woeful state of the A.L. A wild card spot , at the least , is all but certain. It would take a monumental collapse to fail to reach the playoffs / play in . Spring training has been less than impressive, but the early schedule is very winnable. Should get off to a good start , but probably not as good as last year . Winning the division has to be the goal . It will not be easy .

 

 

I won't lie, the prioritizing of saving tax dollars over building a strong bullpen (which would be the finishing touch on what might otherwise be the most complete and talented roster in the league) caught me by surprise and might be the most befuddling decision I can remember by the team in quite a while.

 

I'm hoping for the best with the guys we have (no other choice, is there?), and perhaps by October all these worries will be long forgotten, but right now our pen appears to be running on a lot of hopes and dreams. I hope I'm wrong.

[notin]

I won't lie, the prioritizing of saving tax dollars over building a strong bullpen (which would be the finishing touch on what might otherwise be the most complete and talented roster in the league) caught me by surprise and might be the most befuddling decision I can remember by the team in quite a while.

 

I'm hoping for the best with the guys we have (no other choice, is there?), and perhaps by October all these worries will be long forgotten, but right now our pen appears to be running on a lot of hopes and dreams. I hope I'm wrong.

 

The Sox are clearly playing the "depth" game at bullpen.

 

To me, I think this means it will be a big surprise if both Workman and Thornburg are not on the opening day roster, and from there it becomes a matter of time before either are both are either established or released.

 

With 2 open spots on the 40-man roster, the Sox do have a few internal options they can promote. A lot of the arms the Sox signed might never see Fenway. Who has high hopes for Schlereth or Runzler or Ellington or Tapia? (OK I have mild hopes for Tapia, but they aren't likely to come true.) Before any of them, the other 40-an options include Poyner, Hernandez, Lakins, and Colten "Big Offseason Acquisition" Brewer.

 

I would expect the last 2 spots to go to pitchers like Mejia, Feltman, Putnam, and Sharwyn at some point. And to get all 4, there are a few expendables like Walden and Shepherd and possibly even Sam Travis who might get DFA'd. We might even see Mejia on opening day, since Dombrowski says he believes closers need a special mentality (although his history does make me question if he believes it or to what extent he does) and Mejia is the most experienced closer in the entire Sox system.

 

I'd like to see the Sox ad another bullpen arm - notably Josh Fields - but I don't think it's going to happen unless a minor league deal is involved...

[notin]

I won't lie, the prioritizing of saving tax dollars over building a strong bullpen caught me by surprise and might be the most befuddling decision I can remember by the team in quite a while.

 

To be fair, the Sox still have the highest payroll in the game. I can't call them out for being cheap.

 

I'm rather disappointed they prioritized a backup 1B over a bullpen arm. They paid Steve Pearce $6.25mill. For less than that, they could have signed Justin Wilson (AAV was less, but 2 years), Brad Brach, Greg Holland, Jake Diekman, Shawn Kelley, Sergio Romo, Adam Warren, Blake Parker, Hunter Strickland, Tony Sipp, Aaron Loup, Zach McAllister, Nick Vincent, Tyler Lyons, Brandon Maurer, Bud Norris, Alex Wilson, or Tyler Clippard.

 

In fact, if they didn't sign Justin Wilson or Brach, they could have had any two of the others. Or a countless combination of higher counts. And the most puzzling thing to me is Dombrowski watched as good MLB relievers like Clippard, Norris, Vincent and Alex Wilson signed minor league deals. The same deal he gave to aging AAAA options like Daniel Schlereth, Ryan Weber and Dan Runzler. Seriously? Three of those guys have MLB closing experience, but our GM took Schelereth, Weber, and Runzler instead?

 

The tax dollars thing doesn't bug me as much as the signing of Pearce...

Edited March 16, 2019 by notin

[Bellhorn04]

I won't lie, the prioritizing of saving tax dollars over building a strong bullpen (which would be the finishing touch on what might otherwise be the most complete and talented roster in the league) caught me by surprise and might be the most befuddling decision I can remember by the team in quite a while.

 

It is a bit befuddling. For me personally it's not quite as befuddling as the 2015 'Who's the ace?' rotation. Hopefully the results are better.

[notin]

YBut

It is a bit befuddling. For me personally it's not quite as befuddling as the 2015 'Who's the ace?' rotation. Hopefully the results are better.

