jacksonianmarch

How's it going Dutch?

Fenway will always be in the hearts and minds of Boston fans. It is a museum now, more than anything else. It is as antiquated as they come and the actual fan experience is pathetic. Yes, people journey from all over to go back to the Fens, but the seats are built for 5'6" guys who weigh about 120lbs. They aren't facing the right direction most times, with their direction being a few degrees off and let's not even mention obstructed view seats. I was a big opponent to knocking down YS and moving into a new stadium because of the history and all that. But the new stadium is even better, the seats are great, the experience is better, etc. If the sox do it right and move a lot of what made Fenway so beloved for Boston sports fans, they can significantly improve the experience. If they don't do it right, it will feel like a pretty sterile environment.

Beware of "first posts" as a lot of new posters are actually older posters coming back from the dead. Take it from a guy who's been there, lol

sk, how can you talk about the lineup being "old" when we have exactly 2/3 in their prime or younger? We aren't the Yankees of yesteryear where a 34 year old Jeter was one of the youngest guys on the team. We have 6 players in the opening day lineup 31 or younger. That's a major improvement over season's past

I honestly think Amaro holding out for Swihart is reasonable on his end. Right now, you could probably have Cliff Lee if you eat his contract. If he proves he's healthy, you're gonna have to part with something that hurts and eat the entire contract. Hamels is healthy, is a horse, and has been nails when needed, especially in the post season. He is an ace. Lee is an older ace, but he's a big question mark due to age and injury. I am sure you could keep Swihart, but then you'd have to move Betts and/or Owens.

UN? What do you give up for a healthy Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels? Lee has only 2015 guaranteed but has a whopping $37.5 mil guaranteed on the books. I know they say he has a buyout and what have you, but the way his contract is actually built, he has a 1 yr $37.5 million dollar contract with a $15 million option for 2016.

If our pitching stays healthy, we will at the very least be a wild card. We could win the division... My divisional picks provided good health 1. Orioles 2. Yankees (WC1) 3. Jays 4. Red Sox 5. Rays My predictions if Tanaka and Pineda do not start at least 55 games... 1. Orioles 2. Jays (WC) 3. Red Sox 4. Yankees 5. Rays

UN?, what bold prediction do you have for who they will acquire? My bold prediction is that Hamels is a Red Sock by the trading deadline

Jeter

Cecchini went up from AA and saw his K rate rise and his walk rate get cut in half. He's a corner IFer without any power to speak of who was tearing up the lower levels due to solid plate discipline and a reasonable hit skill. His sudden loss of contact skills and sudden drop in walks is a big concern, especially since he's almost 24. He's not a child anymore. I think he's gonna end up a tweener. His prospect status got tied to a rock and dropped in the ocean. On to Scoscia. Swihart is considered to be an average to above average catcher on the defensive end. If Napoli was an average to above average catcher defensively, they would have had him starting regularly. Catcher is one of the most important defensive positions in baseball. If the guy behind the dish blows ass defensively, it's going to get noticed. Especially by a former big league catcher

But we aren't at the ages that Napoli and Victorino are at. McCann, Ellsbury, Gardner, and Drew are 31. Headley is 30. Gregorius is 25. 2/3 of our lineup is 31 or younger. It isn't like we're all 35.

And we forgot the best part. No 581ABs from a dinosaur who could barely OPS .600.

a700, the problem with ARod is that the $61 mil is sunk cost. Cut him or keep him, he is getting that money. The money the Yankees are trying to avoid paying are the incentives. I thought they'd cut him before he could reach them, but it seems they are going to go the legal route and say the incentives were only to be paid out should he not have cheated to get there. Regardless, I don't think the Yankees win that argument. There are a few reasons I am optimistic about this offense. #1- they couldn't all suck again. Let's go down the list... Ellsbury had his second highest HR total, yes. But he also had his lowest full season OPS since his rookie year. He just turned 31, he isn't over the hill as of yet. I bet he has a little less power, a higher BA and OBP and more steals for his second season in the Bronx Gardner set a career high in HR too, but he also had a lower OPS than the season before and didn't steal as much. He is finally healthy after a wrist and core injury really limited him the last few years. I expect less HR, a higher OBP and more steals McCann had a MISERABLE year in the Bronx. Yes, he led the team in HR, but he had an OPS over 100 points below career norms and a BA 40 points off his career pace. He's also 31, he isn't going to be as bad as he was last yr Teixeira finally has a contingency. We have found that a healthy and rested Tex can mash. He was overworked as the season wore on, and without a viable backup, he crumbled. Jones and ARod around should keep him around 110-120 games without having to play 5-6 games in a row and keeping him fresh. I expect him to hit around .240/.340/.450 or so. Not great, but solid nonetheless Over 1000ABs were made by Kelly Johnson, Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, and Brian Roberts mostly because we had no depth. Beltran had a correctable problem repaired and we should see him back to his new baseline. Not expecting .300 hitting Beltran to walk through the door, but .703OPS Beltran likely isn't either

Top 10 MLB in runs. Yeah, I'll make that sig bet.

