RavenOfProphecy

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/08/02/varitek_out_at_least_a_month/ "Doug Mirabelli started in Varitek's place and is expected to do the majority of the catching, although it would surprise no one if the Sox elected to pick up another big-league catcher. One possibility is Chris Widger, the White Sox backup who was designated for assignment July 23 and released yesterday. Widger was batting just .187. He hit .241 in 2005 as a backup on the World Series champions, and the staff ERA was an impressive 3.36 when he was behind the plate. Other possibilities could include Mike Lieberthal of the Phillies, Javy Lopez of the Orioles, Henry Blanco of the Cubs, Josh Paul of the Devil Rays, and Kelly Stinnett, recently released by the Yankees."

Nice post. I'll take a look at some of those guys and tell you what I think...I looked up Bengie Molina first. Hitting-wise, he's decent, but he's only thrown out 12 runners out of a possible 61, and the team's ERA when he catches is 4.72. So, he doesn't have a good arm and can't call games. Lieberthal is batting .236 with a .269 on-base. That's the same thing as signing Stinnett. He also only throws out 28.6% of baserunners. Jason LaRue is a "no" just because he's got a multi-year deal and carrying three catchers is a waste of roster space, if you ask me. Rod Barajas...he's a little better than the last few, in my opinion. On-base is still well below average, but his batting average is decent (actually, better than 'Tek), and so's his slugging. He's got some power, isn't too old or expensive, and he's thrown out 39% of baserunners.

I'm just throwing names out. Stinnett is okay defensively and he's batting 40 or so points higher than Mirabelli, plus he costs about 15 times less than Lopez.

$9,000,000 for a month of work from an average catcher isn't really worth it, in my opinion. How about Kelly Stinnett? Do you guys think he has anything left? He hasn't showed much. Where's Sal Fasano when you need him? Oh, on the rival team. Damn.

I believe when taking players off of the waiver wire, we have to pay for their full salary. Lopez's is $9,000,000, and he's batting .266/.315/.414.

With Jason Varitek on the disabled list and out for an extended period of time, I took a look at his statistics (which most of you probably know already) and the statistics of the two catchers we have in the MLB right now. And, after examining that, I am VERY concerned with our catcher situation for the next four-six weeks, as I'm sure you all are. If you aren't, here's why you should be. First, let's look at Jason Varitek's statistics: Jason Varitek: 85 games, 304 AB, 11 HR, 50 RBI, 39 BB, 58 K, .243/.331/.411 Believe it or not, Varitek has been far more productive than you'd be led to believe by his batting average. He's got the tie-fourth most home runs on the team (behind David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Mike Lowell, and tied with Kevin Youkilis.) He's fourth in RBIs behind the four people mentioned, and he's fifth in walks. His on-base % is also about .003 below the league average, not a lot by any stretch, and solid for a catcher. Which brings me to his defense. He's exceptional at calling games, which is a huge advantage he has over the other two guys. He's only thrown out 23.1% of baserunners (12 out of 52), but neither of the other two has a stronger arm. Now, for the backups: Doug Mirabelli: 31 games, 80 AB, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K, .188/.253/.350 (.181 now, but this is based on everything up to the game tonight vs. Cleveland.) Ken Huckaby (AAA): 68 games, 217 AB, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 5 BB, 53 K, .207/.222/.263 Huckaby is just flat out terrible in terms of production any way you look at it. He's not a power threat (a home run every 108.5 at bats), has just six doubles and no triples, and has an on-base % of .222! .222! I mean, am I the only one who is scared to have a catcher who drew five walks in 217 ABs in the minor leagues? Then, it's on to Mirabelli. Let's not kid ouselves, the only reason he was picked up for Josh Bard and Cla Merideth was to save Tim Wakefield the trouble of pitching to a catcher who didn't know how to catch for him (by the way, Bard is batting .348 with the Padres. ) Mirabelli's also showed that he's basically ineffective as well as a situational player offensively, and playing him every day leaves us far below average at producing runs, the most important thing to do in order to be successful. So how can we address this issue? I'll leave it up to you guys to discuss, because after all, what would be the point of making this topic if not to prompt a discussion from you guys? I'll respond to what you guys post, because I'm very interested in getting some new perspectives. Should Jeff Bailey have been called up instead? He plays catcher, first basemen, and outfield, and he's batting .269/.378/.485 this season with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs, the most in Pawtucket. He also has the most walks and total bases, but has struck out 89 times in 338 ABs, and hasn't played much at catcher. Was bringing up Huckaby the best move, or should Bailey/Corky Miller gotten the call instead? Do you see a waiver wire deal in the future?

My thoughts exactly. He forgot what he went in to do and then wasted too much time trying to drag Andruw Jones over here.

Amen to that. Yankees fill all of their needs with decent/great players while the Red Sox fail to unload any dead weight, bring in any future talent, or address any of their needs. If we don't make it to the playoffs this year, Theo Epstein deserves to be criticized for trying to get into every two-team deal instead of trying to get a few players that'd help us down the road for good prices.

