Swihart DFA

[notin]

This move is so shortsighted. If we don’t see immediate results, this team could tank. This reeeeeks of desperation.

 

 

Eh.

 

The Sox didn’t DFA a young Johnny Bench. Whether his career got sidetracked or not, the end result is Swihart is a borderline MLB player. And he might never be anything more...

[notin]

I think Walden was sent to Pawtucket. Does that mean Mejia is coming up ?

 

 

I’d have been surprised if it was Mejia. The Sox issues aren’t in the closer role yet...

[SCM33]

Eh.

 

The Sox didn’t DFA a young Johnny Bench. Whether his career got sidetracked or not, the end result is Swihart is a borderline MLB player. And he might never be anything more...

 

lol, funny to hear that, since Leon is a borderline MLB player who people on this board regard as Johnny Bench. Ironic!

 

I hope he goes to another team, preferably in our division and he rakes. He deserved better.

[notin]

lol, funny to hear that, since Leon is a borderline MLB player who people on this board regard as Johnny Bench. Ironic!

 

I hope he goes to another team, preferably in our division and he rakes. He deserved better.

 

 

No, Leon is more like a Jose Molina who let himself go...

[a700hitter]

Swihart is 27 years old and completely unaccomplished at the MLB level. He is not a good catcher. Athleticism doesn't always translate into being a good baseball player.

[Slasher9]

If Porcello and Sale respond well to the return of Leon, then I say f*** those two. If you can't throw effective pitches, don't tell me the catcher is your problem.

 

the last time Chris Sale shook off a catcher? that's right...college. a catcher 100% effects (affects?) chris sale's performance.

[Slasher9]

lol, funny to hear that, since Leon is a borderline MLB player who people on this board regard as Johnny Bench. Ironic!

 

I hope he goes to another team, preferably in our division and he rakes. He deserved better.

 

i dont think anyone is advocating anything positive or negative about swiharts offense. he may or may not have the tools to be a great major league hitter. that is the least important thing when talking about a major league catcher. but some people only care about offense stats....the game actually has 2 sides. and for some positions....offense is not the most important side....

[notin]

I still believe BS is a better option than Vazquez and Leon. They are not sucking because the catching. They suck because they simply suck. In Sale’s case the velo simply isn’t there. BS was simply the scapegoat.

 

 

I don’t think anyone is blaming Swihart for Sale’s problems. Isn’t it possible the Sox just decided Swihart wasn’t or wasn’t going to work out? Remember these are people who once DFAd a #3 hitter....

[Slasher9]

Swihart is 27 years old and completely unaccomplished at the MLB level. He is not a good catcher. Athleticism doesn't always translate into being a good baseball player.

 

he seems like a really good guy. i wish him the best wherever he lands. i would be very happy if he cleared waivers and remained in our organization. i agree with someones earlier post - he did get a raw deal from Boston FO with the left field experiment that tore up his ankle.

[notin]

Swihart is 27 years old and completely unaccomplished at the MLB level. He is not a good catcher. Athleticism doesn't always translate into being a good baseball player.

 

 

You forgot to drop the mic...

[SCM33]

the last time Chris Sale shook off a catcher? that's right...college. a catcher 100% effects (affects?) chris sale's performance.

 

Then it’s a shame we pay him all that money. Millions of millions of dollars and can’t think for himself and requires a binkie . How cute.

[fxkatt]

That's right Swihart is 27, so why do so many here keep calling him "the kid." I assume it's to say the Sox didn't give him enough time. In any case, Leon had a 3.2 era last year and the team probably has a 7-8 era right now... no doubt, this played a big role in the early decision.

[SCM33]

he seems like a really good guy. i wish him the best wherever he lands. i would be very happy if he cleared waivers and remained in our organization. i agree with someones earlier post - he did get a raw deal from Boston FO with the left field experiment that tore up his ankle.

 

I said that. We really screwed him. He never had a chance to develop as a catcher. They ruined him.

[Bellhorn04]

He only had 26 ABs

 

It's all about the atrocious starting pitching numbers.

 

And it is a panic move. But not one I disagree with.

[notin]

That's right Swihart is 27, so why do so many here keep calling him "the kid." I assume it's to say the Sox didn't give him enough time. In any case, Leon had a 3.2 era last year and the team probably has a 7-8 era right now... no doubt, this played a big role in the early decision.

 

 

He was a first round pick, but that was 8 years ago. Over a quarter of the ones drafted ahead of him are out of baseball or haven’t made the majors yet. It happens...

[SCM33]

All I know is, I hope Sale pitches well tonight. I hope his fastball reaches the 90s. He got his binkie back. Put up or shut up. No more fastballs down the middle. No excuses, Johnny Bench is back.

[fxkatt]

All I know is, I hope Sale pitches well tonight. I hope his fastball reaches the 90s. He got his binkie back. Put up or shut up. No more fastballs down the middle. No excuses, Johnny Bench is back.

 

This is esp. true with tonite's Yankee team... 11-12 guys out with injuries. Bird is the latest to go down.

 

But I like the "Bench" move, no matter the game tonite. (Sale is the real focus in this game more than Leon who will have just gotten off a plane)

[jung]

The link is not Leon and the entire rotation. The link is Sale. They are paying Sale approximately $10k per pitch. Sale should not need his Binkie and he is making lousy pitches. But at $10k per pitch he is going to get his Binkie regardless of anything else just because $10k per pitch is $10k per pitch.

