Jayhawk Bill

GENIUS Actually true--Alex Cora is reputed to be an excellent future managerial candidate. I was impressed in previous years with Alex Cora's ability to position himself perfectly at SS for each hitter. He still does that, but his fielding skill has eroded so badly that he simply isn't reaching enough ground balls: [table] Year | SS RZR 2005* | .867 2006 | .859 2007 | .804 2008 | .750[/table] * BOS stats; RZR with Cleveland .831 in 2005 I'm seeing a guy showing a steady decline at SS from roughly an .850 RZR--comparable to a Gold Glove contender--to .750, worse than the worst-fielding regular SS in the AL, who happens to be Julio Lugo. Certainly Cora can't earn his position with his bat. If Boston can't find a reason to DL either Cora or Lugo, it might be worthwhile to see if Alex Cora would retire and take the rest of his 2008 salary to work elsewhere in the Boston organization. I wouldn't be upset to see him released, although I'd miss him. Jed Lowrie is certainly better than Alex Cora right now.

Is that because you didn't understand my previous post involving tOPS+? :dunno: Tek's ability to work with his pitching staff is not "mythical." It's his rep within MLB, where the players voted him onto the All Star Team; it's demonstrated pretty clearly if one looks at Tek's work with young pitchers quantitatively. "Legendary" might be a better adjective: "mythical" denotes falsehood, while "legendary" merely denotes fame.

Somebody else start a game thread. Night.

While Pitch f/x has remained turned off, ESPN showed the location of Rivera's pitches the next half-inning. Joe and Jon were talking about how they were on the edge, but they were all OFF the edge...it should've been ball three, not strike three. Yeah, you can adjust if the umpire is giving the pitcher the outside corner, but not if the ump first gives the pitcher the inside--a hitter can't cover both.

ORS has pleasant but boring mojo. Aggravating and intense? I'll live with that. :thumbsup:

Nice catch by Ellsbury. Manny wouldn't've had that one...not even in 2003.

Close call again, this time at second base on Melky's steal. If Pedroia brushed Melky's upper arm, as it appeared from the replay angle he did, then Cabrera was out. The frustration is that the only umpire on this team who'll give Boston anything but an obvious call is Laz Diaz.

For the record, I didn't agree that it was necessarily time to pull Wakefield.

http://www.newsgroper.com/barry-bonds/2008/06/05/why-red-sox-should-totally-sign-me

As long as modern medicine doesn't confer upon chronic smokers immortality, you're set. That was a big hit for Kevin Cash, though. :thumbsup:

I notice that you didn't say WHEN you'd quit smoking.

Jeter put a lot of intangibles on that throw.

Pedroia at first? Dunno...it was close.

Jed Lowrie is available on September 1, regardless of trades. 'Til then, if Julio Lugo took one for the team and went on the 15-day DL for the same pesky GI tract parasites that allegedly robbed him of his power a year ago, letting Lowrie get some more MLB time, I'd think well of Julio's...ummm...guts.

Me too! It would also shock me were the Mets to trade Reyes. It would take a lot, and Manny is a player Minaya has coveted for years. The Mets have little chance to reach the NLDS, but Manny, plus plugging the hole at SS with Lugo, plus a potential superstar young pitcher, might together make it work out. Minaya would have no trouble doing that. If he doesn't win, he's fired; if he's fired, it's not his money anyway.

I took the liberty of deleting the NL SS part of your post. The NL is practically a minor league when compared to the AL...excellence there can be misleading. Two points: 1) Lugo's defense may be a small-sample aberration. His FRAA is usually better. 2) Only the five SS in red are more than a mere half-game better than Lugo, and they'd all be tough to get in a trade.

1) It presupposes Big Papi's readiness to return to his role as DH. 2) Ellsbury, with room for either Moss or Carter on the 25-man. Carter has been adequate in LF in AAA and is the better bat; Moss can play RF, which Carter simply cannot do.

Interesting thought, ksushi. For Jose Reyes: Julio Lugo and... Justin Masterson and Manny Ramirez? :dunno:

Neither would I, but there are rumors in cyberspace that I'm really Khalil Greene's agent posting under a pseudonym.

Wrong? Look, Tek was leading the early voting. The fans want to see him. Furthermore, Tek, just like Posada or Pudge Rodriguez, is one of the premiere catchers of his generation. I don't think that the All Star Game should be the "Who had the best April and May Game." It should be a chance to see the men who will attract HOF votes five years after they retire, players who define a generation of baseball. It should be guys like Derek Jeter, the definition of the Yankees for a decade and a sure HOFer a decade from now. It should be JD Drew, a great player who won't make the HOF but who's known as an All Star player in his great years. It should be, and was, Tony Conigliaro, a guy whose potential was never fulfilled but who is loved and remembered by Red Sox fans who saw him play. It should be Mariano Rivera, a player who may someday be remembered as the greatest ever at his position. It should be Alex Rodriguez, a player who may someday be remembered as the greatest ever to play the game at any position. Jason Varitek is the Captain of the Boston Red Sox, the leader of the men who broke the curse. Somewhere in the range of what I wrote about Jeter, Drew and Tony C fits Jason Varitek. He won't be in the HOF unless he plays another half-decade at near his peak level and wins a couple more World Series, and that sure doesn't look likely. He does define a great team; at his best, he has been a great player; when he is gone, he will be loved and remembered. Jason Varitek belongs in the All Star Game one more time.