Dojji

I wanna go back and clarify what I was talking about vis-a-vis arm length since Dipre's response made it clear that I didn't communicate it well. First of all, I'm not disparaging Pedroia in the slightest. Dude works about as hard as it's possible to work. That said, the limitations of the body apply no matter how hard you work. He probably developed his arm about as far as he possibly could to try to stick at SS, but without longer arms there's a certain leverage you just don't have no matter how good your technique is. As a SS Pedroia could probably make every play at shortstop that, say, Derek Jeter, another shortstop with an unspectacular arm, could make. He won't make the really tough plays Jeter never made. The twofold issue with Pedroia at SS is lack of leverage to really muscle up on a throw, and the resulting fact that he'd have to max-effort every throw from the hole. These factors combine to make SS not only a performance issue for Pedey, but also possibly a health one. He's at 2B not because he couldn't play SS if he had to but because what he has to do to make up for that lack of leverage and get good pop on a throw from the hole would put a little extra stress on his ligaments that isn't a factor at second. With Lowrie, this is less of an issue, because he isn't the pint-sized powerhouse Pedroia is. His body is of pretty much normal proportions for an athlete, and his arm is not only better than Pedroia's, but capable of improving to a higher level without heightened risk of injury, if he's prepared to develop his technique. He's never exactly going to have the arm of an Alex Gonzalez, but he has the ability to show an average or better shortstop arm without messing up his shoulder in the process, unlike Pedroia, which is one of the reasons why Pedroia was very quickly shifted to second and the Sox are looking at Lowrie very seriously as a potential shortstop. One of a number of reasons, of course, but certainly one. If you have to move Lowrie to second down the line he's certainly proven he's comfortable there, but that doesn't mean you rule him out at short, since he's proven over time that he's comfortable there too. It's no secret that I like the kid, and his versatility and willingness to play multiple roles on the team is a big part of the reason why.

Eh, fair enough, although arm length plays a role in terms of leverage. If you disagree, don't talk to me about it, talk to the guy who invented the sling. You'll probably find him buried under a lacrosse field.

Lowrie's arm would be tough to cope with at third. But you gotta get his bat into the lineup. If the team is committed to Scutaro they really need to give Jed a look at third. The alternative is a very good defensive infielder (Lowrie's a better SS than Scutaro hands down, offensively and defensively) DHing, which is a joke. For the record, concerns about Jed's arm strength are overblown. This is not Dustin Pedroia with a 10 foot heart on a 5 foot body. Pedroia's problem was that his relatively short arms just didn't allow him to get enough force on the ball to make the throw at short with the smaller margin of error at the big league level, no matter how much extra work he put into turning the throw. Jed's built more normally, and he doesn't have that problem. His arm only plays out to about average among shortstops, but that's fine and he has the ability to improve it with effort. He can make the play in the hole as well as anyone, and if Derek Jeter teaches is anything it is that people can get a bit too obsessive about throwing strength out of a shortstop anyway -- the kid can hit, has range, and his arm isn't bad enough to be an actual liability, at least not at short. The bigger question for Jed at third isn't really arm strength, it's arm accuracy. The few extra feet and the more difficult angle make third base a place where you really could stand to have a strong arm so you don't have to max-effort your throws, which costs you in terms of hitting what you're aiming at from 120 feet away. The only guys who make harder throws than the third baseman consistently are your catcher and maybe your right fielder. We've been kind of spoiled by Lowell and Beltre, two of the better arms at third in the league, watching an average guy is going to look like he sucks. But there's no reason Lowrie can't play third if he has to, although the whining on every infield hit to the third baseman will reach Yankee's fan proportions regardless.

I think Ortiz has something left in the tank. Not anxious to lose him when all you have to do to keep him is take the option. If Beltran is brought in to replace anyone it's most likely Mike Cameron. At the moment though that's kinda 6 of one, half dozen of the other so I doubt the FO is in on that.

Careful, dude. For all you know, it's true. It isn't true in fact, but for all you know, it is.

I'd rather describe the guy than insult him. Wasting your vitriol on a baseball player is pointless when that ballplayer doesn't read the site. If a guy's a scrub, call him a scrub. If you don't like his effort level, call him on it. But this whole thing where you all swap the same insult around over and over again until everyone believes it whether it's true or not just is not my scene.

If Jed keeps hitting like this and carries it into next year, it's gonna be awful, awful hard to keep him out of the lineup. He's been looking like a young John Valentin out there, and as a long time Lowrie booster I'm pretty excited. He may well be our starting 3B next year if he can't beat Scutaro out for the shortstop job. At this point it's beginning to look like he may have the bat to make up for his percieved lack of arm.