According to the attrition numbers in Baseball Prospectus 2006, the chances a rotation of Schilling, Beckett, Wakefield, Wells, and Lester stay healthy is about 63%, if I did that right (probably not!)

A buzzkill (popularized in grungy places like Seattle) is basically someone/something that sucks all the fun out of something. And the reason we're disappointed is because we're up 0.5 games on a team that added Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, and Craig Wilson with two months left and will be getting back Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui. I don't mean to sound harsh, but the future looks like, well, crap.

Yeah, and I could've sworn I saw some Corey Red Sox jerseys and tee-shirts being printed. Come to think of it, I think I'm gonna look into starting a fan club for our now ace of the pen. :thumbsup:

I say trade Coco if you can get something really good, but don't do it just for the hell of it. Personally, I don't know who I want to keep and get rid of any more! I can't post lately because I'm just checking the computer quickly for trades and then getting off.

I found a good quote summarizing Dan Duquette and Theo Epstein in the book Mind Game: "Though Duquette's Red Sox peaked in 1998 and 1999, his teams were consistently in contention. He wasn't at the helm for the Red Sox's recent championship, but he deserves credit for helping to provide its underpinnings. Ultimately, though, Duquette's 'GMitis,' along with his bad personal relationships, got the best of him. In many ways Duquette was a modern litmus test for how to handle the 'soft' aspects of being a sports executive in Boston. Theo Epstein, a more refined, mentally flexible, and affable version of the Duquette model, has been able to do what Duquette could not. Duquette could identify the team's needs, bu he was so eager to find solutions that he short-circuited many of his own plans before they could come to fruition." (Swydan/Murphy 33)

Want to bet that that pitcher is Javier Vazquez? Theo has a man crush (or so it seems) on Vazquez and Contreras.

Sidney Ponson is 250 pounds, he has a 95-MPH fastball. I don't think anyone is scared of him, except the teammates that have to watch him go out and pitch for them.

BRACKET ONE Eddie Collins (Philadelphia Athletics) vs Ron Hunt (New York Mets) Charlie Gehringer (Detroit Tigers) vs Johnny Temple (Cincinnati Reds) Ryne Sandberg (Chicago Cubs) vs George Grantham (Pittsburgh Pirates) Joe Gordon (New York Yankees) vs Dave Cash (Pittsburgh Pirates) Billy Herman (Chicago Cubs) vs Robby Thompson (San Francisco Giants) Tony Lazzeri (New York Yankees) vs Davey Johnson (Baltimore Orioles) Bill Mazeroski (Pittsburgh Pirates) vs Bobby Avila (Cleveland Guardians) Hardy Richardson (Buffalo Bisons) vs Chuck Knoblauch (Minnesota Twins) BRACKET TWO Rogers Hornsby (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Glenn Beckert (Chicago Cubs) Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) vs Danny Murphy (Philadelphia Athletics) Frankie Frisch (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Claude Ritchey (Pittsburgh Pirates) Larry Doyle (New York Giants) vs Jim Gantner (Milwaukee Brewers) Nellie Fox (Chicago White Sox) vs Frank Bolling (Detroit Tigers) Jeff Kent (San Francisco Giants) vs Phil Garner (Pittsburgh Pirates) Davey Lopes (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs Gil McDougald (New York Yankees) Miller Huggins (Cincinnati Reds) vs Kid Gleason (Philadelphia Phillies) BRACKET THREE Nap Lajoie (Cleveland Guardians) vs Felix Milan (Atlanta Braves) Craig Biggio (Houston Astros) vs Tony Cuccinello (Boston Braves) Lou Whitaker (Detroit Tigers) vs Fred Pfeffer (Chicago Cubs) Willie Randolph (New York Yankees) vs Bobby Lowe (Boston Braves) Johnny Evers (Chicago Cubs) vs Eddie Stanky (Brooklyn Dodgers) Red Schoendienst (St. Louis Cardinals) vs Steve Sax (Los Angeles Dodgers) Dick McAuliffe (Detroit Tigers) vs Lonny Frey (Cincinnati Reds) Cupid Childs (Cleveland Spiders) vs Frank White (Kansas City Royals) BRACKET FOUR Joe Morgan (Houston Astros) vs Jimmy Williams (New York Yankees) Roberto Alomar (Toronto Blue Jays) vs Tom Daly (Brooklyn Dodgers) Bobby Grich (California Angels) vs Bill Doran (Cleveland Guardians) Bobby Doerr (Boston Red Sox) vs Tony Taylor (Philadelphia Phillies) Buddy Myer (Washington Senators) vs Max Bishop (Philadelphia Athletics) Bid McPhee (Cincinnati Reds) vs Tom Herr (St. Louis Cardinals) Del Pratt (St. Louis Browns) vs Marty McManus (St. Louis Browns) Junior Gillam (Los Angeles Dodgers) vs Manny Trillo (Chicago Cubs) I'll do the last two brackets later.

Could you fill me in? I just send in who I think were the best players from each matchup, right?