 

Well the 2015 rotation appeared to be built around a groundball pitching staff with acquisitions like Porcello and Miley. But they had defensive weaknesss exposed at third base, where Sandoval suddenly lost his agility, and in LF, where the “groundball staff” was supposed to limit opportunities.

 

The Royals did win the World Series that year with a staff “ace” named Edinson Volsquez, but the Sox did lack the bullpen firepower of KC, although the Sox pen wasn’t exactly horrible.

 

And even then, Porcello did turn out to deliver an ace-caliber performance starting that August that he carried through the entire next season.

 

But even if you didn’t like the lack of an ace, Cherington didn’t watch as other aces signed minor league deals with other teams while banking on borderline arms that have been unattached to MLB teams for prolonged periods. It feels like Dombrowski is letting the success of Brasier go to his head...

[dgalehouse]

I've already exceeded my quota of bullpen comments , but just one more thought : I don't understand why you would put so much money into building a championship team and then go cheap and hope for the best with the bullpen. The way the game is played today , just about every close game comes down to a battle of the bullpens , often for three or more innings . The one advantage the Yankees have on the Sox is the pen . And it could be a considerable advantage. Here's hoping Mejia stays clean and contributes and that this kid Feltman is the real deal .

[moonslav59]

After the Sox win it all again- back-to-back- every team will copy us, and FA pen salaries will nose-dive.

[jung]

I've already exceeded my quota of bullpen comments , but just one more thought : I don't understand why you would put so much money into building a championship team and then go cheap and hope for the best with the bullpen. The way the game is played today , just about every close game comes down to a battle of the bullpens , often for three or more innings . The one advantage the Yankees have on the Sox is the pen . And it could be a considerable advantage. Here's hoping Mejia stays clean and contributes and that this kid Feltman is the real deal .

 

Well I think Cora (assuming he gets there) intends using the same formula out of the pen he used in the 2018 post season run.

 

Using starters as relievers in the post season is not new. Has been done forever. Using starters as relievers that have multiple additional starts ahead in the same series....that has not been done in a long long time and I am not sure it has ever been done to the extent Cora did it in the era of the 12-13 man pitching staffs and multiple post season series.

 

I actually am hoping for a better regular season across baseball than we had in 2018, mainly for the good of MLB even if it means the Sox have to work harder to get to and through a post season. IMO, 2018 was not that great for MLB generally. The general quality of play was terrible. If anything one thing that distinguished the Sox is that they actually played the game more as it is intended than any of the other teams that got to the post season and all of the teams that didn't get to the post season. X was a tower of strength in the middle of the infield. The catching core was on balance anywhere from very solid to outstanding. the OF was an absolute monster. They played from a broader base of skill sets than virtually anybody else and they pitched very well on balance. Not the best, but combined with everything else, they pitched more than good enough.

 

They had holes. But everybody has holes now because there are too many kids playing that should be in the minors for at least one and sometimes two more years and too many broken down vets still playing.

 

I am looking forward to the 2019 campaign. What else is new. You guys know that now in retirement it is rare for me to miss more than two, maybe three games a season if that. Interested to see how Cora handles his second year at the helm as well.

[moonslav59]

Anybody know what Sale hit on the radar gun today?

 

His numbers look great ...

 

4 IP

 

7 Ks

 

0 BB

 

2 H

[Bellhorn04]

Anybody know what Sale hit on the radar gun today?

 

His numbers look great ...

 

4 IP

 

7 Ks

 

0 BB

 

2 H

 

Lots of comments about his velocity here:

 

[moonslav59]

Lots of comments about his velocity here:

 

 

Thanks!

 

Topped out at 93. Pretty good.

[S5Dewey]

Brace yourself, Kimmie. This is the rumor around the park today regarding Sale.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikedowling/2019/03/14/sale-red-sox-on-verge-of-contract-extension/#5dca604e3991

[Bellhorn04]

Brace yourself, Kimmie. This is the rumor around the park today regarding Sale.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikedowling/2019/03/14/sale-red-sox-on-verge-of-contract-extension/#5dca604e3991

 

Dewey with the scoop!

[Kimmi]

It is a bit befuddling. For me personally it's not quite as befuddling as the 2015 'Who's the ace?' rotation. Hopefully the results are better.

 

I don't find either of these things befuddling, in terms of strategy. The 2015 strategy is not one that I prefer, but it should have worked. The 2019 bullpen strategy is one that I am fully on board with, and it should work as well.