Listened To Pedey on WEEI annmnnnnnd

[Kimmi]

Self banning is not a good thing to bet. Sig line is better.

 

I agree.

[Kimmi]

No one wants Pedey to succeed more than I. While I won't bet against him, he does face long odds. And he has earned the right to try. If Bloom at Henry's direction does trade off key players, Pedey's comeback attempt may well be the only thing that keeps a significant number of Sox fans watching the games.

 

You and I are on the same page when it comes to support of Pedroia.

[Kimmi]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's just a tiny chance Pedey can give us anything significant.

 

Pedroia himself doesn't sound that confident that he will make it back.

 

He is still at the stage where he is focused on quality of life rather than being able to play ball.

[Kimmi]

Or JD is heading to the outfield, where he has lots of experence...

 

Please do not let JD be an everyday outfielder.

[moonslav59]

Please do not let JD be an everyday outfielder.

 

I'd trade him before I made him play more than a handful of games in the OF.

[Bellhorn04]

I'd trade him before I made him play more than a handful of games in the OF.

 

Let's not get carried away. He played 57 games in the OF in 2018 and 38 last year.

 

Your statement is a little extreme.

[moonslav59]

Let's not get carried away. He played 57 games in the OF in 2018 and 38 last year.

 

Your statement is a little extreme.

 

I don't see it that way. We're already looking for ways to cut salary. I was suggesting we might want to trade him before we even found out he declined the opt out. It's probably easier to trade him than Price or Eovalid. I also want to keep Betts beyond 2020. If bringing the budget down helps with that, then there's more reasons to trade JD.

 

If this whole Pedey nonsense comes to fruition, where as he becomes the near FT DH, then to me, trading JD makes a hell of a lot of sense. His value as a DH to the CWS seems higher than to us as an Of'er. That lays the foundation for a trade.

 

I also think it's better for the team and JD that he play almost exclusively DH. JD will likely opt out after 2020 and go for a bigger and longer deal. An injury would hurt his earning power immensely. An injury would hurt our chances at winning, as well. His defense would hurt our chances at winning.

 

There may even be more reasons than these.

 

[Bellhorn04]

The Pedey DH thing is not happening.

[cp176]

The Pedey DH thing is not happening.

 

Even the thought of using Pedroia as a dh is a real joke. When is the last time he got a hit at the big league level? Oh yeah, we could count on that bat - not. As you have already stated, using Martinez for what 50-60 games in the outfield has not hurt this team one bit. We should be happy to have one of the best hitters in the game playing for us.

[notin]

Let's not get carried away. He played 57 games in the OF in 2018 and 38 last year.

 

Your statement is a little extreme.

 

Ah but if you trade JD, you can maybe keep Betts...

[moonslav59]

The Pedey DH thing is not happening.

 

Yes, it's all nonsense.

[Slasher9]

Like it or not, 1B is a change of positions involving different physical demands. He's never played there, not a single MLB game. Maybe he has been asked and has indicated that it's a bad idea.

 

hence the manager needs to give him reps in ST to see if he can do it. this could have been done the past 2 ST's. especially last ST when we had a year of JD "playing" OF under our belts.

i think people are misunderstanding...no one is saying to hand JD the first baseman's job. some posters are suggesting that he should be tested out / trained there in ST and see how it goes. we already KNOW he can't play OF competently so we dont really need to see that anymore.

[Slasher9]

Didn’t you see Moneyball? When Billy Beane is telling Scott Hatteburg he is going to play 1b.

 

“It’s not that hard, Scott. Tell him”.

 

“It’s incredibly hard.”

 

where did hatteburg end up playing?

lol

[notin]

where did hatteburg end up playing?

lol

 

Well he did play 1b. But later on he also wound up training velociraptors in a Cretaceous-themed zoo. So maybe his career path is best not duplicated...

[Bellhorn04]

hence the manager needs to give him reps in ST to see if he can do it. this could have been done the past 2 ST's. especially last ST when we had a year of JD "playing" OF under our belts.

i think people are misunderstanding...no one is saying to hand JD the first baseman's job. some posters are suggesting that he should be tested out / trained there in ST and see how it goes. we already KNOW he can't play OF competently so we dont really need to see that anymore.

 

The stats suggest his fielding was close to adequate in 2018. That helps explain why it wasn't considered going into 2019.

 

In 2019 he was bad.

[Slasher9]

Well he did play 1b. But later on he also wound up training velociraptors in a Cretaceous-themed zoo. So maybe his career path is best not duplicated...

 

right. but was that due to some nefarious injury (physical or mental) from playing 1b defensively? or was it because he didn't have the offensive skillset and prowess to being with of someone like..oh...i don't know...JD?

[Bellhorn04]

It might also be noted that we had zero depth in the outfield, as was painfully highlighted by the recurring sight of Gorkys in the lineup.

[S5Dewey]

It might also be noted that we had zero depth in the outfield, as was painfully highlighted by the recurring sight of Gorkys in the lineup.

 

That's true, but saying that he was there because he's better than Gorkys is hardly a stirring recommendation.

 

I have never understood why he didn't get a look at 1B during ST.

