Red Sox (Tolle) vs Blue Jays (Yesavage): 4/28/26, 7:07pm

[Old Red]

7 hours ago, iortiz said:

He’s hitting what? 200? Not to mention he already injured and hasn’t field well.

 

But hey.., we are still in the “it’s still early bandwagon.”

It cracks me up of all the excuses, and protection being thrown little Anthony’s way. Yes he’s only 21, and hasn’t set the league on fire yet, but that didn’t stop all the hype, and being anointed the next big thing before he did. He has 1 HR with 5 RBI one of which the pitcher fell off the mound trying to field a little grounder of his. Everyone expected so much more yes even at 21. His production, or lack of has helped the team to only have a 12-18 record. If he doesn’t pick it up soon maybe little Anthony needs to go visit KC down at Woo, or switch places with him. The early bandwagon counts just as much as any other time. He may turn out to be another Fred Lynn, but at the moment, which is all that counts at the moment he’s only little Anthony.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

It cracks me up of all the excuses, and protection being thrown little Anthony’s way. Yes he’s only 21, and hasn’t set the league on fire yet, but that didn’t stop all the hype, and being anointed the next big thing before he did. He has 1 HR with 5 RBI one of which the pitcher fell off the mound trying to field a little grounder of his. Everyone expected so much more yes even at 21. His production, or lack of has helped the team to only have a 12-18 record. If he doesn’t pick it up soon maybe little Anthony needs to go visit KC down at Woo, or switch places with him. The early bandwagon counts just as much as any other time. He may turn out to be another Fred Lynn, but at the moment, which is all that counts at the moment he’s only little Anthony.

It’s not an excuse to look at how well he is hitting the ball on his StatCast page and notice he is doing most things right.  Some of us don’t use RBIs to measure a leadoff hitter, or really, any player.  Sure 1 HR.  So what? Plenty of good hitters have that total or less right now.  

And so what if fans get excited about him? There is plenty there to get excited about, and getting excited is what fans do. 

Demotions happen, and if it does here you will unlikely gloat. Not because you were right; youre noncommittal about everything until it becomes time to blatantly lie.  But only because you don’t like seeing fans (which is short for “fanatics”) get excited about their team. It’s not going to stop happening.  
 

I mean, are you really calling for patience on a hitter “an excuse” IN APRIL?!??!   
 

Hes a very young player; some of us have patience.  Labeling him a “suspect” until he meets whatever your criteria you have is absolutely not patience…

 

[urban cowboy]

10 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

how many "can't miss players" turn into dogshit? yeah, a lot more than those become stars like Mookie. so, yeah, lets pay stupid money to every "top prospect" on the slim chance one in hundred "might" hit it big. hell yeah, let's tie up more money now on Casas, Mayer, Narvaez, Tolle, Early, etc. to save Henry some money later. assuming they all turn into all stars.

The only one I really have a gripe with is Campbell. He doesn't even have a position. That's insane.

[Deja Doh]

This has been my issue for a very long time:  Hyping players who have never repeated performance year over year,  which is the result of salesmen who pitch distraction as big contracts are proffered.  We do not have a home run hitter on our team.  Anthony looked like a contact doubles guy (sort of like a Boggs) but this year is being pushed to try to hit homers (that doesn't work).  He had one big homer last year and everyone hyped as the next coming Ruth and Williams.  Focus on contact first. 

I look at Mayer and his size and think he should be playing 3rd base, not 2nd.  Like Anthony, he needs to be focused on contact and the best way is in the minors.  

Rafaela may have outfield speed, but base stealing and bunting doesn't seem to be his thing.  Pitching staffs have adjusted to him.  Work on contact. 

Again, I don't understand these Breslow contracts to the unproven.

[Duran Is The Man]

10 hours ago, notin said:

Is it worth giving 5 players utility infielder money to risk getting one superstar?  Campbell has an AAV of $7.25 million. On today’s market, that gets you Steven Matz.  Bello makes a little over $9mill AAV, enough to almost sign Kyle Finnegan.