Actually he isn't so much dominating as getting lucky. The only stat that's changed other than ERA for this guy is HR/9, which is now unsustainably low, and H/9, which is lower than his walk rate and that will also correct. He's still walking more than a batter every other inning, that *will* catch up with him over a season.

not interested unless we can clear a SP, and the only ones that are movable right now are Buchholz and Lester -- and, no. Just no.

I think you're underestimating how hard it is to win the World Series. We won it twice in a 4 year stretch so we sort of got the impression that it was going to happen some more, but it's really difficult to win that Series no matter how much you spend. The kind of injuries we ran into are just one of the many things that can go wrong and leave you short of your goal. Most teams, even teams that spend nearly as much as us, would be quite happy making the plaoyffs 6 of the last 8 years and coming down with a couple trinkets on top of that.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100919&content_id=14847072&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb Gotta get them out of the sport. When it was a largely unrealized risk that's one thing, but now people are getting hurt. It can be avoided by taking maples out of the game. I don't care if they make a guy hit .400, if it's still baseball without maple bats (and it is) and people are getting hurt by them (and they are) then they need to go. It's a safety thing. Safety to play the game and (after the end of one maple ruined a poor woman's jaw a couple years ago) safety to enjoy the game at the park as well..

If Dice goes west, it'll be to the Giants or possibly the Padres. Not to the Dodgers.

We expected too much of Ellsbury. He's not going to steal 70 every year, much less hit for power or get on base at .400. As long as he gets on base average to above average, flashes his speed when it's important, and plays solid defense we really need to be OK with him being more "really fine bread-and-butter CF" and less "awesome superstar."

Maybe I should just exaggerate everyone's point ridiculously out of context too, I'd win a lot of arguments around here. I haven't seen so many straw men since that scarecrow convention.

No, because we don't have nearly enough stats on hand to make a judgment call on what kind of player he is now at the big league level. You're talking about 30 PA as if that means something. It's entirely possible that the truth is the exact opposite of what you say -- that a brief introduction to big league pitching is required for a prospect to discover what he can and can't get away with, then he goes to the minors and refines his approach for the higher level rather than focusing on putting up big numbers. Especially for a franchise that makes it very publicly known that they are not wowed by minor league numbers alone nearly as much as by meeting their developmental benchmarks, whatever they are exactly. This isn't Baseball Mogul. More time spent facing minor league and AAAA pitching only helps a prospect so much. They've got to see the real thing.

Not really. A couple years ago, Bowden was a viable option, because there was no reason to doubt him. That has changed as he's actually lost "stuff" in the last couple years. Every prospect evaluation is subject to change. But until there's a reason to doubt a guy, there's nothing wrong with putting him on the list of people you may be able to call upon if needed.

He's dealing with a known issue with his back or neck, can't recall which, that may require surgery to fix.

The Naehring reference is obviously for the fact that he was kind of an exciting player whose career was cut way short by injuries.

Which brings us back to our original issue.

By the time we knew we'd need a replacement, the FA's would be signed and we'd be possibly as much as a couple months into the season. That's why it isn't as easy as all that to replace.

I disagree on both points. Trading for a shortstop is not easy, there are few options that are simultaneously available for a reasonable price and better than replacement value. We got stupid lucky when Lowrie and Lugo were unable to go in 2009, that Green was able to hold down the fort until a better solution was found. Replacing an injured SS properly is one of the most difficult things a GM can be forced to try to do in midseason. Only catcher is harder. at the very least, minor leaguers would get a shot in the worst case, and we'd make a move only if they couldn't settle in. Just to drive my point home: Which shortstop would you "make a move" FOR if Lowrie gets hurt again and Scutaro is having trouble with his neck/back? What are the options that you think would be available for a reasonable price, and how many of them are actually better than Navarro?

Thoughts

You're judging Navarro on his first handful of at bats at the big league level. No one ever shows their real talent level in one month of part-time play. I'm judging him off his AA numbers which are a much more realistic evaluation of his current talent level. I have no doubt in my mind that in regular at bats Navarro would hit well over .150. He's not a noodlebat shortstop prospect, at least not based on his performance in AA at age 22, which is on the young side for AA. This is not Tony Pena, Jr. I don't think something like .260/.320/,390 is really beyond Navarro's capabilities in his rookie campaign if he has a good long chance to get his feet under him and recover from his early struggles. That's not an offensive juggernaut, but coupled with acceptable defense it's more than adequate for the very low offensive standards of a shortstop. Longterm at the big league level I see him as a .270/.340/l.410 guy who can be a bit streaky but will generally be a positive if not world-beating contributor. Sorta somewhere between Yunel Escobar and an Orlando Cabrera with a bit of third base mixed in. maybe more if he fills out a bit and builds on his gap power. I'm not calling this guy an allstar, but he certainly is good enough to be a starting caliber shortstop with very reasonable projections.