Red Sox Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

David Ortiz only had 49! Manny had 53! Dewey had 57! Mario Mendoza had 0! 

Maybe they shouldn't have called up Roman until August or September? 🤔

I think you've found the most useless stat of all time. 

If your saying  little A was brought up to early, and shouldn’t have had all the hype, and expectations placed on him then I agree. The only reason  I brought up the AB was, because some on here have said he’s had so few AB that’s a reason he hasn’t produced yet.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

None had the hype, and expectations that little A did. I witnessed that hype, and expectations when he was just in Portland, and it just kept increasing as he went to WOO, and then Boston.

The thing about hype and expectations are that it can only be measured by what you in particular perceive. Andrew Benintendi was also a #1 prospect in MiLB at one point and had a ton of hype surrounding him. 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

The thing about hype and expectations are that it can only be measured by what you in particular perceive. Andrew Benintendi was also a #1 prospect in MiLB at one point and had a ton of hype surrounding him. 

I agree, but in my time as a Red Sox fan none has matched little A in H&E.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Not me.  I think Anythony has to work on his approach at the plate, his launch angle, and staying healthy.  I think adding developing his fielding on top may be too much.  I also know that his injuries have not come from playing the field, but I think its pretty common sense that he has a significantly higher risk of getting hurt in the field.

Finally, I dont think there is much of a difference between him in LF or him at DH. With the only exception of him being in LF allows us to put a great hitter at DH.  But whether Mead plays 2b and Roman plays DH or Roman plays LF and Mead plays DH.....Or mead plays 2b and Roman plays LF and someone else plays DH....Depends on who else we got to play LF when RA is at DH or who else we got to play 2b when Mead is at DH or who else we got to play DH when they are both in the field.

Im just trying to get better hitters in the lineup.

Roman's fielding is fine. His launch angle isn't going to change. He's had a high GB rate going back to Low A Salem. It's why he's a 25-30 HR guy, not a 40+ HR guy. 

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Right the Bloom era was all about, just you wait for my prospects.  The way some GMs and fans talk about prospects - they sound like gollum/smeagol talking about the ring.  My preciousssss

Kinda like you and Owen Hull? 😎

[mvp 78]

FWIW, Owen Hull has a similar profile to Roman Anthony (high bb rate/passive, high ground ball rate/bad launch angle, good ev's/hits the ball hard).

[moonslav59]

28 minutes ago, Nick said:

I'm sorry but why in the hell does everyone here thinks we have a DH in a 22 year old that received a 8 year deal? He is freaking our left fielder. 

I am 100% against having Duran or a Duran-Jones platoon in LF for 2027. (I will say Duran is better on defense than Anthony, so as I pointed out, if Duran is in LF, Anthony is the DH.)

I am not for Anthony at DH. Take him away, and we still have 5 players who can DH or platoon DH, not counting Brannon. None would be our worst batter in the line-up, and maybe not 3rd worst either. (SSArias/Story & 3B Durbin should be worse)

Next point: I'd rather not have any of those 5 DH or platoon DH, and if we add a SS, Mead DH's and Anthony plays LF. This is my number one wish/suggestion.

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Roman's fielding is fine. His launch angle isn't going to change. He's had a high GB rate going back to Low A Salem. It's why he's a 25-30 HR guy, not a 40+ HR guy. 

Am I the only guy okay with his launch angle and against messing with successful batter's approaches?

[notin]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

FWIW, Owen Hull has a similar profile to Roman Anthony (high bb rate/passive, high ground ball rate/bad launch angle, good ev's/hits the ball hard).

And similar ACC numbers to Kristian Campbell…

[notin]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Am I the only guy okay with his launch angle and against messing with successful batter's approaches?

I think messing with launch angle messes up an entire swing.  Focus on batspeed and quality contact…

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Am I the only guy

Yes

[notin]

14 hours ago, jdc69 said:

Speaking of paranoid android.

Run it through Gemini…

[jdc69]

4 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Which bullpen? The Red Sox? The Brewers? The Dodgers? All across the playoffs, many elite starters were pulled early in these playoffs and the bullpen did just fine. It's just that the '26 Red Sox bullpen with an injured Guerrero and a beleaguered Miller could not. If it was the July/August bullpen, the Sox may have had a better chance with that strategy. 

Im talking about the Red Sox, and Im talking about when the starter is still being effective. I didnt say I'm against pulling a starter out early if he starts missing. The Brewers took a starter out in the 2nd inning but he started missing and the manager didnt want to give the Dodgers any hope. Thats understandable. Thats not what the Red Sox are doing though. 

[notin]

52 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I agree, but in my time as a Red Sox fan none has matched little A in H&E.

So unfair to compare prospect hype pre- and post-internet.

I mean, Brian Rose was pretty heavily hyped.  People used to call into that post-game show and ask “when are we gonna see this kid??  He’s ready now!!” 
 

And he was a decent prospect, with BA ranking him as high as #22).  But the hype in the minors - along with teammates Jeff Suppan and Carl Pavano - was followed up with a lot of mediocre baseball…
 

 

[drewski6]

3 hours ago, notin said:

Pretty much.  Especially by “end with” you mean “take over due to some mid-May injury”…

Well, Im one of the few who like STory, but I of course acknowledge the very high probability of this.

[drewski6]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Story often gets off to real bad starts, so maybe he gets benched by mid May.

Story on the bench is worth more than even 8m of contract relief.  And he would take a benching.  Because hes a professional, team-first leader.  SOmething that often gets underappreciated with him.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

If you have to go all the way back to reference guys who played decades ago I don't think you're making the point that most players should "hit the ground running" most do not. 

And how do you protect yourself from this? By not counting on youngsters to hit above seventh in your lineup.  And if they are, you have too many youngsters and/or d-first players.