Now together, both their deals are worth $115mill, which can get you 3 years of Framber Valdez, who is likely only that cheap due to his anger issues.  Or, hey, the Sox could have gotten 4 years of Kazuma Okamoto and had enough left for 3 years of Tsunyami Imai, not that either of them have earned their contracts yet.

Why not roll the dice on these deals?  Because you want a $500 mill contract attached to a player who then gets surrounded by replacement level talent?

Thats the beauty of these deals; the players don’t need to turn into stars to justify them.  Bello is making less money this year than Mike Lorenzen.  Have you EVER wanted the Sox to sign Mike f***ing Lorenzen?  Third rate closers have higher AAVs than Bello.  His pitching might be a bust, but his contract isn’t, because he fits in well with s*** team closer money.  

Earn their money first? We don’t want them earning the wages they’re being paid..

i didn't mention your strawmen, Valdez, Okamoto or Lorenzen. when they get to arb, pay them if they're worth it. or not and when they get to free agency, pay them if they're worth it. or not. the money they tie up, unnecessarily tie up, could be used to pay a guy that's worth it.  just wait....in a few years, Moon is going to post how we don't have the $$$ to sign a free agent because we have $40-50 million on the books on guys who aren't even here.  

[Duran Is The Man]

10 hours ago, notin said:

Because he hasn’t set the league on fire before his 22nd birthday?

then why give him $130 million? 

[iortiz]

9 hours ago, notin said:

You’re right.  He’s clearly a bust.  It’s like the old saying goes “if they’re not hitting by 21, they never will.”

All I’m saying he’s officially a concern in my book since he is supposed to be “special.” 

[notin]

45 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i didn't mention your strawmen, Valdez, Okamoto or Lorenzen. when they get to arb, pay them if they're worth it. or not and when they get to free agency, pay them if they're worth it. or not. the money they tie up, unnecessarily tie up, could be used to pay a guy that's worth it.  just wait....in a few years, Moon is going to post how we don't have the $$$ to sign a free agent because we have $40-50 million on the books on guys who aren't even here.  

Sure there is the possibility that all 4 of Bello, Anthony, Campbell and Rafaela soend thr rest of their careers in AAA.  But it’s slim based on Rafaela alone securing a roll.

Or maybe Anthony never becomes a star and Bello (a punching bag today, but we all know he can pitch better because he has done it) just remain average players.  Well, right now they’re all really paid that way, which makes them tradable. The combined AAV is around $40mill, which isn’t a killer for 4 players.  And their total spend (including money already spent) is about $270mill. Again, Thsts for 4 players and spread across 9 seasons.  This isn’t the stumbling block many are afraid of, especially considering it’s not like Boston was collecting top tier free agents even before these deals went out.  It’s not like it prevented them from signing Bregman and Suarez.  And they aren’t going to turn into the financial handicap the Schwarber/ Turner/ Harper/ Wheeler/ Castellanos/ Luzardo/ Nola are going to be in Philly over the next few seasons.

Fans want contracts with immediate results.  Sure. I get it.  But for these types of deals, it might not happen right away. If they become stars, their immediate assets.  If not, the players you wind up missing out on are the Lorenzen / Finnegan / IKF types.  Fantasies that the Sox were going to save all $270mill and sign some Dylan Cease type should have been abandoned long ago, even before any of these deals happened…

[iortiz]

2 hours ago, notin said:

It’s not an excuse to look at how well he is hitting the ball on his StatCast page and notice he is doing most things right.  Some of us don’t use RBIs to measure a leadoff hitter, or really, any player.  Sure 1 HR.  So what? Plenty of good hitters have that total or less right now.  

And so what if fans get excited about him? There is plenty there to get excited about, and getting excited is what fans do. 

Demotions happen, and if it does here you will unlikely gloat. Not because you were right; youre noncommittal about everything until it becomes time to blatantly lie.  But only because you don’t like seeing fans (which is short for “fanatics”) get excited about their team. It’s not going to stop happening.  
 