Two things have been well established. The first is that he's NOT a good outfielder. He's "hidden" there only to keep his bat in the lineup.

The second is that he wants to be involved in the defense. I'm not sure why he's intent on being on the field for defense - it could be to improve his value (which is NOT working out well!) or it could be that he's simply not as good defensively as he thinks he is. But.. whatever. If he's not good enough to be going to be used in the OF he's sure as Hell not going to be at C, 3B, SS, or 2B so where does that leave??

 

I'm not saying that 1B should be his position to lose. I'm just saying that it's almost criminal to not see how he fares there. If he can't handle 1B then he can go back to being hidden in the outfield.

[Bellhorn04]

That's true, but saying that he was there because he's better than Gorkys is hardly a stirring recommendation.

 

Agreed. What I'm really saying there is 'Thanks Dave!'

[moonslav59]

Maybe JD said he does not want to play 1B.

 

Maybe Sox management doesn't view him as a possible capable 1Bman.

 

Maybe they fear risk of injury.

 

I think the Sox have had a bigger need with OF depth over 1B depth, so that alone could be the main reason.

 

(I'm not for giving him a 1Bman's mitt next spring- at all!)

[Slasher9]

Maybe JD said he does not want to play 1B.

 

Maybe Sox management doesn't view him as a possible capable 1Bman.

 

Maybe they fear risk of injury.

 

I think the Sox have had a bigger need with OF depth over 1B depth, so that alone could be the main reason.

 

(I'm not for giving him a 1Bman's mitt next spring- at all!)

 

would be interesting to see historically who gets injured more frequently in the MLB - Corner Outfielder or First Baseman?

[moonslav59]

would be interesting to see historically who gets injured more frequently in the MLB - Corner Outfielder or First Baseman?

 

It's not that simple. Placing and aged, sore-backed player in any new position is a gamble.

 

BTW, I'm not for playing him in the OF either. he should DH only with maybe a handful of games in the OF at NL parks.

[Slasher9]

It's not that simple. Placing and aged, sore-backed player in any new position is a gamble.

 

BTW, I'm not for playing him in the OF either. he should DH only with maybe a handful of games in the OF at NL parks.

 

and i want him to see if he can play those same handful of games at 1b.

also, waking up in the morning is a gamble for a sore-backed player.

jogging to first base and catching a throw > sprinting 35' towards a wall to run down a flyball, twisting and firing the ball 200'.....

first base is where old players go to die. if the board certified dumbest player on the Red Sox (christian vazquez) can play first base then i'm sure a smart guy like JD can figure out the footwork to play 10 games per season at the position.....

[notin]

and i want him to see if he can play those same handful of games at 1b.

also, waking up in the morning is a gamble for a sore-backed player.

jogging to first base and catching a throw > sprinting 35' towards a wall to run down a flyball, twisting and firing the ball 200'.....

first base is where old players go to die. if the board certified dumbest player on the Red Sox (christian vazquez) can play first base then i'm sure a smart guy like JD can figure out the footwork to play 10 games per season at the position.....

 

I'm sure he can figure it out.

 

The past two seasons the Red Sox had a 1B they liked, which was probably a big factor in why JD didn't play there. This offseason, maybe the want to see who will be at 1B before moving Martinez there.

[moonslav59]

and i want him to see if he can play those same handful of games at 1b.

also, waking up in the morning is a gamble for a sore-backed player.

jogging to first base and catching a throw > sprinting 35' towards a wall to run down a flyball, twisting and firing the ball 200'.....

first base is where old players go to die. if the board certified dumbest player on the Red Sox (christian vazquez) can play first base then i'm sure a smart guy like JD can figure out the footwork to play 10 games per season at the position.....

 

Yes, but all those things are unavoidable. Playing 1B rather than DH is a choice made and a bigger gamble.

[S5Dewey]

Yes, but all those things are unavoidable. Playing 1B rather than DH is a choice made and a bigger gamble.

 

And putting him in the OF is an even bigger gamble.

[Slasher9]

Yes, but all those things are unavoidable. Playing 1B rather than DH is a choice made and a bigger gamble.

 

who says to have him play 1b instead of DHing?

i am advocating 1b instead of OF.

[moonslav59]

I don't want JD playing in the field at all. I'm okay with a handful of games in the OF in NL parks, when needed.

 

I do think there is less risk of him getting hurt playing a position he's played for more than a decade and maybe has 2-4 plays a game hit his way. I think, for him, 1B would be more dangerous.

 

Plus, I don't want to do anything to distract him from his hitting, and that takes a lot of his time already.

[moonslav59]

And putting him in the OF is an even bigger gamble.

 

Putting a SS/3Bman like HRam in the OF might be more dangerous than the 1B, but I don't think playing an OF'er in the OF 5 games a year is more dangerous than asking him to learn how to play 1B- a position that is involved in many more plays per game and is something very new to him.

 

Plus, if JD is taught to play 1B, my guess is the plan would be for more than 5 games.

Edited November 18, 2019 by moonslav59

[kenmeister]

On the very low chance that Pedroia can DH a significant amount of games, we can worry about where to put JD.