Lee is a time bomb right now. He's coming off a year 35 season in which he was destroyed when healthy, then went down with an elbow issue that didn't resolve and required him to shut it down again. He would need to not only show he was healthy, but also show his normal velocity again before you'd want to take on the contract. And if somehow he does that, you would then have to pay the price for vintage Lee, which would be high. If you are going to deal for Lee and get him on the cheap, the time is now, but the risk is highest currently

Kimmi, our offense hasn't changed much, but we did keep Headley. I highly doubt Drew is as bad as he was last yr, and if he somehow is, we have Pirela and Refsnyder waiting. Those are two viable big league options who both raked in AAA last yr. ARod actually gives us a viable option at 1b should Tex go down again and Jones is another option for DH should ARod implode. Young hits lefties pretty well and should be able to spell Ells and Gardner when they need a rest vs lefties. We may not have made a blockbuster upgrade, but our contingencies and depth allow us not to be totally f***ed when an old man falls apart. I think our offense will be top 10 MLB. I think our pen will be top 5. Our rotation is the key. It could be top 5 or bottom 5. If it's the latter, we're done. If it's the former, we're making the playoffs

a700, we had years where the only viable pen arm was Mo. Having the hammer back there for 18 years meant that the pen got fixed last because old Mo was there. You don't replace that. But you can improve your pen overall if you add multiple arms capable of shutting down opposing offenses. We have that this yr. we have 4 guys who had wild success last yr in the pen. One will jump out and grab the role. We are also flush with pen talent in AAA and AA. While we don't have old steady back there, we have a better overall pen. My bet is Betances snags the closers role with Miller spelling him in lefty deep projected 9th innings. We also have Carpenter and Warren back there, who were dominant in their own right last yr. I am not worried about the pen. I am very concerned about the health and stability of our rotation

That's a bold faced lie Dojji. He was so bad as a catcher that Mike Scoscia was starting the no offense Jeff Mathis over him in Anaheim. Napoli was a butcher behind the dish

sk, I'm not sure we will be. If we get durability from Pineda, Tanaka, and Eovaldi, then we're gonna be good. Our pen is gonna be absolutely dominant, I just hope we name a closer during ST and we don't play around with a rotating closer. I think our offense will actually improve. A full season of Headley and Drew should be a good thing for us and both of them. AROD actually gives us a little flexibility assuming he doesn't implode due to massive bitch tittiness. We also have options when the horse goes to the glue factory (Tex). ARod and Jones can play the position and Roller is ready in the minors. I like our position player depth for the first time in a long time. But for the first time in a long time, our rotational depth is abysmal. We have 5 starters entering the season, one who doesn't stay healthy (Pineda), one who is apparently healthy but has a potential time bomb in his elbow (Tanaka). We have an old broken down lefty fatass with a chronic knee problem who says he's healthy. We have a lefty who is nothing more than a 5. And we have a young hot shot who is a project. Nova is coming back mid season, which will be a boost, but other than that, we've got a lot of drop off from 6 to 7. And with 6 being down the first three months and with all the potential for DL time in the rest of the rotation, we're only gonna go as far as our top 3 go

One prediction I am pretty confident of, obviously assuming good health, is that Eovaldi will outperform Porcello again in FIP. Rothschild is a very good pitching coach who seems to find ways to bring the most out of his pitchers. Last year, he seemed to take on a bunch of reclamation projects and turn them around. I have a feeling he'll take a pretty solid pitcher with insane stuff and have him near his ceiling

UN?, most years I put one out there and stand behind it. This year, I have no f***ing clue. It is entirely dependent on the health of our fragile duo at the top of the rotation. If they're out there and throw 60 of our games, we're going to the playoffs

BSN, you have 84 wins from starters. C'mon man? I have some predictions for you... Baltimore wins the East. I know they lost Cruz, but they add back Wieters and Machado and continue to have a vastly underrated rotation and pen. Boston flounders slightly below .500 until July 1 when they deal for Cole Hamels and an innings eater to replace Buchholz and Kelly. They go on a tear and make it interesting, eventually missing the playoffs by a game or two I have a dual prediction for my team... My prediction, if Tanaka and Pineda make 60 starts is that the Yankees are the #1 wild card. If they do not, the Yankees do not make the playoffs

And if you were in their shoes, it would be all about the money as well. You get one or two big contracts as a baseball player. And you have those one or two contracts to make all the money you could ever make. You go for the most, every time.

Miley has gotten worse each seasons he has pitched in the majors. His HR rate has risen as has his walk rate in each season. The only good thing is he has seen his K rate jump. Going along with that is his WHIP, rising from 1.18 to 1.32 and last yr at 1.40. This guy walks a fair amount, gives up the longball regularly and gets hit around pretty good. I honestly don't see the draw aside from 200IP.

They got a good year out of Weaver, some durability from Wilson and a surprise in Shoemaker. Santiago wasn't bad either. You forget, they lost Richards and Skaggs in a two month span. And their offense was able to bash, but I also don't think you have the Angels 2014 offense.