I mean, are you really calling for patience on a hitter “an excuse” IN APRIL?!??!   
 

Hes a very young player; some of us have patience.  Labeling him a “suspect” until he meets whatever your criteria you have is absolutely not patience…

 

When “rudimentary” stats like RBIs BA OBP and SLG are bad, your advanced stats are likely bad as well. That’s nothing but a cop out to sound you know the game. In big sample sizes “rudimentary” stats define a player as good as advanced stats, period. If you are a 200 hitter for 7 seasons you are likely not a good hitter. It’s that simple. 
 

Said that, all the hype on Anthony isn’t helping him. Right now he looks like a subpar player with durability concerns. 
 

Do I still believe he’s going to comeback? Absolutely. Yet, Is he a concern this “early”? In my book he is. 

[notin]

18 minutes ago, iortiz said:

All I’m saying he’s officially a concern in my book since he is supposed to be “special.” 

Ummm… making MLB by age 21 is special, isn’t it? Like I said earlier, there are probably going to be highly-regarded players drafted this June that are his age or older, and will be headed for A ball.

Just because a player is “special” doesn’t mean he makes the All Star team before he can legally drink. 
 

Roman is basically putting up Mookie numbers.  His age 21 OPS exceeded Mookie’s (.859 to .812).   And after 110 PA, this year his age 22 OPS of .642 is nearly identical the .649 OPS Betts had after 103 PA at age 22.

In hindsight, do we wish we signed Betts to an extension then?

 

[notin]

11 minutes ago, iortiz said:

When “rudimentary” stats like RBIs BA OBP and SLG are bad, your advanced stats are likely bad as well. That’s nothing but a cop out to sound you know the game. In big sample sizes “rudimentary” stats define a player as good as advanced stats, period. If you are a 200 hitter for 7 seasons you are likely not a good hitter. It’s that simple. 
 

Said that, all the hype on Anthony isn’t helping him. Right now he looks like a subpar player with durability concerns. 
 

Do I still believe he’s going to comeback? Absolutely. Yet, Is he a concern this “early”? In my book he is. 

I have 0 concerns about Anthony.  StatCast data tells me much more about how he is hitting than batting average and RBIs, especially after only 110 PA.  I have patience a lot of thing will balance out because he is hitting the ball with authority.  His Ks are higher than I like, but then he is also walking a lot.  If he was striking out and not walking, thats a legitimate concern..,

[iortiz]

2 hours ago, Deja Doh said:

This has been my issue for a very long time:  Hyping players who have never repeated performance year over year,  which is the result of salesmen who pitch distraction as big contracts are proffered.  We do not have a home run hitter on our team.  Anthony looked like a contact doubles guy (sort of like a Boggs) but this year is being pushed to try to hit homers (that doesn't work).  He had one big homer last year and everyone hyped as the next coming Ruth and Williams.  Focus on contact first. 

I look at Mayer and his size and think he should be playing 3rd base, not 2nd.  Like Anthony, he needs to be focused on contact and the best way is in the minors.  

Rafaela may have outfield speed, but base stealing and bunting doesn't seem to be his thing.  Pitching staffs have adjusted to him.  Work on contact. 

Again, I don't understand these Breslow contracts to the unproven.

Seems like locking down unproven young men with high ceiling worked in Atlanta, a team that doesn’t open the wallet that easy, and everyone else in the league is copying that included the Red Sox. Problem is you have to be good at evaluating young talent at both performance and personal lifestyle. It’s a “low” risk — big win opportunity they say, but still a risk, especially because your young men could relax or simply won’t work as expected. Look at Bello and Campbell. Bello is mediocre at best and Campbell probably won’t see a MLB AB again. Rafaela is mediocre at best at hitting with a great glove. Anthony is supposed to be the next Williams (or sort of) and this far he looks lost at the plate with a sloppy glove and durability concerns. Ppl will tell you that all that money invested are peanuts, maybe, but as I said, these young men could relax, distract and even don’t care anymore. Their lives are solved financially, anyways.  Not to mention you are taxing the team trying to develop them.