 

The time is going to come in Sale's career that even his Binkie is not going to make that much of a difference. You can count on one hand the number of pitchers that have gone through a complete career so confident in their entire menu of pitches that they did not have to shake off catchers. In fact, you can count them on one hand with fingers left over. The "I can throw anything, just put down the sign" idea is naive....cute but naive. This is going to be part of Sale's maturation as a pitcher whether we like it or not and whether he likes it or not.

[Jasonbay44]

lol, funny to hear that, since Leon is a borderline MLB player who people on this board regard as Johnny Bench. Ironic!

 

I hope he goes to another team, preferably in our division and he rakes. He deserved better.

Find one post that said anywhere León would increase Sales velocity, or was was even a good catcher. The Red Sox have one of worst catching situations in league. The advocating for León was due to the fact that regardless of what you think about him, is the best defender. Vazquez sucks everywhere, and the Swihart situation remains a mystery.

[TylerD]

I still believe BS is a better option than Vazquez and Leon. They are not sucking because the catching. They suck because they simply suck. In Sale’s case the velo simply isn’t there. BS was simply the scapegoat.

 

What scares me most is Sale's control is wildly inconsistent and I agree this has nothing to do with the catcher. Sale's velocity seemed to improve in his 3rd start as he had a 95 m fastball..... Yet he still got lit up. Guess we will see what happens tonight.

[fxkatt]

Lucky Tampa Bay. They don't have to concern themselves with long expensive contracts, because they don't give out any. We have one such contract in its first year, and it's already worrisome.

[SCM33]

Find one post that said anywhere León would increase Sales velocity, or was was even a good catcher. The Red Sox have one of worst catching situations in league. The advocating for León was due to the fact that regardless of what you think about him, is the best defender. Vazquez sucks everywhere, and the Swihart situation remains a mystery.

 

Ive been battling this since spring training. Moonslav specifically has produced numbers and argued that is among the best catchers in the league!!!!!! Which is why I laughed my ass off when no other team in baseball wanted him when he was designated for assignment.

 

Sale better pitch well. Porcello better pitch well, they better figure their s*** out. We find out tonight.

[MADSTORK]

Call it like it is, Bust!

[jung]

Find one post that said anywhere León would increase Sales velocity, or was was even a good catcher. The Red Sox have one of worst catching situations in league. The advocating for León was due to the fact that regardless of what you think about him, is the best defender. Vazquez sucks everywhere, and the Swihart situation remains a mystery.

 

He won't. But that is not the issue and Leon is simply not that much better than Vaz defensively if at all. You don't think Vaz can hit? Wait till you get a load of 2019 Leon. He is batting .120 in AAA with a .274 OPS.

[Hitch]

Feel bad for Swilhart and I would have bene tested to make Vaz the fall guy, but happy to see Leon back in the bigs. The pitching staff love him and they are struggling. Bring back what worked so well last year.

[fxkatt]

I think the Sox managerial staff came to the conclusion that Swihart wasn't going to be a .285+ hitter, so why entertain him any longer as a catcher. There was no other spot for hum, so bring back our 3.2 era catcher and all the stability and familiarity that goes with him. And take it from there--with the starting pitchers.

[Maxbialystock]

Absolutely fascinating thread because we are reacting to a recent DD move having to do with pitching and catching. All pertinent topics.

 

I am not a big Swihart fan, but I also don’t think he is to blame for the rotation’s horrible start. The Sox have pitched 2 shutouts this season, Swihart caught one of them.

 

Nevertheless, we know the rotation is the problem and that Leon is more likely to bring them back than Swihart.

[moonslav59]

The link is not Leon and the entire rotation. The link is Sale. They are paying Sale approximately $10k per pitch. Sale should not need his Binkie and he is making lousy pitches. But at $10k per pitch he is going to get his Binkie regardless of anything else just because $10k per pitch is $10k per pitch.

 

The time is going to come in Sale's career that even his Binkie is not going to make that much of a difference. You can count on one hand the number of pitchers that have gone through a complete career so confident in their entire menu of pitches that they did not have to shake off catchers. In fact, you can count them on one hand with fingers left over. The "I can throw anything, just put down the sign" idea is naive....cute but naive. This is going to be part of Sale's maturation as a pitcher whether we like it or not and whether he likes it or not.

 

Price does much better with Leon, too, but he has done well without him, so far this year.

[moonslav59]

I was advocating keeping Leon all winter. I thought we should have traded Swihart.

 

That being said, if we demoted Leon to give Swihart a chance, I don't think we gave him a long enough time to prove himself.

 

My guess is, they saw not improvement on "staff-handling, : and his poor hitting was just too much for them to continue the experiment.

 

I hope Swihart does not get claimed, and he accepts a minor league assignment with us, but I won't be crushed, if he's claimed.

[Jack Flap]

Swihart has had all of six starts behind the plate -- hardly enough time for the team to learn anything about him that they didn't know or shouldn't have known in spring training. I'd have understood if he was DFA'd three weeks ago, but to seemingly commit to giving him a chance (risking the loss of the great Sandy via a waiver claim in the process), only to cut him loose so quickly, just reeks of panic and overreaction.

 

I have no doubt that Leon will be good for the pitching staff (most of whom are due for some serious regression to the mean anyway), but at the same time, if we are to believe that this seasoned and extremely talented major league rotation completely lost its ability to pitch effectively due to his absence (the thesis of "Leongate," as I understand it), then that is a disturbing thought in and of itself, and one that doesn't reflect well on them or on the coaching staff...