I don't think the Red Sox should be shopping that much around just for the sake of making a deal. It was Billy Beane who said that you'll f*** yourselves over if you make a trade just to make one at the deadline, and I think he's right by thinking that. If I were the Red Sox right now, realistically, all I need to get into the playoffs is a decent pitcher with some experience, a reliever to bolster the bullpen, and a corner infielder. I think we should try to get something hammered out with the Rockies or Padres, something like Seanez, Tavarez and someone in the minors like Chad Spann for one of Colorado's starters (not BK Kim), Ray King, and Ryan Shealy. We can afford to cover some of Tavarez's contract for next year, so Theo should stop trying to get a low-market team to pay $3,000,000+ to a player who's not worth half of that. Plus, this trade would fill just about all of our needs, and allow us to really get a step up on the Yankees. I know Spann is one of our best prospects, but Shealy is at a higher level and a trade for him would also open up a door with the Padres where we could send Mike Lowell over there for Scott Linebrink and still not need a prospect at third. Linebrink's hurt now but is a very, very talented setup man. So, let's see what would happen if we made both of these moves: Changes that would be made: 1B: Ryan Shealy (replaces Kevin Youkilis) 3B: Kevin Youkilis (replaces Mike Lowell) Rotation: Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Colorado SP (Jason Jennings?), Jon Lester, David Wells RP: Scott Linebrink (replaces Julian Tavarez) RP: Ray King (replaces Rudy Seanez) What do you think?

Here are excerpts from an interesting article on Dan Duquette written by Tony Massarotti appearing in The Boston Herald on December 23rd, 2001 titled "Duke's Last Hurrah?" I thought it seemed relevant. No link because I got the article from the book Impossible Dreams by Glenn Stout (it's a compilation of articles pertaining to the Red Sox' history.) "From the old to the new, the one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the Red Sox have improved to the point where they are, well, interesting...(Duquette) has spent so much time lately making significant, productive changes...Everett was sent to Texas. In the days immediately following, Duquette acquired Hermanson and John Burkett, then traded for Reese...the Damon signing came together...In Pokey, the Sox would have someone alongside Nomar Garciaparra who could turn a double play...And with Damon atop the batting order, the Sox would likely have...good baserunners with average to above-average speed...the Sox seem to have been injected with some much-needed energy and youth...the Sox may now be more equipped to (gasp) manufacture runs, something they have not done...ever?...Duquette lined up his options well during this offseason, especially given the fact he had several needs to fill...Duquette added three starting pitchers (OK, maybe two if you don't count Darren Oliver) as well as a leadoff man and a second baseman. He also disposed of Everett without taking on a significant financial burden, not be to overlooked...In the end what Duquette has done here is make some rather shrewd moves, though that is not completely a surprise. The Duquette Era has not been nearly the disaster that many are now making it out to be, primarily because the Sox thrice advanced to the postseason during his tenure. Duquette brought Pedro Martinez and Garciaparra to Boston, and made the trade that delivered Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb. He took a chance on Tim Wakefield. He signed Rich Garces. He even plucked someone like Daubach, whose production numbers over his first three seasons have been frighteningly consistent...The biggest indictment against Duquette, of course, has been the deterioration of the Red Sox' farm system, a fact that contributed mightily to the team's problems a year ago...And the Sox were forced to spend again, which is something the new owners clearly want to address." EDIT: I also have a few links I found. The first one is negative, and the other two are positive. http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:rgiNoTWORt4J:www.theinsidepitch.com/Duquette.html+dan+duquette&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3 http://www.duquettesports.com/news_article21.html http://www.duquettesports.com/news_article22.html

Varitek is 0-5 with 3 Ks lifetime against Haren, if I recall correctly. They could've maybe used a pinch hitter such as Wily Mo Pena and then subbed in Tek, though.

CrespoBlows said that they would have sent us Roberts to take on Woody Williams, which seems fair. We need to replace Wells with someone, and they would have had Klesko, Cameron, and Giles to use in their outfield. Also turns out Woody Williams is 4-2 with a 3.15 ERA and David Wells has played in two games and is 0-1 with an 8.64 ERA.

Sorry, what? Could you rephrase that?

I was in favor of trading Wells for Roberts as well. Wells wanted to go to SD, they wanted pitching, we needed a CF.

Obviously none of those guys are very good, but I was just listing the free agent outfielders available.

Okay, some of the free agents: Johnny Damon, Brian Giles, Juan Encarnacion, Jacque Jones, Matt Lawton, Reggie Sanders, Preston Wilson, Craig Biggio, Jay Payton, Rondell White, Randy Winn, Carl Everett. Why not sign Lawton or Payton (again)? Lawton only signed for 1 year, $400k, and he was a .277 batter in 2004 with a .366 OBP and 20 HRs. In 101 games with the Pirates last year, he hit 10 HRs and stole 16 bases with a .273 average and .380 OBP. Payton left last year because he wasn't starting, but if the Sox had thought ahead, they could've kept him. Granted, he's awful this year, but you never know.