[notin]

6 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Well, Im one of the few who like STory, but I of course acknowledge the very high probability of this.

I’m ok with Story, but Ive seen this movie before…

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

I agree, but in my time as a Red Sox fan none has matched little A in H&E.

There were some all-time fans screaming : you HAVE to make room for this guy.  Jed Lowrie, Jason Place, Lars Anderson, Willy Mo, Izzy Alcantara, even like Reddick who had a decent career but did he make any all-star teams?

At least RA was considered a top 1 prospect by MLB not just internal homers.  So vs the usual fans clamoring "we have to make room for my shiny new suspect" at least RA had neutral guys saying it too.  BUt the mistake with RA was thinking that because you had a 21 yr old RA , you didnt need Bregman and Alonso.

RA is not your superstar.  Our superstar is TBA (to be acquired).  And boy do we need one.  Wish upon a star.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Roman's fielding is fine. His launch angle isn't going to change. He's had a high GB rate going back to Low A Salem. It's why he's a 25-30 HR guy, not a 40+ HR guy. 

25-30 with below average speed isnt actually a "toolsy" player.  I think he'll be a good player if he can stay healthy eventually, but this would be one of those players who was solid but yes also kinda disappointing like a Benintendo.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Kinda like you and Owen Hull? 😎

I gotta attach myself to someting.  I see 6'3, enough speed for CF.  I like that combo.  I like my athletes strong and fast.

[notin]

Just now, drewski6 said:

There were some all-time fans screaming : you HAVE to make room for this guy.  Jed Lowrie, Jason Place, Lars Anderson, Willy Mo, Izzy Alcantara, even like Reddick who had a decent career but did he make any all-star teams?

At least RA was considered a top 1 prospect by MLB not just internal homers.  So vs the usual fans clamoring "we have to make room for my shiny new suspect" at least RA had neutral guys saying it too.  BUt the mistake with RA was thinking that because you had a 21 yr old RA , you didnt need Bregman and Alonso.

RA is not your superstar.  Our superstar is TBA (to be acquired).  And boy do we need one.  Wish upon a star.

First of all, who screamed anything about making room for Jason Place ever?  Not even his mom did that.

And second, are you saying the Sox didn’t sign Alonso because they had Roman Anthony?  Seriously?  (Hint:  you are.) And just two years after they signed Bregman despite still having Rafael Devers in a clear display of willingness to sort out the positions layer…
 

 

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

FWIW, Owen Hull has a similar profile to Roman Anthony (high bb rate/passive, high ground ball rate/bad launch angle, good ev's/hits the ball hard).

but i havent seen him take fastballs and hit exclusively grounders for 2 months, therefore hes a mystery box. Schroedingers cat.  Hes everything and nothing. Hes everywhere and nowhere.

He also has 3x the speed of Roman and a bit more size.

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, notin said:

First of all, who screamed anything about making room for Jason Place ever?  Not even his mom did that.

And second, are you saying the Sox didn’t sign Alonso because they had Roman Anthony?  Seriously?  (Hint:  you are.) And just two years after they signed Bregman despite still having Rafael Devers in a clear display of willingness to sort out the positions layer…
 

 

The asian guy in the next room over at work, who i liked, but he loved cheap prospects and hated paying full price for athletes (or coffee at Dunkn).

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

First of all, who screamed anything about making room for Jason Place ever?  Not even his mom did that.

Wily Mo had already played 300 G for the Reds! 

[drewski6]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

First of all, who screamed anything about making room for Jason Place ever?  Not even his mom did that.

And second, are you saying the Sox didn’t sign Alonso because they had Roman Anthony?  Seriously?  (Hint:  you are.) And just two years after they signed Bregman despite still having Rafael Devers in a clear display of willingness to sort out the positions layer…
 

 

No Im telling you that I was annoyed when fans told me we didnt need ALonso or Bregman and we needed Ranger more, when it was on the heels of noodlebatting out of the playoffs in 2025.....And those fans told me the offense would be fine in 2026 (it wasnt) and that it wouldnt hold us back in playoffs because they are one big crapshoot (lack of thump did).

SOme of these fans tell me that we dont need Alonso or Bregman because "play the kids"

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Wily Mo had already played 300 G for the Reds! 

I remember in like 2006 fans were making 2008 depth charts that had like Brandon Moss, Jason Place, Willy Mo, Jed Lowrie, David Murphy....And Manny and Ortiz were sent away to make room for the shiny new objects.  My prospectsssss. My prospectsssss.

[mvp 78]

Josh Reddick 2012: 35 HR, 85 RBI, 85 R, gold glove

He was decent with BOS, but I don't think he was really overly hyped. I think you're just trying to list off a bunch of prospects from yesteryear for some reason. The hyped OF prospect at the time was Kalish. 

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Am I the only guy okay with his launch angle and against messing with successful batter's approaches?

Roman ranks among bottom of MLB in meatball swing %.  YOu think thats good?

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, drewski6 said:

I remember in like 2006 fans were making 2008 depth charts that had like Brandon Moss, Jason Place, Willy Mo, Jed Lowrie, David Murphy....And Manny and Ortiz were sent away to make room for the shiny new objects.  My prospectsssss. My prospectsssss.

Nobody in their right mind would have a HS prospect in MLB that quickly unless they were a top 5 pick. Moss, Lowrie and Murphy all had decent careers. Manny was traded in 2008. The return for the Manny trade was off the roster after 2009. 

Ortiz had 54 bombs in 06. Somehow, the story doesn't quite work to me. A depth chart is just a depth chart. It doesn't really mean Jason Place is going to be in BOS. It just means he's the 10th OFer or whatever. Who cares? I don't see anyone wanting to give up on Ortiz at the height of his powers. People didn't start turning on him for a few more years.